“That’s not the word I’d use.” He frowned down at her. “Don’t you like being here?”
“I love being here. That’s part of the problem. Sometimes I look around and I feel like I’ve landed on another planet. Your lifestyle doesn’t bother me at all, but it’s a shift in perception for me. I have to keep reminding myself of things. It’s too easy to forget who and what I am here.”
“And what do you think you are?” There was something dangerous in his tone
, but she didn’t pick up on it.
“I’m a slightly boring school teacher.”
She shifted so her legs were tucked between his. “I’m a quiet little woman that wouldn’t say boo to a goose and whose previous sexual experiences could be recounted on the back of a postage stamp. You and I couldn’t be any more different.”
“There is nothing boring about you.
Nothing.” He actually sounded angry and she pushed herself up to look at him clearly.
“Gabriel, I did nothing. I went to work, I came home, I ate, I marked homework and then I went to bed. Probably the most exciting thing I’ve done in the last year, apart from meeting you, was chaperoning the school dance.
I’ve never had money to spare on frivolous things. I’d say that qualifies me as boring.”
“I will not allow you to speak about yourself like that.” He snapped and she blinked, pushing herself all the way off him.
“You won’t
allow
me?” She repeated incredulously. “You can’t tell me how to think and feel!”
He relaxed instantly. “Kitten, are we having an argument?”
“Don’t you ‘kitten’ me with that smirk all over your face!” She said hotly. “You do
not
get to announce something like that and then think it’s funny when I get angry!”
“I do if I’m your master, kitten.” His voice dropped low and seductive and she
climbed off the bed in a fit of pique.
“You are
not
my master anywhere outside the play room!” She looked so cute standing there stark naked, waving her hands about as she told him off, that he almost couldn’t keep his laughter in check.
“Do you
want
to go to the play room?” He quirked an eye brow at her and she actually stamped her foot as his amusement sent her anger off the deep end.
“No I don’t! Why do you have to try and divert this with sex?” She gave an inarticulate shriek of irritation and headed for the cupboard.
“What are you doing?” He asked, trying not to laugh.
“I’m looking for pyjamas. I’m going to sleep on the couch.”
“No you’re not.” He said firmly, pushing himself off the bed and striding across to her. “You’re sleeping in here, with me.” He caught her around the waist and bodily carried her to the bed.
“You are such a caveman!” She shouted, struggling to get away from him.
“Let me go!”
“Kitten, the more you struggle the more you’re turning me on.” He said drily, throwing her down onto the bed and climbing on top of her. “Settle down or I’m going to fuck you. Hard.”
“How is that any different from normal?” Her fists pounded the duvet in impotent rage. “Let me up damn it!” He caught her wrists and held them over her head as she twisted and struggled beneath him.
“Settle down kitten.” He warned once more.
“I will not settle down!” She was working herself up into a fine fury. Her face was pink and she thrashed beneath him, bodily throwing her weight around.
“You
will
settle down.” There was steel in his voice, steel and something else that slid across her senses like silk.
“
Why should I?” She demanded stubbornly, just about wrenching her arm out of its socket.
“Because I want to taste you kitten. I want to spread your legs and run my tongue up and down your pussy until you’re mindless. I’m not going to do that while there’s a real danger of you kicking me in the head.”
“What if I don’t want you to taste me?” Her chin jutted out pugnaciously. “What if I just want to go and sleep on the goddamn couch?”
“You don’t want to feel my tongue flickering over your clit?” He asked softly, knowing he’d hit the mark when she gasped. Catching both her wrists on one hand, he slid the other down between them and cupped her sex, teasing it lightly with his fingers. “You don’t want me to put my fingers inside you?”
“No...?” It came out sounding like a question. Furious at herself for her weakness, she felt the tears returning and turned her head to the side when he leaned down to kiss her.
“Submit to me kitten.”
He whispered.
“No.” She went
slack, knowing that to fight him was futile.
“Submit to me.”
“No. Can’t you see? I’m losing myself. The longer I stay here, the more I become an extension of your lifestyle.”
He ran his tongue around the shell of her ear and then kissed the salted trail her tears had left on her cheeks. “If you were an extension of me
, I wouldn’t have to fight so hard to bend you to my will.” He murmured between kisses. “Stop fighting me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Don’t you?” She looked up at that, her eyes dark with sadness.
“Of course I don’t.” He kissed her forehead. “Open your legs for me.”
“No.” She shook her head slowly. “You were out of line Gabriel. I’m not going to reward it with
sex. I’ll stay in the bed, but I’m just going to sleep.”
“It’s too late for that.” He shifted his body weight and forced his knee between her legs. “The more you defy me, the more I want you. It’ll save an awful lot of time and effort if you just give me what I want.”
“I’m tired.”
“We’ll be having a lie-in tomorrow morning anyway.” He reminded her. “The gig is tomorrow night.”
“Just let me go.” She gave another half-hearted attempt to move out from underneath him, but it just gave him the opportunity to move her legs further apart.
“Submit to me
, kitten.” He said again, taking advantage of her mistake to slide his fingers inside her. Helplessly, her body bowed with pleasure and she gritted her teeth.
“Is it really so hard for you to say sorry?”
She demanded, frustrated beyond reason.
“I don’t see that I did anything wrong.” He shrugged, sending those beautiful muscles of his rippling beneath the surface of his skin. “Is it so bad that
I want you to feel like an amazingly beautiful, precious and fascinating creature?”
“You tried to tell me how to feel!” She said, slightly unsure now that he’d rephrased it.
“I may have used the wrong words, but that was the sentiment.” He released her hands. “I can’t bear that you think of yourself as anything other than unique. You are a remarkable woman, Noelle Winters. You are certainly far more than the sum of your job and activities. How can I not be frustrated that you don’t see yourself like that?”
“You, sir, are a silver-tongued devil.” She said grouchily and he burst out laughing.
“Does that mean I can put my tongue where I want to?” He didn’t wait for an answer and, as he slid down her body, she didn’t fight him. Much.
The following afternoon they had an early dinner. The band had all come over ahead of the gig and Noelle cooked
a meal for them. They didn’t seem to know quite what to make of her and she caught more than one perplexed glance sent her way. Clearly she wasn’t Gabriel’s usual type. That or they knew about his proclivities and were wondering how far she’d gone. They were polite and friendly though, and it wasn’t long before they were all laughing raucously about gossip in the industry. Noelle almost swallowed her tongue when Jax, the guitarist, told an uproariously funny story about a well known teen popstar. She’d been caught in a hotel bathroom with a very confused concierge who, through thick beer goggles, might have been mistaken for another well known popstar. Gabriel was so unassuming about his work that she’d almost forgotten the glitzy side of his job and the celebrities he hung out with. He’d written songs for some of the biggest names in the business. It was a quiet reminder that she’d been right the night before; she needed some time at home to remind herself that this wasn’t her world.
When they’d all finished eating
, they sat talking for a few minutes and then the mood changed. Noelle looked from face to face and saw the same intensity mirrored in each. They were getting in the zone. They’d done their sound check that morning, so all that remained was to get changed and head to the venue. Jax had told her over dinner that all musicians had their private rituals ahead of a gig and she didn’t try to persuade any of them to stay as they all headed out one by one. She knew they had things to do.
After Gabriel had let the last of them out, he returned to the kitchen where she was loading things in the dishwasher. “Leave that.” He sounded tense and she turned to him curiously.
“It won’t take long.” She gestured to the small pile of plates that were left.
“I need you now.”
“Oh. I see.” She set the plate she was carrying in the dishwasher and lifted the door closed, quickly rinsing her hands. He was standing in the doorway waiting for her and took her hand. “Are we going to the playroom?” She asked, and he shook his head.
“Not yet.” He led her into the bedroom and pulled a pillow from the bed, tossing it to the floor at his feet. “Please.” He whispered as she gave him a confused look. When she still didn’t get it, he pulled her to stand in front of him and pressed her shoulders lightly down.
“Oh.” Feeling stupid for not understanding, she dropped to her knees and looked up at him as she reached for the button on his jeans. He looked so lost. There was real pain in his eyes, pain that seemed to be rolling beneath the surface of his soul. She’d have given all she had to never see that look on his face again. She opened his jeans and tugged them down slightly. He wasn’t wearing any boxers and his cock sprang loose, surprising her. She caught it before it slapped her in the face and fought not to smile. That would have been awkward. For a moment she just let her senses adjust. He was warm and hard in her hand as she ran her fist up and down his length. His hands came around her head, gently cradling it as his fingers tangled in her hair. His palms cupped her ears and, as her mouth slid over him, she closed her eyes. In the darkness and the silence there was only him. Gabriel had become her world.
Right before he came,
he pulled out of her mouth and spilled all down her front instead. For a moment he thought she’d be angry at the mess he’d made on her top, but she just shook her head, a rueful smile on her face. Letting him go, she sat back on her heels and began stripping out of her sweater to throw it in the wash. He watched in silence and offered her a hand up when she was free of it. Not letting her go, he pulled her through to the bathroom and dragged his jeans all the way off. Following his lead, she pulled the rest of her clothes off and followed him into the shower.
She wasn’t sure how to respond to this silent and intense Gabriel. He seemed to speak to her in nothing but body language
, and she wasn’t comfortable enough in her own skin to be confident of reading his. They washed each other in silence, hands gliding over skin until she felt taut with unfulfilled promise. Afterwards, he dried her down and then sat her at the dressing table, where he dried her curls until they tumbled all around her face.
“Pin it up like you did the other day.” He
asked quietly when it was dry, and she did as he asked, deftly scooping it into grips with the odd tendril hanging loose here and there. He left her to it, pulling a pair of leather trousers on that he’d taken from the cupboard. She’d never seen him in leather before and actually froze for a moment at the sight of it. Every time she forgot how gorgeous he was, he’d go and do something else to show her. Those trousers...well, they made her throat go dry. Realising she was staring, she turned back to the mirror and missed him taking a box from the safe in the cupboard.
She was lowering her arms wh
en he came to stand behind her and she smiled up at him. Wordlessly, he lifted a chain around her neck and fastened it, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck before he withdrew.
She gasped as the stone caught her eye in the mirror. It was a huge ruby. “Gabriel!” Her fingertips traced the pendant as her eyes unexpectedly prickled with tears. “Thank you so much! It’s beautiful!”
“So are you.” He replied simply. “Come.” He took her hand again and led her through to the play room, where the boxes were already laid out. Knowing what was expected of her, she waited quietly as he selected music to play softly through the room. When it started, she smiled. She’d heard this one before – it was a piece called Sleep by another modern composer, Eric Whitacre. Closing her eyes again, she allowed herself to fall into a meditative state as Gabriel moved her around, positioning her limbs where he wanted them as he dressed her. It was just as peaceful as it had been the first time, although he seemed to pull the leather much tighter this time, taking it right down over her hips.
She opened her eyes when he lifted her feet into the boots and reached down to touch his hair as he zipped them up, smiling at the way it caught the light. He was such a beautiful man. When he sat back
, she thanked him and he nodded.