“I told you, not on a school night.” She sighed huffily. “Would it help if I said I was
really
looking forward to the holidays?” He teased and she softened slightly.
“I guess. It’s only a week a
way. Not even that...it’s only five days.”
“And I can tell you now that I’ll be wait
ing for you outside the school gates at kicking out time on Friday.” She couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. “Start counting the hours kitten. It’s not long at all.” Her libido felt like it was dancing the hula and she knew the goofy grin was on her face again.
“I can’t wait.” She admitted. “It’ll be the gossip of the century and I won’t be around for a grilling.”
“Would it help if I turned up in a wildly flashy car?” He asked and she shrugged, forgetting for a moment that he couldn’t see her.
“Do you own a wildly flashy car?”
“I own several.” His voice had dropped to a purr. “One of these days I’d like to get you on the bonnet of one of them.”
“Won’t that dent it?” She tried to say it with a straight face
, but cracked up when he laughed.
“I’d consider it worth it.” He said easily. “The memory of it would last me a lifetime...far longer than any car.”
“All the same...” The idea shocked her. “All that money just for kicks...doesn’t bear thinking about.”
“I have a lot of money to throw around.” He said easily and she sighed.
“I know.”
“So why
not
waste it on a beautiful woman? Getting you naked, spread and wanting on the bonnet of an Aston Martin?” He whistled softly. “That’s the kind of image wet dreams are made of.” Her throat had gone dry and she swallowed as a flush rose in her cheeks.
“I’m not...it’s
not...” She cleared her throat. “I don’t know that I’d be comfortable doing it.” She finished lamely and he made a non-committal noise.
“You should try everything once kitten. If you don’t push your boundaries
, you’ll never know how far you can go.”
“Well it’s not like I’m experience
d.” She admitted. “My dating history hasn’t exactly been stellar.”
“Then you’ll have to learn to trust me to take you to the edge and beyond.” He said simply.
“It’s early days yet.” She reminded him. “You only chucked coffee on me half a week ago.”
“It’s been an intense half week.” He responded. “I don’t know what it is about you, Noelle Winters, but you set me on fire.”
“Likewise.” She hadn’t meant to admit it, but it just slipped out. Now that she had said it, though, she might as well go the whole hog. “I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re so...sinful. I don’t know why I let you do the things you do. I’m ashamed to think of them in the cold light of day. I hardly know you, and yet I let you go down on me in the back seat of a car. You just...overwhelm me.”
“You shouldn’t be ashamed.” He said quietly. “I do the things I do because it pleases me immensely to please you. Sometimes people connect on a visceral level that supersedes any societal definition. And make no mistake, that’s exactly what it is – a societal definition. You are conditioned from the moment you’re old enough to understand that sex is somehow bad, especially with strangers. It’s evolution in reverse...
regression. Sometimes I think that we should let go of conscience and be more in touch with what our bodies are telling us...listen to our hearts and our hormones over and above the institutionalisation of our heads.”
“You’re a dangerous man, Gabriel Hallow.” She said quietly
, after a moment’s thought. It was thrilling to have a conversation with someone so clearly intelligent, but his subversive ideas, especially when presented with such rational clarity, were speaking to some dark place inside that made her uncomfortable.
“Only to you kitten.” He murmured huskily. “I
will
persuade you to abandon yourself to me.” The thought made her legs feel like overcooked noodles again and she sprawled loosely on the sofa.
“I’m a school teacher.” She reminded him. “I don’t do wild things. I don’t go out drinking or take risks. I’m pretty sure I’ll never forget who I am long enough to let go completely.”
He let out a low, rumbling chuckle that stirred her libido and she knew she was lost. “We’ll see kitten. We’ll see...”
***
She could barely concentrate all through school the next day. Her thoughts were so absent that her students had to try several times to catch her attention and, each time she realised she’d been caught gazing into space, she went bright red. She didn’t know who was more surprised when she stepped out of the school gates to find Gabriel leaning up against the door of an expensive-looking car.
“I couldn’t wait until Friday.” He grinned broadly as he pushed away from the car. All around them students, teachers and parents were gaping at the sleek motor and the go
rgeous man walking away from it towards their quiet, wholesome teacher. “Is this okay?” Totally flustered, Noelle glanced around at the onlookers and then returned her gaze to him.
“Bit late if it’s not.” She said, amused despite herself. “Seriously though, it’s good to see you.”
“That’s what I was hoping for.” He winked as he reached her and then swept her up into a kiss, his fingers curling into her hair as his tongue sought hers out for a dance. “I can’t believe I didn’t come over last night.” He murmured when he finally let her go, and she blinked up at him, a little dazed. “Please let me take you to dinner?”
“Sure.” Smiling as she pulled herself together, she let him take her bag and the books she was holding and allowed him to lead her back to the car. “Don’t tell me...” she eyed the sinuous, low lines. “This is the Aston Martin.”
“Of course.” He was grinning broadly as he opened her door for her. “What else would I have brought after our conversation last night?”
“Oh Gabriel, this car is far too beautiful to risk denting.” She settled into the plush leather interior and sighed happily. “I refuse. No bonnets for me. I could never live with myself if I damaged this.” She ran a careful hand along the gleaming wooden door panel, trying not to leave fingerprints. He laughed as he trekked around to his own side.
“Perhaps I should purchase an ugly car of little value, for the sole purpose of denting the bonnet.” He suggested as he settled in his own seat.
“Alternatively, we could just use the bedroom.” She responded drily. “Honestly, what is it with men and cars?”
“Where is your sense of adventure?” The car started with a deep, throaty growl of the engine and a shiver of delight ran down her spine.
“Where is my sense of adventure?” She tried to muster some indignation. “My sense of adventure was fully intact when I let a total stranger into my house for dinner, kissed him silly on my couch and then let him do unspeakable things in the back of a moving vehicle. This is as adventurous as I get.”
“Oh no.” His chuckle matched the engine – deep and throaty. “Your sense of adventure doesn’t know what’s about to hit it. I suspect it’s a lot more...elastic...than you give it credit for.”
“You say that like you’re some
sort of kinky freak.” She frowned, still amused but not sure how to play it.
“Not really. Just...” he sighed. “If I said ‘experienced’ would that put you off?”
She wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to examine the thought that he’d been with dozens of other women too closely. “I don’t know.” She said honestly, deciding it was the best policy. “I like you Gabriel. We’ve had a lot of fun this last week. If you can promise me that you’ve been safe, that you’re clean and that, if whatever this is evolves into some sort of relationship, you’ll be faithful, then I guess I don’t have a problem with it.”
“Yes to all of the above.” He reached across and squeezed her knee
reassuringly. “I was always safe, I’m a hundred percent clean and I’ve been faithful to you since the first moment I saw you at the cafe.”
“Well then, we’ll see where this goes.” She smiled at him and turned to look back out of the window. “It’s a little early for dinner. Where are we going?”
“I have a confession to make.” He sounded amused. “When I said I wanted to take you to dinner, I was more thinking of taking you to my house and begging you to cook for me again. It was so good the last time.”
“I
can do that.” She smiled at him. “You’ll have to take me home after though.”
“You can’t stay the night?” He gave her a cheeky wink and she laughed.
“I wish I could, but I’m working early in the morning. I have to get clean clothes.”
“What if we went to your house first and packed an overnight bag?” He suggested and something in her core thrilled low and hot at the thought.
“I guess we could do that.” She said shyly. “You really want me to stay huh?”
“Yeah.”
His tone was husky. “I
really
want you to stay.”
They swung by her house for an overnight bag and then went on to his. He lived outside the city in a huge oak-frame, glass-fronted building, set into the side of a hill.
“This is incredible!” Noelle breathed as she got out of the car. She’d known he was rich
, but for some reason she’d never thought much about his lifestyle.
“
It’s home.” He said simply, crunching across the gravel. “Come on in.” He led her into the building, tossing his car keys into a dish on a side table in the hall, and took her coat from her. Hanging it up, he led her through into his living room. It was tastefully done in biscuit and cream tones, the sofas recessed into the floor around a fire pit. Gabriel pointed a remote and the fire flared into life. “Sit, get warm. I’ll fetch us a glass of wine.” The sofas looked inviting, but as he left the room Noelle found she couldn’t sit. She was too fascinated by the house and the man that owned it. There were extensive shelves lining the back wall of the room and she perused them, studying the CDs and books. The man was a chameleon. His musical tastes varied from classical right through to rock metal, and his literature spanned everything, from trashy thrillers to the great philosophers. Turning to look at the other walls, she noted there was no artwork. Instead he had large black and white photographs in steel frames adorning the walls. She moved closer to the one opposite the door to study it. It was a cityscape, but there was something strange about it, something that didn’t quite fit.
“It’s a reflection.” Gabriel said quietly from the doorway. “The photograph is from the surface of a puddle.” Suddenly it made sense and she nodded, moving away to look at the other pictures.
“You have a really beautiful home.” She said quietly when she eventually reached his side. He handed her a glass of wine, smiling.
“I’m glad you think so. I’ll show you the rest later.” They sat in one of the low couches and he lifted her feet into his lap,
massaging the arches of them as she sighed happily. They chatted and laughed until they started to get hungry and then he led her through to a state of the art kitchen. Noelle stopped in the doorway, her eyes going wide as she stared at the huge space.
“Hell of a kitchen for someone that doesn’t cook!” She murmured under her breath and he laughed.
“It was just waiting for the right woman to come along. I’ve never even used most of this stuff.” It was a waste. Noelle thought she would probably sell her soul for a kitchen like this.
“Well I’m not a miracle worker.” She finally stepped onto the flagstone floor and moved across to a fridge-freezer combo that was the size of a double wide wardrobe. “I hope you’ve got some food I can cook with...”
To her astonishment, the kitchen was well-stocked and, almost forgetting that she needed an early night and wasn’t in her own home, she began putting together a feast. They had homemade pasta with crab in a cream sauce, delicately flavoured with anise. She made herb and parmesan crisps with some basil and oregano she found growing in terracotta pots by the sink and turned the rest into pesto, which she drizzled on some focaccia she found in the freezer. There was fresh lettuce and some fragrant vine tomatoes, which she made up into a salad with torn mozzarella, chargrilled artichoke hearts and olives.
“Wow, how many are you cooking for?” Gabriel grinned when she started on the salad. “Is this all for us?”
“I’m sorry.” She blushed. “I got a little carried away. I love to cook.”
“I can see. Please don’t apologise – I’m delighted. The kitchen has been a sorely neglected part of this home for too long. You have no idea how wonderful it is to see it full of life and heat.”
“Well...” she couldn’t stop blushing and cleared her throat. “The pasta will keep in the fridge for several days and the crisps will keep too, if you put them in an airtight container. I guess I can always take leftovers for lunch tomorrow – none of it will go to waste.”
“When it’s all gone
, will you come back and cook more?” He moved around the counter towards her, trapping her up against the granite top. “Will you bring life to my house again?”
“If you’ll have me.”
She said a little breathlessly.
“Oh I’ll have you all right...” He murmured, leaning down to capture her with a scorching kiss that drowned her senses. “I’ll have you any way you’ll let me.”