Gabriel's Rule Read online

  “Same.”

  Riley nodded and took off. Gabe’s eyes tracked her back to the bar.

  “What the hell?” Shane said loudly. Gabe swung back around to meet his friend’s questioning look.

  “What?”

  “Um, talk much?”

  Gabe shifted back in his seat and forced himself not to watch Riley anymore. His observant friend had already seen way too much. And between the confusion over his mind blowing orgasm in the shower a couple nights ago and the fierce possessiveness that had swept through him as he watched men checking out Riley’s curve hugging skirt and tight T-shirt, he wasn’t in a place where he could explain anything to Shane anyway.

  “What are we doing in this hell hole?”

  How was he supposed to tell his friend that ever since Riley had told him where she worked he had felt the need to come here and check on her? He’d managed to resist last night when he heard her leave her apartment, but tonight he hadn’t been able to sit still as he thought of her in this place. When Shane had called him to see if he wanted to go for a drink, he’d suggested Mac’s. Gabe ignored the question and then turned to do a quick check on Riley. She was still at the bar, presumably waiting on their drinks to be filled.

  “Are you kidding me? This is about a woman?” Shane asked. He sounded both stunned and condescending at the same time and Gabe wanted to punch him.

  “She’s just a neighbor. I fixed her drain the other day.”

  “And you just happened to pick this place tonight?”

  Gabe shrugged, but knew he wasn’t fooling his friend. He just hoped Shane would take the hint and let it go. He did but his new topic wasn’t any better.

  “Carly tells me you booked three clients for next week already.” Carly was the young woman who scheduled the clients for the escort agency and Shane’s endless charm meant he was privy to all the latest information. “Your mom?” was all his friend had to ask.

  Gabe nodded his head but kept his eyes on Riley as she made her way towards them. Shane was the only other person who knew about the shit he had been going through with his mom and even though Shane could match any woman in the world when it came to being a gossip, Gabe trusted him like a brother. He also knew that Gabe wanted out of escorting so having three clients in one week was a pretty big sign that things weren’t going well.

  “Here you go guys.” Riley dropped off the drinks, gave Shane a quick smile and ignored Gabe completely. He knew he deserved it.

  ***

  The jerk hadn’t said one word to her – not one word. He hadn’t even greeted her or introduced her to his friend. She’d been hurt at first, but by the time she waded through the crowd to get the drinks, she’d worked herself up pretty good. She’d been nothing but nice to him and he’d just dumped all over that. So much for thinking she’d made a friend. When she’d dropped the drinks at their table, it had taken everything in her power not to dump Gabe’s beer in his lap. She’d felt his eyes on her several times and each time she’d glanced over to look at him he was staring at her, his cold eyes seemingly following her every move. If he hadn’t been so clearly pissed at her, it would have intrigued her and she probably would have ended up reading too much into it. Didn’t matter because she was done with him. She’d already let one guy in her past walk all over her, she wasn’t about to do it again.

  As she made her way around the room to check on how people were doing, she felt an arm snake around her waist as another hand tried to grab her breast. It was one of Stubby’s friends and as she pulled free she heard a drunken laugh and then felt Stubby palm her ass. She tried to pull back but he gripped her painfully.

  “Take your hand off of her or I will rip it from your fucking body.”

  His voice was low and calm but deadly. Even though the words weren’t directed at her, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Stubby dropped his hand instantly and scooted back, raising both hands in surrender. Apparently he hadn’t yet consumed enough alcohol to make him completely stupid.

  She turned around to find Gabe just inches from her; he was so close in fact that she could feel the heat coming off his body. Shane was standing just behind him and off to the side, clearly ready to come to his friend’s aid if he needed it. But she doubted that would be necessary because even though the whole place had gone quiet, no one made a move. Gabe’s eyes never left Stubby as he closed his hand around Riley’s upper arm and gently pulled her around him. He seemed to be placing her between himself and Shane.

  “Riley, get your stuff. You’re done here.” There was no question in his voice, no seeking permission, just a clear order and he hadn’t even bothered to look at her when he gave it.

  “I’m not done with my shift yet.”

  “You’re done.”

  ***

  Gabe’s control was hanging on by a thread and he forced himself not to look at Riley because he knew his rage would frighten her further. It would take him less than a minute to put Stubby and his two friends out of commission, but he didn’t want her anywhere nearby when he did it.

  “Shane, take her to get her stuff. I’ll meet you outside.”

  Stubby, sensing the danger he was in, tried to stand but one swift kick to his right kneecap sent the man crashing to the floor, moaning in pain. He heard Riley gasp behind him.

  “Shane, now,” he said again, his eyes never leaving Stubby or the two goons who remained frozen in their chairs.

  “Riley, come on.” But instead of hearing her footsteps getting farther away he felt her draw closer to him. She approached him slowly as if he were a cornered animal.

  “Gabe, let’s just go…please.” When he didn’t move he felt her fingers drift over one of his closed fists. “Please Gabe.” He released his breath when she said his name again and he opened his hand so that she could curl her fingers through his. She gave him a slight tug but that was it. She seemed to know that she didn’t have the strength to force him to do her bidding so she patiently waited.

  “Where’s your stuff?” he finally asked her as he allowed her to pull him away from the three men.

  “In a locker in the back, number 2. There’s no lock on it.”

  “Shane,” was all Gabe had to say.

  “On it,” Shane responded as he moved towards the back room. “Meet you out front.”

  Gabe tightened his hand on hers and pulled her out the front door. When she started to say something he gripped her hand just a little bit harder, a silent message that he wasn’t ready to speak yet. He stopped at the end of the block where they waited for Shane. She pulled her hand free of his and he had to force himself not to grab it back. He could tell her fear was fading and a burning anger was taking its place.

  Shane appeared with her purse and jacket and handed them silently to Riley. He glanced between the two of them, started to speak and then changed his mind. He took a couple steps back to clear the blast zone.

  “Where’s your car parked?” Gabe asked.

  “In front of our building,” she responded icily.

  He was silent for a beat as he registered what she was saying. Shane let out a low whistle which earned him a frosty glare from the young woman standing toe to toe with his best friend.

  “Are you telling me you fucking walked here? At night, by yourself?” He was practically roaring but Riley didn’t back down.

  “It was still light out when I walked here.”

  “And what about after your shift tonight? What about last night and the one before that?”

  “I keep my eyes open and I carry mace.”

  Gabe’s anger was white hot now and he wanted to reach out and shake some sense into her. When he thought about the danger she’d put herself in…he sucked in several deep breaths and stepped away from her so he could get himself under control. Riley made a move to step passed him and he quietly said, “Don’t you dare move.”

  He’d used his ‘don’t test me’ voice but she just stepped up to him as close as she could get considering th
eir difference in height, and whispered softly, “Fuck you Gabe,” then marched passed him.

  Shane let out a chuckle and turned to head to his car. “I’ll catch you later Gabe. Good luck with that,” he said as he motioned over his shoulder in the direction Riley was striding off in.

  ***

  Riley hated swearing, especially the F word. It wasn’t just because her parents had strictly forbidden her to ever use it; she just thought it was an ugly word that people threw around too casually. In the bar, Gabe’s anger had been too calm and cold and she’d feared for the people around them that might try to intervene. The way he’d kicked Stubby told her he knew how to fight and in her gut she’d known it could end badly for those men and for Gabe.

  Getting him out of there seemed liked the only option and she was glad he’d responded to her when she’d asked him to leave with her. But once outside where there was no longer any danger to others, she’d let loose on him. His anger had been different, more heated, but something that she sensed he had more control over. She hadn’t even considered for a moment that he would hurt her – he’d been too careful with trying to get her safely out of the bar.

  She heard his footsteps behind her – his stride was so much longer than hers that he’d caught up to her in no time.

  “You’re not going back there.”

  She came to a stop so fast that he narrowly avoided running into her. “Are you kidding me with this caveman crap?” When he didn’t answer she started walking again. “I’m going back there the second that bar opens tomorrow and begging Mac to let me keep my job.”

  “So you like it when drunken assholes put their hands all over you?”

  “No, but I like eating and having a roof over my head.”

  “I’ll help you find something else. Something safe.”

  “God Gabe, really? If it were that easy don’t you think I’d have done it already?” She shook her head and laughed harshly. “Don’t you get it? I need a place that won’t ask questions, where I don’t have to fill out an application. Those kinds of places don’t just fall off trees.”

  ‘You want to stay off the grid,” he acknowledged, though he didn’t press for more.

  “Just leave me alone.”

  “You’re not going back there.” When she remained mute something inside of him snapped and he grabbed her arm and pushed her into the nearest alley. He backed her up against the wall and snarled, “Is this what you want? A group of guys that will gang rape you in a dark alley and leave your body surrounded by trash? Because that’s what those guys were thinking tonight and the fact that you think mace can stop a group of men from doing that to you means you are either incredibly naïve or incredibly stupid!”

  “Let me go,” she demanded but she didn’t struggle against him. He saw no fear in her eyes, just furious anger. When he didn’t back off she tried pushing at his chest, but he grabbed her arms and pinned them next to her head, his big hands dwarfing her wrists. He felt her body tighten as he used the rest of his body to keep her immobile against the wall. The light from one of the street lamps seeped into the dark alley, enough so that he could make out her features and see the various emotions running through her eyes. Had he seen betrayal or had he imagined it?

  His own body was responding physically to the soft curves that were pressed against him. Every breath she took made her breasts brush his chest and even through the fabric of both of their shirts, he could feel her nipples hardening. As angry as she was at him, she couldn’t hide her arousal and when he brushed his erection against her, he watched her eyes widen. His eyes traveled to her full lips as they parted to suck in some much needed oxygen. If he didn’t stop this soon he’d end up fucking her right up against this wall. But she wasn’t some client and this wasn’t some messed up fantasy so he forced himself to step back and release her arms. She shuddered and dropped them before pushing passed him and continuing down the sidewalk towards their building. He followed but didn’t say another word, not even when she slammed her apartment door in his face.

  Chapter 5

  Riley studied the dingy, white textured ceiling above her head and wondered how someone even went about painting a ceiling. She’d tossed and turned most of the night and had finally fallen asleep around four a.m., but just three hours later she was wide awake again. Her mind kept replaying the scene with Gabe the night before, but she was still struggling to process how everything had gone to hell so quickly.

  She’d somehow managed to stand her ground with him up until the moment he pushed her against the wall in the alley. It hadn’t hurt but it had caught her off guard. He’d put that awful image in her mind of Stubby and his buddies taking turns assaulting her and she had reluctantly admitted to herself that she wouldn’t have been able to stop something like that. But when he’d pinned her arms and pressed his body against hers, everything but him had vanished. Heat had flooded her veins and pooled in her belly and when her breasts kept coming into contact with the rock hard muscles of his chest, she’d felt her nipples tighten to the point that she was taking deeper breaths just so she could make sure the hardened tips kept brushing against him. When she’d felt his hard length rock against her, all she could think about was how it would feel inside her, pulsing and throbbing and stretching her.

  Groaning, Riley dropped her hand over her eyes. She’d never be able to face him again after she’d shamelessly rubbed against him. He had just been trying to teach her a lesson and when he had figured out how turned on she was, he’d dropped her like a hot potato. Sex was something she hadn’t been good at as her ex so often reminded her, and someone like Gabe would not want only a woman that matched him in physical beauty but sexual experience as well. Before last night, she had hoped they could at least be friends, but getting the cold shoulder had been brutal. And when he had become demanding, she’d automatically shut down inside. Her life had been controlled for far too long already, she wasn’t about to let it happen again and certainly not with a man she barely knew.

  She forced herself out of bed and went to the kitchen to start the coffee so it would be done by the time she was done showering. There was only one item on her to do list for today – beg Mac to let her keep her crappy job.

  ***

  Sweat dripped down Gabe’s back as he punched and kicked the heavy weight bag violently. He couldn’t get the image of the men grabbing Riley last night out of his mind and visions of them violating her had tormented him most of the night. That, combined with his growing confusion about his body’s reaction to her, had had him taking his aggression out on the bag for more than an hour now. He didn’t consider himself a violent man, but last night when the man whose kneecap he’d broken had touched Riley, he’d lost all control and only Riley’s soft touch and soothing voice had pulled him out of it.

  If she hadn’t done what she’d done, he’d likely be sitting in a prison cell right now. When he’d turned his frustrations on her, instead of being frightened or intimidated, she had stood toe to toe with him. Few men and certainly no women had ever done that before, and in addition to stoking his anger, it had also turned him on. Pushing her against the wall in the alley had been an impulse but when she had softened against his hard body and all of her curves had dipped into his hollows, his arousal had skyrocketed. None of the women he’d been with professionally had ever driven him into the state that Riley had.

  Gabe gave the bag a few more good hits and then stripped off his gloves. He grabbed a glass of water and paced back and forth as he drank it. He knew he owed her an apology for his rough treatment of her in the alley, but he wasn’t sorry for what he had done in the bar. If he was smart he would just put her out of his mind and let her go on about her business – they were nothing to each other and even if he had wanted more, he knew he couldn’t give her what a woman like her deserved.

  He’d only had two actual girlfriends, one in college just before he’d begun escorting and one about two years into his career. The first girl had been 18, a sor
ority type girl who liked to party and drank just a little bit too much. He’d been reluctant to date her, but she had been persistent and her bubbly nature distracted him from the difficulties in his life. The sex had been okay but nothing mind blowing and he had ended the relationship after two months because they were just so different and it had begun to feel like too much work to try and keep up with her.

  He’d met his second girlfriend by chance, they’d hooked up after meeting in bar. They’d both been drunk and he honestly couldn’t even remember their first night together. The relationship had been mostly physical and the truth was that he had used her to try and figure out his sexual hang ups. He was two years into escorting and had still struggled to have any kind of connection with his customers and had never actually been able to find sexual release with any of them. Knowing that his buddies like Shane hadn’t encountered that same dilemma had made him wonder if there was something wrong with him sexually, so he had used his second girlfriend to try and build an emotional connection in an effort to find the act of sex more comfortable.

  To his shock, he faced the same problems with her that he did with his clients. She hadn’t noticed or hadn’t cared. Growing desperate, he had come clean to his girlfriend about the type of work he was doing in the hopes that if he wasn’t lying about that part of his life then maybe everything else would fall into place. She’d been surprised, then curious. Then she’d wanted a demonstration. She hadn’t insisted he quit, hadn’t carried on about being betrayed; she just expected the same from him that he gave his customers. He’d dumped her two days after telling her the truth about his job.

  After that, he had given up on building any kind of personal relationship with a woman and he just numbed himself to what he was doing with his escort clients. The emptiness kept growing with each woman he fucked for money until he no longer felt anything at all. Giving a woman an orgasm had become the same as hanging up a piece of drywall, but at least after a long day of busting his ass on a construction job he could still look at himself in the mirror.