Authors: Kayla Perrin
All I Want Is You (23 page)
Chapter 11
After making love one last time, they had fallen asleep, only to wake up and make love yet again. The warmth of his touch on her skin sent shivers down the length of her spine, and Malisa couldn't begin to imagine him never touching her again.
At that moment, he was still dozing, his head resting comfortably on her tummy. She drew her fingers across his brow, following the line of his precision haircut. The curls of his closely cropped mane swirled ever so slightly, the dark strands complementing his chocolate complexion. He was beauty personified, and Malisa had to wonder what she had done to have gotten so lucky. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, lifting her face in glee.
Across the room, his cell phone vibrated against the dresser top, the device tapping for attention on the hardwood. It had been ringing on and off for the last few hours. Once Gabriel had ensured that it wasn't his son and that all was well with Trey, he'd ignored it, turning it on silent while they lavished in each other's company. Malisa hadn't thought anything about it until that moment, when the annoying tone cried out for attention.
As she shifted against the wealth of pillows that decorated the bed, Gabriel shifted with her, opening his eyes. His gaze flitted back and forth before resting on her face.
“Hey, beautiful.” He smiled.
“Hey, yourself! Did you get a good nap?”
He stretched his body, snuggling closer to her as he wrapped his arms around her torso. “I had a very good nap. How about you?”
Malisa nodded. “Someone is anxious to reach you. Your phone has been ringing off the hook,” she said, gesturing toward where the appliance lay on the dresser top.
“Trust me when I tell you it is no one important.”
She smiled, chuckling softly. “Your ex-wife might not agree with that. I'm sure she thinks she's very important.”
Gabriel couldn't help but laugh with her. “Let's not talk about my ex-wife.”
Malisa heaved a soft sigh, raising an eyebrow slightly.
“At least not right now,” Gabriel concluded, sensing that Malisa was not happy with his dismissing her comment.
She shrugged. “Actually, I'm thinking that I need to be heading back to the restaurant. I still have work to do, and you have completely distracted me today.”
Gabriel reached up to kiss her mouth. “Distractions are good.”
“Your distraction was great, but that doesn't change the fact that I have ten parties to prepare cakes for, including your office party.”
“That's right! My special cake that someone is supposed to jump out of . . .” Amusement painted his expression. “If it works, that is!”
Malisa laughed. “Precisely why I need to get back to the bakery, smart-ass!”
Gabriel nuzzled the soft spot beneath her chin, licking a slow line up to her mouth to kiss her lips. “Well, then,” he whispered, “I had better get you back, but first”âhe kissed her mouth one more timeâ“I need some attention.”
Malisa smiled brightly, kissing him back. “And what kind of attention might you be in need of, Mr. Whitman?”
Gabriel grabbed her hand, drawing her fingers down his chest. He wrapped her palm around the rod of steel between his legs. He lifted his eyes to stare into hers. He shifted his eyebrows up and down suggestively, his grin spreading full across his face.
Malisa laughed as she began to gently stroke the long length of thick flesh. “Well,” she said, shifting her body closer to his. “I think the bakery can definitely wait.”
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“Where is your father?” Delores Winn hissed as her son slammed the car door.
The boy tossed his tote bag onto the rear seat. “I don't know,” Trey said, attitude registered in his tone. “I didn't put a leash on him this morning.”
Delores cut her eye in the boy's direction, her annoyance masking her face. “What is your problem?”
“You said I could spend the night.”
“Well, I changed my mind. I thought it was a better idea for me, you, and your dad to spend some quality time together.”
“Well, when he didn't answer his phone, why didn't you change your mind?”
Delores gnashed her teeth together, fighting not to rage at her young son. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs before blowing breath back out.
“Did he say what he had planned?” she finally asked.
Trey shrugged. “He was with Malisa. He didn't say anything about where they were going.”
“Malisa?” The woman had a death grip on the steering wheel.
Stealing a quick look at his mother, Trey shrugged, not bothering to respond. He focused his attention on his iPhone, knowing that he needed to warn his father that his mom was on the warpath.
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Gabriel had just kissed Malisa good-bye and stepped back into his car when his phone chimed that he had a text. Pulling the device into his hand, he quickly read the message.
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OMG . . . Mom spitting mad . . . made me leave
Michael . . . sorry, told her about your date.
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Gabriel shook his head. It was always something with those two, but he was determined that neither's antics were going to spoil his good mood. He texted his son back.
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No problem. See you home.
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As Gabriel started the ignition, Trey texted him back.
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About to blow a MAJOR blood vessel!!!!
Take cover . . .
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He shook his head. He should have known that things were going too well. Something had to blow up sooner or later.
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“I think it's totally irresponsible of you!”
Gabriel rolled his eyes skyward, his gaze returning to the big-screen television in his home's family room. He flipped the channel, focused on the remote in his palm.
“Do you hear me talking to you?” Delores screamed.
Gabriel cut his eye in the woman's direction, then returned his gaze to the NBA game playing on the TV.
There was no need for him to respond. How could he not have heard her? Delores had been raging and ranting for the last twenty minutes. He imagined that whether they wanted to or not, the entire state of North Carolina had been able to hear her.
Exasperated, Delores tossed her hands into the air. “Why do you do this to me, Gabriel? What did I do to deserve such disrespect?”
Gabriel heaved a deep sigh. He flicked off the television and slowly turned in her direction.
Delores was eyeing him intently. “Well?”
“Delores, you're obviously upset, and I know that there is nothing I can say or do that is going to change that. But I still don't know what it is you have a problem with. And I seriously have had just about enough of this foolishness.”
“Why didn't you answer my calls?” Delores persisted.
“I was busy, Delores.”
“Doing what? I needed you. It was important.”
“No, it wasn't. It was you wanting to dictate to me how I needed to be spending my time.”
“You were supposed to be spending time with Trey.”
“Trey was fine and enjoying the day with his best friend like he wanted.”
“Well, we should have been spending family time together.”
There was a very pregnant pause before Gabriel finally responded. “We are not a family, Delores. What part of that don't you get?”
Delores huffed, her hands clutching angrily at her full hips. Rage filled her face as she sputtered like a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth as she searched for a comeback.
“So, some tramp comes into your life and suddenly your son and I don't mean anything to you?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I'm talking about. Malisa Ivey,” she spat, her face skewing with displeasure as she said the woman's name. “She's got you sniffin' behind her tail, and you just toss me and Trey to the side.”
Gabriel rose from his seat and moved toward the front door. “You really need to check yourself, Delores. We are not married. What I do with my time and who I do it with is my business. All that you and I have to concern ourselves with is our son and his welfare. Now, if you're done, I have some paperwork to finish.”
Livid, Delores stormed behind him. “You'll regret this, Gabriel. I promise you that,” she screamed.
Gabriel sighed as he held the door open. “I have no doubts, Delores,” he said as she brushed past him, still ranting as she headed to her car. Closing the door behind her, Gabriel repeated himself. “I have no doubts.”
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Delores didn't even bother to turn the lights on in her small apartment, opting instead to sit still in the darkness. It had been just over an hour since she'd stormed into her home and had thrown herself down across the living room sofa. She was still fuming over the afternoon's events.
Gabriel had always been easy to manipulate. And she had gotten her way with him more times than not. Their only child had always been enough leverage for her to justify her actions, Gabriel's love for the boy having no limits.
When she'd risen that morning, determined not to spend the day alone and wanting to spend it with Gabriel and Trey, she hadn't fathomed Gabriel not acquiescing. It was the holidays, after all, and she'd wagered that her insisting they needed to share that time with Trey would have been enough to move him to do so. She hadn't figured Malisa Ivey into the equation, or Gabriel ignoring her in favor of that woman.
Delores heaved a deep sigh, blowing stale air past her lips. “I need to put that woman in her place,” she spoke out loud, her mind beginning to race.
Rising from her seat, Delores moved to the laptop computer that rested on her dining room table. Making herself comfortable in one of the cushioned chairs, she powered the unit on, her arms crossed over her chest as it flickered light. When she was logged onto the Internet, she pulled up a search engine and typed in Malisa Ivey's name. Her eyes widened at the numerous entries that suddenly filled the page.
Delores shook her head. Moving into her kitchen, she filled a ceramic mug with water and popped it into the microwave. When the water began to bubble, she made herself a cup of instant coffee. It was going to be a long night. Something, somewhere, in that long list of information about Gabriel's new friend was going to give her an idea on how to bring her down. Malisa Ivey would soon be a nonexistent problem for all of them.
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Trey stood in the doorway of his father's room, leaning on the wooden frame. He disconnected the call on his cell phone and sighed.
“She's still mad,” the boy said, reflecting on the conversation he'd just had with his mother.
Gabriel lay relaxed across his king-sized bed, leaning back against the headboard and pillows that supported his head as he read a stack of reports that needed his attention.
“Well, I'm sorry about that,” he said, lifting his eyes to look at the boy. “But that's not my problem and it certainly isn't yours.”
Trey shrugged, his thin shoulders reaching for the high ceiling.
“Why does she get like that?” he asked, knowing that his father knew who âshe' was without him having to say so.
Gabriel stared off, reflecting, thinking about what made Delores Winn do the things she'd been known to do. His gaze shifted to the boy who was waiting for him to answer. “I don't know, Trey. Your mom isn't very happy, and I think she sometimes acts out because she's frustrated and hurt that her life isn't going the way she would like.”
“Was she always like this?”
This time Gabriel shrugged. “Not always.”
“Do you still love Mom?”
He met his son's curious stare. “I care about your mother because she's your mother. We both love you.”
The boy smiled. “I'll take that as a no.”
Gabriel shook his head. “It's hard to explain, Trey. I want your mother and I to be friends because that would be best for you. Sometimes, though, that's hard to do. I don't hate your mother, and I don't want to be mean to her, but I do have to draw the line at some of her behavior. And that puts us at odds with each other.”
The kid nodded his understanding. “So, what's the deal with you and Miss Ivey? You like her a lot, don't you.”
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