Ride Hard (10 page)

“Maybe I should get some juice,” muttered Tasha. “She should eat or drink something.”

“Should we take her to the doctor?” said Willow in a worried voice. “What happened?”

Gabby attempted to sit up. “I am fine.”

Nick put his hand on her shoulder. “Relax. You need to rest for a while. Scared the life out of me when you fainted.”

Gabby felt immensely guilty about the party. “What about everyone else?”

“We’ve served the food so people are digging in, but of course, they are concerned about you. What happened, Nick?”

So he didn’t tell them. Gabby’s eyes sought his. For some strange reason, tears welled into them. She pushed them back, but stubbornly they slipped down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault. The man who is threatening you is at fault. He should be arrested and put behind bars,” said Nick. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that he was threatening you?”

“Who is threatening her?” said willow.

Ronald cracked his knuckles. “Who is the bastard? We’ll beat the hell out of him.”

They didn’t have a clue what the situation was, but the lot of them would fight for her in a moment if the need arose. This was love. This was loyalty. And she didn’t deserve a bit of it. More tears poured out of her eyes. She swiped them away with the back of her hands. “It’s nothing. You shouldn’t concern yourself. I’ve got it all worked out.”

“So what’s the grand plan? You were going to run away so that he would never get you. Is that why your bags were packed? You were going to leave us?” Nick’s voice was calm, friendly even, but his eyes shot accusations at her. “Were you going to leave me, Gabby?”

“Of course, she wasn’t planning such a silly thing,” Willow spoke in protest.

Grateful as she was for the support, Gabby nodded. “Yes, I was. It’s the only way. He knows where I am.” Her hand crept on his, squeezed, as she tried to draw comfort from his touch. “He knows where I am,” she repeated. “And he said that he wouldn’t leave me alone. He would kill me, and if you’re there with me, he would kill you too. Please, Nick. It’s the only way. I’ve to leave, go somewhere, and start all over again.”

He held her hand to his lips. “Gabby, nothing is going to happen to you. I will protect you. We all will.”

Panic licked her insides like a flaming fire. “You don’t understand. He knows where I am. He can come here anytime he wants, and if he finds me, he will kill me. And if you stand in his way, he will hurt you too.”

He grasped her hands and squeezed them. His eyes bored into hers, making promises that she wasn’t sure he could keep. He didn’t understand the depth of her fear because he didn’t know what Joseph was capable of. Nick never saw the man hit her. She’d once seen him whack a prostitute until she started bleeding from her nose, and she heard tales of his cruelty. He wasn’t just a pimp, he also took on occasional hits for the mafia. She wasn’t sure if that was true, or if it was merely gossip, but she was astute enough to realize that the man had a cruel streak that was a mile wide.

Whatever happened, she didn’t want Nick to get into the line of fire. She would protect him at all costs – and the only sure way of doing so was to get as far away as possible.

“Gabby,” said Nick in a voice that brooked no argument. “You’re not going anywhere, not now, and not ever. If you try to get away, I will come after you and if I don’t find you, I will go and find that bastard Joseph and kill him.”

She clutched his shoulder in a hard grip. “No! You can’t go to him.” 

“If you ever go away, that’s exactly what I am going to do and it’s a promise. So think about it before you make up your mind.”

Gabby couldn’t stop the tears that flooded down her cheeks. She didn’t want to appear like a wimp. Oh, God no! But it was impossible to stem the flow that wet her face. If something happened to Nick, she would never be able to forgive herself.

“Please don’t do this.”

“Promise me that you’ll never try to get away.”

She didn’t want to say the words. Once she said them, she would be bound, but Gabby was absolutely certain that he meant every word, and she couldn’t take the risk that he would do what he said. She stared at him, beseeching him with her eyes to not make her do this, but he didn’t budge. “I promise.”

With those two words, her fate was sealed. For better or worse, she was staying at Hell Brigade – and only time would unfold her future.

CHAPTER TEN

They lay in bed together as silence reigned in the room. With much effort, she pulled herself into a sane state of mind. After Willow and everyone left them alone, Nick went down to tell everyone that she wasn’t feeling well. He came back up soon enough and told her that Willow was serving the food. Although she felt terrible about ruining the party, Gabby was glad that it was just the two of them.

Nick held her hand while her head was cushioned on his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

It hurt him that she didn’t inform about this sooner. Although she felt terrible, she wished that he didn’t know at all. She could have been far away by now, and he would have been safe. But now everything was changed. They were in this together, and she wasn’t as yet sure as to how she felt. “I didn’t want you to stop me, and look what happened…the very thing that I feared. You managed to stop me from putting my plan in action.”

If he didn’t come in, she would have gone away. Her life would be miserable without him, but she would have done the deed to save her life, and also to keep him away from this mess. But now he was in it, and they would have to deal with it in one way or another.

He sighed. “I should confess one thing…I thought you were having an affair.”

She shot up. In all the commotion and excitement, she had forgotten that he followed her into the pantry for another reason. Gabby wasn’t sure if she was amused or insulted. Or another day, she might have taken offense, but tonight, she was just grateful that she was still in the same room as him. “How can you think like that?”

He winced. “All those phone calls, and you hiding stuff from me…I knew something was up, and that was the logical conclusion.”

“You’re a pig,” she said. “Why do men have to jump to the wrong conclusion?”

“And why do women have to think that they know best?”

She caressed his cheek. Perhaps she should be enraged that he suspected her, but damn it, she simply couldn’t muster up the strength to get angry. “You’re crazy.”

“About you, yes.”

Gabby bent to kiss his soft lips. As always, desire awakened with the speed of lightning. “I would never cheat on you. Never. That’s my promise. Do you believe me?”

His arms tightened around her like bands. “I do.”

Emotions, wild and stormy, twisted in his eyes and a desire to run her hands all over his hot, sexy body spiraled inside her. Need and lust exploded in her gut and the vibrations of it careened down to her moist, warm pussy. Moisture leaked down her thighs and she pressed her legs in an attempt to stem the flow but it was a useless endeavor. Sensations, wild and raw, gripped her in their fiery grasp. 

As if recognizing the signals she gave, his lips lifted in a tiny smile. She didn’t know which one of them made the first move, but within a few seconds, their clothes came off and were thrown on the floor in a large heap. Gabby’s tongue darted out to moisten her lips as her gaze traveled down from the gorgeous beauty of his face to the rippling muscles on his chest and down to the dark hair that enveloped his hard, proud cock. All she desired was to feel his hard body pressed against her and to have him pound into her with a vicious, hungry need that matched hers. It was obvious that he thought along the same lines because his gaze traveled over her face, down to the smooth column of her throat, and settled on her creamy, firm breasts. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips at the sweet, gentle touch. When he lay down beside her, she turned to face him.

It was so good to stare into his eyes and see love reflected back.

Nothing was more precious, more wanted.

When his lips claimed hers once more, her arms tightened around his back. His tongue swept over her lips, dove in to stake a claim, and he nipped her with his teeth. Slowly, almost reverently, his mouth nibbled down her throat and his tongue swirled over her engorged nipple. The waves of desire that rippled through her were intense, unrelenting. As he paid homage to one breast after another, she squirmed underneath him. The exquisite torture slowly drove her mad. It banished all thoughts from her mind until all she was a bundle of frayed nerves. His tongue invoked a fire with each stroke and she writhed under him.

This wasn’t enough.

She wanted more.

While he played with her body, she ran her hands all over his back. When he shifted away, she slipped her fingers around his cock that nearly vibrated with sheer need. Enjoying the way his pulse beat at the base of his throat, she ran her hand up and down the hard shaft. Slithering down, she kissed the tip of it. Her fingers caressed his balls that were hard with need. Her tongue licked over his cock, and she opened her mouth to take it in. She rubbed and fondled the blood-engorged organ until he began to moan. The scent of his arousal was strong and served to enhance her pleasure. His hands settled on her hips and squeezed as if he was urging her to move harder, faster. She increased the rhythm. Just as she thought he was about to come, he pulled his penis out. 

“No!” she groaned, secretly marveling at the way he controlled everything.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

Pulling her up, he rolled her on the bed and straddled her. The tip of his cock pushed against her velvety center, and she opened her legs, willing and welcoming him in her scented depths. Need burned in her blood. He took his time, rubbing his shaft up and down her moist opening until she clenched the bed sheets in desperation.

Hurry, hurry, hurry! She wanted to scream, but nothing escaped her lips except for low moans.

The yearning for precious release burnt in her veins, and when he thrust in his cock, she arched her hips in a bid to receive him. His pelvis ground into hers, and she could feel the muscles in her sheath expanding, stretching, to accommodate him. She wrapped her legs around him and moved. Over and over, he pounded into her. The ride was wild and fast. Coils of desire and passion looped all over her body and held her prisoner.

For a long, long time, they rocked in unison.

Higher and higher, she spiraled upwards until she swung on the edge of the deep precipice. Just as she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, release, blessed and stormy, crashed through her veins. A short, loud scream burst out of her mouth as she skidded far below. The orgasm made her toes curl. As she shuddered in the aftermath of the storm that rocked her body, he spilled his seed inside her.

For some time, they lay still, each of them lost in the glory of the moment.

She pressed her face into his shoulder. “I love you,” she said so quietly that Gabby wasn’t sure if he heard.

He didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure, but then he shifted away. His hand caressed back her hair from her face and his lips hovered over hers. “I love you, too, Gabby. A lot. More than a lot, actually. Don’t ever leave me.”

She closed her eyes as his lips closed over hers. What a beautiful moment this was, what a glorious day. She couldn’t wait to live the rest of her life with Nick. He was the man she never expected to find, and now that he was hers, she didn’t want to ever let him go – but Gabby wasn’t sure if her troubles were over yet.

But tonight was theirs – and for now, it was enough.

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