Saviour (10 page)

We
sit and eat, talk and laugh and unlike a love sick teen, I dive in for seconds.

“So
you were hungry then?” he says

“Apparently,
why who said I wasn’t?” I look across at Jo. Who instantly looks away

“Have
you two been talking about me?” I look between the pair of them

“I
just mentioned to Gabe that you didn’t have much of an appetite that’s all; don’t get your knickers in a knot”

“My
knickers aren’t in a knot, because I’m not wearing any; actually I don’t have any knickers if you must know…” I smile at her.

Gabriel
has his fork half raised to his mouth and is watching us. I’m not entirely sure what the expression on his face means. He puts down his fork and takes a long swig from his beer.

“Why
do you have no underwear?” He asks me with such a serious face, I struggle not to giggle. “Because, I wasn’t wearing any on the night I left Jay, the only clothes I have are my sleep shorts, vest, a cardi and my Uggs that I was wearing at the time, apart from these trackies and hoodie Jo bought me today, I own nothing so hence…no undies” What’s the big deal. Is this really what we need to be discussing at the dinner table, my lack of under garments?

“Can
we talk about something else please? The foods good Gabe, great choice….already you know exactly what I like”. I smile my sweetest smile at him, knowing there's a double meaning behind what I've said but I say it so innocently that I think I've pulled it off.

“Not
yet I don’t, but I am aiming to find out soon…very soon I hope”

He
winks and says it very quietly but I hear him, I look across at Jo, who's watching us with her eyebrows raised, she obviously heard him too.

“You
know what? I'm gonna take my wine, have a quick shower, and go to bed. Monday tomorrow and I've got an early start in the morning, lock up when you’re done and don't keep me awake with your antics... I need my beauty sleep. Thanks for the food Gabe. Will I see you in the morning?”

“Erm,
best ask the Princess here” He looks at me “It’s up to you; stay if you wanna stay” I say, as casually as I can, all the while thinking. Stay, please, please stay.

“
Would you like me to stay?”

“
Yes, I would like you to stay”

“Then
I will stay and Jo, I promise to use the ball gag if she starts screaming too loud”

I
physically shudder at the image that evokes…ball gag, whips, ropes…..Mmmmm, ironic really, the thrill that runs through me as I think of being tied up and whipped by Gabe, when I’ve just left my husband, in part because of his violence towards me, what a fine line there is between pleasure and pain. Isn’t there a song about that?

We
say our good nights to Jo. Luckily her bedroom is at the other end of the house to the kitchen and the bedroom I'm in, so we won't disturb her. We move to the sofa, where it takes me awhile to get comfy and I find my best spot between Gabe’s legs, funnily enough! My back against his chest and our legs along the sofa. We spend the next hour doing a sort of question and answer on each other’s lives. I seem to be giving more answers than receiving but I do learn that he has two brothers and one sister; he is the youngest boy, his sister the baby of the family. His mum died when he was just four, hence the cryptic remark he made about not learning much from his mum… and his dad remarried to a woman just six years older than me and he doesn't seem to think too highly of her. In fact, I can actually feel his body tense when the subject comes up. He doesn’t divulge the reasons behind his feelings for his step mum and I don’t pry. His family have money, made mainly through property investments, development and construction. I will have to ask Jo tomorrow how big the family empire is. He took over the running of the family construction business with his older brothers when his dad retired three years ago. His sister is the secretary or something at the company. He was married when he was twenty two and has a thirteen year old daughter called Ava. The marriage only lasted a few months. His mum was of Italian descent and he speaks fluent Italian. WOW, can’t wait to hear that in all its glory, “Fuck Me” in Italian probably sounds so much better than… Well, “Fuck Me” in English. I will have to Google it. His dad is of English descent but they were both born in Australia. When I start to fidget and yawn, he orders me to bed. I only have the T-shirt Jo has left on the bed to sleep in, my shorts are in the wash. I go into the bathroom to put it on and luckily it is long enough to cover my modesty but still, perhaps I should sleep in my trackies, yes, that’s what I will do. I clean my teeth and head back out to the bedroom and go to climb into bed. Gabriel has no such inhibitions and has stripped down to his jocks as I walk over to the bed. He jumps in first, giving me just a glimpse of his beautiful body.

“Aren’t
you going to be hot like that?” He asks with a smile. He knows full well I have no drawers to wear.

“Well
yes, I probably will, but as you well know, I am knickerless underneath so I really have no choice”

“There’s
always a choice Lauren, take off your trackies, I promise not to peek, or touch. Okay, actually, I won’t go as far as to promise but I will try not to”

He
winks at me. Oh fuck, I don’t care about my jocks, I don’t care about anything much, I pull off my trackies and pull my T-shirt down to cover my bits and slide into bed. He pulls me tight in beside him, I lay in the crook of his arm, my head on his chest, my arm across his belly and without a second thought my leg slides over his and I realise instantly there is contact, my T shirt has ridden up and my naked pubic bone is pushed against the side of his hip. I am both embarrassed and aroused. Arousal, I think, winning out on the sensation front, to the point where I actually feel dizzy and light headed because of it and unconsciously close my eyes .and as exhausted as I am by the past few days events, all thoughts of sleep leave my mind as Gabriel brushes his fingers all the way down from under my arm, down over my waist and hip and around the cheek of my bum, pulling me against him tighter.

“Lauren
?”

I
swallow a couple of times, like that is going to help clear my head.

“Lauren,
fuck, I want you so badly baby, I really do but I don’t want you to feel like you need to do anything, you’re under no pressure here, I am happy just to lie here like this, as much as its killing me”

He
kisses my forehead, having him this close, breathing in his smell, feeling his flesh on mine is just divine but I’m not ready for anything else, not today, I want him, badly, but I want it to be right and I definitely don’t want it to be in Jo’s spare bed, I don’t think I even answer him, I must lose the battle against exhaustion and simply fall asleep.

~

I jump as the bedroom door is kicked open and as I struggle to open my eyes I see Jason standing over me, I call out to Gabe but he's in such a deep sleep he doesn't hear me. Jason grabs me by my hair and pulls me out of the bed and along the floor. I swing my arms and try to hit him. He’s dragging me towards the door and I just know that once he gets me out of that room, away from Gabe, it will be game over for me; I don’t remember being more terrified in all of my life, I reach out and try to grab on to anything available, just to slow down what I know is inevitably coming to me but I refuse to give in, I won’t go quietly, I kick out with my legs and grab on with my hands, clawing at the sheets, the doona, anything and I try my hardest to call out to Gabriel but I just can't seem to make a sound, other than this strange choking noise as I try to gasp for air, I’m terrified, because I just know what’s coming. I become aware of my name being called over and over and my eyes open. Gabe is leaning over me, kissing my face and telling me to shush, I can hear myself sobbing. My first instinct is to claw and lash out at him but he’s too strong for me and he just pins my arms down on the bed.

“Baby,
baby, shush it’s okay, it’s okay you’re safe, it's just a bad dream, it's just me and you bubby, your safe”

“He
was here, he kicked the door open and he pulled me by my hair” I sob “I called and called out to you but you didn’t wake up and he was dragging me to the door, he, I think he wants to kill me, he was here Gabe”

“Lauren,
it was a dream, just a dream, he’s not here and if he does ever come near you, I promise, I swear to God, I will fucking kill him”

I
get my breathing under control and gradually stop sobbing, he kisses my head through my hair and strokes his fingers gently up and down my spine and my arms.

“I’m
so sorry” I whisper.

“
It’s okay, you just scared the shit out of me, you okay? You sounded terrified”

“
Yeah, yeah, think I'm okay now I know you’re here, I’m sorry” I feel like such an idiot now that I’ve calmed down a bit, he must think that I am a complete and utter nut job.

“I
will always be here Lauren; I won’t let him hurt you again, ever” He rains more kisses down onto my head and into my hair, which I find immensely soothing. We both settle down but it takes me a while to get back off to sleep.

CHAPTER SIX

When
I wake up in the morning, Gabe's not here and the house is empty. There's a note from Jo on the dining table telling me to make myself at home and help myself to anything to eat. Didn't we establish last night that she has no food in the house? But there's nothing from Gabe. I pick up my phone and there are a few missed calls, voice mails and texts, one of which is from Gabriel. I open it

“Morning
gorgeous, sry I wasn't there when u woke, I had 2 get into work early this morning. Hope u slept better the rest of the nite... U certainly snored well :-) I will give u a call later as there's sumthing I wanna discus. Have a good day, rest & eat!!!That's an order .Ciao x

S
omething to discuss? Shit what does that mean and I was snoring? Bollocks, I know that I snore, god he must be wondering what he's getting himself into. A wrinkly old lady, with a saggy belly, who snores like a drunken wharfie, was probably not part of his life plan!

I
find a box of cornflakes in the pantry, add some ice cold milk and sugar and tuck in. Yum, I’d forgotten how good this old favourite tasted. I put on the TV and channel surf through the day time viewing options. Nothing grabs me so I put on a music channel but all of the songs are reminding me of my predicament and set me to thinking and over thinking. Have I fucked up? Do I really want to leave Jay? I do love him, you can't wipe away 26 years of feelings and I wouldn't want to, he's been my best friend for most of my life, he's the father of my children and I will probably love him till the day I die. But I'm no longer in love with him, of that I am sure, I dread him coming home in the evening in case he's in a bad mood, my heart races when he's around through fear not passion or arousal as used to be the case, so for these reasons alone we need to part. And now, on top of all of this, he has all but admitted that he has cheated on me. I don’t know the details, I know I've told him I want a divorce but I really haven't thought that far ahead yet. If he makes an effort to change, would I go back to him? I really don't know the answer to that. Then there's Gabriel, .if I was writing a book and had to write in a love interest, he would fit the role perfectly. If you could design a man to order, he is what mine would look like. Tall, tanned, muscular but not too much. Beautiful blue eyes and hair that has a mind of its own, he has a square jaw and that cute little dimple or cleft or whatever it’s called, right in the middle of his chin. But that's just looks. There’s so much more to him than that handsome face and hot body, I've only known him three days, but he's gone out of his way to show me nothing but kindness. He’s laid his cards on the table and told me he's interested in a relationship. But, do I want or need a relationship right now? Shouldn't I be spending this time getting my head straight and working out what I'm going to do with my life, if, as it would seem now, that my marriage is truly over? And what is it Gabe wants to talk about? Us, is there such a thing as ‘us’ yet? Why do I feel nervous, why am I worried that he might want to end things, when really, things haven't even begun. Or have they? He does have an effect on me. Is that just his good looks and charm or do we really have a connection? There has definitely been a spark since that very first touch but is that enough to base a relationship on? Does he really want a relationship? He told me that first night he doesn’t do relationships. My head is swimming with all of these thoughts. I go and fetch a pillow from the bedroom and head back to the sofa and pull a fleecy throw over me. I play a game on my phone, look at my Facebook, and decide just for the time being, I will deactivate my account. Jason doesn’t use Facebook but even so, I don’t want anyone posting anything on there about Gabe and run the chance of Jay finding out, I flick the TV back on and find an old, old film to watch. Gas Light, staring Ingrid Bergman, a favourite of mine. The next thing I'm aware of is my phone vibrating next to me. It stops and I wake myself up.

“Shit” I mumble to myself, picking
up my phone I realise that I've slept for four hours. Mending bones and healing bruises is exhausting work! The call is from Gabriel and he promptly calls back,

“H
ey” I answer on a yawn.

“
You okay, where were you, I've called twice?”

“
Yeah, I'm fine; I was sleeping and the phones on silent”

I
smile as I speak. Aw he was worried. “I was gonna call round, you need anything?”

“Well
, there's still no food here, I've had cornflakes today because that's all I could find but I really fancy steak”

“
Steak?”

“Yeah
, steak” What’s wrong with steak, I wonder? “I'll give you the money for it”

“Lauren
, I'm not worried about the money, it just seems a strange request, from a girl, I thought you might say, Macas or chocolate. Girlie food”

“Well
yeah and some chocolate please but I'm not a girl, I'm a woman, I grew out of burgers years ago, girls eat burgers. Women eat steak and my taste is firmly with steak, why is it a strange request, don't you eat steak?”

“Lauren
I'm Australian. Of course I eat steak and I don't know why it was strange. I’m glad you like steak and I’m glad you’re a woman, not a girl. And I’m glad you’re my woman. I'm glad you like real food and I am glad you like meat” And I can hear the smile in his voice. He obviously picked up on all the innuendo in our conversation

“And
if its steak you fancy baby, I will pick some up and then head over, with all the meat you could possibly manage. Ciao, see ya after”

I
am speechless. I am HIS woman and he is GLAD of the fact. My skin is tingling, my heart is pounding in my throat, I feel like a fifteen year old, I have never experienced, lust, want, desire, need like this in my life, he has such an effect on me and that was just a telephone conversation, fuck, I feel so light headed. I’m his woman, I soooo fucking am!!! And that Italian. Wow, that’s taken on a whole new meaning now that I know he speaks it fluently, fuck that’s just, so, fucking mind-blowingly sexy, I can’t wait to hear that in all its full blown glory! He really is too perfect, there has to be a catch, has to be!

An
hour later I'm sitting at the table eating a medium rare rib eye steak. Cooked to perfection, by Mr Perfection, Jacket potato and salad, sipping on a nice cold glass of wine and looking across at Gabriel as we both tuck in.

“Did
you read the text I sent you earlier?” He asks. My stomach flips. Here we go, I put down my knife and fork, take a sip on my wine, and say as casually as possible “Yeah....what's that all about, something you need to discus, sounds very serious, should I be worried?”

I
take another sip of my wine, I am shaking inside, what is he about to tell me?

“
May be. But I hope not, I was wondering if you wanted to come and stay at mine for the rest of the week. I have to go and pick paint and flooring for the rental and as you’re going to be living there, I thought you might wanna help me chose? But, if I'm picking you up and dropping you off I don't want to run the risk of bumping into your husband and causing you any more trouble. It's just a thought. You would be in your own bedroom, if that’s what you want, and have your own bathroom. There's no ulterior motive, other than that I enjoy your company and I would feel better knowing you are safe”

He
tilts his head to one side and gives me the most amazing smile that affects me right between my legs and makes me shift in my chair. I blink, several times, trying to take in what he's saying.

“
You want me to move in with you?” I make it sound like it’s a ludicrous idea and regret my tone instantly. He looks down at his food. “Sorry, bad idea? I just thought it would be a safer option than you staying here. I’ve worried all day about you being here on your own, and it would only be till the weekend. I've taken the rest of the week off to get your place fixed up so we should be able to get you in by then but if you would rather stay here, that's no problem, like I say, it was just a thought.”

He
swallows, hard, and looks up at me through those lovely long lashes. How can someone with fair hair, have such a great tan and such dark lashes? Must be the Italian gene from his mum’s side but he doesn't look remotely Italian. More like your typical Aussie boy, tall, tanned and gorgeous but he speaks Italian, imagine, a man that looks like that, who smells like he does, with the name of an angel, imagine him making beautiful love to you, speaking words of love and desire in Italian, imagine….

“
Yes, no, yes, no? I'm dying here Lauren”

“Sorry
” I say as I jump back into reality. “Do you really think it’s a good idea so soon, what if Jay finds out, he would kill me, and everyone would think I've left him for you”

“
Lauren, your homeless, I'm offering you somewhere to stay, not asking you for a lifelong commitment and it would only be till the weekend, like I said, no strings” He pauses, tilts his head and gives me a devilish smile. “Maybe ropes, belts or handcuffs. But definitely no strings”

My stomach lurches at the thought of handcuffs and a gazillion dirty, filthy thoughts race through my obviously perverted mind.
We stare at each other for a few seconds, grinning like idiots. He wiggles his eyebrows up and down. Ropes, belts, handcuffs and Italian lingo? Oh my fucking, fucking for fucks sake, I can’t think clearly and my mouth opens and words come out, that I’m not entirely sure that I agree with but I say them anyway.

“Ok
ay, I'll come and stay at yours, no strings. Definitely, maybe, belts, ropes handcuffs and possibly even, some Italian? And only if I can stay in your room, with you” Shit, I’ve agreed to move in with him, I’ve known him a matter of minutes and I’ve just agreed to move in with him. He blows out as if he's been holding his breath, just as Jo walks through the door.

“
Mmmmm smells good in here, hope you saved me some? I'm starved, you two look very cosy. Lauren, your husband has rung me nine times today. I've told him over and over I don't know where you are but I don't know if he's believing me. I've been worried sick that he would turn up here while I was out”

Gabriel
gets up from the table, leans towards me, and says into my ear…

“Non
vedo l’ora di scopare te baby”

What
was that? What did he say to me? I don’t think I care, it just sounded so hot, so, so hot. He moves over to the hob and turns the gas back on and proceeds to cook Jo a steak, whilst I resist the temptation to take him to the bedroom and fuck him senseless. I am squeezing my pelvic floor so tight, I feel it in my throat. If I were to cough. Let’s just say it would be messy!

“Ohhh,
he really is just too much Loz, you do not want to be letting this one go. Ever”

Oh
Jo! You really have no idea.

“
I’ve been thinking the same Jo” Gabriel says. We both stare at him. He wants me to never let him go?

“
Not about never letting me go. Although I'm always open to persuasion...But about it not being safe here for her. I've said she should come and stay at mine, just until the weekend, I should have her place ready to move into by then”

Jo
has sat down at the table, kicked off her shoes and poured herself a wine. She looks across at me.

“
Well, it's not a bad idea, there's no way Jay would know to look for you there and if it’s only for a few days. I would feel happier than leaving you here on your own. If I wasn't so busy I would take time off but I just can't right now. But, at the end of the day, it's up to you, you can stay here as long as you like. Or you can go shack up with wonder boy here, who you've only known for a matter of hours, I won't judge, I swear” she smiles and winks at me.

An
hour later we are pulling off the esplanade and onto Gabe’s drive. He presses a thingo on his visor and a set of gates open. He pulls up in front of a very modern double story house.

There
are three guest bedrooms downstairs, all with double doors opening onto a decked area that leads to an in ground pool and spa. At the opposite end of the garden is a Bali style Tiki Hut, housing a bar with a dart board, and pool table, kitchen, shower and toilette.

Upstairs,
there's a huge meals/family room combined with a kitchen. There are floor to ceiling glass and timber doors opening onto a decked veranda, from which there are views right across Port Phillip Bay and the city of Melbourne, the lights from the office blocks and apartments making it look like Gotham City in the dark. There's a hallway off the family room. Along this are two more bedrooms both with doors that open onto the veranda and another spa in the corner as you come out of the doors of the master bedroom. I just keep repeating "wow" and "oh wow" as he shows me each room.

The
master suit is huge. Double doors open to a bedroom with a huge timber bed in the middle. There are matching bedside tables and a long low unit against the wall opposite the bed with a huge plasma screen above it. To the left are the same style tall glass and timber doors opening onto the veranda, the views and the spa. Behind the bed is a long walk through wardrobe and to the left is a huge open bathroom/wet room, next door, is a smaller version of the master also simply stunning.