“I’m five minutes away, baby. You’re okay. Stay strong for me. I got you.”
I hear keys and a door closing through the phone. My body shakes as the adrenaline begins to wear off.
“Gabriel, please hurry. I’m scared.”
SIXTEEN
Allison
Ilean further back into the soft leather, letting the heated seats cocoon me in warmth. His car smells like him—smoke and pine. I savor the warmth, the comfort, the calm. His large hand rests protectively on my thigh and he keeps glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I can’t blame him after what just happened.
Gabriel was at my house mere minutes after I called him. His voice was demanding and calm from the other side of the door as he told me to let him in. After I undid the deadbolt and usheredhim in swiftly, he just looked around, taking in the chaos. He was exactly what I needed—protective and decisive. He swept me in his arms, carrying me up the stairs and helping me pack a bag full of essentials. We washed and bandaged my foot before he carried me to his car. He didn’t say where we were going and I didn’t ask. I just needed to get away. I didn’t even bring my phone.
“Are you hungry? Do you want me to stop for food?” he asks as the street lamps flash by out the window, pulling me from my thoughts. It must have started raining at some point, rivulets of water trail down the windows. “We can grab anything you want.”
“It’s okay. I’m not really hungry,” I offer with a soft smile. I didn’t think to grab my wallet. He’s done enough, I really don’t want to be any more trouble to him.
“Don’t do that.” His hand squeezes my thigh, tight enough to get my attention but not enough to hurt. “Don’t refuse because you think it’s polite, or some shit. If you’re hungry, we will get you food. It’s that simple.”
Part of me wants to argue, to tell him I’ll be fine. But a different part of me, one which is becoming louder and louder with each passing second, says he’s right—I’m hungry, so we should eat. I need to let go of what Ishoulddo and start doing what I want to do.
“Chinese,” I state suddenly, surprising even myself. Gabriel’s eyebrows fly up his forehead and a smile pulls up the corners of his lips. “I want sesame chicken and rice.” I let myself be selfish and opinionated for the first time in as long as I can remember. “And fucking egg rolls.” I add.
“Well, shit.” Gabriel laughs as his hand moves higher up my thigh. “I’ve created a monster. Anything else, Princess?”
I think for a minute. “Dr. Pepper,” I tell him with finality. “I can’t even remember the last time I let myself have a soda.”
He swiftly veers to the side of the road. The rain pelts againstthe roof of the car as we sit in silence. He pulls out his phone and taps away, placing our order. When he finishes and the phone makes a ping to signal the order went through, he pockets the phone and turns his body to face mine.
“I don’t have any money,” I warn him. “I left my wallet at home.”
Gabriel’s gaze flicks to my lips, and I swallow down the butterflies his heated stare elicits in me. “I’m sure there’s some way we can think of for you to pay me back.”
He reaches out, his palm cupping my cheek. He runs his thumb along my lip, rubbing tenderly. His eyes watch the path of his thumb, and even in the low light of the dark car, I can see the heat in his gaze.
“I think I’d like that,” I tell him before I let my tongue slide between my lips, flicking the tip of his thumb.
A low rumble rolls through his chest. “Behave, pretty girl,” he warns as he returns his hands to the wheel and signals to pull back out onto the road. “Or I’ll have to punish you.”
His tone suggests that his form of punishment wouldn’t truly be a punishment at all. I squirm in my seat. Warmth fills my core and I realize just how much better Gabriel has made everything in a matter of mere minutes. Maybe, despite how chaotic everything is in my life right now, there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.
“You live here?” I ask incredulously as I stare at the monstrous house ahead of us.
Through a clearing in the dense trees ahead, a house looms above. It’s a modern looking structure with more windows than walls. It’s sleek and elegant, yet somehow fun. I’m in awe. It’s exactly the type of house I would’ve picked if I was allowed to have a say.
“I told you.” He squeezes my thigh gently as he maneuvers the sleek black sports car down the twisty road with his left hand. “I own a cybersecurity business. That’s what pays the bills. The teaching is just for….fun.”
I scoff at him and he turns his head slightly to look at me.
“No one has ever called teaching teenagers fun,” I tell him as he smirks. “Rewarding? Sure. Meaningful? Absolutely. Fun? No.”
His eyes dart back and forth between me and the road as he speaks. “I had fun with you the other day in your classroom.”
The memory of his pierced cock sliding down my throat causes my face to heat. His hand slides up my thigh until he’s barely not touching where I ache for him.
“And I think you had fun too.” Gabriel runs his knuckles up the seam of my pants between my legs, pulling a needy whine from my lips. “Didn’t you?”
I can’t deny it. He had driven me wild with his bold pursuit of my pleasure. He’s so addicting, so consuming, that I’ve almost forgotten about the pain and anxiety of the night. I open my legs wider and he lets out a low growl.
