Authors: Reese Gabriel
DomNextDoor (6 page)
“I know. I’m an even bigger ass than I already was, but
look, I came to apologize,” he said.
Tristy waited for the hidden agenda.
Five…four…three…two…one.
“And…and maybe to talk a little?”
Blast off!
“There isn’t anything to talk about.”
“I just want to make it right.” She could hear the slur in
his voice.
“You’ve been drinking.”
“A little,” he confessed. “But it just makes me bolder.
Tristy, I’m separated now and I love you.”
“Go away, Brian, or I will call the cops.”
One of whom
lives right down the hall.
Not that she wanted to involve Grant any further
in her sorry excuse for a life.
“Go ahead,” he said, emboldened by the scotch or whatever
else was in his system. “I’ll shout it to the world here or in jail. I love
Tristy! I love Tristy!”
That was it. Enough was enough. She really didn’t want him
to be arrested. He was harmless enough but she had to get him home. Undoing the
chain, she turned the deadbolt and opened the door. Brian looked even worse
than he had through the peephole.
“You look good,” he slurred, practically falling on her.
“You look like a million bucks.”
“Brian, get off me!”
He was still clinging when she heard the door fling open
down the hall.
Grant had heard enough.
He had been willing to let the situation go provided Tristy
was up to dealing with it herself. But now she had gone and done the worst
thing by opening her door to an obviously drunken punk.
One look at him said he was a potential threat to her now
that the alcohol had removed whatever tenuous morals he might have possessed.
“Can I help you with something?” asked the surly, soused
Brian.
“Sure,” said Grant. “You can drop your ass to the floor
before I do it for you.”
Brian was laughing but he had that wary look in his eye.
He’d also managed to release his grip on Tristy’s arm.
“You know this character?” Brian asked Tristy.
Grant’s teeth clenched. The very idea of Brian talking to
Tristy any further, much less touching her again, was more than he could stand.
“I’m an interested third party, bud, and right now my
interest is in getting you away from this young woman.”
“Grant, I can speak for myself,” Tristy snapped, as though
he were the aggressor and not the one trying to save her ass.
Brian laughed, sniffing a potential wedge in the situation.
He reached out again for Tristy and that was all she wrote.
“Wanna grab somebody, how about me?” Grant asked as he took
Brian by the collar, pivoting him about and setting him on his feet a safe
distance from Tristy.
It was at that point that Brian revealed just how stupid he
was. Grant easily blocked the punch and landed one of his own in Brian’s solar
plexus. The man ended up on his knees, groaning and looking skyward.
Grant pulled him back to his feet. “How about you hit the
road, pal?”
Brian didn’t need to be asked again. Still holding his
stomach, he staggered down the hall muttering the whole way about crazy bitches
and psycho boyfriends.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Tristy called after him.
Grant shook his head. “Heaven forbid.”
“I suppose you want me to thank you?” She whirled on him.
“I want you to be all right, that’s all.”
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“Good,” she echoed. “Well, good night then.”
“Goodnight.”
Neither one of them moved. A second later they fell into a
kiss. It was hard to tell who moved first. Grant’s arms snaked around Tristy
and she collapsed into him. He could feel the tension releasing from her.
He wanted to hold her like that forever. At the same time
there were so many other things he wanted to do with her, things he wanted to
show her and teach her.
“Come with me,” he murmured. “Back to my apartment. There
are some things I want to tell you. Beginning with…I’m pretty damn sure I love
you.”
The words caught them both off guard. But they had been
building and building. In a way it made sense…though it surely opened a whole
new path, something other than friends with benefits.
Her face lit, dreamy and filled with desire. His heart
clenched in response.
“Yes,” she said. “
Master
.”
About the Author
Reese Gabriel is a born romantic with a taste for the edgier
side of love. Having traveled the world and sampled many of the finer things,
Reese now enjoys the greater simplicities—barefoot walks by the ocean, kisses
under moonlight and whispers of passion in the darkness with that one special
person.
Preferring to remain behind the scenes, cherished by a
precious few, Reese hopes to awaken in the lives of many the possibilities of
true love through stories of far off places and enchanted lives.
For the sake of love and hope and imagination, these stories
are told. May they be enjoyed as much in the reading as in the writing.
Reese welcomes comments from readers. You can find Reese’s
website and email addresses on the
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You
can email us at
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Also by
Reese Gabriel
More Than
Male 1: Nyssa’s Guardian
More Than
Male 2: Seria’s Star Warrior
More Than Male
4: Jaxey’s Master
More
Than Male 5: A Dominant for Desela
More
Than Male 7: An Obedient for Samharin
More Than Male
8: Dominating Dekalia
Tall, Dark and
Dominant 1: Managing Macy
Tall, Dark and
Dominant 2: Taking on Tabytha
Tall, Dark and
Dominant 3: Legally Binding
Print books by Reese Gabriel
Holiday
Reflections
anthology
More Than Male 1:
Nyssa’s Guardian
More Than Male
2 & 3: Primale Possession
More Than Male
4 & 5: Primale Pleasures
More
Than Male 7: An Obedient for Samharin
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the
multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or
paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic
reading experience that will leave you breathless.