Freeing Her (11 page)

“
Is that a challenge?” she
finally asked.

“
Not at all. It’s a
promise. But if you care to test the waters …”

“
Th-that’s not necessary.”
But Gabby wouldn’t mind testing those waters. She wouldn’t mind at
all. Maybe she wouldn’t even mind going for a swim. A nice long
swim.

“
If you change your mind,
let me know.”

The temperature in the room had risen, and
so had the tension between them. The undercurrent had grown heavier
with passion. Gabby couldn’t look at Kolson without picturing him
naked, kissing her. And Kolson’s thoughts ran much darker than
that. He wanted to fuck her, he wanted to hear her moan like she
did when she tasted her tiramisu, and he wanted to make her scream
when she came.

They both knew one thing: it was only a
matter of time before that happened.

Chapter Nine

Danny Martinelli
was
a charmer. He’d been that way ever
since he was a toddler. His parents never denied him anything; his
mother was smitten with him as soon as the nurse handed him over.
She’d taken one look at him and that was it.

He’d learned at a very early age exactly how
to cry, which tone of voice to use and what to say to get what he
wanted. And he’d been given everything his heart desired—from
clothes, toys, the latest computer, video games—whatever it was at
the given moment. Even his aunt and uncle fawned over him like he
was some sort of gifted child, which he wasn’t. His gift was he
knew what people wanted to hear and he told them those words
exactly at the right moment to achieve his goals.

With one exception—his cousin Gabby. She
never paid him the least bit of attention. No matter what he did or
said, she would sit silently in the corner, reading her stupid
books, and never laugh, grin, or take part in any of his
stimulating conversations.

One day, Danny decided he would make it his
personal mission to make sure Gabby noticed him. It started when he
was fifteen and for one solid year, he went out of his way at every
opportunity to pay attention to her. He would visit his alcoholic
aunt and pompous uncle, spend time with Gabby and her brother, try
to engage her in conversation, take her places and buy her little
trinkets. Nothing worked. The only things Gabby cared about were
doing well in school and reading her damn books. Those goddamn,
stupid meaningless books.

Danny reached a point where he’d had it. His
aunt, uncle, and cousin were going out, so Gabby needed a
babysitter. Danny kindly volunteered. And that’s when it all began.
It went on for years. Danny enjoyed it so much he even came home
from college a lot more than he probably should have. He said he
missed his family. But that wasn’t the real reason. The truth was
he missed terrorizing and fucking Gabby. He loved how he had that
control over her. It irked the shit out of him when she left for
college and he lost some of it. He could only get to her
occasionally then.

But the best part was when he’d convinced
everyone that she was the problem child and had made up her
ridiculous accusations. Even her obtuse parents believed him. Danny
reminded Gabby of it constantly, but particularly when he was
punching her. He liked to do that. But she was tough. She never
showed any emotion and it took a lot to scare her.

He had no problems or issues with ruining
her life. He didn’t even care that she tried to commit suicide. The
only thing he cared about was that had she succeeded, she wouldn’t
have been around for him to fuck anymore.

Then his mother told him a secret—the best
secret he’d ever heard. It was one that made him the happiest kid
on Earth. When she whispered the truth to him, Danny laughed. He
laughed so hard his sides ached. It was so perfect because when he
went to Gabby’s father with his little blackmail plan, he insured
that Gabby would be his forever. Appearances meant everything to
her old man, even more than his own daughter.

# # #

Danny waited outside Gabby’s building for
over two hours after he thought she should be getting home from
work, but she never arrived. His anger mounted. No doubt her little
boyfriend picked her up after work and had taken her on a date.
That wasn’t going to work for Danny. Gabby was his and his alone,
and Danny didn’t like sharing. He let out an expletive, startling a
small elderly woman walking her poodle, and stormed off down the
street. He’d return later to check to see if she was back. But
then, what good would that do? She’d be upstairs and safely tucked
away in her little apartment, where he couldn’t get to her.

He’d poked around the place several times,
and there were too many men hanging around the front and in the
lobby. He’d need a distraction to sneak past them, and Danny wasn’t
stupid enough to try something that daring on his own. He would
need an accomplice, but he didn’t trust anyone to ask for their
help.

Grinding his teeth, he headed to a place
where he could down a few quick drinks. Maybe that would soothe his
temper. After walking ten blocks, he found a seedy bar that looked
like it had seen better days. Several people clustered in booths
and the stools along bar were nearly filled. The pool table sat
unused under blaring music. No one gave Danny a second glance as he
hunted a seat.

A waitress took his order and brought him a
drink … whiskey neat.

“
Better bring me another,”
he said.

“
Looks like you might need
a couple of extra on the side.”

He looked at her and half-smiled. “Maybe.”
He let his eyes wander up and down her body. She wore a tight black
V neck T-shirt that dipped low, exposing a good amount of her ample
cleavage. She wore no bra and her rigid nipples stood firm, poking
right through the thin fabric. The shirt ended above her belly
button and her tight black shorts hit her below her hips, exposing
tanned skin. She knew how to work it, and work it she did. Long
legs completed the look.

When Danny finished his inspection, she
swayed close to him and asked, “Well? Did I pass?”

“
With flying
colors.”

“
Wanna take it for a test
drive?”

“
That depends.”

“
On what?”

“
How much?”

“
Let’s just say I’ll let
you have a few laps for free.”

Danny was an okay-looking guy. Dark skinned
and thick black hair, some women found him attractive. But he was
flashy and liked to grab the room’s attention. In recent years, his
laziness had added extra pounds to his midsection, making him look
much older than his thirty-two years.

“
When?”

“
Now, but we need to be
discreet. I don’t want my boss to know. He won’t like
it.”

“
You got it.” It offended
Danny that she wanted him to be low-key about this. He was prime.
Everyone ought to know about his conquests.

“
You go first and I’ll
meet you there. Men’s room.”

He downed another whiskey and headed to the
back. It wasn’t long before she walked in, a grin on her face, but
he wiped it clean when he pulled her in, jerked her shirt up, and
pinched both nipples cruelly. “You are a fucking tease, walking
around with your tits poked out like this. You little cunt. What’re
you trying to do to me?”

Then he took that same shirt and twisted it
around her wrists, binding them tightly so she couldn’t move. As he
moved her up against the wall, he unzipped her shorts and tugged
them down. Slipping his finger under the elastic of her thong, he
gave a twist and snapped it off her. Then he stuffed it into her
mouth.

“
Not a fucking peep out of
you or I’ll make this hurt. You got it? This is gonna be either fun
or painful. You can have it either way. Is it gonna be
fun?”

Her eyes were like saucers as she
nodded.

“
Put your hands above your
head and don’t fucking move.”

Danny put his hands on her breast and
someone pounded on the door. “Goddammit, Nadine, are you in there
again? Open the door right now!”

“
Nadine?” Danny
asked.

Nadine nodded again.

“
Godammit, Nadine,
customers need drinks. If you don’t open the door right this
second, I’m busting it down.”

Danny grabbed Nadine’s thong out of her
mouth and loosened the shirt from around her wrists.

“
Just a second,” Nadine
called out.

“
NOW, Nadine.”

“
I guess we’ll have to do
this when you get off work,” Danny said. “How long?”

“
Eleven.” She reached down
and grabbed his crotch, which was hard as a rock and gave it a firm
squeeze. “Hang around?”

“
Hang?
Doubtful.”

Nadine wriggled back into her shorts and put
her mouth on his. “I’m looking forward to sucking you dry.” Then
she waltzed out the door. Danny grinned. Sex with her was gonna be
fun. But then his mood soured. It would never match what he’d had
with Gabby, though. Nothing would.

Chapter Ten

Gabby was in her
office when her phone buzzed. Since she was with
a patient, she ignored it but checked her messages after her
patient left. It was Kolson, inviting her to dinner.

“
Gabriella.”

Every time he said her name, desire unfurled
in her belly.

“
Kolson. I would love to
join you for dinner tonight, except I have to …”

“
Volunteer somewhere,” he
finished for her.

“
Yes. You’re starting to
figure me out already.”

“
So, Gabriella, is there
any night you don’t volunteer? How is a man supposed to take a
woman he’s interested in out to dinner when said woman is always
volunteering?”

“
Now that is certainly a
dilemma for said man, isn’t it?”

“
It certainly is. And said
man is getting quite frustrated with said woman’s busy
schedule.”

“
Hmm. Then perhaps said
man should accompany said woman to her volunteer
activities.”

Gabby was met with dead silence. “Kolson, I
was only kidding.”

“
Where and
when?”

“
No. It was a joke,” Gabby
insisted. “Besides, you’ll be stuck in a an office where it’s
cramped and unpleasant. Either that or you’ll have to wait in the
waiting room with the patients. You can’t be with me while I
work.”

“
I know that. I can wait
for you in your office and do work of my own, or wait in the
waiting room. Shall I get it out of Sam?”

“
Tonight’s not a good
place to join me. It can get pretty ugly and honestly, you’d sort
of be in the way.”

“
I won’t be in the way.
I’ll stay off to the side. I promise. What time?”

“
Kolson. I’m
serious.”

“
As am I. Time, Gabriella.
Besides, how am I ever going to get to know you and understand
exactly what it is that you do if I don’t see it or at least the
setting in which you function? Can you understand that I
want
to be with
you?”

Her gaze softened as she stared at him.
“Yeah, I think I can. Seven.”

“
I’ll be
there.”

“
Um, no. You’ll have to
come with me or they won’t let you in. Security.”

“
I’ll pick you up with Sam
at six thirty, then.”

True to his word, Kolson and Sam picked her
up at six thirty. She noted Kolson’s casual attire.

“
I’m glad you dressed
down. I forgot to tell you,” she said.

“
I figured the dress code
would be casual.”

“
Are you sure you’re up
for this? The clinic can be a very unpleasant place at night.
Addicts needing fixes and sliding into withdrawal is pretty ugly
stuff. And they hate me when I try to dig into their issues. They
know I’m the final step and they get pretty damn mean a lot of the
time.”

“
Don’t worry about me,
Doc. Just do your job. By the way, you look lovely
tonight.”

Gabby glanced down at herself and shook her
head.

“
Accept the compliment,
Gabriella.”

“
Okay. Thank you. But I’m
…”

Kolson cut her off with a short, sweet kiss.
He leaned into her and murmured, “You’re very beautiful. You’d look
lovely in anything.”

Gabby smiled. “Thank you. Again.”

“
So, how long are you
there for?”

“
That depends on the
patient load tonight. But usually at least eleven.”

“
Did you eat?”

“
No. I didn’t have
time.”

Kolson nodded and then said, “Hey, Sam,
after you drop us off, can you pick up dinner and bring it back to
the hospital?”

“
Sure thing, Mr.
H.”

“
Kolson, that’s not
necessary,” Gabby said.

“
Of course it is. You need
to eat and so do I. Sam is going to wait on us so he can do that.
It’ll give him something to do.”

“
Thank you. That’ll be
great. I usually don’t get to eat on these nights.”

Kolson narrowed his eyes. “Are you being
careful? As in not running in the dark?”

“
Yes. I haven’t run in
days.”

He slanted his head. “You have no other time
to work out, do you?”