He proceeds slowly to the mattress on the floor and sits down as gracefully as he can. He looks different. As my eyes adjust, I realize he’s wearing a leather motorcycle jacket and his hair is all windswept and wild.
“What are you doing here?” I ask nervously.
“Alanna let me in,” he replies shortly, glancing around the dimly lit room.
“Jesus, this can’t be where you really live.” He looks down at my mattress with disapproval. “You don’t even have a fucking bed! And don’t get me started on how scary this apartment is.”
His words are enough to bring my inner bitch out of hiding. “Did you just come here to judge my interior decorating skills?”
“This isn’t funny, Victoria.” He stares at me with concern. “This place isn’t safe. It’s very seedy, and I don’t like that two women are living here alone, namely you.”
“Look, I can take care of myself okay. And so can Alanna, we take care of each other. And I do have a bed, you’re sitting on it.”
“A mattress doesn’t make a bed. Tell me why you’re living here. Surely there are better places than this around. Is it an issue of money?”
“No, don’t be ridiculous.” I can’t help but sound offended. “I have money, plenty of money. I just choose not to spend it on flash apartments or furnishing a place that is only temporary.”
He leans closer to me, tucking a loose hair behind my ear, and sending shivers down my spine. I need to get a grip. How can one little touch affect me so much?
I smell the leather of his coat mixed with mint on his breath and I sigh at the pure delight of it. I just assumed he wore suits most of the time, like in all of his photos and at work. But he comes here dressed like this and it just screams bad boy. For some twisted reason, it only makes me want him even more.
“Why did you send me that text?” he asks.
Crap. Here it is. The reason for his being here in the middle of the night.
I look down at my clasped hands in my lap. It was so much easier to be strong when he was safely out of my bubble. But here he is all hot and delicious, expecting me to explain logic to him. “I… I just can’t. It’s too complicated.”
He cups my chin and brings my attention back to his face. “Explain it to me then.”
His voice is soft and gentle as he makes a request that to him seems so simple. But how can I possibly tell him I’m afraid of getting attached? I barely know him. It would sound ridiculous.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “You are just so all over the place. I don’t know if I’m right for you, I mean for what you want. I’m not anything like the women you usually...”
A small smile creeps across his lips as he stops me. “No, you aren’t,” he says simply. “That’s why I like you.”
I’m glad in the moment for the dim light in the room because I’m blushing like crazy.
“As for yesterday,” he continues, “I’m sorry if I seemed crass when you were leaving. You took me by surprise. And then you told me you were leaving the city soon. But why?”
His tone is gentle, and if I didn’t know any better he seems genuinely disappointed at the news that I’m leaving. I feel a small pain in my own chest at the thought. I like it here. I like him.
“I have to leave, and I can’t tell you why. It’s just, it’s complicated. I’m sorry.”
His brow furrows, and he remains silent for a few moments as he traces his fingers along his chin, deep in thought. “Alright, then I’ve changed my mind,” he says softly.
He leans in and kisses my cheek, taking me by surprise. Then he pulls me closer, caressing my neck with his lips. He inhales as he presses his nose into my skin, a low growl escaping him. “I want you. I know you want me too, Victoria. Let me stay with you tonight. No agreements, no control. Just remember what it’s like with me before you say no.”
I drink in his words, and the fire his touch leaves behind burns me intensely. I want him that much is true. But I still can’t understand why he wants me.
“Why me, Gabriel? I’m sure you have beautiful women who aren’t nearly as much trouble on speed dial, willing to give themselves over to you at a moment’s notice.”