GABE

 

I hated the fact that Lauren said yes to Dad’s job offer. I wanted to tell her to say no, but who was I to tell her what to do? Was it my place to tell her to turn down a job, her dream job? And the fact that she would be reporting to Tyler sat uneasily with me. I had seen the way he looked at her. It was the same way he looked at most of the things he wanted. Like he already owned her.

The car trip back to her parents’ house was quiet. She tried engaging me in pointless conversation about my family, about her family, but I didn’t want to talk. All I could think of were the steps I had put in place to separate myself from them. And the fact that they were now destroyed.

I had told Lauren that I hadn’t known what love was. It was true to a certain point, but it was also true that I had loved Isabel Flintoff. I never meant to fall in love with her, she was Clark’s girl, not mine. But as Clark became more and more obsessed with becoming a better person, a person who wanted to change the world, he had left his girlfriend alone, and she and I started to spend more time with each other. His absence had left a hole in both our lives, and though I wasn’t making excuses for what we did, we loved each other. She was the first girl to look at me and see only me. I never meant to end up in bed with her. She was the only one I ever loved until Lauren came along, and seeing her again messed with my head. It brought back the love I felt for her. It brought back the guilt I felt when Clark barged into my room, wanting to vent about the argument he and Dad had just had, and instead, found me on top of his girlfriend. I wished I could have spared him that pain. I wished I had made him stay. I wished I had never fallen for her.

But I did. And afterwards, the guilt of it all was too much.

So after spending weeks in a drunken stupor, I took some of my father’s money and fled the country. I thought I would be able to flee my guilt but it followed me around the world. And the only time it would quiet was when I drowned it with alcohol.

When I finally returned home I cut up my father’s credit card, moved to a quiet town away from him and the rest of my family, and started a life of my own. One that had nothing to do with Hamish or Tyler Thornton. My life. My terms. My money. It was only Jake’s return that tempted me back into the fold. And, if I was being honest, I wanted to show off Lauren. She was everything they would want me to find in a partner. She was beautiful and smart and talented, and to be honest, there was a little part of me that wanted to parade her in front of my father and Tyler and Jake. A part that wanted to show her off as mine. But look where it had got me. Right back where I didn’t want to be. Part of the Thornton family once again.

I was almost pleased when we picked up Lauren’s car and she travelled separately back home. Not that I didn’t want to spend time with her. I did. It was just that I knew she didn’t understand why I needed to be separate from my family. Even though she had hidden parts of her life from her family, she didn’t realise how much I needed to be apart from mine. She didn’t know how much the Thorntons could overtake your life. Let them in just an inch, and before you knew it, there was very little left of the person you were.

And all that remained was very clearly branded Thornton.

When we picked up her car, her mother wouldn’t meet my eye. It reminded me that no matter how proud I had been to introduce her to my family, her family might never accept me as worthy of her. In their eyes, I would always be someone too young, someone who wasn’t Derek. They couldn’t see how much I loved her. They couldn’t see that no matter what had happened to her in the past, I was the one person who would never hurt her. I loved Lauren and not simply the thought of Lauren or the promise of what she could bring me in the future. I didn’t care if she couldn’t have children. I would remain childless my entire life if it meant having her by my side. I just hoped she knew that.

By the time we finally pulled up outside Lauren’s house, we had been travelling in darkness for hours. Lauren stepped out of her car and stretched high into the air, her top clinging delightfully to the curves of her breasts. I longed to get out of the car and climb into bed with her. I had an insatiable need to be close to her. It was as though it was only when I was inside her that I felt she looked at me the same way I looked at her, that she needed me the same way I needed her.

I was worried that I had scared her the night before. She assured me I hadn’t. She let me fuck away my insecurities that morning and I needed to again, but I wouldn’t allow myself to use her like that.

Noticing that I hadn’t stepped out of my jeep or turned off the engine, Lauren walked over to my door, and I wound down the window.

“Aren’t you coming in?” she asked, looking at me both expectantly and hopefully. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and for a moment I was transfixed by the movement.

I tore my eyes away and shook my head. “I think maybe it’s best if I go home.”

“You don’t want to spend the night?”

There was a look of disappointment on her face that I longed to wipe away, but again, I shook my head and studied how white my knuckles were wrapped around the steering wheel.

“Is it because I took the job?”

My head jerked up. “No,” I said vehemently. “It has nothing to do with that. It’s just that with everything that happened last night, the way I behaved, the way I almost forced myself on you this morning just to make me feel better about—”

Lauren leaned through the window and stopped my words with a heated kiss. A surge of desire rippled through me, awakening my already semi-hard cock.

“I wanted you just as much as you wanted me,” she said, breaking the kiss. “And I want you now. And tomorrow. And the next day.” She leaned through the window again, pressing her mouth to mine and making the thought of denying her again even harder. “Stay,” she begged.

“But—”

“But nothing, Gabe Thornton.” She opened the car door and tugged my hand. “You don’t even have to stay the night if you don’t want, but I feel like there is some sort of awkwardness between us and I don’t want you to leave while I feel this way. At least just come in to say goodnight.” The way she looked at me showed she wanted to do everything but say goodnight.

I couldn’t resist her. Why bother even trying? Climbing out of the car, I wrapped my arms around her waist, pushing her against the hood of the jeep. I found her mouth and kissed her passionately, groaning with desire as she pushed herself against me and slipped her hand down to feel my hardness.

“I want you,” she mumbled.

I swelled against her.

Lauren fumbled with the buttons of my jeans, ripping them apart and pushing her hand under the waistband of my boxers. Her hand was warm and tender and caressed me with just the perfect amount of gentleness and need. Overcome with desire, I ran my hand up her back and entangled my fingers in her hair, tugging her closer and taking her bottom lip between my teeth. Lauren pushed her hand deeper under my waistband, encircling my hardness and stroking more urgently.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered against my ear. I jerked away from her, surprised at how suddenly the need to come in her hand overwhelmed me.

“Careful,” I hissed.

“I don’t want to be,” she panted, stroking me faster. “I want you, and if you don’t come inside and take me right now, I am going to drop to my knees right here on the street and suck you until you come.”

It was then that I knew Lauren was doing this for me. She knew the only way I could feel forgiveness for how I had behaved was to be inside her. She knew the only way I would be able to forget about everything that had happened, about Clark and Isabel, about Tyler and Dad, was to fuck her senseless. If I didn’t, I would go home and drink myself into a stupor. She knew what I needed and she was willing to give it to me. I think I loved her more in that moment than I ever had before.

Gathering her in my arms, I plastered my hands to the cheeks of her backside while her legs wrapped around my waist, and I walked towards the front door, my mouth locked on hers as though I would die if we weren’t connected. I dropped my mouth to her neck as she fumbled with the key in the lock until the door finally gave way and we fell onto the floor of her lounge, unable to even make it fully inside, let alone to the bedroom. I tore at her clothes like someone possessed. All I could think about was being inside her. The need for her overwhelmed me. I needed to feel her warmth and wetness surrounding me, needing me.

Soon we were both naked and I rose over her, reaching down and directing myself into her wetness. Her head rolled back when I entered her, and her eyes fluttered. She breathed heavily, her breasts rising and falling under me. I took a nipple in my mouth as I plunged further, rising back only to watch her expression as I filled her.

“Gabe,” she breathed. Reaching up, she pulled me close, sinking her teeth into the firm flesh of my shoulder and digging her nails into my back. “Fuck me,” she panted.

And fuck her I did.

Drenched in sweat, I thrust in and out, slamming my body against hers, causing her breasts to wobble with the motion. She watched me with hungry eyes, naked and exposed on the floor of her lounge, a cold breeze from the open door floating over our skin.

When she cried out and her walls clamped around me tightly, I came inside her, filling her with spurt after spurt of my seed until there was nothing left of me and everything was inside her. With glazed eyes and a satisfied smile, she trailed her fingers gently over my back as I slumped over her, content, happy and spent.

Then the cat came and started pushing itself against me, rubbing its head on mine.

“Smudge!” Lauren exclaimed, reaching up to pat the black and white cat. The cat ignored her outstretched hand and continued to push against my head. “Traitor,” she hissed.

We lay there entwined in each other until Lauren gently nudged me and excused herself. Returning moments later, still completely naked, she lay down, curling herself into the crook of my arm and resting her head on my chest. She pushed the cat away. My heartbeat thudded under her cheek. Kissing the top of her head, I breathed in the scent of her.

“Thank you,” I whispered, unsure if she realised how much I had needed her.

She laughed a small laugh. “I’m never sure what you say to that. You’re welcome? It was my pleasure? It seems a strange thing to thank a person for, especially since it wasn’t exactly one-sided.”

I tightened my grip. “I needed to feel close to you.”

“I know,” she said quietly. Lauren lifted her hand and trailed one finger through the small spattering of blond hair that led to my pelvis, the one strip left untouched by the waxing for the show. I twitched in response, and Lauren slid down my body and wrapped her mouth around my spent cock.

“Lauren, we don’t—” I sucked in a breath as her teeth gently grazed me and I grew inside her mouth. Her tongue licked my shaft from base to tip and I surged with awareness. “Lauren we just…”

But she rose to all fours, her mouth still wrapped around me and her ample backside jutting into the air in front of my face. Unable to resist, and not wanting to even if I could, I ran my finger down the line of her butt cheeks, past the small pucker of her arsehole and inserted it into her folds which were still swollen and moist from our last encounter. Lauren pushed herself onto my hand, inserting my finger further. Once again, I was surprised by the intensity of my need to be inside her.

I played with her as she sucked me, inserting one finger, then two, and finally adding another, pushing hard into her and forcing her head further down my shaft with each thrust. My fingers were slick with her wetness and I brought them to my mouth, tasting her, inhaling her. Lifting her shoulders, I pulled her away from my cock and positioned myself behind her, the cheeks of her arse, plump and inviting. Her sex was pink and ready, slick and wet, and all I wanted to do was plunge inside her, taking her from behind. But first, I lowered my mouth and licked away some of the wetness, hungry for her. She tasted sweet and ready and I squeezed the tip of my cock, in an effort to quell my rising need. Finally, when she was squirming beneath me, I lifted my head and gripped onto her hips forcefully. She pushed back, open and ready and wanting. I held the tip of my cock at her entrance, waiting, hovering until she arched her back and pushed herself against me. She was as hungry for me as I was for her. Removing my hands from her hips, I simply watched as she pleasured herself, rocking back and forth. Sometimes she would plunge herself forcefully against me, our bodies making a sharp clap as they connected. Other times, she would move slowly, just teasing the tip of me with small movements. I thought I had spent everything inside her earlier, but the need to fill her again came with a vengeance. Placing my hands back at her hips, I gripped onto her and held her in place as I slammed against her.

She was perfect. The roundness of her arse. The gentle curve of her waist. The smoothness of her skin. The noises she made. Everything about her had me wanting to take her but please her at the same time. I leaned forward and reached between her legs until I found her wet slit and began to massage, determined to make her come with me again. She widened her kneeled stance to allow me better access, and she began to pant as I felt her tighten and clench before trembling to a climax that coated my fingers with a fresh wave of moisture. It was all I needed to explode inside her again. Holding her in place against my cock, I filled her, coating her wetness with my own.

I stayed the night and fucked her twice more, slamming into her repeatedly until her pussy was red and swollen and unable to take me again. And then I let her sleep.

I lay awake watching her, happy in the knowledge that she got me. She saw me for who I was. She knew what I needed and was more than willing to give it to me. Finally, I was able to fall into a blissful sleep that wasn’t haunted by memories of my dead brother, or stained with the shadow of Isabel’s smile. The only thing on my mind was Lauren.