Chapter 73

GABRIEL'S POV

I craved her. Ached so deeply the only thing in my head was her presence. And that lust, that unquenchable thirst for her never seemed to ease. Each time I was away I could only think of the next time I'd get to see her, and when I did I finally felt like I could breathe.

What was this?!

Slowly she's making me lose it. And when I saw her in Arden's arms..on his fucking lap! this wild part of me instinctively rose to life. And it did not like what it was seeing. I know it's all part of their little charade, that she's only doing what she has to do. But that doesn't make things better. Especially now when my doubts about Arden have been confirmed.

I left the living room, saying I was going to get myself a drink. But I know that the longer I take the more suspicious they'll get. My aunt especially. That lady has the ability to see through things others cannot. And so I made the most out of the little time I had. I just needed to feel her body's response to me and assure myself that she was still mine. And that she wouldn't dare to forget that fact. I kissed her as deeply as I could. Forcing myself to maintain a semblance of softness to my hold because the beast inside me wanted to take over and claim her. 

" Gabriel?" She once more whispered my name. And in her eyes was genuine concern. Like she was actually worried about me, she had seen me in much the same state before. That uneasy and unpredictable version of me that floated to the surface whenever I feared that someone else was planning on snatching her away from me. Arden to be exact.

With my fingers on the soft skin of her cheek I looked at her. I didn't want to have to sneak away just to steal a goddamned kiss. But that was just how things were...though I was working on a way to get her to myself for as long as I needed. It was a plan in progress, and in a few days I was going to be able to carry it out. Nothing would make me happier.

" You look really lovely, " I complemented her because it was the truth. I had already seen her before I went to work but I had said nothing at the time. And was it just me or did she get prettier with each day that passed? 

Her lips curved in one of her angelic smiles, her hand playing with my sunglasses without unhooking them from my shirt. Using them as a distraction because she was suddenly flushed. 

" You look really nice as well. " 

She raised her eyes and gave me this longing look before casting them back down. 

" Don't I always?" 

She shook her head and smiled, trying to walk away from me but unable to because of the arm I had snaked around her. She shot her eyes to the exit then she looked at me shook her head. 

" They won't come, " I tried to assure her. Of course I wasn't in the least sure about that. Actually there were very high chances of any of them coming over there. But I was willing to take my chances if it meant a few more minutes with her. Plus we'd hear footsteps if anyone was approaching. 

" They seem to like you, " I gestured towards the direction of the living room where Arden's parents were. After Layla left they had commented on how lovely and respectful and nice she seemed. All those were facts. 

" I'm glad, " she said. But I could also see that the entire situation wasn't making her comfortable. She didn't like the aspect of deceit, hadn't been completely prepared for it. 

" She held onto the lapels of my jacket, then she looked at me and sighed. And before I could asked her what was wrong, she planted her forehead onto my chest and took a deep breath. It was little gestures such as those that drove me insane. Her sweetness wasn't something I had ever been prepared to face. 

" I have to finish up here, otherwise the food will get cold again. "

I closed my eyes, not wanting to let go but knowing that feeding my obsession wasn't the healthiest thing to do. So I held her chin between my thumb and forefinger and made her look up at me, she must have seen the very serious look on my face because she knit her brows together in a frown.

" I purchased seats for a reason Layla. Next time use them. "

She would have scoffed and given me an eye roll, but she didn't. Instead she stood up on her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss to the slightly exposed skin of my chest, then she nodded and stepped away. I let her, then I watched as she resumed her task. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I got these stupid images of her moving around like that in a house that was more of a home. Dressed casually in her pajamas...a smile on her face. I shook those foolish thoughts away and headed back to the living room. 

Arden had been telling his parents about their smuggling business or something of the sort. They had pretty much raised me but I had never taken keen interest in their family business. All I knew was that Anton Gustov was the head of the mafia. And that behind that distinguished gentleman was a ruthless killer who had but an empire from the ground up. One that Arden would one day inherit.

" Novak wasn't too happy once he learnt about your marriage! Especially after you promised to think about wedding his daughter, " Anton was saying when I joined them. 

" Is he still mad?" Arden asked. Actual worry in his tone. The last thing he wanted was to out his father in an uncomfortable position.

" He cooled down after a while. But we can forget about the merger. "

" Fuck! " was all Arden could utter. He knew how important and beneficial that merger would have been, and I actually watched as this emotion flickered across his face for a second. As if he was reconsidering his choice to lie to his parents simply because of the fear to wed a stranger. But what was done was done, there was no going back now. 

" I met with Katarina at the Valor charity event last week, she didn't seem affected at all. "

" Katarina?" Arden asked and both his parents threw him a look of disbelief. His mom shook her head and turned to Anton. 

" He didn't even know her name?" She asked and her husband shrugged. 

" Oh, is that Novak's daughter?" Arden finally understood. That was how uncaring of the matter he had been. He hadn't bothered to discover anything about the girl. 

" He was married already, it's not like he had any interest or intention to wed the girl. "

I on the other hand was interested, taking out my phone I googled her name and couldn't help but react. Of course to me my sweet Layla was the pure definition of beauty, but Katarina wasn't too bad. She looked like a runway model of sorts. And she clearly enjoyed the good life. 

" Wanna see?" I teased Arden. He scoffed and asked me to quit it. That he didn't really care, then I watched as he narrowed his eyes at me, his lips parting slightly before he turned towards the direction of the kitchen. And the bastard actually looked at his watch and narrowed those green eyes even further.

" What's Layla doing?" He asked me. A bit of suspicion hidden in his voice. I told them she was just making preparations for lunch and he nodded. Then he leaned back against the couch and crossed one leg over the other. His gaze never leaving mine, I also held on, very aware of the game he was trying to play. We weren't children anymore. And over the past few days I had been observing this close friend of mine and I had come to the conclusion that there was an underlying interest whenever it came to anything Layla related. And the more I thought of it, the more I realized it had always been there. I just always chose to not notice. Starting from the night he had chosen her to play the part of his wife. He could have easily went with anyone else he liked. Then the necklace after that. The only difference was that while I approached Layla and was straight forward about what I wanted, Arden had done the exact opposite. He had avoided her as much as he could, up until a few days ago he had been going out of his way to stay as far from her as possible. 

He licked his lips, then his focus shifted to my hands. 

" Where's your drink?" He asked. His tone secretly accusing me of something we were clearly both aware of. 

I inwardly cursed. 

That had been the reason I had gone to the kitchen in the first place as far as they were concerned. I couldn't believe I had forgotten the fucking whiskey! His parents also realized it and turned to me, waiting to hear what I would say.