Turning Of The Tables

GABRIEL

I can't kiss her. I can't be gentle with her. I don't want to be gentle. She doesn't deserve niceness from me, "There you go, you got your birthday kiss." I pull away, wiping my mouth, and her hands fall to her sides.

She's stunned when I move away from her, blinking to clear the lust-filled fog "Why did you stop?"

"You wanted one kiss— which is what I gave you."

"You didn't like it?" She asks, her voice trembling. The little minx is doubting herself now.

I liked it.

I liked it a little too much, and I know she can see my hardened cock through the loose material of my shorts because even though my mouth is no longer on hers, it's still fucking aching for release.

I debate on stepping away for a moment just so I can get some goddamn relief from the throb in my shaft, but I don't want to risk losing her.

"What do you think?" I quip. I don't like this sudden change in her, and I'm more than pissed off that such an innocent girl had been able to make me nearly explode in my fucking briefs. And because of a piss poor excuse of a kiss at best.

Her gaze drops to the growing rod in my shorts and her light blue eyes widen when she realizes I've got a hard-on. Her cheeks flush pink like she's embarrassed, but the teeth in her lip tells me she's turned on.

Christ.

Maybe I should just fuck her now because she won't want me when she's secluded in my mansion. She won't let me fuck her freely after tonight. She won't even give me permission to place a finger on her after this, so I should just take all of her now while I still have the chance. While she's here right in front of me ready and more than willing to spread her legs for me.

After tonight ends, I'll have to force her to obey if I want to enter her. After tonight, I'll have to gag and tie her up just to fuck her.

I've never raped anybody, never had to mutter even the slightest threat to have women drop to their knees or stick their asses in the air for me. Women throw themselves at me daily. I don't even have to ask most of the time because they line up to ride my cock, like customers called up to receive meat at a Deli counter.

I've never thought about violating anyone, but I have no objections to broadening my boundaries to fit what I will and will not do to Rowan Bradley. I've got a sister to avenge after all, and I did steal her away — even though the entire idea was Roman's.

We'd agreed to take her together and rape was definitely on the agenda with that deal. So, I have no choice but to hurt her, and drag her through hell like intended. He would. And he wouldn't waste a second feeling guilty about it.

"Is that because of me?" She asks and interrupts my train of thought.

"Do you see anybody else?" I sigh. She really is self-conscious.

Does she genuinely not know how appealing she is?

"No." She falls silent and casts her head down like she's ashamed.

She's already confusing me. One minute she's eye-fucking me and the next she's curled up and second guessing herself. I've never met a woman who is as vulnerable and as fierce as she is. My head is left spinning because of how fast she switches from being a seductress to a timid ball of doubt. She is different from the two assholes in her family, who hold their heads up high as they spread machine guns and violence across the world. She brings beauty and peace to their destruction and chaos.

Looking at her, I understand the real reason she stepped away from the family business. She's not built to kill. She isn't strong enough to take the test on. She isn't smart enough to survive in the game. She'd be chewed up and spit right back out. And she knows it.

"I'm sorry, I should just go..." She moves off from the cushion and starts to walk away from me.

I've either pissed her off or she wants to escape so she can go cry in private. "No!" I shout, reaching out to grab her by the forearm.

A beam of the moon cuts down her pretty face as she looks up into my eyes with vulnerable hesitation. "Let go of me."

And just when I thought I had her where I wanted her. It looks like I'll need that sedative after all.

"Relax, will you. I just want to talk." I try to banish the alert going off in her gut.

Her eyes hunt deeper into mine, searching for a sign that I can be trusted. I shouldn't be, but I hope she finds what she's looking for, so I can do this cleanly.

"What's the matter?" I whisper against her neck, accidently breathing her skin into my lungs. The scent of salt and roses on her seeps through my pores and attacks my brain. She smells divine, and my tongue tingles for a taste. "I thought we were getting along quite well."

Her lips open slightly, but she's too flabbergasted to speak.

"What's wrong, Rowan?" I ask, keeping the bite of anger out of my poised voice. I've already frightened her once tonight, if I do it again, she'll make a scene, and leaving with her will cause innocent blood to be spilled. I want her to come with me on her own accord, but I also have the needle in my pocket as assurance. I will drug her if she puts up a fight.

"I-- I'm getting a little tired." She declares, but I know she's lying. She just wants to get away from me because I'd bruised the already battered image she has of herself.

This could work out to my advantage. "Please, sit back down."

Her eyes flash all over my face as she contemplates my request. But she gives in and allows me to walk her back over to the cabana. She sits down but keeps her thighs closed tightly to let me know that she doesn't want to be touched. And she doesn't want to be here.

"What do you want to talk to me for?" She asks, glancing around subtly for someone nearby to help her escape from me if she needs it. She'll need help all right. But she won't receive it.

"Like I said before, I thought there was a spark between the two of us." My lips curve into a deceptive grin as my fingertips caress her cheek. Her skin is soft and warm, "Wouldn't you say so?"

She considers my face for a beat before her teeth finds her bottom lip, "Look, I thought I could do this...but I can't. I'm sorry." Her voice is laced with disappointment, embarrassment flushing her cheeks pink beneath my fingertips. "I know it's clichéd to say, but I'm not the kind of girl who meets someone in Mexico and has sex with them— I'm just not— I'm sorry if I made you believe otherwise."

Of course I believed otherwise. She eye-fucked me and then kissed me like I was the last man on earth. And although it was a simple tongue-less kiss, I felt her desperation and how much she wanted it.

"I didn't think you were that kind of girl, Rowan Bradley." I chuckle dryly. It's not a lie. Her body language and her wide doe eyes told me that she'd never kissed a stranger before me, and she'd certainly never felt secure enough to reach out and touch him, either.

I try to ease her mind, making sure to agree with every word she says, but it's not having the effect on her the way I expected. In fact, she turns her head to the side with creasing eyes. "How do you know what my last name is? I don't recall ever saying it."

Realizing the colossal mistake, my body stiffens as her accusatory glare penetrates through my hard exterior. Shit. I revealed the fact that I know her full name. I fucked up. I fucked it all up. How did I do that? I never do that. "Your friend said it when you were in the bathroom." I try to sway her away from confronting me further. "How many drinks had you had by then, anyway?" I chuckle for good measure.

She doesn't buy what I'm trying to sell and instead cautiously scoots further away from me so that it's not obvious. "Sara doesn't tell strangers my last name... So, Mr. Hart, why are you lying to me?"

Dammit. She's not going to come with me silently. I'm going to have to drug her.

If I'm going down, then I'm going down swinging...just a little bit. "Why is that?"

Why don't you broadcast your last name? Is it because your brother is a massive asshole and you know you'd be endangering yourself if anyone realized who you are? Is it because your father supplies the world with weapons created with the sole purpose of keeping his bloody empire flooded with money? Or is it because you know there's a list a mile long filled with people who they've done wrong and destroyed? People who are looking for their own retaliation who would use you to get it?

People like me.

"What's your secret, Rowan?" I slide after her, pinning an arm over the clasped hands in her lap so that she can't fight me. "What are you hiding?" I let my breath tickle her cheek as I lean alarmingly close to her.

Her panicked eyes dance around my face before she turns her head to survey our surroundings. Her chest rises and falls as her breath quickens, every alert inside her flashing danger.

I haven't drugged anyone with a sedative before, but I can't imagine it's that hard. So, while she's turned away, I take advantage of the moment and carefully reach into my back pocket for the needle. I pull it out and stick the sharp tip into her exposed neck before she can draw attention to us, and then I quickly press the plunger in to flood the vein with the drug because I want to do this as cleanly as possible. I don't want to hurt her.

yet.

"What did you just inject me with?" She whips her head back from the sting, her hand flying to the injection site. She holds it there as she tries to push off from the cushion, shock wide in her glare. Her eyes stay focused on me for a second before she stumbles back down. "What did you do to me?"

"Shhhhh... don't fight it." I lightly brush her hair from her eyes, my tone falling to a low murmur to ease her to listen.

"What did you do to me, Gabriel?" She mumbles as she falls against me, her eyes fluttering closed while the drug hooks into her and pulls her into darkness. After a few moments and twitches of her hands, she finally surrenders to the sedative, her head heavy on my chest. She's now out cold and entirely under my control.

"Pull the car up to the rendezvous location. I've got her."