Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) (11 page)

Frustration built up inside her. She couldn’t win for losing.
“Go ahead and check. I called you as you requested. No one said I was supposed
to call him. I don’t even have his damned phone number unless I call the
restaurant. Which I did, when I couldn’t get a hold of you! I thought he might
be with you, or even be able to come sit with me until you got home. And
believe me when I say I wouldn’t have done it unless it was a last resort type
of thing.” She grabbed the baby bag off the floor. “So I called only to be told
by the hostess that he wouldn’t be in tonight. I asked for her to call him,
but…” Tears seeped past her lids. “Forget it, I don’t know why I’m bothering to
explain it to you. You don’t believe me.” She picked up Sophia and moved
towards the door, intent on going back upstairs.

“Where the hell are you going?”
Caelan
moved to block the door.

“Upstairs. If you think I’m going to stay down here and be
browbeaten about how I’m such a fool about my own safety, when I did everything
I could think of, you’re out of your fucking mind.”

“What the hell is going on here? I can hear you screaming all
the way in the back of the house. You don’t ever yell at a Dom,”
Nisey
voice came from the doorway, her back stiff as she
glared at Zhenya.

Shit.
She just known
Nisey
would side with
Caelan
. “You do, if he’s being an asshole.” She lifted the
diaper bag higher up on her shoulder and was just opening the door, when a loud
crash came from her apartment along with the squeal of tires.
Caelan
jerked her back into his part of the house, shoving
her and Sophia at
Nisey
.

“Take her and the baby down to the playroom and barricade
yourselves in,
Nisey
. Don’t unlock the door for
anyone but me or Gabriel.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, before cupping
the slight swell of her belly. “Take care of that baby for me. Because if
anything happens to you…”

Nisey
smiled up at him. “Go. Nothing is going to happen to us.” Then she grabbed
Zhenya’s arm and started dragging her towards the basement. “Come on. Hurry
up!”

Chapter
Eleven

“No.” Zhenya crossed her arms over her chest, a defiant glare on
her face as she stood in the middle of the playroom. It’d been two hours since
someone had thrown a brick with a warning through the glass door at the back
entrance to her apartment. The police had come and gone, and now all that was
left was the cleanup. Across the room on the daybed
Nisey
was playing with Sophia, while watching the whole sordid affair unfold with a
rapt expression. “I’m not going and that’s final. I have a perfectly good
apartment upstairs. Throw up some plywood on the door so I can go up there.”

Caelan
sighed at Zhenya’s refusal, as Gabriel shifted from where he was leaning
against the counter. It was his usual spot and he had more than one fond memory
of standing behind the counter in this playroom. In fact, one very memorable
time when
Nisey
had just started her training and
Sara began by dropping to her knees while he and
Caelan
spoke…but as Zhenya dug her heels in, he forced the thought away. This wasn’t
the time to be thinking of Sara. He had to focus instead on Zhenya and the
present, not the past.

“Damn it, Zhenya, quit being so fucking stubborn.” He
straightened and smacked his palm on the counter. “If you think for a moment I
want you under foot, think again. But this isn’t about what either of us want.
It’s what is best for Sophia. That brick today was just a warning, you heard
the cops. They think it was the asshole’s way of telling you, he knows where
you live, and he can reach out and snatch Sophia anytime he chooses, but until
he’s caught red-handed there’s nothing they can do.”

Her eyes narrowed, her nostrils flared with anger. “Of course
not. The police here are just like those in Greece. They blame it on the woman,
how she was asking for it or had done something wrong. I did nothing wrong. My
husband is dead and his family has no right to Sophia, let alone to threaten me
over her! She’s my daughter!”

“I never said she wasn’t, dammit.” Frustrated, Gabriel wanted
nothing more than to bend her over the spanking bench in the corner. “But until
we can catch him in the act, we have to protect you and Sophia.”

Zhenya hissed, before resuming her earlier pacing. “I can
understand I need protection but it doesn’t have to be at your place. I’ll be
damned if I’m going where I’m not welcomed. I lived like that once. Never
again!” She stopped in front of
Caelan
. “If you don’t
want me around now that you know
Nisey
is
expecting—fine. I understand. The last thing I wanted was to bring trouble to
your doorstep. If worse comes to worst, I can always find a hotel or another
place to stay.”

Gabriel growled at the thought of her being alone and
defenseless in some seedy hotel. She’d end up getting raped or, even worse,
dead. The spanking bench was looking more and more tempting.

“No.”
Caelan
shook his head, voicing
Gabriel’s sentiments. “It’s not safe, Zhenya. It’s either you stay with
Gabriel, or it’s Jude, Olivia and Micah. A hotel isn’t secure enough. Not to
mention your credit card can be traced. Which is probably how Sebastene figured
it out to begin with. If you won’t think about yourself, at least think about
Sophia.”

Zhenya looked as if
Caelan
had
physically hit her. “That’s low. I left everything I knew to come to this
country on a student visa I didn’t even want - to protect my daughter from this
very thing happening. And for you to accuse me of not worrying about her
safety….” She drew a ragged breath. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I am.”
Caelan
set his hands on her
shoulders. “And I’ve never doubted you love your daughter, Zhenya. You’d give
up your life for her, which is commendable - but I want you
both
safe. Hiding you is the only way I
can think of to achieve that.”
Caelan
pulled her into
his arms. “Hell, if I could send
Nisey
away I would,
but Sebastene or whoever he has hired will be watching the house.” He pressed a
brotherly kiss to her forehead Gabriel would’ve been jealous of if he hadn’t
known
Caelan
was a taken man.

“However,”
Caelan
continued, “if we
board up the house and all of us leave, we’ll lose every chance we have of
catching the guilty parties. The decoy Jude and Jackson are going to provide
will be for naught if
Nisey
and I leave. You want
this over, right? Go with Gabriel and let us catch the bastard.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Fine, I’ll go, but not with Gabriel. I’m
serious about that. I’ll stay with Olivia and her men instead.”

A possessive anger flowed through Gabriel. “Like hell you will.”
He didn’t know why but the idea of Zhenya staying anywhere other than with him
made him want to beat his chest like a caveman. Ever since the birth of Sophia,
his emotions had been all over the place. Now he was sick and tired of it. He’d
gone from waking up this morning horny as hell from another erotic dream about
Zhenya, to pissed when he’d found out about the call she’d received, and
finally to scared shitless when he’d pulled into
Caelan’s
drive to find the police at his friend’s house.
And all in less than twelve hours. It’s all her damned fault. Stubborn
little submissive she is.

Zhenya glared at him. “You have no say in this.” Her look dared
her him to do anything about it.

Goaded beyond his patience, he pushed away from the counter and
met
Caelan’s
knowing gaze. “Let me handle this,
Caelan
. Give us a few minutes?” Even to his own ears, he
could hear the dark command in it.

“Sure.”
Caelan
raked his hand through
his dark hair. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her.
Nisey
and I will take Sophia upstairs while you talk.” A grin pulled up one corner of
his friend’s mouth. “Feel free to use…whatever.”

“
Caelan
?” The sudden uncertainty in
Zhenya’s voice and the worried look on her face tugged at Gabriel’s
heartstrings, but he had to be strong. Zhenya and her daughter’s safety
depended on him being an asshole.

“He knows your
safeword
, Zhenya.”
Caelan
brushed another kiss over her cheek. “Listen to him.
He only wants what’s best for you. Damn, I wish you weren’t so stubborn.” Then
he was gone, gathering up
Nisey
and the baby. Moments
later, they were alone in the playroom.

Stepping closer, he had to give Zhenya credit as she held her
ground. He narrowed his eyes. “You’re coming home with me.”

“Like hell I am!” She crossed her arms over her chest, her
expression defiant as she threw his words back at him.

“Why are you arguing with the same Dom who’s had you screaming
in pleasure?” He moved closer until the tips of her breasts were touching his
chest. A tall thing, her head came up to his chin. He found he liked it. It was
different than Sara’s short stature, but that was a good thing. It reminded him
this woman wasn’t Sara. “You know you want to come home with me.” He brushed
his lips over her ear. “Olivia’s condo is
sooo
small…” Lightly tracing the inner whorls of her ear with his tongue, he wet
them, then pulled back to let his breath tease over the moist skin. “…with
three adults living there…” Wrapping an arm around her waist he pulled her up
against him, smiling as she cried out in pleasure. “…and my place has more
room…”

“It…doesn’t matter…” She took a shaky breath, before slipping
free of his embrace. “I….can’t think when you…”

He slowly stalked her, as she backed away from him. He felt
alive and very predatory.
And she’s my
prey.
“Then don’t think.” He closed the distance between them, backing her
into the daybed.

“But…” Her protest died in mid-air, as he moved close enough to
push her down on the bed. Once she bounced, he covered her body with his,
pinning her in place. Her face was flushed and he could read her desire. She
wanted him.

And to get me,
she’s going to have to stay with me.
The
devious plan seemed to make sense to his lust-filled mind. He’d take her home,
she’d let him protect her and Sophia, and he’d give her so many orgasms she
wouldn’t know which end was up, let alone be able to fight him about it. With a
muffled groan at the idea, he took her mouth in a kiss that rocked his world.
She tasted even sweeter than he remembered, he decided as he thrust his tongue
against hers.

“Grab the bars,” he panted as he lifted his mouth enough to
talk. Her eyes closed, she mewed and obeyed, making his dick even harder as she
curled her fingers around the brass bars decorating three sides of the daybed.
Her obedience was going straight to his head. “Leave them there,” he rasped,
rocking against her. Guiding of one of her legs over his hip, he hissed as it
brought his sex into direct contact with her mound. He couldn’t stop himself
from rocking against her.

“Oh, my God!” she whimpered, her knuckles white as she clung to
the bed’s rails.

Yanking up on her t-shirt, he reached for the front clasp of the
pretty bra she was wearing. As her swollen breasts spilled into his hands, he
could barely wait to taste her again. Not only were they a sensitive playground
he could tease with clothespins, ice or wax, the added bonus of her sweet milk
made him a hungry man. Dipping his head, he latched onto the nearest pink bud,
licking the tip in welcome before drawing the whole nub inside his mouth.

“Sir!” Her scream, as she went rigid, had him smiling savagely.
If she’d come from something as simple as rubbing against him, and him sucking
on a nipple it was going to be a pure pleasure to push her, to see how far he
could take her. Releasing her hard nipple with an audible pop, he lifted his
head to meet her dazed eyes.

“Come home with me,
louloúdi
mou.
Let me show you what you’re missing. What I can offer you aside from
protection…” Instead of the breathy agreement he’d expected, he got a sub who
stiffened up and politely asked to be released.

“I don’t think so. We’re not going anywhere until we come to an
agreement, Zhenya.” With his desire coursing through him, he didn’t care if he
came off sounding like an ass. She was going to come home with him. “Do I need
to remind you of what happens when you won’t listen in regards to your safety?”

“There’ll be no need for that, Gabriel.” She drew a shaky
breath. “I’ll go to Jude’s or I’ll go it on my own. You’ve done more than
enough, and I won’t be any more of an imposition than I already been. Now
please get off of me.”

Thrusting against her once, he smiled smugly, loving the way her
hips followed his despite in her denial. “And what if I say I want you to
impose on me?” He pitched his voice low, and rocked against her again, letting
her feel how she was affecting him.

A shiver worked down her frame before a haunted look filled her
eyes and she tried to squirm away. Holding her with ease, he groaned at the
friction she was creating. Then her patience with him obviously snapped,
because he’d never heard such an acidic tone from her before.

“Then I’d say that for a man who just called me by his dead
submissive’s pet name, you’ve changed your tune awfully fast.”

Shock washed over him and he froze in place, his hips stopping
mid-thrust. How the hell had she figured it out? Unless someone had mentioned,
but who? He released her and rolled off her, keeping his back to her as his
ardor died a sudden death at the reminder of Sara.

There was a shift behind him, and a quick glance over his
shoulder showed her curled up in a ball towards the headboard, with her arms
wrapped around her waist in a protective way. “That’s what I thought. Thanks
but no thanks, Gabriel. I’ll be damned if I’m going to go back down that path
again.”

“Down what path?” he growled, tugging on his ear in frustration.
“We’re talking about your safety here, maybe a few kisses along the way. Not a
D/s relationship or anything more serious. Neither of us are any position to
want more at this time.”

She raked her fingers through her tumbled hair, causing her
breasts to lift under the cotton of her t-shirt in a way that was distracting
as hell. Just looking at her made his cock throb. He could see the outlines of
her nipples, and it only reminded him of the sweetness he’d just tasted.

“Which is exactly the issue, Gabriel. Look at my face, dammit,
not my breasts!”

He lifted his gaze to focus on her face. Her eyes were
glittering with emotion, and it made him want to press her back down on the bed
and fuck her until she couldn’t move.

“You don’t want a new sub, and despite everything, Sir, I’m
finding I do want a Master. One who’ll love and take care of both me and
Sophia. After your last little lesson, I thought perhaps…” She shook her head.
“…it doesn’t matter what I thought. I can’t risk it. You’re a wonderful man,
and more than likely an even better Dom, but you’re not free. I conveniently
forgot that until I saw you with her in the video of
Nisey’s
collaring. She must’ve been one helluva woman to inspire such tenderness.”

“She was.” His voice was hoarse as tears stung his eyes, and he
knew exactly how Zhenya had found out. He’d remembered comforting Sara and
brushing away her tears of happiness. He must’ve called Sara by her pet name.