Oak, Sophie - Away From Me (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

Chapter Three

Gaby felt her mouth drop open. “What?”

Cal smiled smugly. It made her want to smack him. “We’ll stop in Vegas. We’ll get married there. You said you would be happy if we got married. I’m willing to do that for you.”

The dinner was not going as she planned. She had thought she could sit and logically work through the end of their relationship with Callum. She understood he was upset. She owed him an explanation. She expected him to yell at her. She expected him to try to get her in bed. She didn’t expect a marriage proposal. It hadn’t, she realized suddenly, been much of a proposal. “I’m not marrying you.”

One elegant eyebrow arched up. “And why not? You said this is what you wanted.”

“No, I wanted you to fall in love with me. I wanted you to want to marry me,” she ground out. It should be plain. She shouldn’t have to humiliate herself to make him understand.

His deep blue eyes narrowed. Gaby felt the weight of his intensity. “You told me what you needed, and I’m giving it to you. I have a ring in my bag. If it’s not nice enough for you, I’ll pick another one, but I assure you, the diamond is of the highest quality.”

“I don’t care about the diamond.” She felt her temper threatening to explode. She’d dreamed of this moment. She’d thought about how he would propose once he realized they were perfect together. Never, in all those fantasies, had he proposed to her because she “needed” it. She felt tears threatening because a part of her still wanted to take this gesture of his and run with it. That part of her that would never stop loving him told her to put that ring on her finger, and his love would come later. It was an illusion, a little girl fantasy she had to let go of.

“I should think you would care about your engagement ring,” he replied. “I spent an enormous amount of time making sure it was the best I could buy for you. I designed the mounting myself.”

“I’m sure it’s lovely.” It was past time to end this discussion. She stood up suddenly. He wasn’t going to be reasonable. “It doesn’t matter because I have no intention of marrying a man who doesn’t love me.”

He remained seated. “Do you want me to say the words? I can certainly say the words if you need them.”

He looked cool and collected in his white dress shirt and neatly pressed slacks. Only Callum could keep his clothes perfect in the tropics. Everyone else wore shorts or casual dresses, and even those got wrinkled in the heat, but Callum looked like he’d walked straight off the pages of a magazine. Gaby knew her hair wilted in the heat. It bothered her that Callum’s hair curling just made him more appealing.

Tears were threatening, and she’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry over him again. What she wouldn’t give for him to say he loved her if he really meant it. “It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t feel it, Cal. We both know you don’t love me.”

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes tired as he ran a hand through his thick hair. “Do we? I know I’ve missed you. I know I’d greatly prefer to have you in my life. Why can’t that be a version of love?”

“Because it isn’t,” she spat. There was no talking to him. She felt the walls closing in and knew she needed to get away from him. “I have some things I need to see to, Cal. I hope you enjoy the rest of your dinner.”

His hand reached out to grab her arm. His face was a slab of granite. “I won’t enjoy the evening without you, Gabrielle. I thought I made that clear. Don’t walk away from me. I’m willing to sit and discuss this with you, but if you walk away, I’ll be forced to try something else.”

“This isn’t fair.”

“It wasn’t fair of you to walk out on me under false pretenses,” he said in an altogether too reasonable voice. “Put the shoe on the other foot, Gaby. How would you feel if I walked away? If I hid a serious, potentially life threatening illness from you, how would you feel? You could have died, Gaby. Would I have even been informed? Would you have let me go on not knowing what had happened to you?”

He said it evenly, but she knew him. She could hear the emotion in his voice. It made her heart hurt. “I figured Greg would tell you.”

He laughed bitterly. “Of course. I’m sure he would have told me gently, since you didn’t bother to mention to him that I hadn’t kicked you to the curb the minute I heard you were diagnosed with cancer.”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Gaby snatched her arm away. She backed up before he could get a hold of her again. “I’m sorry. I never said any such thing to him or anyone else. I need to go. I hope you enjoy your stay with us, Mr. Reed.”

She could hear him curse, but he didn’t leave the table. She walked away quickly. She didn’t have to look back to feel his eyes on her. She shivered slightly and was disconcerted to find it wasn’t from fear. That was in there, too, but she couldn’t fool herself. Being so close to Callum aroused her. She’d spent most of the last year worried that her sex drive was simply gone. Now she knew it was just waiting on the one man she shouldn’t want.

Gaby turned out of the dining room. Several staff members greeted her, but she merely nodded and kept walking, putting distance between her and Cal. She needed to be outside. She needed to feel the sand under her feet, to remind herself that she was here and different than before. Every instinct in her body wanted her to go back to Callum and sink to her knees. Cal would take care of her, but she didn’t need that anymore. She was strong and powerful. She could handle everything on her own.

The moon was full as she slid out of her heels and let her toes wiggle in the still-warm sand. The Caribbean lay in front of her like a shimmering jewel. Gaby let the breeze soothe her heated skin. Cal had her aroused on every level. Just thinking about him got her emotional. Being close to him set her every nerve on edge. It had been impossible not to reach out and touch him. She kept telling herself to keep her hands on the table, and yet, they naturally sought out his skin.

She heard someone moan to her left and realized she’d exited next to the hot tub area. Everything at Decadence was built to accommodate sexual desire. It was a private club that served as a playground for the rich with exotic tastes. There were several hot tub areas. One was ultramodern with jets and bubbly hot water. One was attached to the pool, while another overlooked the ocean. This particular area was a Roman bath, and it was currently being put to the use Greg intended.

There were five people in the bath area, two women and three men. The bath was a long, beautifully tiled tub surrounded by chaise lounges and palm trees. The men sat in the steaming tub watching as the women put on a show. Two female bodies lay on top of a plush lounger, their limbs entwined. There was a blonde and a raven-haired beauty. The blonde was on her back with her legs spread as the dark-haired woman nestled her head at the juncture of her partner’s thighs. Gaby could see the woman’s tongue darting out to slide through her partner’s pussy. The blonde spread her legs, showing off the wet juices that spilled onto her thighs.

“Oh, yes.” The blonde was moaning. Her husky voice was carried by the wind. Gaby stood at the vine covered fence separating the play area from the beach. She couldn’t help but peer across the couple of feet separating her from the erotic scene.

One of the men pulled himself up, perching on the side of the bath. He was muscular, with broad shoulders and short hair. He balanced on one arm, leaning back as his feet dangled in the steamy water. His big hand slid down his wet body. His hand cupped his heavy balls before travelling up to the thick base of his cock. He stroked himself up and down leisurely. Gaby watched, remembering the silky skin that covered Callum’s big cock. It was so beautiful. She loved the feel of him, the play of smooth and strong. Callum’s cock was huge. The first time she’d seen it, her eyes had eaten it up. Her pussy had clenched at the thought of how well he’d fill her up. She loved how powerful she felt when he was in her hands. She would roll his balls against her palm and watch as his cock twitched, just begging for attention. She would lick the head, paying special attention to the V. She would lick that spot over and over, teasing it before swallowing his dick whole. Even though he barked orders at her, she was in control in those moments.

The man stroked himself, his cock pulsing. His eyes were on the women. The dark-haired woman licked and sucked at the blonde’s clit.

How long had it been since she had cupped her own mound and rode her fingers to pleasure? Frustrated tears filled her eyes. Sometimes it felt like her own body was a foreign thing she would never get used to again. It was a cruel twist of fate to Gaby’s mind. She’d never been one of those women to question her sexuality. She’d been more than happy to take her pleasure. She hadn’t had a ton of lovers, but she’d enjoyed almost all of them. The mistakes she’d made, she’d forgiven herself for. She’d accepted her submissive nature and dismissed anyone who looked down on her for it. The loss of her sexual self was devastating.

The blonde cupped her full breasts as the black-haired woman pulled apart her labia, revealing the pink pearl hidden there. She sat up and looked down at her partner’s clit, murmuring words Gaby couldn’t quite hear. She could fill in the blanks. The dark-haired girl would tell the blonde how gorgeous her little clit was. She would tell her how it was sweet to taste that juicy cunt. The dark-haired woman’s hand came out and slid across the clit in front of her before she leaned over to finish the job she’d started.

Her little tongue darted out to tease the blonde’s clit mercilessly. Gaby watched with breathless anticipation as a single finger was added. The blonde groaned and started to ride that finger, her hips pumping frantically. It wasn’t enough, Gaby knew, putting herself in the blonde’s place. She needed so much more than that little finger, but she would shove it in, trying to hit that sweet spot. Cal had done this to her so many times. He would tease her until she wanted to scream. She would try to move against him, try to force him to give her more. That was when the discipline began.

No discipline for the blonde, however. Her partner simply smiled and gave her what she wanted. Two and then three fingers disappeared into the blonde’s creamy cunt, and when the dark-haired woman leaned down and gave her clit a long, slow lick, the blonde’s head began to thrash a little as she moaned.

Gaby looked over to the men. The man sitting on the side was looking directly at her, and a slow smile spread across his face. He was a very attractive man with blond hair and Nordic blue eyes. His cock was long and thick. He brushed his thumb across the bulbous head. Even from her vantage, she could see the cream beginning to coat him, facilitating his masturbation. The muscles of his washboard abs rippled as he picked up the pace. He stared straight at Gaby as he pumped his cock harder and harder, pulling at it from base to head. His balls drew up tight and close to his body. His face flushed. Gaby could hear the blonde coming, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the man. He breathed out and groaned as jets of creamy cum began to coat his hands.

He winked at Gaby and mouthed, “Join me.”

Gaby nearly jumped back. It was one thing to watch, another thing entirely to join in. She could imagine his horror when she got naked. He was practically perfect. How would he react to her breasts? How would he react to the freaky tattooed nipples she sported now? More than that, how could she even think about anyone else when Cal was here? That, above all else, made her want to run. She couldn’t still be in love with Callum. A little panicked, Gaby took another step back and walked straight into a brick wall. Thick arms surrounded her.

“You have no idea how lucky you are you didn’t take that asshole up on his invitation,” Cal breathed darkly into her ear. His arms wound around her waist. She was pierced by the sweet feeling it brought. She’d always felt safe in Callum’s grip.

She remembered how he liked to sleep plastered against her. It had been difficult at first, but after a while, she came to crave the tangle of limbs Callum preferred to rest in. Even when he moved in his sleep, he pulled her along. She hadn’t slept deeply in ten months. “I wasn’t thinking about joining in.”

“Good, because you would have been cleaning up a bloody mess, pet. I understand we have problems to iron out. Do not bring another man into them.”

His hands moved up to cup her breasts. She tried to pull away.

“Stop it,” he ordered in that deep voice that had her obeying almost mindlessly. She stilled in his arms. She could feel his rock-hard cock against her ass. “I’m not hurting you, Gabrielle. I promise my cock will stay in my pants. Relax. Let me make you feel good. Consider it payback for the blow job I stole.”