Now, my husband may have been a lot of things -including a murderer, of course- but one thing I knew for sure. He was a man of his word. So, as promised, I happened to wake up incapable of moving my arms, his hands spreading my legs open while a sinful smile pulled at his entincing lips.
The sleepy fog clouding my brain vanished the moment my white underwear was practically ripped off my body, dark strands of soft hair tickling the insides of my thighs as my murderer's head slowly descended towards the very center of my being.
"Good morning, Mrs S.!" The man was sin personified, his gruff voice and lustful eyes boring into me with the power of a hurricane. I was a wet, writhing mess already and he'd barely even touched me. "I can feel the scent of your desire for me, dea. It's making me heady." As if to punctuate his declaration, his nose went to my core, inhaling deeply and making my hips jerk, in an attempt to achieve some friction. The fucking bastard pulled right back. "That's not how this is going to be. You need to talk to me, dea. You need to tell me what you crave for -what you want me to do to you." Well that turned out to be quite difficult considering the fact that the only thing I could focus on were his hands on me. Well, that and the cover of Adele's I miss you which was softly playing in the background, adding to the pressure building inside my stomach. "Tell me, Julia!" Gabriel demanded, his strained voice pulling me out of my lustful trance.
"Kiss me!" My needy voice sounded strange even to my own ears, but I was way past caring about humiliating myself. I wanted him and if begging was what it took to get him, then I was going to beg.
"Where do you want me to kiss you, dea?" Something resembling a pained groan escaped my lips the moment my brain registered his whispered words, my insides instantly liquefying. "Talk to me, my love!" Oh, for God's sake!
"There!" One of my hands somehow landed onto the back of his head, my fingers twisting into his hair. "I need your mouth there." And what I didn't say was that, in fact, I needed so much more than just his mouth to be there. I needed him inside me. I needed him to complete me. And that was probably why, the moment he repositioned himself between my knees, I ended up wrapping my legs around his narrow shoulders, pulling him closer to me. A pained hiss slipped past his lips as the fabric of his boxer briefs -which he still kept on- collided with the liquid heat at my core.
"Not yet, Julia. Let me worship you, dea!" Carefully removing my legs from his back, Gabriel crawled backwards a little, his lips travelling from my collarbone to my stomach and lower even until I had to bite back a scream caused by the feel of his tongue against my soft flesh.
My body shuddered, my back arching off the bed the moment my clit was sucked into his mouth, his teeth gently biting at it. My murderer had become an expert in giving me pleasure, every inch of his perfect body now capable of offering me complete gratification, which he was doing -quite often actually. Gabriel's fingers joined his mouth, my hips buckling wildly as Adele's song ended, a man's sultry voice drifting to my ears a moment later instead. I was so close to my release that I could not focus on anything else but his mouth and fingers on me, my body on fire, my core throbbing. And then he stopped. The bastard just stopped, leaving me on the edge of my release, my hands pulling against my restraints, my frustration escalating by the minute.
"I've dreamed of fucking you on this song ever since the first time I laid eyes on you." My mouth went dry as his body covered mine, his briefs nowhere in sight any longer. I wondered idly when the hell he'd gotten naked, but then the new song's lyrics finally sunk into my lust clouded brain. The Weeknd's Wicked games was now playing in the background, the memory of the first time we'd met coming back to mind and making me bite into my lower lip. I'd seen the lust in his eyes back then, his body making me crave for his touch. And now I had it. He was all mine.
Sinking into me exquisitely slow, Gabriel groaned loudly as if he felt either deep pain or agonising pleasure -maybe even a bit of both. A sharp thrust brought our hips together, no space at all left between our bodies. My head flew back on an utterly satisfied moan, his erection hitting the very end of me.
"Perfect! Always so perfect." His raged breath fanned over my hot skin, waking my body to life and making me wiggle my hips a little, in the hope of creating some sort of friction between our bodies. My murderer took the hint, his hips pulling back, his erection slowly slipping out of me only to slam back in a moment later. Another brief pause followed his movements, making my head spin, my heart fighting to escape my chest.
"More, Gabriel! Faster!" A sadistic smile pulled at his lips before they crushed mine, his tongue forcing my mouth to open. Another torturously slow withdrawal followed. And then another deep thrust that made me scream this time. "Please!" The desperate edge of my voice made me cringe and Gabriel grin. He wanted me all helpless and desperate. And that gave me an idea. "Release my hands, please! I want to touch you." Another deep thrust made me moan into his mouth, my climax now close, the muscles deep in my belly clenching in the most delicious way. "Please!" I muttered again, his hands finally fumbling with my restraints until releasing one of my hands.
Knowing fully well that that was my only chance to switch places with him, I used my free hand and hips to push him off of me, my body swiftly mounting his again. My legs ended up on each side of his narrow hips, my free hand reaching for his erection before I allowed myself to look up into his eyes.
"My turn." I hissed, enjoying the surprise written all over his face. Firmly gripping his erection, I slowly guided him back to my entrance, my head falling back on a satisfied moan as he completed me again.
"Take it slow, dea." Gabriel commanded, his hands grabbing my hips, his fingers digging into my skin in a warning gesture, making me bite down hard on my lower lip. And yet, the moment I started moving, I obviously disobeyed his command. Ignoring his vice grip of me, I quickly pushed myself off him, slamming back down hard while circling my hips. "Easy, Julia!" His low growl was barely audible, the room filled with Abel's voice, the sound of our bodies colliding and our raged breaths.
Another circling of my hips later, my murderer's grip loosened up, his head flying back on a low curse. He'd given up the fight and now his hips met mine thrust for thrust, his hands holding my ankles pinned to the bed on both sides of his body. My insides started to quicken, my free hand gripping the sheet while the still restrained one fought for its freedom. And that's when it happened. The most incredible sensation of warmth and utter pleasure spread throughout my body, my toes going numb, my muscles contracting to breaking point.
"Scream, Julia!" Gabriel spat out through gritted teeth, his own body tensing in anticipation of his own climax. And just like the good girl I was, I did as told. I screamed.
$$$
"Will you tell me what we need to see Lila for?" My murderer smiled that damn superior smile of his, but kept quiet as we made our way down the hall to the room Lila had been given. He'd been like that -all shady and secretive- the entire morning and I was starting to get sick of his attitude.
My attention was quickly diverted from his behaviour though, the moment the door to my friend's room opened before we even got the chance to reach it, Tom's slumped, half naked figure appearing before us and making my eyes widen slightly. Shortly nodding his head in silent greeting, Gabriel's hitman turned his back to us, starting to walk away, leaving both me and my husband staring at each other in complete shock. He'd been in Lila's room and I knew better than to think that the sated look he was sporting was due to a good night's sleep.
"Did you?..." I found myself incapable of finishing my sentence, the amused expression on my murderer's face telling me that he knew exactly what I wanted to ask him.
"I had no idea Tom banged your friend, Julia. You may have missed that, but I like to keep a professional distance from the personal lives of my employees." His harsh tone of voice made me take an involuntary step backwards, my brow furrowing. What was he so angry about?
" I didn't mean to imply..." The door we were now facing opened with a low thud, cutting me off, while my friend's naked feet came into my line of sight. Lila was standing in the doorway, her blond hair, a mess of curly knots, her blue nightie barely covering her perky ass. My mouth opened and then closed a couple of times as I took in her ravished state, Gabriel's knowing smirk pushing all my wrong buttons.
"You're here." Her high pitched voice snapped me out of my confusion, my icy blues narrowing on her glowing face. She was doing it again. She was trying to hide her one night stands from me.
"We had some papers to discuss. We've talked about it the other day." My murderer's words passed completely unnoticed by me, my entire attention focused on my best friend. I needed a fucking explanation for what had happened.
"Sure. Give me five minutes." The door had started to close by the time I understood what she was trying to do. Oh, no! She was not getting off the hook that easily.
"Us." I said, one of my Valentino pumps now blocking my friend's escape. "Give us five minutes." Gabriel reluctantly nodded, his hands folding over his impressive chest, his back leaning against the wall behind him. So, ignoring my best friend's sullen expression, I stepped straight into her room and closed the door behind me.
Lila's room had a mediteranean look about it, the white, large furniture and huge, floor to ceiling windows covered by light, silky curtains making me slightly loosen up. It was as if I had stepped into an entirely different country, my nostrils flaring, almost capable of conjuring up the scent of the sea and of something else -something slightly darker, musky even. By the time my eyes found the crumpled white sheets covering the king sized bed sat by the window wall, my senses had also finally sorted things out. It wasn't the sea scent that I'd caught a whiff of. It was the scent of a very masculine cologne combined with the darker, musky scent of sex.
"Where's little Joshy?" I asked, my eyes searching the room for my friend's son, but failing to find him.
"Miranda has him. She insisted to put him to bed last night so Mrs Shaffer offered your parents the room near the nursery. Can you believe that they even have a nursery here?" No, I couldn't believe it and quite honestly, a little pang of jealousy took over my chest at the thought that me and Gabriel, we were never going to find any use for such a room anyway.
"What was he doing here, Lila?" My friend stilled, her bra hanging loosely on her shoulders, her front still facing the wall.
"Don't, Jules! I'm a fucking grown woman. I can take care of myself." My jaw tensed, the irony of what I was about to say not lost on me.
"You don't know the man, Lila. He's dangerous and I don't wanna see you or Joshy get hurt." Straightening her back, she finally turned around to look at me, anger marring her beautiful features.
"It's actually quite funny, Jules. I remember me warning you about Gabriel all that time ago too." The memory of my friend's attempt to keep me away from her client made me squeeze my eyes shut in frustration. Here I was, trying to help her and what was I getting in return? A fucking lecture, that was my fucking prize.
"I only want what's best for you. I can't bare watching you get hurt again." Reaching for the green, knee length summer dress lying at the foot of the bed, my friend quietly slipped it on, before giving me what I thought to be an annoyed look.
"I can handle it, ok? It's nothing serious. We're just having fun. So there's no need for you to worry about me. Or my son, for that matter." My hands fisted at my sides, my lungs burning from the air I refused to let out.
"You know, I heard that before. You and Harvey were just having fun too before he got you knocked up." Her eyes widened, her entire body recoiling a little. Oh, for God's sake! What have I done? "Lila, I didn't mean it like that. All I'm trying to say is that you deserve better. You know you do." One of my hands extended to her, my friend quickly ducking out of my reach.
"Just so we're clear, Jules, I know me and Harvey was a mistake, but Joshy is the best damn thing that's ever happened to me. Never bring him up like this again, ok?" I nodded, the huge lump in my throat making it impossible for me to speak. "Now, I know you have the best intentions at heart, dear, but like I said, I'll be fine. I know what I'm getting myself into. I know what Tom does for a living. And I sure as hell know that I won't let him hurt me or my son." My mouth went dry, my heart breaking a little. Of course she was going to be fine. Lila was strong and confident and smart. And I was such an idiot. "Now, I think our five minutes are over and your husband must be waiting for us."
Nodding my head in aknowledgement of her words, I followed my best friend to the door, Gabriel's presence once we stepped into the hallway doing little to calm my nerves. My best friend was mad at me -and for good reason, indeed. My nerves were way past the calming point.
$$$
"A what?" And just like that, the worries concerning my best friend were gone, now replaced with raging anger for what she and my husband had done behind my back. Lila gave me a sympathetic smile -her anger on me now gone too, I hoped- whereas my husband's face remained emotionless.
"A postnuptial agreement, Julia. I'm sure you know what that is." His voice was distant and cold, his hazel eyes giving nothing away. I carefully watched my friend again, shock and horror spreading throughout me.
"I haven't married you for your money, for fuck's sake! I have my own damn money." My husband's upper lip curled up in a disgusted manner, a low growl coming from somewhere deep in his throat.
"It's not my money I'm trying to protect, dea. It's you. Your father insisted on it." My breath caught in my throat, my heart almost hammering out of my damn chest. That's what he'd wanted to talk to Gabriel about. That's why Miranda had to lead me away from the two men. The lawyer in my father just couldn't accept his daughter jumping into this marriage without a safety net waiting to catch her when it was over. "Now, if you'll take a look at the papers, you'll notice..."
"No!" My voice was strong and determined, my hands tightly gripping the arms of my chair.
"Excuse me?" His hazels bore into my skin, liquid heat immediately pulling between my thighs. And yet, I kept my ground.
"I'm not taking a look at anything and I sure as hell won't be signing anything. I don't need a safety net, Gabriel. I refuse to sign these and aknowledge the possibility of our marriage crash and burn before my eyes." I could see the struggle he had to put up with the moment the lump in his throat refused to budge and let him speak.
"Jules, you need to consider all your options. No marriage is perfect. What if..." My friend was quickly interrupted the moment one of my murderer's fists collided with the wooden desk we were gathered around.
"Don't you dare say it, Ms Mathews, or so help me God, I'll find myself another lawyer." I swallowed hard as his hazels found me, the passion in those eyes of his making me lose my train of thought. "We're not getting a divorce. Not now, not ever. I'm not letting you go. Not now, not ever. We're in this together. Now and always." My jaw tensed, tears threatening to break free.
"Then why are you doing this? Why are you taking precautions?" I could almost hear his gritting teeth breaking, my eyes briefly closing in fear of his answer.
"I'm not taking precautions, Julia. If you read the damn thing, you would see that too. I've only done this, at first, because your father asked me to. And then I realised that I was actually doing it for you -the woman who'd given everything up for me. This is the least I can do for you. I want you protected -in every single way possible. I want you rewarded for being in my life, for God's sake! So please, read the damn papers, dea!" Tears threatened to choke me once more, my hand already reaching for the blue folder placed on the desk in front of me, but then I suddenly stopped.
"I'll read the stupid agreement. But I have some demands first." My murderer's brow furrowed and I could've sworn that I heard my friend laughing, but I just ignored both of them, waiting for my words to be aknowledged.
"Go ahead. Ask away!" His voice held a hint of warning, my teeth digging into my lower lip for a moment before I spoke again.
"I want my cellphone back." A small smile pulled at the corner of Gabriel's mouth, a smile of my own stretching over my lips in return.
"Done. What else?" Swallowing hard, I tried my hardest to find the right words to express my next wish. I ended up just saying things as they were.
"My apartment. I want to keep it." His lips turned into a straight line of annoyance and displeasure, my breath hitching the slightest bit.
"Married people usually live together, Julia and we already own several properties that are more fitting for starting a family than your apartment." I had to force myself to breath in and out for a couple of times, my head starting to spin. I only tried to explain myself to him once I was sure I wasn't going to lash out at him. Getting angry and raising my voice at the impossible man I'd married was no solution to my problems after all.
"And we will live together, Gabriel, but I'd like for it to be my choice. I don't wanna feel forced into living with you just because I don't have a place of my own." Apparently considering my words, Gabriel remained quiet for the longest of times, before reluctantly nodding his head in agreement. Hearing Lila's sigh of relief at my husband's reaction, I had to bite back a laugh.
"But let's get something straight." My husband mumbled, his hazels pinning me down. "You only get to keep the damn apartment if I also get my own set of keys to it." Hurriedly nodding my head, I felt the largest grin pull at my lips, the extatic expression on my face making Gabriel smile warmly at me too. "Is that all?" Slowly shaking my head, I conjured up all the courage I had left and forced the words out.
"The protege thing needs to stop. You can't make women your proteges anymore. I can't live with that." There was not a second of hesitation before I got my answer.
"Done." His voice was smooth and soothing, making my insides liquefy to the spot. And then my head started spinning, my heart performing a complete rotation in my chest. I only realised I'd been holding my breath the moment a huge sigh of relief left my lungs in a rush, my right hand finally reaching out for the agreement.
"Ok then." Nodding my head, I allowed my eyes to roam over the seven pages of the contract, the words Julia Shaffer bringing a beaming smile to my face. I was officially Gabriel's wife -Mrs Shaffer- and that thought almost took my breath away. But then my smile slowly gave way to a deep frown as I started reading the terms of the agreement. Don't get me wrong! I was completely ok with the paragraph saying that we would be faithful to each other. I was fine with promising that I would do my best to avoid any disputes and solve them in case they appeared. I was even fine with seeking marital counseling whenever thought necessary by me or Gabriel. But, well... That was pretty much it. The rest of the contract was downright idiotic. "Gabriel, you need a new lawyer." My friend huffed at my sudden outburst, a cocky smile pulling at my murderer's lips.
"I think I'll keep Ms Mathews for a bit longer, thank you." My mouth dropped open, my eyes widening. Pointing at the papers I was still holding, I slowly shook my head.
"This is stupid. You could as well just sign your company and everything you own to me." Reaching for a copy of the contract himself, my murderer turned to the third page, waiting for me to follow his example.
"Right there." He said, pointing his finger at the fourth paragraph on the page. "The parties accept to keep their financial affairs separate from each other during the marriage." He read and I could only huff my displeasure. The bastard was throwing that paragraph in my face in the hopes that I would no longer pay attention to the other terms of the contract which practically made this one useless. He was still going to throw his money at me while also managing to keep an apparence that our finances were completely separate from each other and he was doing that with Lila's help.
"Julia agrees to accept an amount of twelve million dollars in case of a divorce from Gabriel, unless his infidelity is the cause of their separation, case in which an extra amount of eight million dollars will be added to the initial sum?" I read, on the point of a mental break down, my heart beating like crazy. "You are insane, you know that? I have my own damn money, I don't need yours." And of course he knew I had my own money, since both of our financial statements were wisely attached to the contract. For God's sake! I didn't even want to know how he'd gotten a hold of those.
"Julia, I can afford it, trust me!" He kept a calm facade, the fire in his eyes representing the only proof of his boiling anger. As if to convince myself of the truth in what he'd said, I turned to both of our statements, my breath catching in my throat the moment I realised that my two and a half million dollars could never be compared to the sum my husband disposed of. For fuck's sake! I could not even read the damn number. How many fucking digits was it made of?
"I'm still not taking your money." A large hand covered both of mine, his long fingers gently squeezing mine.
"Dea, are you planning to divorce me?" His question was preposterous, my blues flying up to meet his hazels. I decidedly shook my head. "Good. Then there's no need for you to worry about this. All I'm saying is that if you ever decide to walk away from me, then that's that. I would still want you to be happy. I would still want to make sure you have everything you might need." My mouth went dry, the words I love you begging to be let out. "As about the amount of money I'm willing to give you... Dea, I gave Stephanie five millions and I just wanted to get rid of her. I love you! I always will. You deserve at least twice as much." Shutting my mouth, I decided to let go of my pride, refusing to also bring up the paragraph saying that fifty thousand dollars were going to be delivered into my account at our every anniversary. I guessed I just had to find some very expensive gifts for my very rich husband that would somehow make us even. And yet, there was one more thing that I simply found myself incapable of letting go of.
"I think you should strike this out." Extending the agreement to both Lila and my husband, I pointed at the paragraph on the top of the page.
"No." Gabriel slightly shook his head, his hazels travelling to my belly, the look on his face, one of agony. "A man can hope. This is not negociable, dea." Ignoring the pain of my breaking heart, I nodded, my hand reaching out for a pen and signing the fucking agreement while also accepting to receive an amount of eight million dollars for every child I was going to give birth to. The thought that I was actually not going to get any of those money since I was never going to give birth to any of Gabriel's children didn't help this time, because, honestly, I would've gladly accepted the eight millions if that meant giving my husband what he so clearly wanted.
The pen easily glided over the paper, my new name sealing the deal, my husband's relieved smile making me choke back my tears.
$$$
The twenty missed calls from doctor Lombardi made me nervously bite into my lower lip before dialing back his number. The man answered almost immediately, my heart leaping into my throat at the sound of his voice.
"Mrs Shaffer! I've been trying to reach you. I have what I think to be good news for you, signora. And I also think congratulations are in order." A silly smile pulled at my lips.
"Thank you, doctor Lombardi! Now, what are those good news you were talking about?" I could hear the smile in his voice the moment he started talking again.
"We found nothing wrong with you, Mrs Shaffer. You are perfectly healthy, maybe except for a minor calcium deficiency which is perfectly normal for a woman of your condition. I'll write you a prescription, but I honestly doubt you'll need one in the end." I smiled and nodded my head. These were good news indeed. "Now, I'd like to schedule you in for an ultrasound as soon as possible." My brow furrowed, my hands starting to involuntarily shake.
"An ultrasound?" My voice was small and quite honestly pitiful.
"Yes. I'd like to observe the development of the pregnancy." My feet caved in, my behind meeting with the bed. How the fuck was it even possible for what doctor Lombardi said to be true?
"There must be a mistake..." I whispered into the phone, my lungs struggling to get some air past the huge lump in my throat.
"I assure you no mistakes have been made, signora. I, personally, dealt with your tests and put the diagnose." My mouth was dry, so I had to swallow hard a couple of times before being able to speak again.
"No, I mean, I can't possibly be pregnant." The silence on the other end of the phone lasted a second too long.
"Oh, I thought you knew..." How could have I? "I thought signora Montego told you about it. I told her about it when I couldn't find you on the phone." It took me a moment to remember that Gabriel's parents' name was also Montego. And then my chest expanded on a deep sigh, the cogs in my head starting to spin. What if she'd told Gabriel? And what if this was all just a false alarm?
"No, doctor Lombardi, you don't get it. I can't be pregnant." The good doctor sighed a little, as if exasperated by my lack of cooperation.
"And I assure you that you are, Mrs Shaffer. Look, contraceptive methods don't always work..." My head started pounding, my heart almost beating out of my chest. What contraceptive methods? Me and Gabriel, we stopped using contraception as soon as I was told that I was no longer capable of getting pregnant. "Mrs Shaffer?" Shaking my head, I forced my brain to start working again. An ultrasound. I needed an ultrasound.
"When can I come over, doctor?" A few shuffling noises came from the other end of the phone before doctor Lombardi spoke again.
"How about tomorrow? I think I could squeeze you in around 2 pm?" Trying my hardest to stop my hands from shaking, I told the doctor I'd be there, hurriedly hanging up the phone afterwards.
Believe it or not, as I stood there, alone, all I could think about was the fact that I was going to get those eight million dollars after all. Fucking shit!