Chapter 13
Gabriel pressed his index finger to his lips, his eyes bulging anxiously. Malisa was snatching her clothes on and tossing him his, both more than surprised by the sudden intrusion. From down the hallway, they could hear Gabriel’s family in heated conversation, and both knew it was just a matter of moments before they were caught with their hands deep in the cookie jar.
“Yo, Dad!” Trey called out loudly.
Gabriel shook his head, meeting Malisa’s nervous gaze. Delores’s voice rang out loudly.
“I’ve been sitting out front for almost an hour now. He’s not answering the door or his phone. Something is wrong, I’m telling you.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Delores,” Naomi responded. “He is probably just upstairs, sound asleep.” There was no missing the annoyance in her voice as she dismissed Delores’s concern.
“Trey, go upstairs and find your father,” Delores ordered, rolling her eyes at her ex-sister-in-law.
“Dad!!!” Trey shouted loudly. “You home?”
They could hear the boy’s heavy footsteps stomping up the flight of stairs to the second floor of the large home.
Malisa was mortified as she struggled to pull on her top, gliding her palms down her skirt to straighten it over her hips. There was no time to hook her bra, so she shoved it deep into her purse, knowing there would be no way to hide that she wasn’t wearing one, her breasts swinging freely beneath the silk fabric.
Just as Gabriel was zipping up his pants, Naomi stepped into the room. Her eyes widened in surprise, and a slow grin pulled at her mouth. She tossed a quick glance over her shoulder, then gestured for the two of them to hurry. “Your shirt’s on backward,” she whispered, stifling a laugh as she pointed to her brother.
Malisa could feel a blush of embarrassment painting her expression, her cheeks turning a vibrant shade of red. Both were grateful that Delores had paused at the foot of the stairs, waiting anxiously for Trey to call down and report back to them.
Fanning her hands at them, Naomi pointed to the butler’s pantry, gesturing for them to move into the kitchen. Peering down the hallway, she signaled when it was safe for them to pass behind her; then she returned to the front foyer and to Delores, who was still standing in wait.
She called out to her nephew, “Trey, is he there?”
“Is who there?” Gabriel asked, easing his way in their direction.
Naomi grinned. “There you are! Delores was sure that you were passed out dead or something, big brother.”
“You didn’t call me,” he said, raising his eyebrows at his sister.
The woman giggled. “I knew I forgot something,” she said, snapping her fingers.
“Why didn’t you answer the door?” Delores asked, suspicion shimmering in her eyes. “I’ve been ringing the bell for an hour now.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Sorry, we didn’t hear the bell. The television was too loud, I guess.”
Delores’s neck snapped to attention. “We?”
Trey interrupted the conversation. “Hey, Pop!”
“Hey, son!”
“Whose car is that in the back parking lot? Something happen to yours?”
Gabriel’s head waved from side to side. “I rode home in Malisa’s car. We have to go pick up mine later.”
“Where is she?” Trey questioned.
Gabriel nodded. “We were back in the family room watching television.”
The muscles in Delores’s face tightened, her jaw locked tight at the mention of Malisa’s name. Glaring at Gabriel, she moved in the direction of the family room.
Gabriel called out her name. “Delores! You didn’t tell me what it was you wanted.”
The woman tossed him a look over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed into thin slits. “My family,” she snapped, not bothering to pause.
Malisa was seated on the cushioned sofa, her legs resting atop the ottoman as she clutched a pillow to her chest. Her gaze was locked on the television set, and someone’s reality show played across the screen. When Delores marched into the room, she lifted her eyes innocently and smiled.
“Delores, hello! It’s nice to see you again.”
Delores looked around the room, her eyes shifting anxiously to and fro. Naomi stepped past her, waving a hand in Malisa’s direction.
“Hey, girl! How are you doing?”
“Better now,” Malisa said with a slight laugh. “How about yourself?”
Naomi nodded. “Everything is good.”
Delores cut her eye from one to the other, certain that she was missing something and not knowing what that might be. In the entranceway, Gabriel stood with his arms crossed over his chest. She turned in his direction. “May I speak with you privately, please?”
Gabriel met Malisa’s stare and smiled. He turned back to his child’s mother and nodded. “Sure,” he answered, gesturing for her to follow him to the front of the home.
Back in the living room, he turned to face her. “What’s the problem now, Delores?”
“I can see why you like her. She’s got a big ass and she’s trashy,” Delores said snidely.
Before Gabriel could answer, Delores shook her head in disgust. She pushed past him, bending down to the floor by the corner of the sofa. When she stood back up, she was holding Malisa’s thong between the tips of her two fingers.
“I can’t believe you’d expose our son to your filth!” she hissed, throwing the garment at him.
Gabriel took a deep breath, catching the garment as it hit his chest. “Since you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, Delores, I’d suggest you leave this alone. I pay the mortgage here. I don’t recall you investing one red cent into my home, so you don’t dictate what happens behind my doors.” He pushed Malisa’s panties deep into his pant pocket.
“Now, is there something I can help you with or not? I have company,” Gabriel concluded.
Delores pointed her finger at him, shaking it feverishly. Her rage distorted her face, and Gabriel imagined that if it were at all possible, her head might actually explode. Without saying another word, Delores turned on her heels and tore out the front door, hell-bent on causing her ex-husband and his new friend as much hurt as she could possibly muster.
Malisa stood alone in the powder room, still in disbelief over the turn of events. Naomi found the whole experience humorous, and even Gabriel had been able to finally laugh at the moment. She shook her head, the humiliation continuing to shine in her eyes.
She’d been ready to head home right behind Delores, but she knew that to rush out so abruptly would have drawn Trey’s attention to their predicament, and no one wanted Trey to suspect a thing.
For the last hour, she’d been engaged with stories of his latest antics, the kid having a keen sense of humor and ability to make them all laugh. But she was grateful when he had finally gone up to bed. Naomi had also wished them a good night, whispering to them both to behave. Now Malisa was waiting to take Gabriel back to his car and make her way home.
Drawing her hand through her hair, she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with much-needed oxygen and then sighed. Gabriel’s light tap on the restroom door pulled her back to the moment.
“Malisa, is everything okay?”
Pulling the door open, she greeted him with a slight smile and nodded. “I am. Are you ready?”
Gabriel nodded, wrapping his arms tightly around her torso. “I am so sorry,” he whispered in her ear.
“We should have been more careful. I can’t believe we were so reckless.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean you won’t let me make love to you ever again,” Gabriel said teasingly.
She smiled. “No, it just means that from now on, we go to my house, not yours.”
The man hugged her tightly and then said the unexpected. “And then maybe, one day, my house will be our house?”
Lying alone in her bed, Malisa was still reeling from the night’s events. She’d been so shaken by what had happened that she absolutely refused to share the details of her evening with her sister, feigning exhaustion when Anitra and Baylor wanted to chat.
But being caught with her pants down didn’t compare to Gabriel suggesting that they might one day live together. He’d expounded on the subject as he’d driven her home, foretelling the future he was suddenly imagining for the two of them. Malisa had to admit to being caught up in the possibility of him and her together forever.
She rolled onto her side, pulling the sheet up and over her body. Everything about her and Gabriel together excited her. She loved the thought that he could be her good morning when she woke up each day and her sweet dreams when she drifted off to sleep at night. She was completely enthralled with the idea of being one with Gabriel Whitman.
As she lay there wishing he were with her, Malisa realized that love was exactly what she was feeling and that Gabriel was loving her back just as hard.
Exactly seven hours later, Malisa knew she was dreaming when Gabriel slid into the bed beside her, pulling her against his body as he slid his arms tightly around her. Certain that she was dreaming, she had no desire to ever wake up as she snuggled close against him, reveling in the warmth of his body heat.
The deep tenor of his voice pulled her abruptly out of her slumber.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. Are you planning on getting up anytime soon?”
Malisa’s eyes opened wide, skating around the room as she took in her surroundings. “What? How? Gabriel?”
He chuckled softly. “Yes, ma’am, it’s really me. Good morning!”
“What are you doing here?” Malisa asked as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“Your mother let me in. She said to tell you that she and Anitra will open the restaurant and that she is making Baylor work a shift too. Your dad said to tell you he’ll see you later tonight. And here I am!”
“You mean we’re here alone? Everyone’s gone?”
He nodded. “Yes, but don’t get any ideas. I’m not that kind of guy!” He smiled teasingly.
Malisa shook her head. “I need to get up. I have a ton of work to do.”
“So do I,” Gabriel said matter-of-factly. “But I had to see you this morning before I went to my office. I wanted to make sure that you were okay after last night.”
She nodded. “I’m sure I’ll get over it. I hope we didn’t scar your sister.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, it didn’t faze Naomi in the least. Delores, on the other hand, was a bit perturbed.”
Malisa eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
Gabriel reached into his back pocket and pulled out what was left of her thong. “Delores found these on the floor. She wasn’t happy about it.”
Malisa groaned, pressing her face into a pillow. Her cheeks were a brilliant shade of fire-engine red. She blew a deep sigh, shaking her head. “What about Trey?” she asked, peeking from behind the pillow.
“He doesn’t have a clue.”
Malisa blew a grateful sigh. “That’s all that matters, then,” she said. “I’d be absolutely mortified if he had caught us red-handed.”
“Yeah, I would have had a hard time explaining how you managed to seduce me like that.” Gabriel nodded, a blank expression on his face.
She laughed, pushing him back against the bed. “Very funny, Mr. Whitman.”
Gabriel laughed. “I thought so.”
Lifting her body from the bed, Malisa headed in the direction of the bathroom. She tossed him a glance over her shoulder.
“Are you sure there is no one home?” she questioned.
He nodded, amused as she lifted her nightshirt over her head and dropped it to the floor.
“Well, then,” Malisa said as she stepped her naked body into the other room, “lock the door and come scrub my back for me, please.”
Gabriel grinned. “Yes, ma’am!”
Gabriel was out of his clothes and in the shower behind her before Malisa could even think to ask him twice. Taking the bar of vanilla-scented soap from her hands, he began to rub it against her shoulders and down her back, heading toward the virgin territory that was the soft cheeks of her bubble-shaped behind.
He lingered there ever so briefly as he slipped the edge of his palm into her crack. Malisa responded with a light giggle and a shake of her hips.
“You need to behave,” she giggled softly.
Squatting, Gabriel worked the rich lather down the length of her right leg, caressing and kneading her thigh and then her calf. He repeated the exercise in reverse as he moved up her left leg. When he reached the apex between her thighs, his fingers eased between the tight cavity, gently caressing her slit.
He chuckled softly when Malisa giggled, wiggling free from his touch. Continuing his mission, he massaged lather across her belly, pausing to pay homage to her belly button.
Malisa laughed. “That tickles!” she said as she pushed his hand away. Continuing his journey, he moved back up to her breasts, carefully kneading the nipples as they hardened beneath his touch. After devoting attention to the fleshy tissue, he finished his ministrations back at her shoulders.
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Malisa hugged him close, rubbing the lather from her body against his broad chest. The steamy water cascaded down, rinsing soap into the drain. He felt good against her, and Malisa liked how her morning was starting.
Between them, his dick had hardened, seeking out her attention. Malisa lathered soap into both of her hands, then slowly glided her palm and fingers over the length of him. Gabriel inhaled swiftly, her touch shooting electrical currents through his bloodstream.
“Are you certain you locked that door?” Malisa questioned one last time, nipping at his Adam’s apple.
He nodded, grunting his response, the intense pleasure of her ministrations muddling his thoughts.
“Then let’s take this back to my bed,” she said, sliding out of his reach and grabbing a plush white towel.
As she sprawled across the bed, Gabriel’s excitement was urgent, his raging libido moving him to wrap his hand around his rigid penis. The woman was gorgeous, her skin shimmering from dampness, water still running in trickles across her flesh. The room was hot and humid, and all he wanted was to throw himself between her legs and love her like she’d never been loved before. There was no need or want of any more foreplay.
Standing at the foot of the bed, he gripped both of her ankles and pulled her to him, her buttocks just barely hanging off the edge of the mattress. Lifting her legs against his chest and shoulders, he drove himself into her with one harsh thrust, one deep stroke after another, hitting his target with perfect precision. Malisa clutched the bedsheet and comforter between her small hands. She felt every muscle in her body become increasingly rigid with the most delicious sexual tension. Pleasure fired like a missile from deep in her core. When he exploded with her, Gabriel cried out loudly, tears rising under his eyelids.
Their bodies clung together, wracked with spasms of pure, unadulterated pleasure. Their moans and incoherent verbalizations echoed loudly around the bedroom. And then they relaxed, exhausted, their hearts thumping in unison.
“My God! That was unbelievable!” Gabriel murmured at last.
Malisa nodded in agreement, her hands caressing the sides of his torso. “Oh, yeah!”
Rolling onto his side, Gabriel dropped his palm to her abdomen, caressing her gently. “I vote that we wake up together and do this every morning!”