Office Politics

Heres another chapter folks, comments and likes gratefully received. Thanks again to panaflora for editing.

K

~

"Can I see you on Saturday?"

He spoke so quietly that no one could possibly hear his words, but that was irrelevant. Gabriel was perched on the edge of her desk in full view of the entire office. Yet again. He may not have spoken loudly enough to be overheard, but his body language was shouting.

Jess got to her feet, and without a word stalked out of the office into the boardroom. Gabriel followed. As soon as they were alone she spun around to face him.

"We agreed..."

"I didn't. And besides, I didn't touch you," he growled.

"You didn't have to."

Quick as a flash, he moved towards her, forcing her back against the wall. Resting a palm just above her shoulder, the edge of his other arm over her head. For a long moment there were no words, they just glared at each other, both breathing hard. She tried to ignore the riotous butterflies in her stomach as the smell of him surrounded her.

"I thought I was very restrained." He said finally, and his voice scraped at her like sandpaper.

He had a point; this was what Gabriel looked like without restraint, and although technically, he was still not touching her, the heat in the room was skyrocketing; Jess felt she might burst into flames at any moment.

He moved closer still, his gaze loaded with intent, but there was still no contact. She wanted to press her body up against his, curl her arms around his neck, capture his lips with her own. But she dared not. She wasn't sure where this would end up if she did that.

"You didn't answer my question." She could feel his lips tickle against her ear.

She blinked. What question?

"Can I see you on Saturday?"

"You can see me tomorrow, if you like."

He pulled back, just far enough to look at her face. "Really?"

She squirmed under his scrutiny; this was the first time she had, in any way, been proactive about anything. So far it had all been him initiating and her reacting.

She nodded.

He leaned closer again, and pressed his lips against hers, cupping her face with both his hands as he did. Her body sang at the contact. This was home, it told her. This was where she was meant to be. Even through the fog of her arousal, she was cross with herself. Cross with her so predictable reaction to him. Something told Jess it wouldn't do to form too much of an emotional attachment to this man. She couldn't chase away the feeling that this thing between them was lacking in any real substance. The bright hot chemistry wasn't a foundation to anything significant and it reminded her of paper. It burnt hot but too fast.

Despite this, she gave in to the desire that reared up in her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. An approving rumble came from somewhere in his chest. As he deepened the kiss, his hands travelled from her face to her hips, so he could pull her tighter against him.

When their eyes met next, there was a new light in his; youthful, hopeful, excited.

"Joanie is going to Guildford," she explained. "She's staying with my sister."

A catlike smile crept across his face. "So you're mine? For the whole night?"

"Yes."

"Excellent."

And just as suddenly as it arrived, all that infernal heat was gone. He walked to the door, opened it. "I'll see you then," he said over his shoulder. And he disappeared.

Jess sagged against the wall. The fact that he could just do that, just switch in and out of that state so quickly, just stop and wander away, while she needed time to gather herself, it only reinforced her suspicion that she was far more emotionally entangled in this than he was.

He was going to be the death of her.

*

On the stroke of five, an email notification from Gabriel popped up on her screen.

There was no body to the message, just the subject line. We're leaving.

She looked up to find him leaning against the wall opposite her desk, coat on, arms folded. She needed to finish the report she was drafting and send it before she logged off for the weekend, but as the end of the day had crept closer she had been finding it harder and harder to concentrate. Now he was there, watching her; it was impossible. She could feel his eyes on her, crawling over her, mentally undressing her. She signed out and closed her laptop. When she looked up again, he was gone.

She found him again, waiting by his car. As soon as she reached him, he took her hand and pulled her close enough that he could kiss her. Then he opened the passenger door and ushered her inside.

They spent the first part of the car journey in a silence that was weighty with anticipation. Until Gabriel asked, "How is Joanie?"

"Oh, she's good."

"She recovered from Tuesday?"

"It really tired her out, but the consultant says that she needs to start doing things again. Thank you so much, it was so considerate of you to let me go home with her. I hadn't realised how worried I was about her getting back on her own until she didn't have to."

"No need to thank me Jess. It's Good Management 101. Look after your staff."

"Still." Jess had been surprised when it happened. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't realised Gabriel could be that sensitive or considerate. He could say all he liked about looking after staff. "It wouldn't have occurred to a lot of people."

When they next stopped at the lights. Gabriel leaned over and kissed her.

"The consultant said on Wednesday she's doing so well," Jess continued, "she won't need a live-in carer for too much longer." The feeling of relief that had infused the appointment returned briefly, Gran was getting better.

"Good. You can move in with me."

She baulked. Was he being serious? They'd only known each other a few weeks? She didn't reply. Instead she looked out of the window as London flew past.

*

They arrived in his building. There was an elderly couple in the lift too. The gnawing impatience that should have worn off by now, but hadn't, ate at her insides. The moment they were through the door of his apartment, he slammed her against the wall, they tore at each other's clothes. He lifted her, and as she slid up the wall, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Their lips fused. She fisted her hands in his hair. He dug his fingers into her thighs. Hunger roared through her veins, filling her ears, exploding in her chest. When Gabriel stopped suddenly, and placed her gently back on her feet, she frowned.

"We're going to eat first this time," he said, using his thumb to smooth the scowl from her forehead. "Because if I get too wrapped up in you, we might not get around to it, and I need you to keep up your strength."

Jess' stomach clenched at the promise implicit in those words. Gabriel flicked on the lights and wandered off to the kitchen.

--

She drifted over to the window, and the London skyline beyond and again her breath was stolen by the view. She hung around in the lounge, took off her coat and shoes, put her bag down, but when the sounds and the smells of cooking arrived, curiosity overtook her, and she wandered across to the door that led to the kitchen.

Perching on an out of the way stool, she watched while Gabriel moved around the kitchen with enviable fluidity. He looked like a pro and it smelled amazing. It didn't take long for her to realise he was cooking steak.

When it was ready, they both sat at one end of the large, austere dining table.

"This is really good."

"Fillet mignon is considered to be the premier cut of steak by the French," he told her, taking a large gulp of his wine.

"Oh." Jess realised she hadn't yet tried any of hers. They were drinking red wine this time, in huge, delicate, tulip shaped glasses. She was a little scared she might break hers. She took a sip. She wasn't an expert, but like everything else, it tasted expensive.

"How come you're so good at cooking?"

"I worked in a kitchen in Paris in my gap year, and then in London while I was at uni. I considered training as a chef instead of doing business, but my father hit the roof when I mentioned it. I shouldn't have listened to him, I should have done it anyway, but I was young and impressionable and he's very domineering."

She was about to inquire further when he changed direction again.

"When you move in with me, we can eat like this every night."

She laughed nervously, before brushing it off, by saying something about her weight, but to be honest, despite being hungry and the amazing food, she was struggling to eat. Her stomach was in too many knots.

Gabriel finished eating first and watched her, through eyes filled with hunger, and a darkness so black it rivalled the night sky above them.

She rested her fork down on the table, wiped her mouth with her napkin and within seconds he was on her, pressing gentle kisses along her collar bone. Somehow, he managed to seamlessly manoeuvre her onto the table and peel her tights off.

The glass table.

She lifted herself onto her elbows. "Gabriel?"

His eyes narrowed, so she knew he'd heard her, but he didn't reply, instead his head dipped and soon she could feel the heat of his breath against her lips. Then his touch, so tantalisingly gentle that she wanted to scream and beg for more. But she didn't. Instead she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit. When the very tip of his tongue caressed her labia and she reached for something to clutch onto and found nothing but the hard smooth glass. She clenched her fists into tight balls. Finally, when Gabriel covered her sex with his mouth and flicked his tongue against her clitoris she lost her battle and cried his name. His tongue lashed against her unrelentingly, until she was a quivering mass of arousal and nerves. She was climbing rapidly towards climax, but she couldn't let go.

Gabriel stopped and moved up her body, until his face was hovering over hers. He captured her lips in a punishing kiss. She could taste herself on him.

"Baby, relax," he ordered her, and his eyes bored into hers.

"The table..."

"Is tempered glass, you're not going to fall through it, I promise. I would never take that kind of risk with you."

Most of her nerves dissipated but not quite all. Her arousal was still edged with a small amount of fear. His erection pressed against her entrance, and moments later, he plunged into her. She released a breath. It was so unexpected, she felt so full. There had been weeks of illicit liaisons, in doorways, pressed against walls, at stairwells, but it felt like it had been forever since he'd actually penetrated her. She'd forgotten how right it felt. How right he felt.

"You feel so good," he growled against her ear, as if their minds were one, and he began to move with characteristic intent. Her back arched off the table, she squeezed her eyes closed and sucked in her breath as she drew closer to the precipice. Gabriel held her face in his hands and captured her mouth with his own as she moaned his name.

Her climax burst over her, sudden and intense. And it felt as if her body belonged to him and only him, as if she was an instrument that only he knew how to play.

She clung to him as he lifted her and carried her into the bedroom, still hard, still buried deep inside her.

Her head was spinning when he lay her down on the bed and she felt the loss of him keenly when he pulled back so he could undress. He paused so he could unzip her dress and pull it over her head. Still hazy and disorientated from her climax, she undid her bra while he continued to undress himself. When she finished she watched him slide on a condom.

He crawled towards her, heat and intent written across his features. She was forced down onto her back as the exquisite cage of his body surrounded her. He lowered himself on to her, the weight of him pressing her into the mattress beneath them, and she revelled in the glorious heat of his naked skin finally against hers. His gaze met hers for one brief searing moment, and then he claimed her mouth with his own and she melted, and burned and melted again. She felt that familiar low ache for him pull taut. And finally, he slid into her in one slick, devastating thrust.

When he'd sheathed himself fully inside her, he rolled them both over, so they were both sitting up right facing each other. With his arms braced on either side of her, gripping the headboard behind her, Gabriel began to move. He drove into her, filling her, possessing her. And that strange, glorious heat he always seemed able to coax from inside her returned. She clung to his broad shoulders, meeting his thrusts with her own, riding the storm as it crashed through her.

Suddenly he stilled again. Jess opened her eyes and found him watching her. And for a moment, she was trapped in the wintery blue of his gaze, and the Intimacy that existed between them was almost too much to bear. Until he spoke.

"I was serious earlier."

She blinked as she tried to process the words. Her confusion must have been apparent because he clarified.

"I want you to move in with me."

"Why?" She asked. She hadn't meant to abandon the tactic of brushing it off whenever he raised it, but he'd caught her off guard.

He followed the curve of her cheek with the tips of his fingers. "Because I want to have you whenever I like. I want to be able to do this whenever I like." He punctuated that last sentence with a thrust, as if to illustrate his point. She gasped at the sudden sensation.

"We hardly know each other, Gabriel." She said, when she could speak again.

"Don't overthink it," he replied as he pressed his face into her chest. "It's not a big deal."

Jess frowned.

But at the same time, Gabriel captured her breast in that hot mouth of his and flicked his tongue over her nipple, and all conscious thought flew out of her head as sensation took over. Then he reached down into the heat between them and found her pleasure with his fingers; putting an end to the conversation.

He didn't let up. She was pinned against the headboard, as he fucked her with renewed intent. He pressed his teeth into her shoulder and fucked her with long, assertive strokes, until her head spun, until she could feel herself starting to come apart, again. He gripped her face in both his hands and claimed her lips in an aggressive kiss. When she whimpered his name, he chuckled, but he didn't stop.

Until she shattered helplessly around him.

She felt rather than heard a possessive growl from Gabriel and it seemed to roar through her own veins, and he followed her into oblivion.

When she came back to herself again, she was still upright, still filled with him, still pinned against the headboard, while he reigned gentle kisses down on her face. She slumped forward as suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over her. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her down, so they were lying flat, him on his back, her draped over his chest.

The last thing she remembered was him pulling the blankets over them both and holding her against him as she drifted off to sleep.

***

In the silence that only the hours after midnight could bring, Jess slept. In the time it had taken Gabriel to fetch himself a glass of water from the kitchen, she'd moved on to her front, and her arm was thrown over head. Gabriel savoured the opportunity to admire her, bathed in the cool light of the moon.

When it was no longer tucked away in the low bun she wore at the office, her hair was longer than he'd imagined and curlier. He could only just see her surprisingly dark lashes fanned against delicate high set cheekbones. Her skin was perfectly smooth, and without blemish, except for the faint scattering of freckles across her shoulders. He ached to touch her, to press his lips against the smooth flat skin of her shoulder blades. He wanted to explore every inch of her spine with his tongue. He wanted to follow the curve of her waist with his finger tips. But he didn't want to risk waking her. She'd seemed tired earlier and she hadn't eaten an awful lot at dinner. So instead, he wrapped an arm around her middle and carefully pulled her back against his chest.

The fresh green scent of her shampoo filled his nostrils, and beneath it, that smell, like blackcurrants and citrus, that was only Jess. She moaned softly, and he felt an unfamiliar surge of emotion move through him. Something about being around her made him feel whole, right. He tightened his grip, and she arched against him so her bottom was pressed against his crotch. Arousal walloped into him like a blow to the chest. He felt himself begin to grow hard again. He squeezed his eyes closed.

Beside him, Jess sighed and her breathing evened out again. He thought she might have woken, but no, she was still asleep. The temptation to wake her up so he could have her all over again was almost too strong to resist, but he liked this feeling of her pressed against him, small, vulnerable. He wanted her to be there all the time, tucked up against his chest, the warmth of her seeping into him. He slept better when she was there, he liked knowing exactly where she was.

***

Jess woke to the smell of coffee. When she felt the weight of him on the mattress she opened her eyes and sat up. He handed her a cup.

"Morning sleepy head."

"What happened last night? Did I fall asleep?"

"You did. I must have worn you out."

"You exhaust me," she replied melodramatically, and smiling she took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes fell closed. "Heavenly."

She could hear Gabriel's indulgent laughter, and then a notification beeped on her phone.

"What time is it?" She grabbed her phone from the side and glanced at the screen. "Oh, I need to get ready."

Gabriel frowned. "Why?"

"I'm meeting a friend for lunch."

"Cancel."

"I can't, I..." She was about to explain about how Sarah was her oldest friend, about how she was only in London for the weekend, about how there had never been a Basquiat exhibition in London before, but she stopped herself.

She didn't owe him any kind of explanation. She pulled her knees forward, tucked them up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I have plans. I made them weeks ago. I am not changing them."

He watched her, tight lipped, and the silence stretched between them. A few times it looked like maybe he was about to speak, perhaps try to dissuade her again, but he stopped himself every time.

She got out of bed, and without a word, wandered into the bathroom.

She was brushing her teeth and feeling weird when he appeared behind her and pulled her against his chest.

"Do we have time to take a shower?" He said against her ear. The hard muscles of his chest pressed against her back.

Everything inside her clenched.

She met his eyes in the mirror. "Maybe a quick one?"

Gabriel's answering laughter was a dark thing that unfurled inside her like smoke. He pushed her into the cubicle, flicking the jets on as he stepped in behind her.

"Get up against the wall." There was that edge to his voice again, the one that made her toes curl with anticipation. Behind the sound of the water she heard the rip of foil

He held his cock against her opening, while his other hand moved in lazy circles on her clitoris. Jess whimpered without meaning to. He began to push in, but stopped again almost immediately

"Gabriel!" She hissed.

"Tell me what you want me to do Jess."

"I want you inside me." Desperation laced her words.

"I want details this time baby, and I'm not going to do what you want until you give them to me," he said as his fingers continued to torment her. "I want to hear all the dirty things you'd like me to do to you."

Growling, she arched, pushing her bottom into him.

"I'm waiting." His touch was infuriatingly gentle. His erection still paused at her entrance. He knew she needed to leave, and soon. He was doing it on purpose; he was punishing her because she wouldn't cancel, she was certain of it.