Freeing Her (24 page)

“
Dad’s sixty-fifth
birthday is next month and Mom is throwing him one of her special
dinner parties. She wants you to be there. It’s in six weeks. It
would mean a lot to her, Kol.”

“
You know that’s not
…”

“
Do it for her. Not him.
When was the last time you saw her? Or spoke to her? She adores
you, Kol. Always has. It would make the party for her if you were
to show.”

Gabby watched the interchange with interest.
Kolson’s twitching jaw made it clear he was not happy with his
brother’s request.

“
I need to think about
this.”

“
Fair enough. Let me know
something, though, so I can relay it to Mom.”

“
Yeah. How’s Kade? Have
you heard from him lately?”

“
Kade’s Kade. Fucked up as
usual. Won’t stay clean. Mom still sends him money on the
sly.”

“
So do I. When I can find
him. He’s MIA again. Do me a favor and keep me posted on his
whereabouts. I don’t want him on the streets.”

“
Mom keeps a place for
him. I thought you knew that.”

“
I did. But like I said,
he’s gone. Disappeared and I can’t find him. He called me about a
month ago and we got into an argument over money and him going to
rehab. My men haven’t been able to locate him. He hasn’t been there
in weeks.” Kestrel’s face told Kolson he hadn’t known.

“
Then where’s Mom’s money
going?”

“
No idea. My security team
is on it.”

“
Hell. I didn’t know. I’ll
get on that too. If I find him, I’ll let you know. Will you do the
same?”

“
Yeah. And I’ll let you
know about that damn party.”

“
Thanks, bro. You’re
looking good these days.”

Half smile. Then a nod. “So are you.”

Then he turned a megawatt smile onto Gabby.
“Nice to meet you, Gabby. I hope to see you around.” He bent toward
her and said, “If you have any influence on this guy at all, will
you try to talk him into that party?”

She chuckled and said, “Nice meeting you.
I’ll do my best.”

And he was gone.

When they were alone, she said to Kolson,
“Well, it looks like I’m not the only one with family issues.”

“
Kea, you have no
idea.”

“
Is your brother a drug
addict?”

“
Yeah. Sad situation with
him.”

“
Do you have a
picture?”

Kolson looked at her oddly.

“
Maybe I can help locate
him, or even show his picture around. Someone might recognize him.
I have a ton of experience working with addicts.”

Kolson nodded. “That was one of the things
that impressed me about you, in your background investigation.
Because of Kade. I’ll dig up one of the photos I have of him and
email that to you.”

“
Do you know his drug of
choice?”

“
All of them. Whatever he
can get his hands on.”

“
Heroin?”

“
Can’t say for sure. I’ve
never seen needle marks or seen him inject, but it wouldn’t
surprise me. Truth is, I’m surprised Kestrel and I aren’t addicts
too.”

“
Because of your
dad?”

“
Yeah. Long, ugly
story.”

“
If you ever want to talk
about it, I know a good psychiatrist.”

He faced her and said, “It’s not about want.
It’s about ability.”

“
I can help. I remember
sitting in here with you, and you telling me the same
thing.”

A pained expression passed over his face,
but he quickly shuttered it. “I was protecting you, kea. I needed
to know what happened so I could protect you from Danny. I can
protect myself. I’ve done it for years and will continue to do
so.”

Forcing someone to do something was not one
of Gabby’s usual methods, and like she’d told him before, she
wasn’t into psychoanalyzing her friends. However, she wanted to
impress upon Kolson exactly how much he had helped her. Grabbing
fistfuls of his shirt, she hauled him close to her and explained,
“You can’t understand how freeing it is to release the burden until
you do it. I never knew. Couldn’t have known. And it’s all because
of you. If you hadn’t persisted.”

As he stared at her face, he saw honesty and
sincerity pouring from her. He wanted to let her in. He did. But it
wasn’t possible. The memories were so disturbing, he didn’t dare
visit them. He placed his hands over hers and loosened them, then
kissed them before releasing, softening the gesture.

“
God, Gabriella, I want
to. I do. Maybe someday. But not now.” Then he headed to the bar to
pour himself a drink.

Gabby knew he needed to be alone so she
walked to her room and prepared her clothes for work in the
morning. She located her briefcase and checked her schedule and
charts for the next day. After she was finished, she sent Sky and
Cara texts, letting them know what was going on with her. Just as
she expected, she got immediate responses. She promised them both
all was safe and secure at Kolson’s and she would bring them up to
speed the next day. She was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when
Kolson appeared behind her.

“
Are you sleeping in here
tonight?” he asked hesitantly.

She pulled her toothbrush out of her mouth
and answered around the foam, “Only if you want me to.”

Shaking his head, he said, “No. I want you
naked, next to me. Finish up here. Then join me in my room.”

It didn’t take her long before she was
climbing into his bed and he settled her on top of him.

“
Why are you wearing
this?” he asked, tugging on her cami.

“
It’s what I usually wear
to bed.”

“
Not in here, I always
want you naked next to me.”

“
Well, then—” she sat up
and slipped the cami over her head—“that takes care of
that.”

“
Don’t move.”

She straddled him and he cupped her breasts.
Sliding his thumbs over her nipples, he circled them until they
hardened. She slanted toward him.

He raised his knees and said, “I want you to
lean back and make yourself come for me.”

“
You what?”

“
I want to watch you
masturbate. You’ve seen me, now it’s my turn to watch
you.”

“
But I don’t …”

“
Gabriella, you know how
to masturbate, don’t you?”

“
Of course. But I usually
do it with a vibrator.”

“
Go get it.”

“
My vibrator?”

“
Yes. Your
vibrator.”

“
But it’s at my
apartment.”

“
No, all of your things
are here.”

“
All my … even
that?”

“
Yes, even that. Now go
find it and bring it in here.” Kolson grinned.

She scrambled off him and went to her room.
She checked the nightstand because that’s where she kept it at her
place and, dear God, there it sat. She grabbed it and returned to
Kolson’s room. Her breath caught when she saw him lying in the
tangled sheets. His erection was thick and straining toward his
belly and his nipple piercing begged for her tongue to lick it.

“
Quit stalling,
Gabriella.”

“
Oh, I wasn’t stalling. I
was enjoying the view.”

His eyes smoldered. “So where is it?”

“
Here.” She held up her
bullet.

“
That’s
your vibrator?”

“
Yeah. Why?”

“
I imagined you would have
some fancy phallus with an extended vibrating
appendage.”

“
Why would you think
that?”

“
I thought all women had
those.”

Gabby laughed. “Not me.”

“
That doesn’t look very
exciting.”

“
You know what they say,
don’t you?”

“
Why don’t you tell
me?”

“
Big things come in small
packages.”

He glanced down at his cock and then at her
tiny bullet and said, “Hmm, I think you’re going to have to prove
that to me.”

“
All right. Don’t say I
didn’t warn you,” she said with a wink. She climbed aboard and
leaned back. “You ready?”

“
Whenever you
are.”

Gabby turned the dial on the bullet and it
started to hum. She placed it on her sex and grinned. Kolson eyed
her with interest, but soon, her head fell back and she arched her
spine as she moaned. Her thighs fell apart as her pussy opened for
him, and he watched as her pelvis slowly gyrated against her hand.
It wasn’t long before his own desire overpowered him, so he took
his hand and grabbed the bullet, taking control of the thing.
Moments later, he tossed it aside and impaled her on his stone-hard
cock.

“
Don’t you dare come yet,
Gabriella.” He flattened his legs and said, “Lean back on your
hands and ride me.” He watched his cock slide in and out of her and
groaned at the sight. “You are perfect. So fucking
perfect.”

“
I need to come,” she
cried.

“
Not so fast.” He stopped
and lifted her up and turned her around so she was facing away from
him. Then with aching slowness, he sat her down on him again and
she let out a long moan.

“
Pleeeeeease. Let me
come.”

“
Patience.”

His strokes were controlled and lazy. He
watched her ivory cheeks as he lifted her up and down. Her slit
called to him so he took one long finger and ran it from where he
was joined to her and smoothed her moisture around the rosebud that
spread slightly open before him.

She mewled in response.

“
Yes or no,
Gabriella.”

“
Yes.”

He pushed his finger in just a tiny bit and
she stopped breathing, fearing its invasion.

“
Relax, kea.”

He kept up the motion of his cock to
distract her and soon she was again caught up in the rhythm. His
finger nudged deeper inside, until he passed the tight ring of
muscles that relaxed and let him enter.

Gabby never felt pleasure like that before,
unusual but heightened and beyond unbearable. “Oh, Kolson, I can’t
hold back,” she cried.

Kolson felt both sets of muscles contracting
around him, and he quickly followed her climax. Still deep inside
of her, he pulled her back so she lay on top on him and kissed her
neck and cheek.

“
You are so beautiful, so
amazing when you come, kea. Did you like that?”

She turned her head to look at him. “Yeah.
It was … wow.”

He gave her a lazy smile. Then he moved her
aside, excused himself, and went to the bathroom to return a bit
later with a warm cloth. He gently wiped her clean and tossed the
cloth on the floor. Gathering her in his arms, he said, “Now, sleep
time, don’t you think?”

“
Hmm-mmm.” She loved the
feel of his arms around her, the way they made her feel so safe and
sound. “Kolson, I want you to know I never knew it could be this
good.” She lifted herself up so she could look into his eyes.
“After everything, you know, I pretty much figured that sex would
always be kind of icky. But it’s not. With you. It’s … I think you
know how it is for me.”

His hand was wound up in her tresses and he
smiled. “I’m glad. It’s the way it should be.” His mouth touched
hers, first on each corner, then on the upper and finally the lower
lip. “I worship your mouth. Now sleep. Tomorrow begins a busy
week.”

Chapter
Nineteen

Just as they were
settling in, it started storming outside.
Lightning cracked and thunder boomed, sending vibrations rolling
through the room. Pictures rattled where they hung on the walls and
vases shook on tables.

“
Jeez, this sounds like a
big one,” Gabby said. She got out of bed and moved to the window.
“Is it always this loud up here?”

“
Get away from there! It’s
dangerous,” Kolson commanded. “And yes, being up here with all this
glass can amplify the sound if the storm is bad enough.”

She spun back around, laughing. “It’s not
dangerous. It’s only a summertime storm.”

Another huge streak of lightning lit up the
sky, followed by a deafening boom. A few more brilliant bands
danced across the black sky and rain pelted the window. It wasn’t
long before the sounds of hail were heard.

“
Oh my
goodness.”

“
Gabriella, stay away from
the window, please. It’s not safe. People get struck by lightning
through windows.”

Suddenly, the room and buildings surrounding
them were plunged into darkness as the lights flickered off.

“
Holy fuck!” Kolson
cursed.

Gabby heard something crash to the floor.
The lamp maybe?

“
Kolson, are you okay?
What happened?” she asked. “Where are you?”

“
I’m trying to find the
fucking flashlight. Candles. Anything. Goddammit.”

She could hear more things breaking as he
stumbled about the room.

“
Kolson, stay
still.”

“
No! Goddammit,
I
need
light
,” he gritted out.
“Where is the fucking flashlight? It’s supposed to be in
here!”