Authors: Cathy Quinn
Getting Gabriel (7 page)
She felt Gabriel’s fingers touch her hair, and wearily tried to convince her muscles they wanted to do more of that kicking and hitting thing. "An assailant will often go for the hair and try to immobilize the victim like that. Alice, what would you do in these circumstances?"
Alice moved her head experimentally and felt the tug as his hand didn’t budge. "Kick backwards?" she asked. "Scream?"
"Always worth a try." Gabriel’s hand enclosed her wrist again and turned her to face him, bringing her hand up at the same time, demonstrating a move in slow motion. "If you twist around like this, and slam his arm away, you’ll break free. In the same movement, you can kick him in the groin and punch him in the face." He demonstrated the movement, hooking his hand under her knee and raising it. Warm hand. Hot hand. Big hand.
Great timing to discover a new erogenous zone.
Would this class never end? This was the longest half-hour of her life.
"Got it, everyone?"
There was a mumbled chorus of yes’s, and some giggles and ouches as the women got their rings caught in each other’s hair.
"If these were real circumstances, the assailant wouldn’t let go of your hair, so it would probably get torn out by the roots. But in the rush of adrenaline you’d hardly even notice it. Try again, Alice. I’m holding onto your hair now. And ladies, try again until you feel confident. And try not to maim each other."
I’m a pervert, Alice wailed inwardly as she twisted around and slammed Gabriel’s arm away, bringing her knee up so sharp that he recoiled away and then gave her surprised smile of approval.
She was such a pervert. He was using her to demonstrate self-defense moves and all she could think about was pinning him down and having him at her mercy.
Although she’d have preferred nicer surroundings. In his backyard in the warm sunshine. With a hose, lots of chilled water to play with.
Or on his pickup. Parked deep in a forest...
Or in his kitchen, with him lifting her up on the counter again....
Or up on the roof in the moonlight. Tricky, but doable....
Oh, God! What was she thinking?
Sex up on the roof in the middle of the night?
She was seriously depraved. And deprived.
Alice gritted her teeth and slammed into Gabriel with her shoulder, snaking her leg around his ankle and yanking it back so he fell backwards on the mat. She stood panting over him, staring down at the surprised respect in his eyes.
"See, ladies, she took me off guard, taking advantage of the fact that my balance was not optimized. That way she could throw me to the ground, even with all the size and strength I have on her." He raised imself up on his elbows. "If I’d kept my legs splayed, I might have staggered back, but I would probably not have fallen. When expecting an attack, it’s important to watch your balance. Not bad, Alice," he said, standing up. She kind of liked the approval in his eyes. "Excellent. Did you learn this move somewhere?"
She shook her head without speaking, hoping her red cheeks would be attributed to the exertion. She didn’t need lessons; instinct told her all the shortcuts to getting Gabriel horizontal.
Oh, boy. This was getting embarrassing. Cold shower, cold shower, cold shower. Would this session never end?
How long could an hour be?
"Hot?"
Alice gritted her teeth and answered the question he was asking, not the one she was imagining. "Yeah, that’s quite a workout. Can’t wait to hit the shower."
"Won’t be for a while. We have another class. They’ll be here in half an hour."
"What?" She couldn’t go through another round. No way.
"Yeah. This one is for younger women, and it’s just once a week. College students. Most of them are eighteen to twenty."
"Also mugging victims?"
"No."
"Then you don’t need me. You can get one of them to help out."
"No. I do need you."
"Why?"
"I just do."
Alice put her hands on her hips. "I need a better reason than that."
Gabriel sighed. "Okay. Fine. Well, I tried to work alone, but they’re.... I mean, it’s..." He cursed, almost blushing, and looked away. "The thing is, I have a small discipline problem."
Alice cackled when she finally got it. "I see! You mean they have the hots for you?"
He shrugged. "Let’s just say they like to tease me. To keep things simple I’d rather have someone around."
"You want me to be your shield?"
"If that’s how you want to put it..."
She shook her head and glared at him. "You owe me big time."
Gabriel looked at her sideways as he twisted the cap of a water bottle off, and drank deeply. "I have a feeling I’m going to be repaying you big time," he muttered, holding out the bottle. "Want some water?"
Alice accepted the bottle and drank. Her muscles still trembled from the exertions.
Her insides were quivering for other reasons entirely.
This was terrible. Could she wrestle with Gabriel three times every week for a month, and stay in solid form?
She eyed Gabriel, leaning against the bars, arms crossed as he stared out the window, the disheveled hair hanging over his dark eyes. She raised the bottle to her lips again and took another desperate gulp of cool water.
Stay in solid form? Nope, she probably couldn’t.
"How long have you been teaching these courses?" she asked.
"Not long. Just a few weeks."
"It’s a volunteer job, isn’t it?"
"Yeah."
"How did you end up doing this?"
He shrugged. "I drifted into it. Someone I know suffered domestic violence and I realized how important it is for women to know how defend themselves. I’ve got more free time now that I’ve quit my job, so I volunteered to teach a few classes."
Someone he knew? Who? Why didn’t he say her name? How important was this woman to him?
Alice told herself that Gabriel’s friend was none of her business. She had no business asking him just how good a friend she was.
She’d ask Michael instead.
Then what he’d said suddenly hit her. "What did you say? You quit your job? You left your father’s company?"
The look on Gabriel’s face told her he hadn’t intended to reveal that information. "Yep."
"When?"
"About a month ago."
"A month ago? And you didn’t tell me? You didn’t tell Michael?"
"Michael knows."
"And he didn’t tell me?" she said, outraged. Brothers! Good for absolutely nothing!
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Unlike women, men don’t gossip eight hours a day."
"Why did you quit your job? You moved into that house around the same time, didn’t you? What’s going on, Gabriel?"
He grinned. "If I told you it was none of your business, would you back off?"
"Are you having an early mid-life crisis?"
"No, Alice. You’re the one whose entire life is one big crisis, not me."
Alice didn’t take the bait. He was trying to distract her from a more important subject. "We’re talking about you now. What happened? Did you have a fight with your father?"
"Good guess."
"What about your mother?"
Gabriel’s gaze flickered, then he shrugged. "Whatever problems are between my father and me, she’s staying out of it, like a good diplomat."
"Which means she’s taking his side."
"Like a good wife."
There was sarcasm in his tone now. This was obviously a juicy story. And he wasn’t talking.
He would. Sooner or later.
Alice plopped down on an exercise mat and got comfortable. "Tell me more. I need to know which side I should be taking."
"I wasn’t happy with ... some things my father did. He refused to discuss it, or do anything about it. So – I quit."
"Was this a personal disagreement, or something at work?’
"Personal. Now stop it, Alice."
"Was there a huge explosion? Are you out of the will and forbidden to darken their doorstep again?"
Gabriel laughed wryly. "Maybe. I don’t know."
"You’re not speaking."
"Nope."
"To either of them?"
He hesitated. "I’m not quite sure how my mother feels about all this."
"So, what happens now?"
He shrugged. "I’m just taking it easy while I look for another job. Got a few options, and I’m thinking things through."
Alice frowned. "Gabriel – you are going to make up with your father, aren’t you? I mean – you haven’t always gotten along, but you’re more alike then you think."
He cast her a wry look. "Think so?"
"You’re father and son. You should make up!"
Gabriel threw his water bottle in the general direction of his gym bag and started doing stretching exercises. "That’s up to him."
"Up to him? No compromise? No meeting him halfway?"
"No. Not this time."
She waited, but in vain. "Gabriel, getting you to talk is like waiting for hot water in your shower."
He flashed her another one of those lethal smiles. "I’ve fixed it. Come over for a hot shower anytime."
The suggestion gave her goose-bumps, but she tried to ignore them. He was actually talking about himself. Admittedly she was dragging every word out of him, but still, it was a rare gift, and she’d better make the most of it before he clammed up again.
"So you’re not working at all now?"
"No. I’ve got a few job offers lined up, but I decided to take a couple of weeks off and not make any hasty decision about what to do next. In the meantime, I can work on the house."
"Why are you living in a house, anyway? It’s a family house, and you don’t even have a girlfriend. Not even a dog! Just a few dumb fishes. What are you up to?"
"None of your business."
"What’s your plan for the future?"
Gabriel smiled his ‘none-of-your-business’ smile, and she was about to pry further when a group of giggling young women, looking like a rainbow-hued commercial for sportswear, entered the gym. Gabriel straightened up and a look of almost fear crossed his face.
"You look terrified," she commented.
"I am," Gabriel growled. "With good reason, too."
"What in the world did they do to you last time?"
Gabriel shook his head. "You don’t want to know.
Alice grinned and touched his arm. "Don’t worry," she whispered. "This time I’m here to watch your back."
And any other available parts, of course.
Chapter 6
Alice limped around the offices the following day. Even an hour at the gym twice a week had never left her feeling this battered. On the upside, she’d discovered all sorts of new muscles in the most unlikely places, simply because they hurt so much.
The second class had been interesting. The college girls had ignored her, just as they would the broomstick she had replaced, and buzzed around Gabriel as a single-minded hive. Still he’d said this was nothing compared with the previous week.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know just what they’d done to him then, but judging by the look on his face when he’d been surrounded by the giggling horde, the scars still hadn’t healed. She snickered at the thought, then winced at the pain in her stomach muscles.
"It even hurts just to suck in my stomach," she complained to Susan during lunch.
"Why are you sucking in your stomach for?" Susan asked, stirring her yogurt.
"I’m figuring if I do that enough, it’ll compensate for all those sit-ups I don’t do."
"Hm. Interesting idea. I should try that."
"If I get attacked at my date tonight, I won’t even be able to use any of my new tricks because I’m too sore to move," she grumbled. "Gabriel will have to come to my rescue instead."
"Yeah? Hot date tonight?"
Alice shrugged. "First date. Haven’t met him, just seen a picture. He looks nice enough. I don’t know a lot about him, we’ve just exchanged a couple of emails. We’ll see."
"What’s this about Gabriel coming to your rescue?"
"Er... I’m helping him out at the gym, and instead, he acts as my bodyguard at the blind dates. Something like that." It wouldn’t do her street cred much good to admit Gabriel was calling all the shots – making her take the self-defense course and insisting on being her bodyguard.
