“What? No. I just… I’m confused. What do you mean? Whatever it takes?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s a simple question. Are you willing to give everything to me? All you have? Yes or no? Everything about your future depends on the way you answer the question, Fiona.”
“Gabe, I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. Didn't you call me here to…?”
“Never get a straight answer from you do I?” Gabe said, cutting me off. “Hell, half the time I can’t tell whether you want to be working here or not.”
I looked away from him, tugging at my sleeves as I did. Where was all of this coming from? I’d never seen him behave this way.
“You’re always hiding aren’t you?” he said, as his tone grew in frustration. “Why Fiona? From me? What have I done to you except give you a job you’ve always wanted? I’ve been nothing but…”
Gabe bit his lip as he stopped himself mid-sentence and turned to one side, dragging his hand through his wavy brown locks. His jaw clenched and his upper body flexed beneath the fine fabric of his dress shirt. I can’t explain what happened to me next. But without reason, I found myself drawn to his anger. I was desperate, in an unexplainable way, to reach out and touch him. But I dared not. Not while he was in such a state. Instead, with every last bit of resolve I had, I said nothing… and waited.
Just then, Gabe raised his hand to his mouth as a thought occurred to him.
“Are you… a virgin, Fiona?”
As his words settled in, all the reasons I assumed I’d been summoned to Gabe’s office vanished into thin air. In its place a whole new set of concerns flooded my consciousness. I swallowed as I leaned my upper body away from him a fraction.
“Why did you ask me here, Gabe?” I whispered. “What do you want from me?”
Gabe’s expression changed. It was the same one he’d shown me on the elevator on the day of my interview. I continued to move away from him until I bumped against the edge of a coffee table across from the couch. Nearly losing my balance in the process, I reached down and grabbed hold of it as I steadied myself at the last instant. But no sooner had I done so than I turned back towards Gabe to find him less than a foot away from me.
I swallowed hard as I looked at him. Raw excitement, verging on fear, sent blood racing through my veins as I struggled to focus.
“You didn’t answer me,” Gabe began. He stepped even closer, and I caught his scent. I heard the sound of breath draw into his mouth ahead of his challenge. “Are. You. A. Virgin?”
“I… I don’t have to answer that.” I said, as I looked past him towards the door. My entire body pulsed with lust in spite of my anxiety. The mix of emotions, not to mention his presence, overwhelmed me. Fear and worry consumed my thoughts. Would I have to sleep with him to keep my job? Is that why he’d called me here? As soon as that notion occurred to me, my mind went blank as I stared at him.
“Please,” I muttered at last. “I’d like to leave. I'm not… comfortable.”
Gabe looked at me for a moment and then drew his lips inward, thinning them in anger at my refusal to answer any of his questions, especially the last one.
“Okay,” he said, as he exhaled. He stepped back a bit and gestured towards his office door. “Go ahead. We’ll talk later.”
Talk later?
I studied him for a second or two. His gaze remained fixed on me, unbroken, as he held an extended arm pointing away from us. I blinked as I glanced at the distance between where we stood and my escape route. At last, I looked away from him. What just happened? Was I fired? Not fired? I didn’t know what to do or say. But above all else, my instincts told me to go, just get out and whatever happened, happened.
“Excuse me.” I said with a cautious tone. Tugging my hair behind my ears, I ducked a shoulder as I attempted to pass by him and leave. But I’d managed to get no further than about a foot when Gabe grabbed me with such force, one of my sleeves almost tore at the seam near my shoulder.
Blindsided by his speed and aggression, I gasped as Gabe crushed my body into his with a hard pull. He yanked me as if I were weightless, an experience I didn’t think possible. The power of his embrace was a hundred times greater than I expected. Just then, my eyes locked on his. Inexperienced though I was, there was no mistaking, none, about what he intended to do. My breath hitched in the middle of my chest as the muscles of Gabe’s arms flexed against my curves.
Without wasting a second, Gabe descended upon me, pressing his mouth into mine. I inhaled as he did, half-shocked, half-lustful. His lips were soft, moist and seemed to fit against my mouth as if by design. I flinched at first, thinking I ought to know better, do better, be better, but as Gabe’s tongue invaded my mouth, I felt my desire to be right slip away.
In its place, just a desire to be… desired… took its place.
Twisting our heads from side-to-side, Gabe and I continued to kiss for several seconds. His firm embrace eased as his strong fingers trailed along my curves. I reached up, squeezing the hard roundness of his biceps as he explored me. As the seconds drifted on, Gabe’s hands made their away around my backside and up towards my head where he snaked them amongst my silken strands, clutching small handfuls as he went. When at last we broke for an instant, I leaned away from him.
“I don’t understand why…” I muttered, as I looked at him through a lustful gaze. “You can’t want me.”
Gabe licked his lips in frustration.
“Oh Fiona, for fuck’s sake,” he said in disgust. “It's obvious I’m going to have to use words to communicate this to you because you literally think everything to death.”
“No I don’t. I…”
“Fiona, shut the fuck up. Right now. And listen. Don’t speak. If you say another word, you won’t enjoy what happens next. You got me?”
Gabe’s words offended me but his tone… commanded me. My jaw slackened as he spoke. I nodded.
Wordless, Gabe reached towards me, sliding his fingers in the space between my ears and my shoulders and hooking my neck with a gentle tug. I felt my pulse thump against the tips of his digits. My breathing stopped as he leaned in and started to speak.
“Fiona…” he began, in a voice not much above the sound of a whisper. “I don’t give two shits about what you think about what I want. Understand? My mouth literally waters when I see you. There’s not a pure thought in my mind when I watch you walk by me. Not a single one.”
Gabe paused for a moment and moved in closer. Hairs prickled along the back of my neck as he hovered. Goosebumps erupted along my arms.
“Do you know what I want in this moment, more than anything?”
I licked my parched lips, searching for any hint of moisture. I felt small before him, vulnerable, but still, safe. I drew my gaze towards Gabe, locking my eyes on his deep blue pools.
“No,” I whispered.
Gabe chuckled at my discomfort. As he finished, he pointed toward the leather couch where my lab coat hung. He licked his lips like a wolf. With a predatory intent, he made his carnal intentions clear as he drew his mouth near my ear once more. Shivers raced along my spine, causing me to tilt my head in his direction as he advanced towards me. The soft skin of his lips brushed against the curvature of my ear as he divulged his secret.