Gabe cupped her cheek. “That couple is safe from me. I got what I wanted.”
“What exactly do you want?” she asked.
“You.”
“But you don’t have me.”
He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “Laura, you know who I am. The kind of man I am. You belong to me, and if you even think to test me, I will warn you. Frank and Cynthia are safe, but if you try to see anyone else, I will kill any bastard who thinks they can touch you.”
“I could run to the cops. Tell them everything I know about you.”
“You don’t know a whole lot, and you don’t trust the cops.”
“You think you know me?”
Then he said his name.
Laura tensed up and tried to pull away, but Gabe moved a lot faster, caging her in against his hard body and the gate.
“Don’t do that. Don’t pull away.”
“I’ve got to go home.”
He slammed his lips on hers, but any arousal she had died.
Gabe cursed. “Tell me what he did to you.”
“You’ve got the ways of finding out. Figure it out yourself.”
“You’re not alone.”
She laughed. “Don’t lie. I’ve always been alone.”
He pressed his cock against her. She was surprised he wasn’t hard. Gabe stroked her hair back from her cheek. “I will prove to you that you’re never going to be alone again.” He stepped back. “If you don’t want to talk about it. We won’t. Take me back to your place.”
“No, I want to go home. Alone.”
“Not happening.”
She glanced left then right. “My home isn’t some fancy nightclub or expensive penthouse suite.”
“How did you know I lived in a penthouse?” he asked.
“It was a guess.”
He chuckled. “You guessed right.”
“A guy like you, commanding this city. Throwing out threats of death and pain, you’re not going to be in a cheap motel room or apartment block. Like a king, you’ll rule over your subjects.”
“And I rule over you. I know what makes your body tick. Take me back to your place. Let me see, or are you too afraid I might break beneath that icy shell you keep in place?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“No, I don’t suppose you are. You’re not afraid of anything.”
Seeing no point in arguing, she took his arm and walked him back to her apartment. It wasn’t the greatest area of the city, nor was it the worst. She’d seen the pimps on the street corners with the girls working for them. Drug deals going down. Parents throwing their kids out while they deal with abusive partners.
She’d seen a lot.
“There are younger parents out there.”
“Gabe, you’re not my dad. I don’t even know who my dad is.”
“I know most of your story.”
She folded her arms, not wanting to hear it.
“I know everything about you that’s put on a piece of paper, and the rest I’m beginning to understand. You were forgotten. People have used you. Tossed you aside, and because of that, you’ve spent most of your life fighting.”