Liar Ch. 05

She watched him anxiously, her green eyes dark with unbridled lust. She hadn't moved from where he tossed her effortlessly onto the bed. Now she was propped up on her elbows watching him as he watched her.

Heavy anticipation coursed through her as she watched him shrug out of his jacket. Finally getting it off, he tossed it onto the floor before pulling his black tee-shirt off and tossing it next to it. He had been clothed the last time they were together, so the sight of his bare chest had her inhaling deeply.

He was perfect.

His chuckle at her uninhibited admiration, died in his throat when she quickly discarded her tank top and tossed it at him. She hadn't worn a bra. It was her turn to smile as she slowly rose to her knees. He had undone her jeans earlier in the driveway so it was no task to slip them the rest of the way down leaving her in just her thong. She loved the way he watched her. It made her feel unrestrained. Powerful. A feeling of total abandonment.

Crawling her way to the foot of the bed where he stood, she didn't hesitate to kiss him. Never being one to initiate the kiss between them, she relished in the power before conceding and letting him dominate. She felt him smile against her lips, when she let out a moan of appreciation. He nipped her bottom lip before sucking on it gently. It was a long and wet leisurely kiss that ended with her panting and him gripping her hips possessively.

She stared back at him. He didn't look as affected as she was, except his eyes were half-hooded with arousal. When she slipped her hand down his jeans to feel his cock, he attacked her mouth again. She gently jerked his cock as she returned his kiss with the same, if not more, enthusiasm. When they finally came up for air, she gasped when he snapped the bands of her thong. He grinned sexily as he put them in the pocket of his jeans, before letting them fall to the floor. And with that they were both completely naked, greedily drinking in the sight the other provided.

He pushed her gently back down on the bed. His eyes burned into hers before moving down and taking it's fill of her exposed body. She started to feel nervous under his unrelenting gaze. When she moved to cover herself, he gripped her wrist then brought it to his lips placing a chaste kiss on the inside of it. It was an innocent gesture that she felt in her clit.

He lowered his head to kiss her on the lips, before moving down to kiss her collarbone. He worked his way down to her breast, paying extra attention to the hardened peak before shifting down until he was lying between her spread thighs. Pushing them further apart, Sloane's mind raced about how explicitly open she was for him.

"Don't ever close yourself to me," he said seriously when he felt her resistance.

His eyes pinned on her glistening pink flesh. She was as wet for him and he was rock hard for her. He had never wanted to taste any of the other women he'd been with, but the temptation was running deep within him.

"I better be the only one to ever see you like this." Gabe said darkly, his eyes heavy with possession. He kissed her on her hip bone and crawled back up her body, "Say it Sloane."

"What?" Sloane said breathlessly. She wasn't prepared for the seriousness in Gabe's tone, "Say what?"

"You won't ever let anyone see you like this." Gabe repeated, "I'll kill them-"

"I'm yours," Sloane said meeting his gaze, "For as long as you want me."

'Forever' Gabe thought.

When he kissed her again, he unleashed his full arsenal of notorious expertise. His tongue plunged deep into hers, drawing out her tongue and sucking on it sending every one of Sloane's nerve endings into overdrive. She mimicked his ministrations, moaning into his mouth. His cock hardened to the point of being almost painful, feeling his fluid leak on the inside of her thigh. He regretfully took his mouth away from hers to look at her. The look in her eyes nearly paralyzed him, so he did the only thing he could and kissed her. Alternating between pecks to deep intimate kisses until she was panting, whimpering for more.

She reached down to line his cock up with her waiting pussy, only to whimper in frustration, when he barely entered her. It wasn't enough. She tried moving her hips down to get more of him into her, but his firm grip on hips stalled her efforts.

"Slowly or this will be over before it starts." He hissed out before a sound he'd never heard before managed to escape his throat.

She had moved her hand down where he was in her, moving her hips slightly as she gently pumped the exposed part of cock that wasn't in her. She used her other hand to pull him down, kissing him until he started pushing more of himself into her. Her low, throaty moan was his undoing.

"We can go slow next time, I promise." He said, giving no other preamble as he slammed his full length inside her hot core. She was tight, matched with the way she was clenching down on his aching cock he wasn't going to last long.

She squeezed her eyes shut, as the size of him took her breath. When she finally opened her eyes, his fierce gaze devoured her, "Are you okay?"

She arched an eyebrow before responding, "I'd be a lot better if you could start moving."

He grinned sexily as he laced his fingers with hers and pinned them on the pillow above her head. He withdrew slowly before slamming back in. The sound that she emitted drove him crazy with desire. He started moving in a rhythm that drove her equally insane.

She strained to absorb him, rocking her hips with each of his powerful thrusts, clenching him with each stroke until she gasped from the violent release of pleasure inside her. She watched and felt as he started to piston in and out of her. Sloane's body was racked with her second orgasm before Gabe stiffened above her, roaring her name as his seed filled her. As the last of his seed left him, he dropped down on top of her, burying his head in her neck.

It was in that moment, in his room that night, as she laid there pinned naked under Gabe did Sloane finally surrender to the battle that she'd been fighting since their first time together - she was in love with him.

The revelation was immediately followed by a slight terror that he may not feel the same way. He had only wanted her to stay. He never said anything about love.

Sloane had no choice but to lay there staring up at the ceiling, a prisoner to her thoughts.

What if she stayed and it didn't work out?

Would she blame him for not going to California?

But what if it did work out between them?

What would Dean say?

What if he breaks her heart?

His light snoring brought her rapid thoughts to a screeching halt.

Is he...sleeping?

Nudging him gently, he helped her out and rolled over. She wasn't sure if she should stay or not. Slowly edging herself off the bed, she thought she was almost out of his reach when he suddenly snaked his arm around her waist and dragged her against him. Too tired to try to move away again, Sloane laid there until she felt her eyelids growing heavy. She felt him place a kiss on her head.

"I love you." He mumbled almost incoherently.

She smiled.

Content and sated, Sloane closed her eyes finally allowing sleep to claim her.

The warmth of morning spilled in through the window onto her bare back. She lazily opened her brilliant green eyes, only to squint at the sudden brightness. She turned over and stretched languidly, feeling the bittersweet soreness that was inevitable after last night.

Last night.

She had lost count of how many times Gabe had pulled her under him to bury himself deep within her. She smiled to herself before jerking upright. She needed to get home before her parents realized she had never been there. More importantly was that she needed to tell them that she was staying in Reston.

She rolled off the bed using Gabe's sheet as a makeshift robe as she searched his room for her discarded clothes. She was just about to ask herself where Gabe was when she saw it. A note lay on the pillow that Gabe had previously occupied the night before. She smiled gleefully as she waltzed over to it and picked it up. Her smile faded and her body went numb as she struggled to focus on the words.

'I can't. I'm sorry.'

****

The memory of that morning flooded Sloane with a vengeance. Angry with herself, she couldn't control the bombardment of repressed emotions awakening the pain she'd forced herself to forget. Fighting back tears, she hurried down the hotel corridor, picking up her pace when she heard Gabe calling her name behind her in the distance. As Sloane approached the elevators, she heard Gabe's footsteps pounding closer behind her. She was never going to get away from him if she had to wait for it to come up. Veering left in the direction of the stairwell, she rushed through the door. She stopped with the thought that Gabe would probably assume she would go, so she ran up instead.

She made it to the second landing before the door she just entered through was violently pushed open again. She slammed her back against the wall and stopped moving completely. Holding her breath, she wasn't sure how long she stood there when she realized it was quiet. Too quiet. She should've heard Gabe's footsteps.

She cautiously peered over the railing to see where Gabe was. She watched him from above as he started to go down the steps, away from her. She released her breath in relief, only to suck it back in just as quickly. She watched in horror as he stopped his descent, looked up and locked eyes with her. The slow grin that spread across his face was all she saw before she backed away from the railing and ran up the stairs.

"Sloane. Stop!" Gabe commanded.

"Quit following me." Sloane shouted down at him. He was gaining on her fast. She cursed herself again for the umpteenth time for wearing the heels she had. Totally inappropriate when trying to escape someone.

"Quit running away and I won't have to." Gabe replied.

"I'm just taking a chapter from your book." Sloane said just before pushing open the door to the roof.

She looked around and almost kicked herself for her stupidity. She never thought clearly around Gabe. While it seemed logical at the time, running upstairs was by far the dumbest idea she had ever had. It was like one of those horror movies when the female run up the stairs instead of running to safety.

As she ran along the ledge of the building, she was immediately reminded of her aversion to heights. She didn't even have to be looking down to feel the vertigo set in. She swayed slightly just before she felt a hard impact causing the wind to be knocked out of her lungs and sending her fast and hard towards the ground. She maneuvered her body around to focus on a very concerned Gabe staring down at her.

The terror that raked his body when he saw her teetering close to the edge had been overwhelming. All logic was thrown out the window as he lunged and pulled her down to the ground. He opened his mouth to yell at her for her carelessness when he became mesmerized by the rise and fall of Sloane's chest as she struggled to catch her breath. When his gaze finally made its way up to Sloane's eyes, he found she was already staring up at him, clearly not amused. She didn't cover herself or hit him, which was a start. When he smiled, she frowned and started squirming.

"Get off of me." Her plea came out restricted either because of his weight on top of her or the pain of the impact.

"Quit squirming." Gabe warned, feeling his body reaction to hers.

Sloane responded by using more force than necessary to get him off of her. She quickly regained her footing, huffing as she dusted off and smoothed out her skirt. When she heard Gabe laugh, she looked down at him to see that he was casually lying on his back. He had his hands laced behind his head staring up at her amused. Sloane glared at him.

"I fail to see how this is funny. Maybe rolling around on the ground is acceptable from where you're from but this..." Sloane motioned to her dress, "...completely unacceptable."

"A little harsh, not to mention hypocritical, considering you're from the exact same place." Gabe shot back at her, moving to his feet "Six years and you're all high and mighty. Don't be so uppity Miss California."

"Well excuse me for preferring to stay clean. I'm a complete mess thanks to you and your hero antics."

"If that was a thanks, for saving your life then you're welcome."

"I wasn't trying to jump!" Sloane replied, "I find you revolting but I'm not that desperate to get away from you."

"Revolting?" Gabe scoffed, "Is that what it was down in the room?"

"Don't get me started on whatever the hell that was down in the room," Sloane fired back before crossing her arms and glaring at him, "Isn't Johnna going to be wondering where you went?"

"Probably." Gabe replied, entertained by the jealousy in her tone.

Sloane looked at him waiting for the rest of his answer before she realized there was none. Typical. "Why'd you follow me?" It was her turn to smirk as she saw the arrogance disappear from his beautiful features.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Sloane repeated flatly.

"I guess I don't." He shrugged, annoying her.

"So you just chased me out the room, down the hall, up three flights of stairs only to knock me to the ground?" Sloane recapped bewildered, "Just for the hell of it?"

"It appears so."

He was holding something back. Although every ounce of her wanted to force it out of him, she decided not to open that can of worms.

"Okay, well as much fun as that was...I'm going to head back down," Sloane said easily as she turned to head towards the door. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Unless you have the urge to push me down again?"

"I'll try to control myself." Gabe replied.

"Try and do that." Sloane said walking away.

The last thing she needed right now was to let Gabriel back into her life and back into her heart. The last time she let her guard down around him, she ended up pregnant and Gabriel Jennings ended up a father.

Something he would never know.

Sloane didn't feel guilty about her secret. At least she tried not to.

Gabe was not the kind of father she wanted Ethan to have. She doubted he'd have any interest in having a son anyway. It would disrupt with his rogue way of life. Gabe's reputation of moving from woman to woman had started long before Sloane fell into bed with him. And if tonight with Johnna was any indication of the last six years, old habits died hard. Commitment was Gabe's kryptonite. And a baby was a huge commitment.

****

"Idiot!" Gabe breathed out once Sloane was outside of hearing range.

He didn't want to let her leave again. That's why he chased her out of the hotel room, down the hall, up three flights of stairs and tackled her to the ground.

His body still felt the effects of hers under his, which reminded him of the night they shared before she left. The memory was still fresh in his mind as if it was just this morning and not six years ago.

He had woken up to Sloane sleeping angelically next to him. The fact that it was the first time he had actually been there in the morning barely registered as he drank in the sight of her sleeping form. The early sunlight glowed on her skin making her look ethereal. She was on her stomach with her head turned towards his. Her dark hair sprawled over the pillow and partially over her face. Her full swollen lips were slightly parted causing her to lightly snore. This woman was his.

He had fought the desire to wake her up and bend her body to his will, as he had so many times throughout the night. Sloane was so giving and so pure. So much so that she was willing to forfeit her future to be with him. Anxiety quickly filled him. He couldn't ask her to do that.

He'd never been in a real relationship before. Sloane was so innocent and untainted. He couldn't trust that his tendencies wouldn't ruin that. Despite that warning bells going off in his head, he tore himself away from her, wrote a quick note and snuck out of his bed. All while she slept soundly, irony being that it was his work that caused her to sleep so peacefully.

By the time he realized the magnitude of his mistake, she was already gone.

The weeks following passed in a blur. The memory of Sloane and their night together haunted him. Alcohol numbed both his feelings and his brain. Luckily with the start of another school year, came another new set of female demographic to provide a distraction. By fall break, Gabe had been with a different girl practically every night. It didn't matter who it was because every one of them resembled her.

His carelessness caught up with him when one of his many one night stands resulted with pregnancy allegations. He wanted to blame Sloane for his problems. It seemed easier than blaming him. Dread filled him as he thought of himself as a father. He was religious about protection, so the concept of fathering a child had never occurred to him. He was in no shape to be a father and his life was far from what one would call 'baby friendly'. Adding to the already volatile mix was the supposed "mother of his unborn child". Together he wasn't sure what kind of parents they'd make. Children were definitely not for him.

His chaotic thoughts were blindsided by the sudden image of Sloane, her belly swollen with his child. She'd make a great mother. The image that flashed in his mind brought an overwhelming ache and calmness that served to further fuel Gabe's anger at himself.

He had learned that the baby was not his the same day as Jackson's bachelor party. Caught up in the party and the relief of being off the hook as a father, Gabe partook in the festivities a little more than he should have. He had been too drunk to remember much of anything other than the image of Sloane and babies that plagued him in his alcohol induced slumber.

After he got over his massive hang over the next morning, he had new outlook on life. Gabe worked his ass off to make up for the slacking he did during the first semester. Despite his father's unrelenting perseverance, Gabe refused to work for him after graduation. He wanted to make his own way, rather than live off his father's legacy and be a lawyer like he had working for his father's firm.

After a few years as a detective with the Reston police department, he realized that what he really wanted was to open his own private agency. It took dedication, ambition, and hard work but he did it.

So now here he was with the one that got away, the same one that would be leaving in the next couple of days. If anything he was more confused now then ever about his feeling towards her, but he wasn't selfish enough to ask her to stay again while he sorted them out.

Gabe knew he had hurt her all those years ago, he'd hurt himself too. With that reasoning alone, Gabe decided that he needed to go with his earlier proclamation and stay away from her. He had the sneaking feeling that he either needed to leave her alone or he'd never let her leave again.

"Gabe?" The panic in Sloane's voice had him spinning around quickly and approaching her.

"What's the matter?"

"Th-the d-door." She stuttered out, "It's locked. I think we're stuck up here."