Chapter 2 - The Penthouse ConfrontationThe ride to Gabriel’s private estate in Beacon Hill was conducted in an agonizing, suffocating silence.
I sat in the plush leather back seat of the armored Maybach, staring out the rain-streaked window at the blurring city lights. Gabriel sat beside me, his long legs spread, his heavy hand resting on his knee, radiating a dark tension that filled every inch of the luxury vehicle. Neither of us spoke, but the air between us crackled like a pending lightning strike.
When the car pulled into the underground garage of his private penthouse building, Gabriel stepped out first, holding the door for me.
"I don't need an escort to my own apartment, Gabriel," I said coldly as my heels clicked against the concrete. "I have my own key, my own life, and my own choices."
"Tonight, you're staying where I can see you," Gabriel replied, taking my arm and guiding me toward his private executive elevator.
The heavy doors sealed shut, locking us inside the small, mirrored space. The scent of him enveloped me. In the reflection of the glass, I could see his eyes fixed on the low-cut back of my emerald dress, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched repeatedly.
"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, turning around to face him directly in the elevator. "For three years, I’ve been a shadow to you! I scheduled your meetings, wiped your servers, cooked your books, and bandaged your wounds! You never looked at me twice. Now I put on a dress, and you act like you own me!"
Gabriel’s eyes snapped up to meet mine. "You think you were a shadow to me?"
"You treated me like one!" I shot back, my chest heaving against the silk of my dress. "I was just 'Reed' or 'Chastity the secretary.' You never asked about my life, my interests, or who I saw outside the office!"
"Because if I asked, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself from taking you!" Gabriel roared, his voice echoing in the small elevator.
The elevator chimed, opening into his sprawling, minimalist penthouse suite.
Before I could process his words, Gabriel grabbed my waist, pulling me out of the elevator and pinning me gently but firmly against the cool marble wall of the foyer.
My breath hitched. My hands instinctively pressed against his broad, muscular chest. His heart was hammering beneath his tailored shirt at a frantic, dangerous pace.
"You think I didn't notice you?" Gabriel whispered, his voice trembling with a rare, terrifying emotion. He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his dark eyes searching every inch of my face. "For three years, I forced myself to look away. I forced myself to treat you like a secretary because this life... my world... is a bloodbath. I thought if I kept my hands off you, I could keep you clean. I thought if I kept you at arm's length, no one would use you to get to me!"
"Gabriel..." I whimpered, the anger in my chest melting into a sudden, overwhelming heat.
"And then tonight," Gabriel continued, his hand rising to cradle the back of my neck, his thumb caressing my jawline with intoxicating roughness, "you stepped out of that restroom looking like an angel designed to ruin me. You put on this dress, pulled down your hair, and walked out to meet another man. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"
"What did it do to you?" I challenged softly, looking up at his dark, parted lips.
"It nearly drove me insane," he growled.
He leaned down and slammed his lips against mine.
The kiss was explosive, fierce, and starved. Three years of buried longing, silent glances, and unspoken tension shattered in an instant. I gasped into his mouth, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as his hands gripped my waist, lifting me slightly off the floor. He tasted like smoke, red wine, and pure passion. He devoured me, claiming every part of my mouth as if proving to the world—and to himself—that I belonged to him.
When he finally pulled back, resting his forehead against mine, both of us were panting heavily.
"You are mine, Chastity," Gabriel breathed against my lips, his eyes dark with possessive love. "Not my secretary. Not my employee. Mine."
Before I could reply, his private encrypted phone chimed violently in his pocket.
Gabriel swore under his breath, stepping back slightly to answer it. "Speak."
He listened for three seconds. His expression instantly shifted from burning passion to icy, lethal fury.
"Where?" Gabriel asked coldly. He listened again, then looked at me. "Lock down the penthouse. I'm coming down."
He hung up and looked at me, his eyes filled with a dark dread. "Tommy just raided an illegal warehouse on the docks owned by the Irish syndicate. They found blueprints of this building, your apartment, and a complete schedule of your daily movements."
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My blood ran cold. "What?"
"They weren't trying to hit my empire through my banks, Chastity," Gabriel said, grabbing his suit jacket. "They were planning to kidnap you tonight."
