Chapter 13

Why do I have butterflies in my stomach? I just saw the man last night, had his cock down my throat. I've let him do things to me that I've never let anyone else do. I've always been careful with my sexual encounters. Made sure I maintained control. That I could get away if I needed to.

Last night, I let him tie my hands together. I lost the ability to fight back, and not once did I feel unsafe. When I'm with Gabe, I feel like nothing and no one could ever hurt me. Which leaves me to question if I'm meeting up with him so often because I like him, or because of how safe he makes me feel. It could also just be the sex. Let's be honest. Even if I didn't like the guy, no one could say no to sex that good.

I walk onto the plane and feel his eyes on me right away. He nods to the seat next to him, which happens to be empty.

Yeah, not a chance in hell, mate,I tell him with my glare as I go and sit next to his youngest brother, who's also one of the only other people who's not paired up.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" I ask Vin.

His head immediately shoots to Gabe before he directs that De Bellis smirk at me. "Not at all. It'll keep me entertained the whole flight home," he says.

I groan. "How'd you know?"

"Just a guess." He shrugs. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. Besides, anyone who can make my brother this turned-up is a friend of mine. He likes you, and you're good for him."

"SHH!" I hiss as my eyes flick around the interior of the plane. "I do not need anyone finding out. I'm not ruining El's weekend."

"Lips sealed." Vin gestures to his mouth with a zipping motion for good measure, while movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. It's his pinkie finger. It's tapping on his thigh. A sign of anxiety.

"You're in year twelve, right?"

"Yep," he says.

"What are your plans after school?" I ask him.

"Gio wants me to study business." Vin lifts one shoulder.

"Okay, but what do you want to do?" I press him, and he turns to look at me, his eyes devoid of emotion.

"It doesn't matter what I want to do. In our family, you do what you have to do."

I've heard a similar response from Gabe. "I'm sure if you wanted to study something different and actually told Gio, he wouldn't object to it." I try to keep my voice cool, my expression neutral. No pressure, just a comment.

"And I think that you don't know how my family works," Vin counters.

"You're right. I don't know. But what's the worst that could happen if you asked? You get told no?" I fire right back.

Which has the kid dropping his glare and looking away. "Maybe," he says, dismissing the conversation. All the while that pinkie finger of his is tapping at his leg.

"Are you a nervous flyer?"

This has him landing that glare back in my direction again. "No, why?"

I shrug like it's not a big deal. "You're anxious about something."

His eyes narrow in on me. "You know what? I think you'll have more fun if I switch seats with my brother," he says, unclipping the seat belt and standing up before I can say anything.

I roll my eyes at the smirk on Gabe's face, as he swaggers across the aisle and flops his ass down next to me. His thigh presses up against my leg, and I shift over in my seat to create space between us. It doesn't work because Gabe shifts closer.

"Do you mind?" I ask him.

"Not at all." He smiles.

Now I'm wishing I would have kept my mouth shut and didn't try to use my counselling ways on Vin. He moved because he got tired of my line of questioning. That or he didn't like that I was reading him so well.

I look across to where the kid is now sulking by himself. "You should sit with your brother," I tell Gabe.

"I'd much rather sit next to you," he says.

"Does Vin get anxious about flying?"

"No." Gabe's brows draw down. "Why?"

"Because he shows signs of anxiety. I asked him about it, and he got up and switched seats."

Gabe turns and peers over at his younger brother. "He's fine. Don't ask him questions like that. He's not one of your clients."

"I know that. I was just… Never mind." I stop myself before I say too much. Deciding it's better if I focus on something else, I bend down, dig my headphones out of my bag, put them on, and hit play on my Spotify app. I don't need to sit here and make conversation.

I don't know why it bothers me. The way Gabe closes himself off at times. I know his brothers are everything to him, and I get the loyalty that's shared between them. But he's the one who insisted that we're more than just casual fuck buddies. He's the one who wants us to get to know each other. Then, whenever I ask him any kind of personal question, he's also the one who shuts down.

Snapping my headphones off my ears, I turn and glare at Gabe. Because now I'm pissed off. "You know what? You're the one who keeps claiming we need to get to know each other. To do that, you need to stop shutting down whenever I try to talk to you. Because that's kind of how the whole getting to know each other thing works. People sharing things about themselves."

"When you're ready to admit to yourself that what we are is more than just casual, no strings attached, I'll start sharing more about myself. Answering the questions I can answer," he says.

"What if I am? What if I say right now that I want to be the girlfriend of Gabrielle De Bellis?" The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them this time.

"Then I would say you already are. We were just waiting for your brain to catch up with the rest of the program," he says.

"Consider my brain caught up," I hiss. Gabe goes to move in closer, like he's going to kiss me, and I hold a hand up between us. "You need to give me time to tell El first."

"How much time?" he asks me.

"I don't know. I can't just come out and tell her right now. Just give me a week or two."

"On one condition," Gabe says. "You let me take you out, on a date."

"What if we're seen?" I ask him.

"I can promise you we won't be seen."

"Okay."

"Okay?" He raises a brow.

I smile and nod my head.

Did I really just agree to be his girlfriend? Like actual girlfriend, not just the woman he comes and fucks most nights of the week? This is huge.

Am I really ready for this level of commitment? I have no idea. But I guess we're going to find out.

About halfway through the flight, Gabe leans in and whispers, "Wanna join the mile-high club?"

I look around to see if anyone overheard him. They didn't. "No. And what makes you think I'm not already a member?"

His eyes darken. "Any kind of relations you had prior to me don't count. Better yet, they don't exist. That's how I know."

"I do worry about how your mind works sometimes," I tell him.

"I'm pretty sure it works just fine," he says. "So, is that a no?"

"That's a big, fat no. I'm not doing it on a plane with everyone here," I hiss.

Gabe stands up, adjusting his cock right in front of my eyeline.

Damn it, I do want him.

That's the thing, though. I always want him. No matter how much I get, it's not enough. I don't know how El is going to feel when I have to tell her that I'm fucking—no, not just fucking—that I'm dating her brother-in-law. A guy she very much told me not to go near. I know that our friendship is too strong to break over this. But still, I worry that it may bend a little. Because I have no doubt she's going to be pissed as hell at me.

Gabe returns with a blanket, sits back down, and places it over my lap. "You look cold."

"I'm not," I say, while shoving the material aside.

"You're cold. Keep it on," he insists. When his hand creeps underneath the blanket and up my thigh, his fingers pushing my panties aside and skimming through my wetness, I finally get the hint.

"You're right. It is a bit chilly in here," I say while spreading my legs wider.

"It's about to get hotter. I want to watch you come for me, Daisy. I've never seen anything more beautiful," Gabe whispers into my ear as his fingers push inside me.

I have to bite down on my lip. Coming quietly is not something I'm good at, and he knows it. I'm a screamer. I don't hold back on letting him know how much I love what he does to my body. My hand grips his thigh, my fingers digging into the denim fabric of his jeans as he rubs that magic spot inside me that has me coming for him in mere seconds.

"Fucking breathtaking." Gabe's lips land on my neck, right near my ear. Briefly. Before he removes his fingers and straightens himself in his seat. Then those same fingers go straight to his mouth.