I wanted her with me though. I had to go to her. Now.
"Hey, it's Gabbie. I'm going out tonight with Emma. We're gonna hit the clubs with Emma's friends from school." The second message was a picture of Gabbie and Emma posing in front of a full-length mirror. Both wore dresses that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Despite all the stress, my cock came to life instantly as my eyes ran up and down the image of Gabbie.
God, she looked so fucking sexy in that dress. I could only imagine just how gorgeous she looked wearing it in person. It wasn't a dress I'd ever seen on her, a sleek black number that ended mid-thigh. Her breasts looked like they were squeezed into it and would burst out at any second. It had to be one of Emma's.
Desire coursed through me, darkened by a sudden possession. Gabbie was mine, and I wasn't into showing off my things.
"Don't wait up," was the final text from her.
My hands balled into fists, and I took deep breaths, trying to get myself under control. This must be her way of telling me it was over, that I'd pushed things too far last night and there was no coming back from it.
For a long while, I just stared at the phone, trying to think of what I could say in response. Gabbie was my wife. Before that, she was my friend, almost a sister. I'd always loved her and always would. But how could I tell her that? Worse, how could I tell her in a text message?
For a while, my thumb hovered over the call button.
Wasn't this what I wanted? For her to go out and live her life? To be with someone her own age? Gabbie was young still. She'd married me right out of high school. She hadn't had the chance to be young, to go out partying and all that, when she was in college. Didn't she deserve a shot at that, rather than being stuck tethered to me? It was why I'd offered her a divorce.
It would be wrong for me to deny her that chance.
Part of me regretted ever marrying her. It wasn't fair to her. She shouldn't have been forced to marry me just to inherit what was rightfully hers. Her old-fashioned father believed marriage, and a family came before business.
Her father was a great man. He'd taught me a lot, both about business and life. But he was from a different generation and set in his ways. To him, it was the man's job to bust his ass, working long days, while the wife stayed at home raising the family. Even after his wife had died, he hadn't been able to change who he was, which is why Mom had spent so much time taking care of Gabbie.
He'd loved Gabbie, more than anything. She was his daughter, his only child. In his mind, locking her share of the company behind marriage was a way to ensure his daughter would be taken care of and provided for. It was like a dowry, something to make his already amazing daughter even more attractive.
Once we'd gotten married, I put the lawyers to work making sure Gabbie's portion of the company was hers and hers alone. He'd left me my share of the company, and the CEO position. I didn't want anyone to think I'd married Gabby just to find more shares of the company. Even if we divorced, Gabbie would always have her own shares of the company. And if she got married again, it would be up to her whether she wanted to share them with her new husband.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll respect your decision,” I texted back finally. I was on my own. Alone. Just as it should be.
So why did it feel so wrong?
Because I wanted her. I wanted my wife.
But I could never allow myself to give in.
Desire coursed through me. I had to douse it. A shower.
I throw off my clothes, leaving them on the floor. Normally, I would have been appalled by leaving clothes strewn about. I couldn't care less. I got in the shower and stood under the cold spray. It did nothing to ease the tension in my heart...or in my cock.
Ugh. I felt like a raging hormonal teenager again.
I shut off the water and forced myself to towel off. There was only one thing to do: go to bed. It was either that or go to Gabbie. And in the state I was in...well, let's just say I knew exactly what I'd do if I found her.
I can't. This was a marriage in name only. She deserves a less jaded man her own age. Not someone dark and intense like me.
I stared at the still messy bed. I lay down on her side and breathed in the floral and cinnamon scent of my wife.
I got up, fists clenched.
Gabbie deserved someone better than me, which meant that I’d just have to be better. I was older, which just meant I could use all of my experience to please and care for her in ways she never could have imagined. She was my wife. And now, she was not my wife in name only. From the moment I claimed her as my own, our destiny was set. Like hell any other man would ever touch her. I’d fucking kill any man who tried.
She. Was. Mine.
11
Gabbie
My jaw ached from clenching it so hard as I stared at the phone. I wanted so badly to just throw it against the wall and watch it shatter into a million pieces. Had It been my phone, I'd have probably done just that. But it wasn't. It was Emma's phone, and I had to keep reminding myself of that. Emma was my friend and had done my a favor by lending me her phone, I wasn't going to return that favor by destroying it.
But as I read the message from Nick
