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It’s a reference to the times I shut down and shut him out. The times I knew he smelled like another woman, and yet, he wanted to cozy up to me. Or act like nothing was wrong. Or tell me what to do. Order me, is more like it.
Gabe steps in front of me and reaches for the phone, covering it with his hand, but he doesn’t take it when I expect him to. “Him?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Can I?”
Can he? He’s asking? He is. He’s asking, not assuming. Not demanding. This man is arrogant in his own way, powerful, dominant and yet respectful. It’s a splash of wonderful. He’s all kinds of wonderful. “Yes.” I release the phone into his hand, wanting him to understand how intense this is going to get if he stays involved.
He reads the message and glances at me. “You don’t strike me as the silent type.”
“It’s a coping mechanism with him.”
“So if you ever go silent on me, I’m in deep shit.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll just yell at you.”
“Yelling works, but only if hot fucking comes afterward. Make-up sex is mandatory.”
He then stuns me by punching the number to call my ex from my phone. “Gabe. Gabe, what are you doing?”
“Having a quick chat with your crazy ex.”
“Stop.”
But it’s too late. I can hear my ex as he answers and says, “Got smart and actually called me, did you?”
Gabe’s eyes meet mine. “Got smart and handed me the phone, asshole.”
Chapter thirty-one
Gabe
Abbie stares at me with big, worried eyes, and I have never wanted to wash away anyone’s worry like I do this woman’s. “Please don’t do this,” she whispers, grabbing my hoodie as I hold her phone to my ear.
But I have to do this. I have to lay down the rule of law with her ex, who demands, “You’re treading on dangerous water, Maxwell. Careful where you step.”
I smirk and turn away from Abbie, not interested in her seeing this part of me just yet, but I really have no choice. “Threats will get you everywhere with me,” I assure him, “and nowhere with Abbie. I like them. I revel in them. I get off on them, but when they’re directed at Abbie, you become a stalker, and stalkers get arrested.”
He snorts. “Stalker. The stalker who fucked her a whole lot more than you ever will. And I’ll fuck her again and again and again if I want her. She’s mine when I say she’s mine. She’s playing you, fucking you to fuck with me. How does it feel to be toyed with and used?”
It’s everything Reid had warned me about, but it’s also him trying to get into my head and he’s not getting into my head. “Let’s talk about getting fucked and played,” I say. “As in bend over without even a finger of Vaseline. That’s you if you keep on playing these head games with Abbie. You want the property the shelter is on? Be a fucking man and pay up. If you don’t, you don’t get it.”
“Now you’re her attorney, too? She really is playing you, isn’t she?”
“Damn straight I am. You want to talk about the shelter, call my office and set-up an appointment.”
“She’ll be in jail before she blinks. I don’t need to pay up.”
“The press you’re going to get over this isn’t going to be favorable.”
“There’s no one in the press that will cross me.”
“Are you willing to gamble on that?”
“Are you willing to throw away everything for a romp in the sack? Because you’re declaring war with me, Jean Claude, and your father.”
“Now you’re just trying to turn me on. Hold on. Let me adjust my pants.”
