All of Me by Tiffany Patterson

Chapter 19

Lena

Sometime late into the night, my eyes popped open. The room was completely dark, though I could make out the shapes of the bedroom furniture at the far side of the room.

The only sounds in the room were the light snores of Gabriel behind me. His heavy arm remained strewn across my body. Though I loathed to come up from underneath it, I needed to.

Song lyrics stormed through my head like a whirling tornado, and I needed to capture them on paper.

Sliding from underneath Gabe and off the bed, I felt for a pen on the nightstand and silently cheered when I found one. Next, I opened the top drawer and was pleased to see one of the hotel’s customary notepads sitting there.

As quietly as I could, I climbed back into bed and switched on the lamp next to my side. I glanced over to see Gabe turn over on his stomach, still asleep.

Satisfied, I sat up against the headboard and wrote the first song lyrics that I’d written in over a year. The words poured out of me faster than I could get them down.

Tornado.

That was the name of this song. The feelings encompassed in the lyrics described what it felt like to be caught in something much larger and a hell of a lot more powerful than you.

When I got to a spot in the song where I didn’t know what else to write, I stopped. I stared down at a sleeping Gabe, his broad back exposed. The wolf stared back at me, watching me, waiting.

Softly, I pushed the blanket back to expose the rest of the tattoo. The shading was incomplete, but the wolf looked older, more developed. And more ferocious.

I squeezed my thighs together, remembering the way Gabe had slung me over his shoulder to prevent me from storming away from him after his photoshoot. And the way he’d made me cry out his name just hours earlier. Ferocious was how I could describe him, all right.

And then, more words to the song came. I wrote even as my hand started to cramp. Here and there, I sang some of the lyrics, wanting to hear them strung together out loud. But I tried to be mindful of the wolf sleeping next to me.

That is, until I heard, “Keep singing. I want to hear your voice.”

Sleep filled his deep, raspy voice. He wore a grin as he looked up at me from the pillow.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t. I’m a light sleeper.” His gaze, sharp even right after waking up, moved to the notebook in my hands. His smile deepened. “You’re writing.”

The pride in his voice felt as if it wrapped around my heart.

“I am.” I peered down at the notebook pages. “One and a half songs so far.” I was about to tell him that I needed to keep writing because more lyrics were coming, but a buzzing noise sounded in the room.

“Is that …” I trailed off, turning away from Gabe, realizing that it was my phone. I scurried around the edge of the bed and found my clutch on the floor. I pulled out my phone to find my father’s name on the screen.

My heart sank, and my eyes darted over to the bed to look at Gabe. His jaw was rigid, and that sharp gaze was now on the buzzing phone in my hand.

“This is my father,” I explained, seeing his name on the screen. “This could be an emergency.

“Hello?” I answered.

“What the hell is going on over there in New York with you?”

Stunned, I pulled the phone from my ear. “Nate? How did you get my father’s phone?” I demanded.

“Don’t worry about all of that,” he said. “I heard you’re writing again. We need to talk about that album and your new contract.”

I cleared my throat. “Right now isn’t a good time.”

“It’s never a good time,” he insisted. “But in case you forgot, we have business to discuss. You’re still signed on as my client and with my record label.”

I tightened my hold around the phone, hating the hold this asshole had over me. I glanced over at Gabriel, who remained on the bed, watching me. His face looked even less patient now.

I held up a finger, signaling that I’d just be a minute before I turned and exited the bedroom. After closing the door behind me, I headed for the chair that sat by the window.

I curled up inside of the chair, tugging the T-shirt that Gabe had put on me while I slept, over my knees.

“What is so important that it couldn’t wait until a decent hour?” I hissed into the phone.

“Testy,” Nate taunted. “What? That new man of yours not hitting it right?” He chuckled.

“Good-bye, Na—"

Gabriel snatched the phone out of my hand.

“Nate, right?” Gabe growled into the phone. “Cool. Listen here, pussy. You and my woman might have some business to discuss, but I recommend you take that up with her during business hours. Don’t ever call her fucking phone again at this time of night.”

Gabe clicked the button to end the call and tossed my phone onto the couch. He glared at me.

“That’s the last time you get your ass up from my bed again to talk to another man,” he ordered before turning and heading back to the bedroom.

“Excuse the hell out of me?” I asked, following him into the room. “You don’t have the right to hang up my phone like that.”

“And you don’t have the fucking right to hush me to have a goddamn conversation with your ex.” His voice boomed, bouncing off the walls of the room.

“It wasn’t like that,” I insisted. “As much as I hate it, he’s still a part of my life. Of my business.”

“So end that shit with him.”

“I’ve tried!” I breathed rapidly as my emotions got more and more worked up. “I’ve talked to my lawyer for hours trying to figure out a way to get out of this damn contract with Nate. To end it completely. Unfortunately, nothing has worked. He refuses to let go unless I produce the last album I’m obligated to.

“He’s so fucking manipulative,” I seethed. Nate had made more than one threat to end my career if I tried to pull out of our contract.

“There are ways we can fix that.”

Gabriel’s voice was colder than I’d ever heard it before. It made me shiver.

I came so close to asking him what he meant by that, but fear stopped me. I didn’t want to think about what he might be capable of.

“I am fixing it.” I jutted my hand toward the notebook I’d left sitting on the bed. “I’m writing again.” I breathed a little easier after I said those words. “That means another album is on its way.”

It would take time to write more songs and complete it, but at least I was on the road to completion. I was closer than I’d ever been to gaining my freedom from Nate and all of his nonsense. Then, I’d never have to take another call from him, ever again.

Gabe still looked pissed as he stood at the side of the bed, completely naked, unashamed.

My mouth watered at the sight of his dick, half-erect.

“If he ever calls you in the middle of the night again, I don’t give a fuck where he is. I’m flying there and breaking his damn neck.”

My nipples shouldn’t have pebbled the way they did. Nor should my mouth have watered. Yet, my body didn’t know or care about morals or how threatening someone’s life was violent behavior that it shouldn’t condone. It only cared about the bass in his voice as he said it.

And the way I felt protected. As if Gabe wouldn’t let anyone do me harm.

I moved closer to him and pulled the T-shirt over my head. The shirt pooled at my feet as I dropped it.

“I’m sorry.” I probably would’ve been as pissed off if Gabe had gotten out of bed at three in the morning to take a call from another woman. Let alone a woman he’d had a relationship with. Business or not, it was still inappropriate.

“How sorry?” he asked, his nostrils flared.

“Let me show you.” I knelt in front of him and took him into my mouth.

He tasted sweet. I ran my tongue over the tip of his dick. A sharp intake of air sounded in my ears. His body’s response encouraged me.

I hollowed my cheeks and bobbed my head, taking as much as of him into my mouth as I could. I nearly gagged on his length but kept going. A deep desire to wring an orgasm from his body spurred me on.

“Fuck, Cin,” Gabe groaned, moving his hand to the back of my head.

I loved that damn nickname. It was so simple yet so personalized. I bobbed my head faster, running my tongue along the bottom part of his shaft.

He hissed, and his hips jerked, forcing him deeper into my mouth. Gabe’s hold on the back of my hair tightened, and he swiveled his hips. Seconds later, he pulled back and surged forward, fucking my face.

I pulled back, releasing him to spit on his dick before reinserting him into my mouth again. Drool ran down my chin and slid down my neck. I could feel Gabriel’s fingers dig into my scalp as he continued using my mouth to get himself off.

I felt his entire body tense, and a second later, he pulled completely out of me. The first spurt of semen hit my chin, followed by more that landed on my cheek, neck, and breasts.

Somehow, the feel of his bodily fluid on my skin felt warm and comforting.

“Shit,” Gabe growled. His breathing sounded like a freight train. “Fuck, you look so good covered in my cum.”

His words caused the muscles in my pussy to clench.

“Condom,” I could barely get the word out, desperately needing him inside of me.

Gabe found his wallet, pulled out a condom, and sheathed himself. He was so quick with his movements. As soon as I rose from my knees, he spun me around and bent me over the bed.

He pushed inside of me before I could catch my next breath. I yelled into the bedsheets, feeling stuffed and still wanting more. He delivered, moving his hips to hit my walls from every angle.

I gasped and moaned so loud that I didn’t think I’d be able to sing a note for the next few days. I didn’t give a care in the world, either. Gabe felt too good inside of me, his bodyweight hovering over mine.

Tornado.

Yes, that would be the first single off of my next album.