Once Upon A Time Read online

  My eyes soon landed on the wall that housed a single large golden frame. I was curious, it wasn't what you’d normally find in a nightclub; then again, nothing was normal when it came to Gabriel Black. Stepping towards it, I gasped as a bright blue light illuminated the entire frame from behind. Inside the frame sat a layer of what looked to be black silk, Enterprises embossed in the center.

  “Do you have one of these at Omega?” I asked, my eyes still very much on the unique piece of art.

  “Yes,” he whispered in my ear.

  I hadn't noticed him move, let alone move as close to me as he had. My pulse skyrocketed for a moment, knocking me off kilter and nearly stumbling in the shoes I was wearing. His proximity was distracting: I was here to do a job, not drop my non-existent panties at a mere whisper in my ear.

  I inhaled hard, and stepping to the side I quickly moved to one of the booths that adorned the right wall and took a seat.

  Clearing my throat, I pulled out my note pad and pen and hoped he’d get the hint that I was here to work.

  He didn't move for a few seconds, just stared at me with a blank expression on his face before finally taking a seat across from me. It was clear he was used to getting what he wanted. He wouldn’t get it from me.

  He buttoned his suit jacket, sitting back in the booth as if indicating it was my turn to start talking, but before I could even utter a single question, he asked me a question that not only frightened me but did something to unexpected places of my body.

  “How long do you think you'll be able to carry on with this without me fucking you, Payton?”

  I dropped my gaze; I wasn't getting into this with him. I needed to put on my poker face and ignore him. I needed to work, I needed to ignore everything he did to me and get on with my job.

  I tried to ignore him by writing down some ideas on the pad in front of me, which only made him frustrated. Pulling the pen from my hand, he launched it across the room.

  “Hey, I need that!” I screamed, standing and moving to retrieve it. Bending down, I picked up the pen, frustrated that he was acting like a child who wasn't getting what he wanted.

  Standing up, I was momentarily blindsided when I felt hands on my hips and a very strong, masculine body pressed against my back.

  Closing my eyes, I tried to think of something, anything, to stop from melting into his touch. I don't know what my body or my mind was doing in that moment. I had no idea when I became the woman who swooned, or the woman who loved and hated his attention. I was never that girl. I never wanted to be that girl.

  “Why are you doing this?” I whispered, my eyes screwed shut as I nervously played with the pen in my hands.

  “Because we both know that whatever we have between us is more than just business, Payton,” he whispered, his fingers splaying against the fabric of my pencil skirt. “Because we both know that no matter how many times I'd try to get my fill of you, I still wouldn't be able to walk away from you.” His fingers flexed against my skin and I suppressed the urge to moan into the large space around us. “We both know that you wouldn't be able to walk away either.”

  “I can’t lose my job,” I replied sharply, trying but failing – miserably – not to enjoy his touch. “I will fight against you at every turn.”

  “You won’t.” His lips grazed the sensitive skin of my neck and I had no doubt he could feel the thundering of my pulse beneath it. “Are you really going to deny what this is because of your job? I don’t know what this is, Payton, but the moment you stumbled into my office at Omega, I knew you’d never really leave.”

  “I slapped you.” I gasped as his ran his tongue from the base of my neck, slowly moving to behind my ear. “I walked out.”

  “Tell that to my cock. I've been hard ever since you told me you weren't wearing panties.” I felt him smiling against my skin as he pressed himself further into me, giving me a glimpse of just how turned on he really was. “So tell me, are you wearing panties right now? Are you wet for me, princess?”

  The pen fell from my fingers and all I could hear was the sound it made against the black flooring beneath my feet, the white noise around me deafening. It was as if a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown over me, shocking me out of my own stupidity.

  Turning, I smirked at a smug Gabriel; before I could unleash the venom coursing through my body, his lips were on mine.

  He tasted like mint and smelled like autumn rain and sin, a exhilarating combination that had me weak at the damn knees. I was too shocked to react at first, but the moment he ran his tongue along the seam of my lips, I moaned and opened for him. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me impossibly close as my tongue tentatively grazed his. All the venom I had only moments ago had morphed into something else, something only he could make me feel.

  Desperation.

  The moment that thought entered my mind, the moment I realized he was doing things to me I promised I would never feel again, the venom reappeared.

  My hands moved to his chest and with as much force as I could muster, I pushed hard, breaking our kiss and, in some way, sealing our fates.

  I gasped as I placed my hands on my knees, bending at the waist as I tried to get my breath back.

  “Can't you see it, Payton?” He growled. I refused to look at him; instead I kept my eyes on the floor and tried to block him out. “Can't you feel it? Why are you denying it?”

  Standing at full height, I rolled back my shoulders and steadied my gaze.

  “No. No, I don’t feel it, Gabriel. There is nothing to feel, nothing to see. This is a business relationship, I’m here to do my job.” I was seething as I took a step towards him. “I’m not doing this with you. We weren't all born with a silver spoon in our mouths, Gabriel. Some of us had to work hard to get where we are, to change who we were. You’re not worth the risk.”

  “Okay.” He paused, his gaze very much steely and unreadable. “I'll stop. I won’t touch you, I won’t breathe you in, I won’t think about how you screamed when you shattered around me, I won’t remember how sweet your lips taste or how that Southern accent you try to hide beneath turns me on ten-fold when you’re angry. I won’t picture you when I’m taking a shower, I won’t run over every line, every curve, every contour of your body in my mind, I'll push away the thoughts of you whimpering as I imagine sliding back inside your body.”

  He reached out, gripping my wrist in his hand and placing my hand on his suit-covered abdomen. “I'll stop my mind drifting to you when I smell fresh roses and sunshine. You smell like fucking sunshine.” His hand descended, pulling mine along with it until he stopped at his crotch. “I'll try and stop my dick from being permanently hard from just the mention of your name. Is that what you want? To starve me, not only of something I crave, but something I unequivocally need just to fucking function?”

  “You’re delusional. You don’t know anything about me other than what you assume you do.” I gasped as I ripped my hand from his vice-like grip. “This is the real world, Gabriel. People have jobs for a reason; we have them to keep a roof above our heads, clothes on our backs and food in our stomachs. That is what my job means for me and so much more. If I lose it because I want to have a good time with some guy who has an ego bigger than my salary, then I’d be crushing every dream I've had since I was in high school.”

  I straightened my skirt and rolled my shoulders back before picking up the pen still on the floor between us.

  “Now, if it isn't too much trouble, can we please discuss the opening event for Alpha so I can actually start doing my job?”

  His hard stare was followed by a hard nod. I had no doubt Gabriel was used to women falling at his feet. I wasn't one of them. I wasn't the damsel in distress and he certainly wasn't Prince Charming; in fact, I was quickly coming to the conclusion that he was the fairy tale villain and I was just some poor bystander who was going to be caught in the crossfire.

  IT HAD BEEN A WEEK since the altercation at Alpha with Gabriel. I hadn't heard from him sinc
e I pretty much stripped him of his pride and ego. My thoughts drifted to him more often than I’d have liked while working on his account, thoughts of the night at Omega and how naive I was for sleeping with a man without knowing his name. Kate was very much down my throat, watching me constantly and demanding details on the account. If it wasn’t emails, it was calls and texts, and she was really starting to drive me nuts. If I hadn't needed her help with some of the things I had no experience on, I’d have probably told her to back off… well, at least in my own head anyway.

  Throughout the week, Kylie had been in and out of my office more than usual, questioning me daily and asking whether he’d called. The answer was always the same and the defeated look on her face never changed; I’d tell her, over and over, why would he call me after what happened, unless absolutely necessary? The only contact I’d had with him was via his secretary, who supplied me with everything I needed to further the account and work on the grand opening for Alpha.

  I wasn't delusional: there was clearly something between us. Sexual tension, the need to take a bite from the forbidden fruit – call it what you like but I knew I couldn't do anything about it.

  The sound of my cell chiming pulled me out of my thoughts. Sliding my finger across my screen, I noticed a text message from a number I didn't recognize.

  UNKNOWN: Truce?

  I frowned.

  ME: Who is this?

  UNKNOWN: You usually call me Mr. Black when you’re angry.

  I paused, shocked he’d finally gotten in contact with me. I presumed I’d be carrying on contacting him via his secretary like I had the past week. Then Then something occurred to me, how in the hell he’d gotten my cell number.

  ME: How did you get this number, Mr. Black?

  GABRIEL: Your unique friend with the black belt. Have I been a bad boy? You’re calling me Mr. Black again.

  ME: I’m going to kill her and I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer. Was there something in particular you wanted?

  GABRIEL: You. I want to take you to dinner.

  ME: Why would I say yes?

  GABRIEL: My dashing good looks and indisputable charm.

  Rolling my eyes, I placed my phone on my desk and got back to the mountain of paperwork I’d been neglecting since Gabriel barged through my life. As I opened my cluttered inbox, my phone chimed once more.

  GABRIEL: Clearly my looks and good charm aren't helping here.

  ME: Clearly.

  GABRIEL: I want to apologize by taking you to dinner. I’m not comfortable with the way we left things. If we’re going to work together, we should be able to stand to be in the same room as each other. And just so you’re aware, I never apologize.

  He had a point. I didn't want to risk doing anything else that would cause me to lose my job.

  ME: Okay. But this is a business dinner and nothing else.

  GABRIEL: It’s a date.

  ME: Don’t make me change my mind.

  GABRIEL: Relax, it’s a figure of speech. Are you free tonight? I have reservations at Illusion for 7pm

  I leaned back in my seat. Illusion was a high-end restaurant in downtown Manhattan, renowned for having the best steak in New York, not to mention the celebrities who frequented it.

  I told Gabriel this was a business dinner, which meant we’d split the bill. I knew just a single glass of wine there cost more than a month’s rent on my apartment. I couldn't afford it.

  ME: Not all of us are millionaires.

  GABRIEL: Be ready for 6:30

  ME: Gabriel…

  GABRIEL: Payton…

  ME: You’re infuriating.

  GABRIEL: One of my many talents, Miss Miller.

  ME: I’d love to slap you right now.

  GABRIEL: I'll take it if it means getting your hands on me.

  ME: Pervert.

  GABRIEL: Tease.

  ME: I think you're trouble.

  GABRIEL: I think you might be right.

  I was pacing my apartment come 6pm. Kylie and Quinn were both looking at me like I’d lost my damn mind as I started to wear out my carpet. In truth, they were probably right. I think I left it back at Omega a couple weeks ago when Gabriel screwed it out of me. I was sure of it.

  “Why are you so nervous? It’s just a business dinner, right?” Quinn piped up from my sofa as he stuffed his face with popcorn.

  I hadn't told either of them the full extent of what happened at Alpha, glossing over the details they didn't need to know. Of course, since then I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind. It was exhausting.

  “Of course it’s just a business meeting, what else would it be?” I blurted out, stopping mid-step and glaring at Quinn.

  “Okay, okay. Christ, PMS much?” He snickered, throwing a handful of popcorn at me. I continued to glare, which only made him laugh harder.

  “Seriously, who put a stick up your ass?” Kylie asked, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the large bowl on Quinn’s lap. Quinn grabbed the bowl and hugged it to his chest. Kylie rolled her eyes and turned back to me. “Are we missing something here? Did you leave something out?”

  I raked my hands through my hair.

  “God.” I sighed, throwing myself down on the sofa next to Kylie. “He’s impossible. I told him he’s not worth the risk. I’m not going to lose my job over him. I pretty much stripped him of his ego in the hopes he’d stop pursuing this thing he seems to think we have between us.”

  Kylie shook her head as if she had all the answers to my problems.

  “You can’t expect him to just disappear, Pay. He’s your client. You’re going to have to face him sometime.”

  She was right, I knew she was, but that didn't stop my mind from drifting to places a mind should never venture, especially mine.

  “I know. He said he wanted to take me to dinner as a peace offering.”

  “Where is he taking you, anyway? You didn't say,” Quinn muttered, still stuffing his face.

  “I thought I told you?” I paused, furrowing my brows. The location was what was making me nervous, not Gabriel. Okay, he was making me nervous too. “He’s got reservations at Illusion.”

  Suddenly, Quinn was choking and Kylie was squealing and flailing around on my sofa. I swear I needed to invest in IKEA with these two around.

  “Oh my shit!” Kylie stopped, turning to me with a devilish look in her eyes. “You’re going to Illusion and that’s what you’re wearing?”

  I looked down at my baby blue silk tank and black skinny jeans, giving myself a once over before glancing at Kylie with a blank expression.

  “What? This is the best I have.” I sighed in defeat.

  “Quinn.” Kylie turned, prying the bowl from his vice-like grip. “We've got a job to do.”

  Quinn smirked, wiping his hands together in exaggeration before they each grabbed me by the wrists, marching me into my bedroom.

  “We have twenty minutes!” Kylie announced, placing me in the middle of my room. “Quinn, black or red?” she asked over her shoulder as she assessed me.

  “With her skin tone? Black.” He smirked, leaving the room.

  Where in the hell did he disappear to?

  As if Kylie could read my thoughts, she answered my question.

  “Don’t worry, he ran to my room to grab something.”

  I looked at her pointedly.

  “If that something is worth more than one hundred dollars, you can forget it.”

  “Stop being a party pooper and raining all over my parade. Now.” She pointed at my head. “I need to deal with that.”

  Oh, for the love of god.

  I prayed for a miracle… or an earthquake.

  I WAS ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE if I stood close to a naked flame, my head would become a raging inferno within seconds, I had so much hairspray in my hair. My hair had been twisted into an elegant chignon at the base of my neck and instead of my skinny jeans and blouse, I was sporting a black knee-length dress that Kylie had thrown at me a couple of minutes ago. When I got a
look at the label inside the dress, my eyes all but flew out of my head. It was a Vera Wang dress – I had no doubt it cost a small fortune. My feet were encased yet another pair of Kylie’s Louboutins, this time a fire engine red.

  “I feel… expensive,” I grumbled as I stared at my reflection in my bedroom mirror. I wasn't even sure if I was breathing, the dress was so damn tight. “I’m going to fall on my face, I can see it.”

  I threw my arms up and turned to my best friends, who’d taken up residence on my bed.

  “You’re so dramatic.” Kylie rolled her eyes.

  “Erm, pot? Kettle?” I fired back, pulling the fabric away from my body in the hopes I could get at least an inch of breathing space.

  Quinn pointed and laughed at Kylie. I swear, sometimes, my best friends were still in kindergarten.

  “Ouch! Woman, watch the hair!” Quinn scolded, trying to put his hair back in place.

  “Oh, shut it.” Kylie chuckled at Quinn before turning to me. “You’ll be fine. Just remember heel, toe.”

  “Heel, toe.” I sighed. “Oh god. I can’t do this. Can’t I just wear my jeans and a tank? I’m completely out of my depth right now.”

  Out of nowhere, my buzzer sounded. Glancing at my watch, my heart rate accelerated. It was six-thirty. Damn it, I had no time to change.

  “Show time!” Quinn clapped his hands together and made a beeline for the buzzer.

  “Oh my god, Kylie!” I shrieked.

  “Okay, will you just relax?” She stood, placing her hands on my shoulders. “It’s just dinner in a fancy restaurant with the man who sets your vagina on fire, surrounded by celebrities with more money than they have sense. You'll be fine.”

  I groaned.

  “I’m a nervous wreck. This is what he does to me. This is ridiculous. Tell him I’m sick, that I got my period. Christ, tell him I severed a limb and I’m in the hospital. Tell him something so I can cancel this stupid dinner!”