Bejewelled

Ch 6

Gabe watched as Cinda straddled her bike and had to grit his teeth, because it shot an image of her and those impossibly long legs straddling him, heat burned his groin and his blood boiled. He hated those thoughts that just popped into his brain, images he did not need of her. Nor did he want either. It didn’t bloody help that she was wearing bike leathers and he found that damned hot on woman.

He watched her hug his mother and reminded himself why the woman was off limits, why she had always been off limits, just how much his mother loved her, like her own child in fact. Cinda returned those feelings for his mother as well. ‘She’s your foster sister damn it.’ He berated himself under his breath as he watched her ride away. God, she looked great on that bike in those skin-tight black leathers.

Snarled at himself for that second thought, hated how damned beautiful she was, and today she just had to go and doll herself up, blood red lipstick on those plump and kissable lips, black eyeliner and thick mascara that made her naturally long lashes impossibly thicker and longer, which only made her brilliant green eyes darker and deeper to look into, likely did it just to piss him off even more, and it was working.

Damn it, he cursed himself silently for letting his mind go down that road again, turned his attention back to his mother who was standing there just staring after her, he walked down the steps and hugged her “She’ll come back mum, she always does, eventually.” He said softly, though he didn’t believe it, he knew that his mother would want to, she wanted Cinda to move home, live here in town, she’d never wanted her to live away from home. His mother had always hoped that after university she would move back here to their country town and always be close by.

“Go and arrest her.” She snapped at him, pulling herself away. “Stop her, bring her back, it’s your job.”

“Not anymore,” Gabe shook his head. “Lucinda is a grown woman now.”

“No.” She snapped up at him “she’s my daughter, you go and bring her back to me.” She was practically demanding him.

Gabe sighed, he could see the pain that Cinda was causing his mother and it angered him, how could she just up and leave all the time and not know it caused his mother pain. Gabe had half a mind to go after her and drag her ass back here, just to make his mother happy once more. He really hated to see her so upset, or even angry. And she was angry with him now, because that girl had made her sad, and he wouldn’t fix it. Where, once upon a time, he had been able to go after her and bring her back to his mother.

But Gabe didn’t want her here in his town. He was glad she was gone. Away from him, away from Grey for that matter, he thought bitterly, then just got pissed off even more thinking about that, now he needed to do something to work out his anger, before he exploded.

Grey had no idea that Gabe had seen the two of them together. But Cinda had and she’d played it up for his benefit alone, just to hurt him, and it had hurt him, even just the memory of seeing the two of them kissing outside the front of her dormitory hurt like hell. It had completely shocked him to see the two of them together.

He had certainly not been expecting it and the way Grey’s hands had been on her, all soft and tender, like a lovers' touch. Then she’d seen him standing there watching the two of them, had leaned into Grey, grinding her body against his before she’d closed her eyes and kissed him in such a way, that Gabe knew she was making a point just for him.

What Grey thought about it or did after that, he didn’t stick around to find out. But any man could hazard a guess that it was going to lead to clothes coming off.

Damn that woman, he could just strangle her with his bare hands, maybe one day he would do just that. He sighed, if, of course, he wanted to lose his job and his parents in one foul swoop that was. He did not want that.

20 minutes later, he hit the gym and the weights, needing to work off his anger and frustration at that woman. Though he had never blamed Grey for his attraction to Cinda. Hell, he couldn’t blame any man for being attracted to her, for the woman had sleek long legs that never quit, breasts to die for and long glossy dark brown hair that fell to her waist, it had always been long, soft full lips that begged to be kissed and jewel green eyes that could bewitch any man in an instant.

She was a seductress, a minx, that attracted every man around her, and he was not immune to her looks either and that was the problem. Not that he’d really taken any notice of her till she was 16, never acted on it, well not till after she’d turned 18 and was about to go off to Uni, and then he’d screwed that up royally.

He didn’t hate Grey, he wasn’t even angry with him, he was purely, and simply jealous, envious of the things he could imagine his close friend doing to her. Likely had done to her.

Things that he knew he could never do, but God help him, thought about more often than he liked to admit to himself.

The weights weren’t working, he put them down and headed over to the punching bag. Gabe could remember the soft feel of her lips on his, the hunger and raw need that he knew they had both felt that fateful day. He slammed his fists into the punching bag. The way her body had met his, pressed eagerly against his and how his body had responded.

The way his hands had moved through that glossy hair of hers down her back, pulling her body hard against him, as his mouth had ravaged hers, “Damn her to hell.” He grated out between clenched teeth. He launched an all-out assault upon the punching bag.

That one moment was going to haunt him forever. He just knew it. It had not left him in 8 long years, and it wasn’t likely going to go away any time soon either.

She had wanted him just as much, it was in every move of her body, in the way her hands had clung to him, the way she’d kissed him back, hell the woman had started it, wanted it, and he had only come to his senses when she’d sighed his name as he’d started kissing his way down her lovely neck.

He had checked himself in that instant, and shoved her away, yelled at her. “What the hell do you think you doing? I’m your brother.” He’d snapped at her, but it was he who he’d been mad at that day, not her. He’d been the one to lose control, he was the older and more experienced and she had been just barely 18 and completely innocent.

He should have known better, but the argument they’d been having had somehow turned into something else entirely. Gabe didn’t know when it had happened, just that she’d stopped yelling back at him and was suddenly looking up at him with those bejewelled eyes of hers. Then they were kissing and things were getting heated up and out of control damned fast, knew if he hadn’t checked himself he’d have had her that night.

The spell had been broken with that one word “Brother” and the pain that seared through her eyes had rocked him to his core. He’d wanted to take the word back instantly, but couldn’t. Instead he’d stood there glaring at her until he couldn’t take it any longer.

Had to storm out of the room no longer able to stand there looking at the pain he’d caused, if she burst into tears, that would have been the end of him. Thankfully, her pain had been matched with anger and there were no tears, just that glare she had down pat. Still to this day could glare at him in that same manner.

Then she had vanished off to Uni a few days later and they had never spoken of it again, and he doubted that they ever would bring it up in conversation either. Not a real conversation that was. Last night and today, that was not a conversation just alluding to the past.

He had moved on and gotten married and was now divorced and she had refused to come home except at Christmas time, and other than the first initial awkwardness of their first meeting after the incident, it seemed that she had gotten past it too, but then there were pot shots at each other that always alluded to it.

She’d not gotten over it, likely tried as he did, but not so past it that she had come to his wedding though, and the hard stares they’d given each other today, he knew she’d not forgotten nor was likely to ether. What bothered him the most though, was why she’d simply not turned up for Christmas in the past four years.

Cinda had promised his mother she would always come home for Christmas and broken his mother’s heart four times now. Damn that woman. Hated how much that woman could hurt his mother. Hated, how his own mother looked at her as her own daughter as well.

An hour later, Gabe was finally exhausted and in need of more sleep than the mere four hours he had gotten, he hadn’t gotten any more sleep, because he couldn't get the damned woman out of his head. He prayed all the way to his house that she wouldn’t invade his thoughts anymore or worse, his dreams. So that he could actually get some decent sleep, but it was unlikely. That bloody woman would likely always haunt him, awake or asleep it didn't matter she haunted him always.