Taken Ch. 03

"What if I told you I only want to give you the life that you deserve, treat you the way you should be treated. You would never want for anything." Gabriel studied Alicia, judging from the frown on her face, she wasn't happy with what he said.

She was not buying it; a man like Gabriel didn't offer you the world just because. She was young and perhaps a little naïve when it came to certain things, but she wasn't stupid. "Oh I get it now. So in return for me getting everything I could possibly want, I get to be your personal whore, is that it?"

"That's not what I meant." His jaw clenched at her statement.

Gabriel was quickly losing his patience. Their conversation was not going how he planned. He hated to admit it, but Michael was right. She wasn't going to be falling into his arms anytime soon, hell the way it was going, it was starting to look like never. Damn it, he was used to women throwing themselves at him, not the other way around, and the truth was that he had no idea how to court a woman. Get her into bed, yes, charm her, sure, but getting Alicia to agree to spend the rest of her life with him was a whole other story. The women around the compound would jump at the chance to be with their Alpha, but then again Alicia wasn't just any woman, she was his mate.

"I don't care what you meant, I'd rather go back to my sorry existence, as you put it, than stay here with you. At least there I had my uncle's respect, which is more than I can say for you," she spat.

"Yeah, he respected you so much that he allowed me to bring you here," Gabriel retorted before could stop himself.

She gasped. "What did you just say?" Alicia's voice was dangerously low as she took a step forward. Suddenly, she was no longer apprehensive about Gabriel, she was pissed that he would lie about such a thing.

"You are a liar! My uncle would never do that."

Gabriel looked at the woman standing in front of him. Clearly he had struck a nerve, and he wondered if he had gone too far. Well, there was no need to backtrack; the damage was already done. "Really? Why, because he loved you so much? Think about it, Alicia. Garrison is a smart man, and a business-minded one at that. So do you really think that Garrison had no clue how his wife and daughter treated you? Hell I was there for one night and I saw it. You've been living with the man for three years and in all that time he never thought once to stand up for you."

Alicia shook head furiously. Lies! It had to be. She knew Melinda and Melissa could give two shits about her, but her uncle would never do such a thing, he was always so nice to her. No, it wasn't true. Gabriel was just trying to get into her head, make her all confused. Balling her hands into fists, she thought about her uncle, maybe he did know about the problems between her and Melinda, but it didn't mean he would do this.

"Alicia," Gabriel began tenderly as he placed his hands on her shoulders, "Melinda even said if it came down to choosing between you and them, you knew who he would choose, and he obviously made his choice."

Stepping out of his hold, she slapped Gabriel as hard as she could; the man didn't even flinch. Shocked, she quickly composed herself, rubbing her stinging hand. "Even if what you say is true, which I don't believe, that still doesn't change a thing. I'm a grown ass woman, not a piece of property for you two to trade. Can't you see how wrong you are? Please, let me go home."

"I'm sorry, Alicia, but this is your home."

"Why me?" she screamed, pounding his chest. "You could have any woman you want! You don't even know me! Why do you have to do this?"

Grabbing her wrists, he pulled her against his body. "Because the only woman I want is you, Alicia," he declared before his mouth claimed hers.

He was done talking to her, because obviously, it wasn't working. Besides, being this close to her was driving him out of his mind and a man could only take so much. She was standing in front of him wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties, her chest heaving up and down, and he wasn't suppose to act on it? He'd been around a long time and been called a lot of things, but a saint wasn't one of them, and he wasn't about to become one now, especially when he remembered how good it felt to be pressed up against her on the floor.

Gabriel had wanted to go slow, so as not to scare her, but that changed the moment his lips touched hers. She resisted at first, keeping her lips tightly closed as struggled.

Well I'll just have to fix that. Smiling inwardly at the thought, he let go of her wrists, slowly sliding his hands down her body. He stopped at hemline of her t-shirt, before sliding his hands under the shirt. Grabbing hold of her buttocks, he squeezed the round mounds, causing her to gasp, and as soon as she did, he went in full force. Nibbling, caressing, sucking, there was no part of her mouth he wouldn't explore.

Wanting to alleviate the pressure between his thighs, he hoisted her up until she was pressed against his hard-on, and instinctively, she wrapped her legs and arms around him. Walking to the wall, he propped her up against it. Slowly, he rubbed her against the bulge in his slacks. Any resistance she had shown towards him was slowly melting away. He could feel her wetness coating the front of his pants, which made him grind even harder, causing her to moan. The fact that he was pleasuring his woman made his inner beast roar. Then suddenly, she was pushing at his shoulders.

"Stop it, get off of me."

Slowly, he let her go, taking a step back to get himself together. As he did, he watched Alicia, deciphering the emotions that ran across her face, which went from shock, to confusion, to arousal. That last one made him ache to touch her, especially when she stood there looking so innocent, yet sexy. Never the less, it was taking everything within him not to rip her panties off and slide into that warm haven in between her thighs.

He knew she wanted it just as bad as he did, he could smell the lust radiating off of her. His wolf said, Do it, claim her, make her MINE. But he could tell she wasn't ready for that, at least not the first night anyway. For some reason, it was important that she trust him. For now, he would be patient. Lord, help me.

"I realize you need time to adjust to your current situation, so I'm going to give you a little space. Now, I'll be the first to admit that patience is not one of my best qualities, especially when it comes to you," he looked at her, running his hand over the stubble on his chin, "But I'm willing to make an exception in your case." He smiled as he gently stroked her cheek.

"Especially when I know it's just a matter of time before you give me what I want." He leaned in to kiss her forehead and with that, he turned, leaving a stunned Alicia to stare at his back as he left the room.

****

Five days had passed since Alicia last saw Gabriel; true to his word, he was giving her some space, if that's what you wanted to call it. Oh, he still tried to coax her out of the room, requesting her presence for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or for some other activity, but she flat refused each time. What surprised her even more was the fact that the brute hadn't to come to drag her out of the room kicking and screaming. Not that she cared, because she didn't.

So far, the only people she had any interactions with, besides Gabriel, were Kristen and Anita. Kristen was her so-called assistant; she was there to see to all her needs, while Anita was the housekeeper who barely spoke to her.

"Ms. Monroe, Mr. Kirkland would like to know if you'll be joining him this evening."

Alicia looked at Kristen, who had entered the room and was waiting patiently for her answer, even though she knew what the answer would be. The brunette always had a serene look on her face and her brown eyes were always smiling, as if she was continually trying to put Alicia at ease in her presence, yet she refused to help Alicia escape.

The first time she met Kristen, she'd entered the room, smiling, to ask if Alicia would be joining Gabriel. Thinking she had found someone to help her, Alicia begged the woman for help, but Kristen went on as if she had said nothing, quickly informing Alicia of what her duties were and warning her not to try anything since Gabriel was outside awaiting her answer. Being determined, she thought she'd try her luck anyway, running out of the room quickly, but she came to a halt and did an about face as soon as her eyes connected with his.

"You can tell Mr. Kirkland that my answer hasn't changed since the last time he asked," Alicia huffed.

"Ms. Monroe, why don't you come downstairs? Sitting up here by yourself all day, day in and day out can't be healthy for you."

"And being held against my will is? What is wrong with you people?"

Kristen just stood there, giving her a sad look, which irked Alicia even more. "You know, Ms. Monroe, most girls around here would love to be in your shoes. Mr. Kirkland is quite a catch you know."

"Well then, he should have brought one of their asses here," she muttered.

She must have been kidnapped, taken to a cult and Gabriel was their leader. Did these people not understand the meaning of kidnapped? Being held against your will? She might as well be on vacation for all they cared. Alicia looked at the woman, ready to go off on her, but when she saw the hurt look on Kristen's face she held back. After all, the woman was just doing her job, and even went out of her way to make sure Alicia was comfortable.

"I'm sorry, Kristen. I don't mean to take my anger out on you. It should be Gabriel."

"It's ok, darling, I understand. It must be hard for you to be back," she replied in a low whisper.

"What you'd say?"

"Hmm, nothing," she said quickly, waving her hands.

"I'll just tell him you won't be joining him," Kristen stated, closing the door.

"Ok."

Confused by what just happened, Alicia shrugged her shoulders. Normally, Kristen would stay a couple of minutes to talk to her about her day. Even though Kristen was the one doing all the talking, it still felt good to have some human interaction. Five days of sitting in a room was starting to take its toll on her, she now understood how someone could go crazy from solitary confinement. For the past five days, she spent most of her time thinking about the last three years of her life, replaying scenes over and over in her head. Had William known about the differences between her and Melinda? Would he really do something like this? Was that why no one came when she screamed?

The first couple of days she found herself crying constantly over what her life had become. Was she supposed to live out the rest of her days locked away? Or worse, what would happen when Gabriel no longer wanted her? No matter what, Gabriel was the main focus of all her thoughts.

Even with the TV and the various magazines Kristen had brought, her mind still wouldn't forget what happened with Gabriel. Even though she knew he would try something eventually, she still was shocked when he did it. Even worse, she found herself enjoying it; that kiss alone stole her breath away, it was new, yet familiar. She couldn't explain it. It was if that kiss calmed a part of her soul; all the tension she left her body and for a moment, she was at peace. Never before had she felt something like that, the few kisses she experienced before Gabriel had been wet and sloppy, she cringed just thinking about them.

Then there was Gabriel, a man who had taken her like she was some piece of property, and was able to kiss her senseless. Thank goodness she was able to get a grip on her emotions, otherwise he wouldn't have had to force her, she would have been willing to give it to him.

She wanted to hate him for taking her and locking her away. She should have been repulsed, appalled, and yet her body craved him; she itched to have him touch her again, to feel his hardness pressed against her. The need for him was becoming worse each day. Thank God he was giving her space, because she needed it. There were times during the day when she would get extremely hot, and each time it happened, she got the urge to run to Gabriel. Now when the urge came, she'd just curl up in the bed until the sensations passed, but that was becoming harder and harder to do. Then there were nights when she woke covered in sweat, crying out for him. Even in her dreams, she couldn't escape him. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes. She was stressed, tired and confused; that had to be why she was feeling this was way, it had to be.

****

"Sir?"

Gabriel looked up at Kristen, who was standing before him. He already knew what she would say; after all he'd heard the same answer for the past five days.

"I'm sorry," she let out.

"It's ok. Why don't you and Anita take the rest of the night off?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Neither I, nor Alicia, will be needing your services for the rest of the night."

The woman looked at Gabriel as if she wanted to say more, but thought better of it, and left quietly instead. Gabriel looked down at the wine glass he was holding, taking deep breaths to calm down. He had told Alicia he would be patient, he had tried to be nice, but no more. Alicia had officially cut the final thread that his patience was hanging on by.

Five days he had waited, five days of needing her, yet being denied each time. Did she know how hard it had been for him to walk away from her and stay away? Each day he sat waiting and hoping that she would come to him, like some lovesick fool.

Rising up from the table, he allowed the warm tingling sensation to engulf him, taking pleasure in the feel of the heat as it became stronger, because tonight he would no longer deny himself what was his.