Gabriel David’s White Horse

Excerpt

Jump to Ordering Options ↓

The doorbell rang. She stood, wondering if Gabriel had ever left. She walked to the door and took a deep breath before pulling it open.

Large pink sunglasses with silver rhinestones and glitter wings on the hinges shimmered at her and rivaled the spirit of the woman who wore them.

“Julie.”

“Cara called and said I needed to get over here stat.”

Mirabelle poked her head out and looked to the right to ensure Gabriel had in fact left the premises.

Julie hunkered down slightly and asked, “Who are we looking for? As long as his cock is hard and he doesn’t pick his nose, I’m game.”

Belle laughed boisterously. There was a feeling that came with the first cold snap of the season. Winter coats got hauled out and sometimes in the pocket, from the season before, was a wad of twenties or maybe even a one hundred dollar bill. Being near Julie was akin to finding a forgotten one hundred dollar bill in the pocket of a winter coat. She made everything better.

“I’ve got purse wine.” She patted her Texas-sized bag.

Belle pulled her friend into the house by her hand. “I have a few”—Belle tossed some verbs around in her head—“updates.”

“Good updates or we better open the wine updates?”

Belle sighed, “We better open the wine.”

They sipped a deep French red and snacked on tangy blue cheese while Belle regaled her friend with the tale of two Lotharios.

“The Victor thing I get. And Cara’s right, you need to cut him loose. He always brings you down. What I would really like to know is what superpower you harnessed in order to let that fine young David slice go without a test drive.” Julie fanned her face with her hand. “You did say he got completely naked and hard?”

“Yeah, on my bed. He was so cocky in his relaxed pose.” Belle imitated Gabriel by lacing her fingers behind her head. “Can you imagine what it’s going to be like to model for him?”

“Whew, it’s warm in here.”

“I just thought about Cara. She worries about me since she’s away, and I made her a promise that I wouldn’t be so reckless.”

“Will you be able to model for his paintings without succumbing to his sexual potency?”

“I haven’t quite figured that one out.” They both were silent as they sipped their wine and thought of the masculine form.

“I have a confession,” Julie announced.

“Let’s hear it.”

Julie stroked her neck with her sculpted hot pink fingernails. “Since it didn’t seem like you were into Mr. Barrilleaux, I sort of tapped that.”

Mirabelle was ready to have a little fun at her friend’s expense. She twisted her lips and asked, “How does one sort of tap?”

“I guess one doesn’t. I fucked him, okay,” Julie huffed.

Mirabelle winced at her friend’s harsh words. “Problems in paradise?”

“Yeah there’s a problem…a tiny one.” Julie held her thumb and forefinger up wide and slowly narrowed them until almost together.

Mirabelle’s nose scrunched. “Ew.”

“Serious pencil dick. He’s got stamina, but for what?” Julie gulped the last of her wine. Her cheeks puffed until she audibly swallowed. “The good news is, I caught up on my correspondence while he was tending the back forty.”

Mirabelle lost two drops of the wine currently in her mouth. She held her hand to her lips and dabbed the drops away. Laughing she said, “Oh, my God. Why did you let him finish?”

“In the end I was kinda rooting for the guy. He’d been going at it for forty minutes! I wanted him to claim his prize.”

“We could both use a deal.”

“What deal?”

Mirabelle crossed her legs and held her wineglass next to her knees. “I’m thinking.”

“Don’t think too hard or you’ll wrinkle.” Julie massaged with her thumb between Belle’s eyes.

“How about a no-sex pact?”

“But we like sex,” Julie answered, incredulous.

“But it’s not good for us to be so haphazard.”

“So if it’s not haphazard we can do it?” Julie asked, hopeful.
“Who’ll decide if it’s haphazard?”
“Cara,” they answered in unison.

Belle stood, “So you’ll agree to it?”

“Well, I could have not done what I did last night. Wait, what does the winner get?”

“The satisfaction that comes with keeping the pact.”

Julie slipped off her heeled sandals and rubbed the spine of her foot. “Snooze. If you want to spice it up a notch why not have the wager involve something close to both our hearts?”

“And what would that be?”

“Dance.”

“I’m listening.”

“Loser has to strip, and I do mean a total strip, on stage out of a wedding dress to Madonna’s Like A Virgin.”

Julie and Belle had a history of wagers. They could get competitive. In fact, one time Belle had felt the sting to win so strong that she had sabotaged her health in order to do so when they couldn’t decide who could outdrink whom. Belle had won.

“Done.” They shook hands vigorously, each already convinced she’d bested the other.

Her phone buzzed away on the coffee table. Picking it up she saw Gabe’s name. “When did he get hold of my number?” she mumbled.

Busy 2nite? I wanna start on some sketches. Adrenaline’s been pumping. Can’t sit still.

“What are you grinding about over there?”

“Gabe texted me.”

“I’ll cover for you tonight. You don’t wanna lose that commish. And tell him if he’s got any friends I’ll model for practically nothing.”

“You just want me to lose the bet.”

“Come now Belle, are you saying your backbone’s not stiff enough to clamp down on the cockbox when necessary?”

She picked up her phone to compose a text and ignored her friend’s vulgarity.

“Seriously Belle, are you going to say no to that kind of money? You could finally get a new vehicle.”

She did need a new car. Plus, she could save the rest of the money to help Cara whenever Max left. And he would leave, because that’s what men did. They left. Her throat burned with acid at the thought of her daughter enduring that kind of pain.

Her friend’s hand came down over hers. “Belle, you don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do.”

“I’ll do it.” She typed her reply:

Come over whenever you’re ready.

“I’ll make my exit after he arrives so I can get a look at the goods.”

When the doorbell rang they both locked eyes, their postures frozen. “That’s a hell of a tailwind. He must have already been parked in the drive.” Julie leaned forward, “May I?”

Belle nodded and nervously cleared the wineglasses and plates from the living room. Her insides were sparking and her hands were shaking as if she were sixteen years old again. She smiled, but quickly shook her head. No! That’s how you got into trouble the first time. She smiled anyway, thinking once again of Cara.

When she heard the male voice she immediately knew it wasn’t Gabe’s. Julie stood next to Belle in the kitchen and said, “I’m gonna take off.” When Belle made eye contact with Victor she saw sadness in his eyes.

“Okay, are you really wanting my shift tonight?”

“I could use it, if you’re busy.”

Belle nodded, “Thank you, Jules.” They hugged and then Julie exited.

Belle went to Victor who stood in the living room with his head hung. He wore a solid black suit that she’d never seen. “Victor?”

“From the grave, Belle.”

“What?”

“He can hate me from the grave,” he whispered.

Grasping his hands, Belle pulled him over to the couch. She sat next to him and massaged the hard tendons in his hands.

“What happened? Why didn’t you let me go with you?”

His eyes met hers and the soullessness she saw sent chills down her spine. “I don’t deserve you by my side. I haven’t given you anything, why should I expect anything?”

Her nature was to nurture, but his words were true. “I know we don’t share our lives together, but I do care about you, Victor.”

His hand cupped her cheek. “He left letters for me. There seems to be one corresponding to every time I let him down.”

She didn’t know the details of their relationship, but she herself was a parent and could never be so cruel to her child. “Throw them away. I wouldn’t even read them.”

“Unfortunately I’ve already started.”

There was one aspect of Victor she knew quite well and the sizzling look in his eyes and the way he kept licking his lips spoke the words for him.

“Belle, let’s order from that Thai place down the street and eat it with expensive wine. Then we’ll undress each other on the living room floor while we listen to Elvis Costello.”

It was their favorite way to spend time together. She inhaled a fortifying breath. A hand caressed her shoulder while the other one started a slow glide up her thigh.

She stood and paced the small area around the coffee table. “Victor, I can’t.”

His arms stretched across either side of the loveseat. He stretched his back against the seat. “I know. But I do need to ask you for a favor.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to stay at Dad’s estate and I don’t want to be alone in a hotel room. Will you let me take Cara’s old room?”

“How long are you going to be in town?”

“Four weeks should cover it.”

Oh, God. Four weeks. She couldn’t do it. They’d be in bed together by tonight. His sadness was her undoing and she wanted to make him happy, and using her body she knew she could. Anything to bring back the lighthearted man she knew and liked. But then she thought about her promise. “Um…I would, but I’m renting the room.”

He laughed, and for a moment his old sparkle shone in his eyes. “Belle, you’ve always been a terrible liar.”

“I’m not lying. They’ll be here soon. I just had to wash the linens you know.”

He stood and walked behind her. With his lips by her ear he whispered, “Wash the linens?”

“The um…the bedding.” Belle pointed toward Cara’s room.

The doorbell rang and Belle was glad because it meant she’d been saved. And then her stomach sank when she realized who it would be. “I’ll just get the door.” She pushed Victor into the loveseat that luckily faced away from the door. As she’d predicted, Gabe stood at the threshold. Before he could speak she raised a finger to her lips letting him know to keep quiet. He had leather bags in each hand and a sketchpad and canvas under his arm. She leaned in next to his ear and whispered, “Follow my lead.” His green eyes narrowed at her and she had no way of knowing if he’d let her use him in her lie or not, but she hoped he would.

 

end of excerpt