Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel)

Gabriel's POV

I clenched my fists to stop myself from doing something reckless.

"No, you can't," I barked. “Adrian came home drunk out of his damn mind. And you_"

My eyes narrowed. "Have you been drinking?"

She tossed her hair back, casual and defiant. "Maybe."

That answer should've fueled the fury already building in my chest and pushed me closer to losing it.

Not sparked a twisted urge to taste the alcohol on her lips.

"You've got some nerve," I muttered, pushing back the dark thoughts.

She folded her arms. "You don't have any right to be jealous. Adrian's an adult. So am I. Besides, he's my-"

"Ex-boyfriend," I corrected through gritted teeth. "And you told me you didn't want him. So what the hell is going on now?"

She tilted her head, slowly, deliberately. Her voice dropped to a soft, almost teasing lilt. "Maybe my feelings have changed."

A violent surge of jealousy tore through me-hot, reckless, blinding.

It twisted into something darker. Rougher. A raw, aching desire that burned beneath my skin.

She was pushing me to the edge, tempting the worst in me. Daring me to break.

She turned to leave, her tone airy, almost playful. "Good night, Mr. Storm."

That voice-sweet, seductive, drawing me in.

My jaw clenched.

"Don't you dare walk away from me," I growled.

Instead of stopping, she threw a glance over her shoulder-calm, careless—and offered a soft, infuriatingly beautiful smile.

Then she kept walking, hips swaying, heels clicking softly against the stairs like she hadn't just provoked me.

She was tempting fate. And I was past ready to watch her burn.

I moved.

One step.

Then another.

And then I closed the distance in long, fast strides.

Just as she reached the landing, I caught her hand, spun her back, and pinned her to the wall. Her spine hit with a soft thud, breath hitching-trapped between me and the heat burning in my chest.

She looked up at me, eyes lit with defiance.

“Gabriel,” she warned, her fists pushing against my chest.

But they were soft. Weak. Shaking.

"What are you doing-"noveldrama

She shoved harder, but I didn't move. I wasn't backing off. Not this time. I was done pretending I didn't care done letting her walk away like none of it mattered.

She sagged slightly against the wall, and I closed in, planting a hand beside her head, my body locking her in.

I reached for her wrist-slowly-and lifted her arm above her head until it hit the wall.

My fingers curled around hers, holding her there, watching her as I trapped her completely.

Locked eyes with her.

Mine.

In that moment, she realized she wasn't getting away-and she stopped fighting. Not out of fear, but something else entirely. Something darker. Something reckless.

God, she was beautiful like this-angry and breathless, lips parted, pulling me in like a flame I couldn't resist.

She was so close I could feel the heat radiating off her skin, could breathe in that faint trace of perfume she always wore.

Her chest rose and fell with every breath, breasts straining against that damn plunging neckline.

My gaze dragged down the elegant line of her neck, to the deep plunge of her cleavage. Her lips parted, soft and full. Begging.

I leaned in. Closer than I should've.

My breath turned ragged as her mouth grazed mine—just barely. Just enough to ignite every nerve in my body.

Everything in me ached to touch her. Taste her. Claim her.

Then she whispered, low and daring, "Tell me what you really want to know."

I'd been holding it in since the second she walked out of my office. Wondering. Torturing myself with images couldn't erase-where she went, who she was with. It was my son. And ever since, there'd been only one question clawing at me, begging to be answered.

My voice was hoarse. "Did you sleep with him?"

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes playful, her lips curling with that wicked tease. "Who?"

"Don't fucking play innocent with me, Clairessa." My voice trembled with something darker than anger-something close to desperation.

She batted her lashes, her tone dripping sarcasm. "If you can't even say the name

of the man you're accusing me of screwing, how am I supposed to know?"

Desire tightened low in my gut. She knew exactly what she was doing-watching

me fall apart, feeding off the control she still had over me.

"I just came from an elite party," she continued, eyes gleaming with mischief. "As you can see, I looked

Al.ne

mt./ could've slept with any

hot

of the handsome guys I met.."

Jealousy flared hot in my chest. I knew she was trying to get under my skin, and it was working.

"I know you," my voice was rough. "You wouldn't give your body to just any man."

She tilted her head, that cruel little smile dancing on her lips. "That was the old Clairessa. You don't know the new me. I'm single now. I can do whatever I want." "I highly doubt that."

My eyes dropped to the subtle throb of her pulse at her throat. I reached up, let my fingers graze over it-slow, feathery. "Something tells me you haven't been with anyone since we ended our relationship. And you're just saying all this shit to get under my skin."

She stiffened.

Anger creased her brow. "Don't be so sure. A girl has needs."

I let out a raw breath. "Fuck, Clairessa. Don't play these games with me. I swear

I'll lose it."

She leaned in, fire in her gaze. "You started this," she hissed. "So deal with the consequences."

That did it.

I let go of her wrist, grabbed her face, and slammed my mouth onto hers.

It wasn't a kiss. It was a collision-fierce, consuming. A clash of everything we hadn't said, hadn't forgiven.

She bit my lip in defiance, trying to fight back-but I took the pain like a challenge, and it only fed the hunger pounding through me.

I needed to claim her.

Needed to burn this war between us into something we couldn't walk away from.

My hand buried in her hair, gripping tight, tilting her head back as I devoured her

mouth.

Her lips were soft, addictive. I deepened the kiss, tongue thrusting past her lips, claiming, tasting, punishing.

And then-she kissed me back.

Matching me beat for beat, fire for fire.

Her nails scraped down my arms. She moaned into my mouth, and it only made me crave her more.

Now I was pouring every bit of that pent-up passion into her mouth-weeks of torture, cold showers, morning hard-ons, dreams of her name on my lips.

I broke the kiss just long enough to drag my lips down her throat, planting wet kisses along the curve of her neck.

She gasped and arched into me, her hands fisting my shirt, pulling me closer. When I looked up, her lip was between her teeth.

It broke something inside me.

I kissed her again—brief but hard-then slid my hands down her back, cupping

the firm curve of her ass and grinding her against the aching bulge in my pants.

"This is what you do to me," I groaned against her skin. "I've been pining for you like a goddamn teenager."

And just like that teenager-the word hit me sideways.

All I could picture was Adrian walking in... catching us like this.