Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 279

Clairessa’s POV

Gabriel’s grip tightened, pressing me deeper against his chest. His voice turned protective. “If anyone dares to say trash, to talk down to you, or so much as breathe something vile in my company, you tell me. I’ll take care of them.”

A chuckle slipped past my lips, easing the anxiety in my chest. I lifted my hand and brushed my fingers along the line of his beard, loving the roughness beneath my touch. “My very own knight,” I teased softly, “always ready to protect me.”

His eyes softened, but his voice stayed fierce. “With everything in me. Always.”

I smiled against him, and for a moment, the scandal, the noise, all of it blurred into nothing. “Maybe,” I whispered, letting my lips hover just at the edge of his jaw, “when we get back later... we could do other things. Finish what we started this morning.”

His knuckles grazed my jaw as he lowered his head, lips brushing mine with delicious slowness, like he had all the time in the world to devour me. The brush slid from his hand onto the dresser, forgotten, and his arm locked firmly around my waist, pinning me to him.

I melted into the kiss before I even realized I’d given in, my breath catching when his tongue pressed against mine. The hunger between us was impossible to disguise, like every scandal, every rumor, only poured gasoline on the fire that already burned too recklessly between us.

When his mouth finally tore from mine, I dragged in air like I’d been drowning. “Gabriel,” I whispered against his lips, trembling but desperate for more, “we’ll be late for work.”

He let out a low laugh, arrogant, full of dark pride, before dragging his thumb across my swollen bottom lip.

His eyes burned into mine through the mirror. “Late?” he repeated, mocking.

“Your boss’ boss works for me, Clairessa. I own the company.”

The way he said it, possessive, domineering, sent heat straight down my spine.

“Still...” I tried, palms against his chest, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him instead of pushing away. “We can’t walk in looking like...”

His hand slid down my back, cutting off my protest as he cupped me firmly, pressing me against the hard evidence of his arousal. A low groan rumbled against my ear.

“We can walk in however the fuck we want.”

—------

Walking into the company was just as uncomfortable as I imagined. Heads turned when I passed, a few people glancing at each other before whispering behind their hands. I kept my chin lifted and forced myself to keep moving.

By the time I reached my office, I was ready to bury myself in work, anything to block out the noise in my head. I sat down and was just about to flip my laptop open when my office door flung open so hard it slammed against the wall.

My heart jumped in fright, and I looked up.

It was Nicole. She walked in like she’d been waiting her whole life for this moment. I didn’t need to ask why she was here, I knew. She came to gloat, to feed off the scandal that was already trending.

She stopped at my desk, leaning casually against the edge, a smirk tugging at her mouth.

“Well, well... look who finally showed up. The whore of the hour.”

My head dropped forward against the table, an irritated sigh slipping out. Of all the people in the world, she was the last I wanted to deal with today.

“Nicole,” I said flatly, lifting my eyes to hers. “Not today.”

“Oh no, Clairessa. Today is perfect,” she echoed, laughing softly. “This is the day I’ve been waiting for, the day the entire world got to see you for exactly who you are.”

I dragged my gaze up to meet hers. “And who exactly is that?”

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