Chapter 34- Her Ring, His Word

Valerie sat next to Gabriel, his laptop stalled out while they worked at a coffee shop near the office building. It was relaxing and it gave her piece of mind that her fiancé could find peace in being near her. It had been a hectic week, but the problem was fixed. The collateral damage, however, was going to give them more stress than getting their financial director arrested.

"I can't believe your mother agreed to the idea of us having a really small wedding."

Valerie couldn't believe it either, Ethan had planted the seed of doubt in her head. She had been right all along though, Amanda only wanted her to be happy. If that meant she was going to sign a wedding license and throw a small dinner party afterwards her mother was okay with that.

"Well, she wants me to be happy."

Gabriel didn't look at her, but she felt the shift within him. His mood was a lot better, his shoulders more relaxed, like a heavy burden just got lifted off his shoulders. Gabriel was known as a coldhearted asshole by many, but she knew better. Gabriel Starr was more caring than most, his words were just sharp and cold which made people stay away from him. She was glad she wasn't one of those people who stayed away from him. Gabriel made her smile even when her day was messed up and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide herself from the rest of the world. He kept her grounded, he was their rock. She wanted him to rely on her as much as she relied on him. Reaching underneath the table, she placed her hand upon his thigh.

"I want you to be happy." He told her.

Smiling she leaned in, ready to kiss him.

"If it isn't the happy couple."

Valerie pulled away from her fiancé and trailed her eyes to the guy who dared to interrupt them. She put her guard up realizing it was Ryan Parker, the man who was always looking to cause trouble for Gabriel. They were rivals, competing with each other to be the best. Their moves were always subtle, but not less hurtful when their moves were made. If anything it caused more damage when they moved their pieces on their chessboard than people who were openly violent without restraint.

"Ryan." Gabriel leaned back in his chair, trying to look as comfortable as possible while Valerie felt her fiancé getting ready to tackle the guy to the floor, "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Ryan took a seat across them, obviously feeling comfortable enough to join them, "I wanted to see for myself how you're holding up after the hit you took last week."

She didn't like the tone Ryan used, his tone was light and even though he didn't smile she could hear the smile in his voice. He was utterly content with himself. They didn't have any proof, but she felt like Ryan had made a subtle move and they were now dealing with the damage of his move to become an obstacle to Gabriel's business.

"I should have known." A chuckle left Gabriel's lips, "Well played."

"Oh, you're suggesting I have anything to do with this?" Ryan asked, the gleam in his eyes pissing Valerie off even more because it confirmed Gabriel's accusation.

"I know you do." Gabriel told him, reaching for his cup of coffee and holding it up to Ryan before he sipped from it, "Well played indeed."

"I might have suggested he could do better." Ryan smirked, "But that's all I had to do."

"I know people are selfish." Gabriel didn't sound upset at all, she had no idea what she was witnessing right now, she just kept her mouth shut and let them catch up, "So now it's my turn to make a move."

Ryan looked eager, "I'm looking forward to that."

Valerie had absolutely no idea how to handle this situation. It sounded like Ryan and Gabriel were close, actually enjoying getting in each other's way. She wondered if it was their way of expressing their feelings for each other.

"This is too weird." She told them, causing both of them to snap their attention to her, "I'm grabbing a refill, you guys want something? Coffee, Ryan?"

"Yes, please, Miss King. Thank you."

Gabriel smiled at her, "I'm good, thanks, Valerie."

She grabbed her paper cup, "You take anything in it?"

Ryan's smile caught her off guard, "I take my coffee black."

"Coming right up."

She left them to it, tossing away her paper cup and getting in line which moved rather quickly. She bought herself a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and a coffee for Ryan. She walked back to their table and placed the cup in front of Ryan.

"Thanks Doll."

She took a seat next to Gabriel, "So you guys are friends, right?" She asked, "I mean you sound like you care, but then your actions says otherwise. Just to lift my confusion, I don't have to be ready to throw my water in Ryan's face?"

Gabriel let out an amused sound, placing his arm around the back of her chair, "You don't have to do it, but it would make my day."

Ryan reached for his paper cup, "We keep each other on our toes, it motivates us to do better. So please refrain from wetting me with ice cold water." His eyes lowered to her hand, "Ethan mentioned a wedding coming up, was he messing with me?"

"We're getting married." Gabriel told him, "But you're not invited."

Valerie smiled when she noticed the change in Ryan's eyes, "Because we're not throwing a big fancy wedding. We're only signing a license."

Valerie jumped when Ryan suddenly reached for her hand, "Why don't you marry me instead? No fuss and complications, you are perfect Valerie King." His smirk widened, "I promise I would treat you better than this coldhearted bastard."

Gabriel pulled her closer to him, pressing her to his side, "Back off Parker."

Ryan laughed, "Whenever he is around you he shows his human side, I'm intrigued." He got to his feet, "Thanks for coffee Miss King, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

She watched Ryan leave the shop and then turned to look at Gabriel. Pulling away from her he stretched in his chair and leaned closer to his laptop, "Our financial department is getting intensive training, it should run smoother and more efficient. Also a new director, sooner rather than later."

She watched as Gabriel got to work, typing away at the speed at light. He was motived, ready to pull an all-nighter if he had to. Ryan had been right, them messing with each other is what kept them focused and on top of their game. She wouldn't question their weird friendship again.

***

Valerie sat behind her desk, scanning through the dress options Rachel sent her via email. She called it a day an hour ago, but she knew Gabriel needed more time. She'd go up to his office at eight, then she'd drag him home with her. He had another half hour to get things ready for his plan to pull their financial department together. They had done it before, sales was now running smoothly without Daniel present. She didn't want to brag, but she was doing a good job now. Now she was in the flow of things, doing most tasks on auto-pilot. She had a staff which she could lean on whenever things were hectic. They supported each other, pulling in accounts which made Hunter and Starr proud.

"You still here?"

She looked up, smiling at Andrew, "I could ask you the same. Andrew, you should take a day off sometime soon, spending some time to recharge."

Andrew walked up to her desk and sat down in the one-seat in front of her, "I will, soon." He assured her, "I actually found a new boy toy and spending the day in bed with him sounds like a good way to get my mind off things."

"You met someone?"

He looked amused by her question, "No need to sound so hopeful, we're not dating." He chuckled, "We're just messing around right now. You know, when you're working hard you also need to play hard to get some relief."

Months ago she would have changed the subject, not feeling comfortable with this type of conversation. Ethan and Gabriel ruined her though. They didn't shy away from sharing their sexual experiences, and unfortunately she was always present when they had those conversations.

"I get you."

He titled his head to the side, surprised by her reaction, "Gabriel got you to loosen up a little?"

She glared at him, "Shut up."

Andrew wasn't backing off though, his playful eyes telling her that much, "Maybe if you ask nicely they'll give you what we discussed months ago."

Her cheeks heated, while disgust crawled up her spine, "Ethan is dating my sister, so that's never going to happen!" She covered her face with her hands, "We're never going there. Never." She dropped her hands and leaned back in her chair, inhaling deeply, "Gabriel is a bit more protective over me now that we're engaged. So I doubt he'd ever give into that idea anyway."

Andrew shot up from his chair, looking like she told him pigs could fly, "You're engaged?!"

She nodded, "Well, yeah-" She then realized she didn't share the news with him right away, she usually did that so she assumed that Andrew already knew, "Oh, right. I didn't share that with you yet. Well, surprise. I'm getting married to Gabriel, soon."

"What a way to tell me." Andrew slumped back down in his chair, "You say soon, so I imagine you're not planning to become a Bridezilla."

"You know me better than that." Glancing at her watch she started to collect her things, ready to go up and drag her fiancé home with her, "We came to an agreement to sign a license and have dinner with close family and friends, so do expect an invitation to a fancy restaurant soon."

Andrew reached for her hand, "Where is your ring? If you're not getting the big, fancy, over the top wedding you should demand an amazing ring which blinds people when directly looking at it. You deserve that much."

She pulled away from her friend, "The engagement was more like a spontaneous thing and with the whole financial scandal we have other things to worry about."

Putting her laptop in her bag, she straightened out of her chair and shrugged on her coat. It was a pale blue, woolen coat which felt so soft to the touch it could easily be used as a blanket to get comfortable. You never know when you suddenly needed to get comfortable and warm. It was a plus that it looked rather good on her as well.

"Hunter and Starr still in?" Andrew asked as he left her office together with her.

"Gabriel is in." She told him.

She headed upstairs to meet Gabriel while Andrew went home, probably seeing his new distraction. She couldn't call the man his boyfriend since Andrew had been very specific about it not being a relationship. Her friend liked to live life to the fullest, he was unattached so he could have as much as fun as he wanted. Well, she figured she didn't have to remind her friend to be safe, Andrew was responsible enough. She strolled to Gabriel's office and cautiously entered it, not wanting to disturb him when he was concentrating.

"Valerie."

She smiled when he looked up to look at her, "Gabriel, ready to go home?"

"Yeah, just sending out one last email, then we can leave."

She approached his desk and sat down, getting comfortable while she let Gabriel finish up his email.

"Rachel sent me tons of pictures of dresses."

"You want to wear a wedding dress?" He was focused on his typing, but still listened to her. She loved that, unfortunately for him he couldn't see it expressed on her face.

"No, they're formal dresses. I'd like to match my dress to your suit."

He shot her a glance, "I haven't picked out a suit yet, thought we should pick out a date first."

"Yes, but you know the priorities my sister has."

Gabriel smiled, "Oh yes, like dress first then setting the wedding date." He rolled away from his desk and turned off his laptop, "Done, let's go home."

She couldn't help but to grin, "Here I thought I had to drag you home with me. It's amazing when you do things without being told to."

That sparked something within him, "Oh really? You looking to tame me?"

She snorted, getting to her feet and collecting her bag, "No one can tame you, Gabriel."

"Don't give up that easily, a challenge makes things much more interesting."

He took her hand and walked with her to the elevator, "I'm not Ryan Parker. I like things quiet and going according to plan."

He pulled her to him, kissing her head, "I'll give you quiet, I promise you."

***

Valerie rolled to her stomach, hugging her pillow while she tried to wake from the daze Gabriel put her in. She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing her locks out of her face when something caught her eye. She shot up, the sheets falling from her body and exposing her to the cold air. She nearly tripped out of bed, grabbing Gabriel's shirt and shrugging it on. She did up a few buttons and ripped open the door to the bathroom, stopping in her tracks when her eyes laid upon her fiancé standing under the showerhead.

"Gabriel."

"Hm?"

"What's this?"

He chuckled, his eyes closed as he rinsed his hair, "Sorry, Valerie, I'm washing my hair. Could you use your words?"

She sighed and moved forward, getting under the hot spray of water in front of him. He opened his eyes, pushing back his hair. He didn't have time to respond since she shoved her hand in his face.

"This."

Gabriel grabbed her hand and brushed his thumb over the ring, "An engagement ring, thought I didn't have to explain it to you. It speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

She pulled her hand back, grabbing his chin and making him look at her again when his eyes started to wander.

"You didn't have to do this." She clarified.

He cupped her face in his hands, his eyes playful as they raked over her body again, "That shirt is now see through, it's distracting." He trailed his hands over her curves, undoing the buttons easily, "Let's continue where we left off."

She could easily get carried away, but she wanted him to focus. A gasp left her lips when he grabbed her and lifted her up easily, pressing her up against the cold tiles and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I didn't need a ring, Gabriel, despite what people think the ring means nothing. It's your word which-" She leaned her head back against the tiles, inhaling sharply when he entered her without warning, "It's your word which means the world to me." She managed to force out when intense pleasure hit her hard.

"The ring isn't for you." Gabriel kissed her neck, biting the skin which surely would leave a mark on her, "It's for me." He pulled away from her to look her in the eyes, "It shows you belong to me, I need that to make people like Parker to back off."

She laughed, amused that he'd go through such lengths to make a statement. Wrapping her arms around his neck she clung to him while she enjoyed his rough thrusts. Leaning in she brushed her lips against his, giggling when gruff sounds left his lips. He was as much affected by this as her. It made her feel proud he could lose himself in her like that.

"You're weirdly possessive, Gabriel."

He tightened his hold on her, the touch burning against her already heated skin.

"I've always been like this, Valerie." He pushed in deeper, it causing her to lose her breath completely, "You just bring it out of me much more often then I like."

She couldn't stop kissing him, she wanted to kiss him all over. It was insane how much closer she needed him to feel him and to be wrapped up in his heath.

"I'll happily wear it." She whispered in his ear.

Another giggle left her lips when he turned off the faucet and then walked them to her bed. She squealed when he dropped her suddenly, water drenching the sheets while he hovered over her. Getting on top of her while water dropped onto her. He cupped her face, leaning in to brush his nose against hers.

"Good." He told her on a serious note.

A warm smile spread across her face when he leaned in to kiss her, sealing their silent deal with a kiss which made her long for more. His touches and deep kisses promised her more to come and her thoroughly enjoying it. The closer he got the more she needed him. He needed the ring to show the world she belonged to him, all she needed was his word.