Her Strength, Her Bane

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“You are my best friend's boyfriend, Gabriel.”

“Ex–boyfriend,” he corrected.

“Whatever. It still changes everything,” she wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling tiny underneath his scorching gaze.

“It changes nothing, Joslyn,” he took a step closer to her. “Nothing at all.”

She looked up into his eyes, sweet honey orbs colliding with the coral combinations of greens and blues. The colour harmony couldn't be more explosive.

Clearing her throat, she looked away from his captivating imprisonment of a gaze before straightening her posture to match one of confidence and determination, a total contrast to the tornado of feelings overwhelming her insides. His proximate presence was making her feel weak in the knees.

“No matter what, I refuse to betray Sigourney. It is an unspoken rule between best friends to not have anything to do with each other's exes. You're off limits, Gabriel.”

“Fuck such rules! Whether they're ‘unspoken’,” he gestured in an air-quote, “or in the fucking constitution, I don't give two fucks about that bullshit. And I am not off limits, Jos. Lapointe can not decide that. Only I can.”

He moved impossibly closer, backing her up against the frigid marble top of the kitchen counter. “I want you, Joslyn. And I always get what I want,” his voice turned husky.

“That doesn't apply to me.” She struggled to keep her voice within the range of normalcy, only to amount to naught.

“I always get what I want,” he reiterated firmly. At this rate, he was all up in her face, completely violating every goddamn rule regarding personal space.

“Why bother fighting it?” He lifted his hands to caress her face slowly, sweeping her short silver hair behind her ears so he could feel her smooth and silken skin tingle under the mercy of his mere touch.

“Your eyes, your lips, your entire body, begs for my single touch.” He ran his other hand up her naked arm, feeling the goosebumps surfacing on her skin.

“Admit it. You're just as attracted to me as I am to you. You want me as much as I want you. Maybe even more,” his warm breath fanned her face, making her eyelids droopy.

His baritone voice was just the right amount of deep and husky. His voice was alluring. Like the melodies of a siren flowing into her ears, like the devil resting on her shoulder, whispering sweet words into her soul, Gabriel tempted her. His entire body screamed temptation. And she was falling gradually.

“I don't,” she croaked before clearing her throat. Gabriel smirked, knowing too well the effect he had on her. “Did I ever tell you that?” she retorted, squirming internally as she was well aware that her arguments and denials were all pointless.

“Your lips,” he fondled her bottom lip with his calloused thumb, tracing the very line that defined her Cupid's bow shaped mouth, his gaze riveted to the mesmerizing sight, “need not speak the words your eyes vividly portray, love.”

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C O P Y R I G H T

This book is solely a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, incidents and/or occurrences are products of the author's imaginations, and have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person(s), living or dead, places or events is purely coincidental.

Her Strength Her Bane © 2023 by Laramie.

Published by O. A. F., writing under the pseudonym, Laramie.

All rights reserved. All parts of this book/publication are restricted to being reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form(s) or by any means — including but not limited to electronic, photocopying, mechanical, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the author/publisher. The only acceptable exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

A B O U T

Her Strength, Her Bane is a romance book set in the contemporary world (sited as the city of Vancouver, Canada), between a billionaire CEO, Gabriel Nicholas Reid and the flight attendant, Joslyn Leann Patel, who he'd been chanced to meet at a club one night. 

The story takes effect as a one-night stand trope kinda book but it advances into something more when the fates of both leads are woven in more ways than one and subsequently, later in life, they're set to meet more times. 

I N F O R M A T I O N

Her Strength, Her Bane is set in three timezones namely: two years before the present (that is, the club night), a year before the present (that is, Gabriel and Sigourney dating and Joslyn's and Gabriel's official introduction to each other courtesy of Sigourney) and lastly, the present times which spans the rest of the book.

It is imperative that insights on their past is given, therefore it had to be written before the book officially begins and I hope that by this explanation, clarity is brought to the readers, so as to prevent any instances of confusion.

Without further ado, I give y'all HER STRENGTH, HER BANE.