Light fingers caressed Gabriel's hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, turning back to Suzy. "You were saying?"

"Nothing." She smiled.

"Aren't you ever taking off your mask?" He touched a feather on her temple.

"Why? Don't you like it?"

"I want to see your face."

"That's enough champagne, Jenna," said a voice beside him.

"But why?" Jenna said, whining.

With a muttered excuse to Suzy, Gabriel turned to see what the problem was.

***

"You're drunk," Hayley said. She tried to wrestle the glass of champagne away from Jenna.

Her  friend held on to the drink stubbornly. "Honestly, I'm fine," she  insisted. Her eyes were wide, and she looked at Hayley pointedly,  clearly telling her to back off.

But Hayley was sure she was more than just tipsy. "Your face is all flushed. Remember what happened last time you got drunk?"

"Hayley  Denton!" Jenna looked outraged. "Breaking into that pool deck was  Owen's idea, okay!" she added said in a stage whisper.

Reinheart  was leaning back in his seat, watching the struggle in front of him with  an amused expression on his face. "Maybe you should just let the lady  have one more drink," Reinheart said.

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Hayley shot at him. "You like all your dates inebriated?"

"Whoa!"  Annoyance crossed his face for a brief moment before he was back  flashing his charming smile. "I prefer my dates fully sober, I assure  you."

"Seriously, Hayley, you're making a big deal out of nothing," Jenna said.

"Jenna," Hayley said, giving her a look that broke no argument.

"How  about we go see if they have any water," Gabriel said, getting up and  grasping Hayley's wrist firmly. "Or maybe a virgin cocktail?"

"W-w-what?"  Heat shot up Hayley's arm from his touch. Her knees wobbled, but  thankfully he hauled her to her feet with an ease that made it seem that  she weighed nothing. "What are you—"

"Excuse us." Gabriel smiled down at Suzy as he guided Hayley toward the bar.

What  was going on? Why was this guy hauling her off like she was some unruly  child who just threw a tantrum at the dinner table.

Suzy glared at her the moment Gabriel turned away.

Hayley  wanted to assure the woman that no, she didn't want to go with this  guy, wherever it was he was taking her. But he was moving too fast, and  she had to move her feet faster just to keep from tripping.

To her surprise, he pulled her outside on the balcony. She didn't even know there was a balcony.

"What is your problem?" she demanded, jerking her arm free.

"What exactly are you doing here, Hayley?" Gabriel said.

She  never thought her name was particularly nice. It sounded like a  fifteen-year-old girl's name, if she were honest. But for some reason,  the way he said her name made it seem... almost sexy.

He looked almost angry. Annoyed, actually.

She  swallowed. "It's a party. I'm here to... uh... " Her mind was blank.   "...to party." She was pretty sure she had more words in her vocabulary.  What the hell was wrong with her tonight?

"Uh huh." He crossed his arms across his chest.

She  exhaled in exasperation. "I'm just trying to look after my friend,  okay? This is her first time doing... this." She waved an arm at the  door.

"Is this her first time to drink?"

"No, not—"

"Her first party, then?"

"What? Of course not—"

Gabriel shut his eyes for a moment, as if trying to summon up the last vestiges of his patience. "Is she under 18?"

"She's  twenty-four." She felt a little silly now, but she knew that if  something bad happened to Jenna at this party full of strangers who were  here for the sole purpose of finding sex partners, she would never  forgive herself.

"Does she have a boyfriend? Is she engaged? Married?"

"All  right, all right. Jeez." She held up her hands. "I'm just trying to  keep her from doing anything stupid. We don't know anyone here, okay?  You're all here for sex and—"

She didn't know how she could tell  as he was wearing a black mask, but she could swear he raised an  eyebrow. But she went on. "And we're all wearing these stupid masks. You  could all be perverts for all I know."

He chuckled. "I promise you, I'm not a pervert."

She gave him a look that said, "That's what a pervert would say."

"Look."  He took a step toward her. "There's obviously nothing I could say that  will convince you Reinheart and I aren't creeps."

"No." A twinge  of guilt pinched her gut, and she averted her eyes for a moment before  forcing herself to look back at him. She had no reason to feel bad. Her  reasons for not trusting him or his friend was not irrational.

To  her surprise he was holding up an electronic car key fob. The balcony  wasn't very brightly lit, but she could swear she could recognize the  Porsche logo on the key fob and the leather keychain. "This the key to  my car. Go on, take it."

She gasped when he took her hand and  pressed the key into her palm. Not so much in shock at the fact that he  just handed her his car key, but at the sudden thrill that raced through  her at his touch. "I don't... what is this for?" She shook herself  mentally.

"It's a guarantee that Reinheart and I won't be absconding with your friend against her will."

"How do I know you're not just going to call the cops and accuse me of trying to steal your car?"

A genuine smile lit up his face. "I guess nothing gets past you,"

Hayley  was grateful for the semi-darkness and the mask that covered half her  face because she blushed to the roots of her hair. "Yeah, well."

"Okay, I got an idea," Gabriel said. "C'mon."

She  stiffened when he put a hand on her lower back to guide her back  inside. If he noticed the way she reacted to his touch, he didn't show  it. He probably thought she was being stand-offish or something. Good.  Better he think that rather than suspect he was wreaking havoc on her  body with the slightest touch of his hand.

It wasn't even sensual  or anything, and his fingertips barely grazed the fabric of her dress.  Maybe it was his confidence that was making him attractive. It was a  trait she knew she lacked, and therefore admired in others. That was  all. He probably wasn't even that good looking under his mask.

He  was well-shaped, though, she thought, looking slightly to her left to  observe the way his long, lean legs moved as they made their way to the  bar.

"Hi Sandy," Gabriel greeted the bartender.

Hayley wondered if they knew each other, but noticed Sandy wore a nameplate on one side of her chest.

"Hi!" Sandy said. "What can I get you?"

"Your best virgin cocktail, please." He slid three bills on the bar top toward her. "Two."

"You got it."

Hayley  glanced down at the bills right before Sandy palmed it. Hundred dollar  bills. It was a three hundred-dollar tip. She gulped and looked away.

The bartender got to work making the drinks.

"While we're here," Gabriel said, after a minute. "I was hoping you could help us out."

"Anything," Sandy said as she filled a shaker.

"I just need you to witness me giving Hayley here my car key." He nodded at Hayley.

"Oh, right," Hayley said. She held up the car key for Sandy to see.

"She's holding on to it for safekeeping," Gabriel explained.

"Okay."  The bartender didn't look even a little confused. To be fair,  considering her occupation, it was probably not the weirdest thing she'd  seen on the job. She placed two highball glasses with fizzy white  liquid and rosemary garnish in front of them. "Pear and rosemary on the  rocks," she said.

"Thank you," Gabriel said, and turned to Hayley. "Well? Don't you want it?"

Hayley frowned. She expected he would at the very least carry the drinks to the table.

"I'd  carry them myself like a gentleman," he said, as if reading her mind.  "But I don't want you accusing me of putting anything in the drink."

At her glare, he merely smirked.

"Here,  try this," Hayley said when they got back to the table. She handed  Jenna one of the pear cocktails. "It smells really yummy." At her  friend's confused expression, she added, "It's virgin."

"Oh goody," Jenna said, rolling her eyes before giving Hayley a grin.

Hayley wrinkled her nose at her before taking a sip of her drink.

She ventured a glance toward Gabriel, but his attentions were directed toward Suzy.

Sighing, Hayley took another sip of her drink. This was going to be a long night.

***

The phone was ringing.

Gabriel  moaned and tried to ignore the persistent sound of the phone. Why  hadn't he muted it? He usually did that before bed but...

"You're not getting that?"

A woman's voice. Beside him. In his bed.

Fuck.

He  turned to see a sleepy, naked Suzy eyeing him questioning. At least he  assumed she was naked under the sheet draped over her chest. "Good  morning," she drawled.

"Good morning," he said, forcing himself  to smile. "Sorry about that." He glanced around the dark room looking  for his phone. There. His pants lay on the floor near the door.

He  got off the bed and walked toward where the phone was still ringing in  the back pocket of his pants, picking up a dressing robe that was neatly  folded on a chair. He shrugged into the robe before picking up his  pants.

He groaned inwardly when he saw the name "Celeste Yang" on the caller ID. "I need to take this," he said, without giving Suzy a glance. He didn't  hit reply until he got to the kitchen, which he figured was far enough  from the bedroom that Suzy wouldn't hear his side of the conversation.

"Where were you last night?"

"Hello to you too, Mom," he replied.

"I left you three messages on your phone."

"The  landline?" He should really have that line disconnected. The only one  who ever used it was his mother. "I'm sorry, I haven't had time to  check."

"You were out last night, I suppose?"

"Yes. It was a Friday night."

She tsked. "With Reinheart? That boy is a very bad influence on you."

"I'm twenty-eight, Mother. I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"Clearly not, from what I'd heard about Tallah. Oh, Gabriel, how could you let that girl go?"

The sadness in her voice was unmistakable. "I'm sorry. I did my best."

"Well, you're just going to have to do better next time."

"I always do my best—"

"There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Who  is it?" Gabriel regretted his words soon as they left his mouth. Damn  but he should have had coffee first before taking any calls, should've  given his brain a few minutes to wake up fully.

"Her name is Astrid and she's the daughter of one of your father's business associates. They're in real estate."

"Mother, please. I can't be doing any blind dates right now."

"Why  not? You're not dating anyone. She's a beautiful girl, I promise. Top  of her class in NUS. She's getting her MBA from Berkeley Haas in a  year."

"I'm sure she's a fine girl but—"

"Oh yes, I know,  it's a little far from Beverly Hills, but it's only a few hours. You  have a plane. You can see each other on the weekends."

"Mother."

But she wasn't going to be stopped. "—will not demand much of your time. She's very focused on her education and her career—"

"Mother, please. I already have a girlfriend."

"—taking over her father's business after—" She stopped when what I'd said finally sunk in. "What did you say?"

He  had no idea why he'd said what he did. No business decisions before  noon. That was his motto for a reason. "I mean..." He swallowed. "I'm  seeing someone."

"Is it serious?"

That was his way out. If  he said it was not serious, he could still "break up" with his  imaginary girlfriend before his mother could send Emmanuelle over to  check. But before he could speak, his mother added, "Because it can't  possibly be that serious, since you just broke up with Tallah a few days  ago. There's no reason why you can't meet Astrid."

"It's serious, Mother."

"How serious?"

Fuck. She wasn't going to let go of this, he knew. He might as well go all in on this. "Very."

"What's her name?"

Suzy.  He could tell his mother it was Suzy. He could talk her into meeting  Emmanuelle, pretend things were serious long enough to hold off that  blind date with Astrid and then...

He remembered what happened  last night. He hadn't planned on sleeping with Suzy. But apparently he  did. After Tallah had left him, the plan was to abstain for a bit. Long  enough to clear his head, at least. And also because once he'd dipped  his toe into the hedonism pool, he was likely to plunge headfirst and  never come up for air. His arrangement with Tallah had been perfect.  They were both busy, and therefore intimacies were relegated to  weekends, sometimes even no more than twice a month.

With Suzy,  however, there was no way she would keep her hands off him for longer  than a few days. Since she was looking for a sugar daddy, she probably  wasn't, say, the CEO of her own company, like Tallah was. That meant she  had enough free time for them to... He shook his head. He wasn't even  sure he wanted to see her again. Sure the sex was good. More than good,  in fact. Which was part of the problem. He didn't need the temptation,  not now.

"You're not making her up, are you?" his mother asked archly.

"Hayley," he said. "My girlfriend's name's Hayley."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thank you for reading, loves! Did you enjoy this part? Let me know in the comments!

Next update will be on Wednesday, February 27. The first nine chapters of RESISTING SIN are available now, if you'd like to read ahead:

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