Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 152

Gabriel’s POV

The bass thumped through the walls of the VIP lounge, loud and chaotic—like the thoughts swirling in my head. I sat on the leather couch, whiskey glass in hand, surrounded by bodies moving to the heavy pulse of the music.

Girls were grinding against the poles—shaking their hips, each one doing her best to earn my attention. The owner had apparently heard I was in the building and sent in his best—his “favorites,” as he called them. The ones who knew how to put on a show.

They were barely clothed—skimpy shorts clinging too tightly to their asses, leaving nothing to the imagination. Long legs, smooth thighs, fully on display.

Sweat glistened on their skin under the flashing lights as they wiggled and moved, casting flirtatious glances my way, hoping to be the one that got picked.

One of the girls approached my table, her eyes fixed on me, attempting to seduce me with a gaze that clearly drank in my body. She stopped in front of me, then bent over, hands grazing the floor, throwing her ass in my face.

But I just sat there.

Watching.

Unaffected.

Detached.

I didn’t care for her—or any of them.

How could I?

None of them came close to my woman. None of them even existed in comparison to her.

And the irony? Sleeping with random strippers was never my thing. Which kind of defeated the whole damn purpose of being here. I came to forget. To feel nothing. Instead, I felt a different kind of ache. One that screamed I was completely, irreversibly screwed.

I tipped the tumbler to my lips and gulped down the whiskey. My alcohol intake was always in check—precise, like everything else in my life. But tonight?

Tonight, I didn’t give a damn.

The first shot did absolutely nothing.

The second—just a slight buzz.

By the third, I felt my chest loosen just a bit. Not enough, but it was something.

And just as I was about to sink further into that desire to drown my thoughts—

I heard it.

A familiar voice.

“Gabriel.”

I turned.

Tina.

She smiled, clearly thrilled to see me, like she’d just spotted her next prize. I returned it with a faint, barely-there smirk—more out of habit than feeling. Still, I was silently grateful. A familiar face. A reliable distraction. Maybe her presence would send the dancers scattering, give them a reason to chase someone who actually gave a damn. Because I clearly didn’t.

“I’ll take it from here,” Tina said, flashing the girls a look that could cut glass as she waved her hand dismissively and slid into the seat beside me.

They pouted but scattered with practiced grace, already searching for their next mark.

“It’s been a while,” she murmured, tilting her head just enough so her breath brushed my jaw.

“It has,” I replied, telling myself maybe the familiarity of her face—and her body—might be enough to pull me out of this fog.

“I never thought I’d find you here at The Cave,” she teased, fingers tracing the top of my thigh. “This place isn’t really your scene. I remember you used to call it too wild… too much chaos for the great Gabriel Storm.”

“I did,” I admitted, my voice rough. “But sometimes a man needs the chaos… just to remember who the hell he is.”

“Or maybe,” she whispered, her eyes burning with that familiar hunger, “he just needs the right woman to remind him.”

She pressed her body against mine, waiting for me to make the next move.

“Let’s find out if you’re right,” I muttered, sliding a hand to her waist and pulling her into me with more force than I intended. She gasped, then melted, draping her legs over mine.

“Oh, Gabe... you’re all fired up tonight,” she purred, tilting her head, her mouth inching toward mine.

I stared at her lips, knowing she was about to kiss me.

And I wanted to want it. Hell, I tried to force myself.

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