Gabriel’s gasp was nearly silent, but his eyes spoke volumes. “You want those things after knowing me just a few hours?”
“I was fascinated by you the first time I saw you, when you were sitting in your truck this afternoon. You caught my interest even then.”
Gabriel’s cheeks flushed. “I wasn’t sure you saw me.”
“I did.” Chay doubted he would have been able to miss him. Gabriel would stand out in a crowd. Beyond the fact that he was stunning to look at, there was a glow about him, a vitality that drew Chay to him. Chay wanted to bask in that glow.
“How about we eat?” Chay asked. “We can talk and get to know each other better?”
“Yeah.” Gabriel glanced toward the coffee table where the pizza box had been placed. “I guess I could eat.”
That was a good thing. It meant Gabriel was no longer so anxious. Chay hoped Gabriel would grow to be comfortable in his presence the more time they spent together. It was good for mates to be comfortable with each other.
“I’ll go grab some plates. Do you want some more tea?”
Gabriel nodded. “Please.”
“Will it bother you if I have a beer?”
“No, not at all. I’ll admit I’m not much of a drinker, but that’s simply because I haven’t been around it very much. I was always too busy going to school or working.”
Chay told himself he’d ask about the sadness in Gabriel’s voice when he talked about school and work, but later. He wanted to get to know Gabriel better, but he also wanted the mood to be a little more upbeat. Gabriel was freaked out enough as it was. He didn’t need to add sadness to it.
“I don’t drink often either,” he said, “but every once in a while…”
Chay wasn’t sure it was his place to admit he didn’t drink because of his best friend. Dom’s mother had been an alcoholic. While he did indulge in the occasional beer and sometimes something stronger, Dom didn’t drink that much. By association, Chay didn’t either.
Chay walked into the kitchen and put the pot on the stove. While the water was heating, he grabbed a couple of plates and napkins. He didn’t think Gabriel would be one of those weird-ass people who ate their pizza with a fork, but he added one to the growing stack of stuff just in case.
When the water was hot, Chay made Gabriel a fresh cup of tea, grabbed a glass of water, his stack of items, and then carried it all out of the kitchen. He stopped and stared when he reached the living room. Gabriel was stretched out on the couch, his hand curled under his cheek. He was sound asleep.
Damn.
For a brief moment, he considered waking Gabriel, but then he realized if the man had fallen asleep so easily, he probably needed it.
Chay turned around and carried everything back into the kitchen. They could always eat later. Besides, wasn’t cold pizza like a food group or something? After putting everything away, Chay grabbed the pizza off the coffee table and carried it into the kitchen, sticking it in the fridge.
He walked down the hallway to his bedroom. After pulling back the covers, he went back to the living room and lifted Gabriel into his arms as carefully as he could. He didn’t want to wake him, but he’d be damned if he let his mate sleep on the sofa.
Chay smiled when Gabriel sniffed the air, his nose twitching, then buried his face in Chay’s neck. As soon as his nose pressed against Chay’s throat, Gabriel settled. Chay would have loved to just stand there and hold his mate, but Gabriel wasn’t exactly a little guy. Granted, he wasn’t quite as big as Chay was, but he wasn’t small either.
He carried Gabriel down the hallway to his bedroom. After laying him down on the mattress, Chay reached down and pulled Gabriel’s boots off and set them on the floor next to each other. He considered stripping him down to his skivvies, but that was a little too forward. Instead, he unbuttoned the top few buttons on Gabriel’s jeans.
The last thing he did after he pulled the blankets up over Gabriel was press a kiss to his forehead. He could think of nothing he wanted more than to climb into bed beside Gabriel and cuddle him for the rest of the night, which was strange for him because he wasn’t normally a cuddly type of guy.
He also didn’t want to rush Gabriel. Putting his mate in his bed was pushing the limits of the fragile trust they were building between them. Climbing into that bed with Gabriel had the potential to shatter that trust. He couldn’t chance it.
Chay grabbed a blanket off the end of the bed and then walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He grabbed the book he had been reading over the last week and curled up to read it.
Until Gabriel woke up, he was on guard duty. Now that he had found his mate, Chay refused to let anything happen to him. Gabriel was his to protect whether he accepted it or not. He would not let the man down.
