She held on to him, whispered his name, reveled in the physical glory. She bit his shoulder, and he growled as his grip tightened, as his body tightened and then thrust one last time, pulling her down tight on top of him so that she catapulted one last time into that vibrating ocean of pleasure he always gave her.
Life was not simple, no, but it was so simple to give herself over to him, to enjoy him, to be with him just like this.
And when he did not immediately lecture her or get out of her bed, she smiled and curled into him. Perhaps he did not want to be.
But he was hers now. She cuddled in closer, rested one hand over her belly.
Theirs.
CHAPTER TEN
Gabriel was notsurprised to be summoned to Alexandre’s office before the sun was up the next morning. He was already out of bed, watching Evelyne sleep, when the tap at the door came.
He could not come to grips with his next steps. So much of what she said made sense—they enjoyed each other, they were married, she was already pregnant, why not have sex? Why not share this bed and this room and behave in all the ways a married couple expecting their first child should?
But he knew the answer. Because he could not trust himself. The darkness of this obsession would only sink deeper and deeper until it damagedsomething. He didn’t know what yet, but it didn’t matter. The fact she even threatened the surface way he’d moved through life proved to him he could not be trusted.
But there was a child now. An undeniable fact. Staying away from her was not the answer, but what the hell was?
He had to find a way to…fix it. But he had time. He had three months to figure out how to navigate this before their child arrived. That was his deadline.
He would never remind her of her father. He would never give his child a reason to fear. There had to be some alternative.
When Gabriel walked into Alexandre’s office, he found him seated behind the desk waiting for him. He had not taken over King Enzo’s gilt, over-the-top office, but had instead continued to use his own. Minimalist and stark, no doubt in direct response to his father.
Still, this was not a welcoming environment. Gabriel was not surprised there was no evidence of any place for him to sit.
This was to be an interrogation. One he undoubtedly deserved.
“Good morning, Your Majesty.” Gabriel greeted Alexandre with as much royal reverence as a man who did not particularly believe in kings could manage, even for his best friend.
Alex did not return the greeting. “Please explain to me how you have come to be secretly married to my sister. How she iswith child, and how I clearly would not have been privy to either piece of information if my father had not died unexpectedly and I demanded you bring her home.”
Gabriel had to work not to scowl, because it reminded him thathewould also not have known if not for that. And blame or anger or hurt had no place inside him if he was to make the appropriate plans for Evelyne and their child.
“Perhaps we should toast to Enzo’s gift to us?”
“Answer me, Gabriel.”
Gabriel didn’t sigh, though he wanted to. He stood, hands clasped behind his back, searching for some explanation that was the truth because he did not wish to lie to Alexandre. But there were certain lies that must be told.
“Evelyne and I…” He struggled against the need to rub his hands over his face.Evelyne and I. Parents. Married. “She is an intelligent, witty, beautiful woman, and while I certainly didn’t expect to…be so taken with her, it became undeniable.”
“She may be all those things, but you took her away at my bequest—young, alone in a strange place, bereft, and dependent wholly on you.”
Because those things were all technically correct, except maybe the bereft part, and yet didn’t take into account thescopeof Evelyne and all she was capable of, Gabriel stiffened. “I do not take advantage of women, if that’s what you’re accusing me of. I would never take advantage of Evelyne. Perhaps she is stronger than you give her credit for.”
“You do not take advantage of women, agreed, but ever since…” Alexandre let the silence stretch out between them. Long and meaningful. Meant to be heavy and perhaps even a little cruel. A reminder of Gia, and what he’d been willing to do to save her.
Gabriel could not deny he deserved the stark reminder.
“You have not been serious about anyone since then,” Alexandre continued. “I’m not sure you’ve been serious about anything, except maybe your work and even then, there’s a certain casualness to your success there. And now you have married and impregnated my sister, two very serious and permanent steps. You can understand my concern.”
“Yes, I can. It…was not planned. It came as a surprise, these…feelings for her.” He sought to find some fine line of truth inside the lie, sought to not wince at the wordfeelings. He had to walk this line, between convincing Alexandre he could handle this without diving into obsession and violence, but that he was also notflippantabout the situation, or Evelyne. “I tried to maintain a certain superficial distance, but it became impossible. She is…unique. It pains me not to give her what she wishes.” Truth enough.
“And what do you wish, Gabriel?”
Hell if he knew. But he met Alex’s hard gaze. “I shall endeavor to make them both happy.”
