No one understood. No onecouldunderstand.
Gabriel didn’t want to be bad,butSir?
Sir made it very, verytempting.
Miserable, Gabriel crossed the room and sank into the bathtub. His clothed legs stretched out across the white porcelain, and for a while, he stared at his knees. Knobby. Slender. Unappealing. They still stung from minutes ago, when he’d fallen to the floor in an attempt to escape fromAdrian.
Escaping never made things better—it had only ever made things worse. He should have known. Garrison had taught him that lesson five longyearsago.
Garrison.
With a groan, Gabriel tucked his knees to his chest and curled up on himself against the edge of the tub. Sir’s green eyes had distracted Gabriel from what mattered, and that was wrong of him. His first priority in all things was to return to the man he belonged to—and no matter what Sterling and Adrian said, he didnotbelongtoSir.
Sir, with his green eyes and dark, dark hair that made Gabriel think night couldn’t even compare. Sir, who looked sodifferentfrom all the other alphas Gabriel had serviced in The White Lotus and met casually after coming to stay with Adrian and Sterling. Sir, whose bottom lip was pierced on each side with two tiny black balls that caught the light and somehow made him look even more handsome. Sir, who’d looked at him with kindness, like he deservedrespect.
Gabriel shivered and tightened his arms around his knees. Arousal stirred inside of him, unwanted but undeniable. The way Sir looked at him made him feel like… well. To be honest, Gabriel didn’t know. The last thing he wanted to think about was how another man made him feel, because he didn’t belong to any other man—he belonged toGarrison.
But Garrison was lost. Gone. In trouble with the law. And Gabriel wasn’t going to get anywhere if he stayed in Adrian’s penthouse, in the tiny not-a-room with no privacy. If he wanted to get out and find Garrison, he’d have to be brave. He’d have to breakrules.
He’d have to be bad so he couldbegood.
There was conversation going on in the other room. The sound of Sterling’s voice was a hum in the air, dark and melodic, always sure of itself. Sir’s voice followed, a different brand of dominant, but certain in the things it said. It was sleek gunmetal—dark, but nuanced. It shone against the voices it accompanied, distinguished and unyielding. For a little while longer, it was a voice Gabriel wouldlistento.
He coulddothat.
It was a goodvoice.
With a deep, grounding breath, Gabriel let go of his knees and rose from the tub. His legs trembled, and as he walked, he shook them out to try to regain himself. As long as he was with Adrian, nothing bad would happen. He’d seen the narrowed look in Adrian’s eyes when Sterling had brought Sir into the penthouse, and he knew that no matter what Sterling said, Adrian wouldn’t let Sir hurt him. Where Gabriel was weak, Adrian was strong. If Gabriel needed to ask for help, Adrian would be there tohelphim.
There was nothing to be worriedabout.
Gabriel unlocked the bathroom door and made his way down the hall. The door to Sterling’s old office was left open, and as he passed, he glimpsed the crib Lilian slept in. For a second, he came to a stop and observed the empty room from thedoorway.
A mobile hung over Lilian’s crib. It spun slowly, entertaining no one. The room’s walls were covered with drawings—not Lilian’s, but some other child’s. Gabriel didn’t know if Sterling had other children or not, but he assumed so, just by looking at the decor. On the wall was a collage featuring photos of Adrian, Sterling, and Lilian alltogether.
Adrian, graduating college with his degree inbusiness.
Adrian, moments before his first day of work as a division director with Sterling and Lilian there byhisside.
Adrian, crying in that very room as Sterlingproposed…
Gabriel frowned and looked away. The room reminded him of all the things he wanted but that he’d never been allowed to have. He’d given his body away for Garrison more times than he could count, but no matter how many times he’d been good, Garrison had always told him the samething.
We’re not going to have a baby yet, Gabriel. You’re too beautiful to swell with life. You need to be patientandwait.
Gabriel had never understood the connection between his beauty and his ability to bear Garrison a child, but he hated it. Every time Garrison gave him contraceptives, he felt that much more unloved. Garrison was old—well into his fifties—and Gabriel knew that they wouldn’t have much longer to make a family before Garrison was too old to properly care for his children. He hadn’t been expecting the bust at The White Lotus, but when it had happened, it had almost felt like fate. They’d put off having a family for too long, and now the universe was dividing them fortheirsins.
…And it had given the baby Gabriel wanted to his brotherinstead.
But soon, it wouldn’t matter. Gabriel would march back into the living room, present himself obediently to Sir, and tell Sir that he was ready to be taken away. Sir expected him to be meek—which he was—but he didn’t know Gabriel like Adrian did, and he was already too kind to lock Gabriel in a room at night, or barricade the doors with combination locks like the man without a name had after he’d taken Gabriel from The White Lotus. He wouldn’t chain Gabriel to the bed, or bind his hands behind his back so they were useless all day until he was supervised again. As soon as they were on their own, Gabriel would find the perfect moment, and then he’d escape. No one would be there tostophim.
He’d figure out a way to get to jail, and he’d reunite withGarrison.
They’d finally be afamily.
Heat spread across his cheeks. He opened his eyes to observe the nursery, imagining the future. One day, he’d have a room like that for his own baby. He’d be a good father. He was compassionate, and quiet, and nurturing. But what he was most excited for was how much more Garrison would love him once he proved his devotion. A baby would be the glue that Gabriel had never managed to be onhisown.
A baby would makeGarrisonstay.
