Gavriel!
Sitting up, I looked around my office. Everything was in place, but he wasn’t here. When I looked over to where he had been sleeping, there was a single piece of paper, folded in half with my name on it.
Reaching for it, I stopped halfway and shook my head. My heart was pounding and my stomach was tied up in knots. Trying not to panic, I took a few deep breaths. I wasn’t a teenage girl fawning over some boy!
But aren’t you?
I can’t go down that road. No. Last night was nothing.
Quickly, I got up, put the note on my desk without looking at it, and made the bed. Once I had it turned back into a couch, I ran my hands through my hair and put it up in a messy bun. Standing in front of my desk, I stared at the note.
What’s the problem? It’s just a message from Pretty Boy.
But last night he wasn’t Pretty Boy. He was Gavriel.
Something shifted between you two.
No, it didn’t.
You didn’t hate how he took care of you. You liked it and actually relaxed when he snuggled up with you.
And there it was.
Huffing at myself, I grabbed the note and opened it.
Elin,
I’ll have breakfast for you in my office when you get up.
Don’t rush. I have a couple meetings this morning.
-Gavriel
I didn’t bother with shoes before stepping out of my office and over to his, punching in the code. He looked up as I stepped in, and the corner of his lips lifted slightly before he answered a question for whoever was on the phone. He pointed to the small kitchenette on the right wall, and I groaned when I saw that a pot of coffee had been brewed.
Making a cup and adding just enough creamer to lighten the color, I sat down on his couch, taking a sip. The rich bean juice coated my tongue, and I tipped my head back as I swallowed, willing it to jumpstart my brain. Restful sleep or not, coffee was a lifeline.
The ceramic mug warmed my hands as I watched him behind his desk. I took another slow sip, letting the rich aroma settle me and wake me up.
Gavriel, still engrossed in a phone call, sat at his desk, his eyes wholly focused on me when my gaze met his. His head rested on the back of the chair as his fingers drummed on the wood. I watched him, the way the light caught the lighter strands in his hair, and my fingers itched to run my fingers through them. There was a subtle, almost imperceptible twitch of his left eyebrow, a nervousness I hadn't noticed before. His attention dropped as he gave whomever he was talking to instructions.
I walked toward him, the quiet creak of the floorboards the only sound besides his voice while he gave commands. This was Gavriel Azzaro, the heir to the Azzaro family. The fact he was openly discussing a shipment with me in the room was proof things had changed between us.
Reaching his desk, I gently but firmly tilted his chin upwards, his gaze snapping to mine. He swallowed, a visible gulp, before putting the caller on hold with a curt, "One moment."
"Thank you for last night," I said, my voice even. "And the coffee," I added, a small, almost imperceptible smile playing on my lips. The coffee, honestly, was the least of it, not that I would tell him that.
"You're welcome, Goddess," he replied, his voice a low rumble. His eyes softened, but there was an intensity in them that I chose to ignore. The unspoken words hung in the air between us, thick and heavy with possibilities.
Shaking my head, I rubbed his chin with the pad of my thumb. “Nothing about last night or this morning was our dynamic. I am tellingGavrielthank you.”
There was a slight flush on his cheeks as he nodded. “You’re welcome.”
I leaned down, my breath ghosting across his ear. "For your reward," I whispered, my voice a murmur, "you can remove the cage." There was surprise, and even contemplation in his eyes. "But," I continued, my voice becoming his Goddess’s again as I set the key on his desk, "I expect it back on you, with photographic evidence, by lunch."
He held my gaze, and the silence that followed felt heavier than the coffee I'd just consumed.
“Of course, Goddess.”
