“Where’s Noah, love?” he asks, voice soft as a breeze, his hands gliding over my arms, warming the goose bumps away.
“I-I-I don’t know,” I mumble, voice thinned by disbelief. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t?—”
Umph!
Thick lips crash into mine. I freeze, startled.
Of all the people—Gabriel, intense and infuriating, is crossing a line he probably doesn’t see. Or maybe he does. It’s wrong… but somehow it feels right, not malicious, just human. I close my eyes, letting the shock anchor me long enough to breathe.
His lips move against mine, patient and steady. Softer than I ever imagined.
I don’t say a word.
Can’t.
In fact, I welcome the silence.
The numbness.
The blur.
His breath is cool and minty. There’s a faint taste of coffee—and maybe… bourbon? And then it hits me.
I jolt out of my stupor, lurching backward like I’ve been slapped. “Motherfu?—”
“I prefer Daddy,” he says with a smirk, eyes glinting.
“Shut the fuck up!”I bark, stumbling away as if the floor just shifted beneath me. I plant my feet, dizzy and furious all at once.
Gabriel grins as I wipe the wetness from my lips.
“So what?” He shrugs. “I kissed you. It’s the only thing I could think of to shut you up.”
He leans back, smug—his hands still on my shoulders.
“Clearly, it worked.”
Clearly.
My lips still tingle—minty, warm, and utterly confused.
“Where’s Elijah?” I ask, blinking past the haze.
“He had to step out. Should be back shortly though.”
I glance up and down the hallway, quietly relieved to see we’re alone.
Gabriel straightens, voice softening. “Alex, look… I’m going to take you upstairs, help you settle down, but first…” He nods toward the door. “Is Noah in there? Is he alright?”
“He’s fine,” I mumble, though I’m not entirely sure that’s true. But Iamsure he’s better off than I am. “I just needed some… air.”
“Well, I was happy to help.” He winks. And yep… he’s back to his old self again, the relentless smart-ass I can never quite brace for.
38
ALEX
“There you go, chulo.”Gabriel kneels between my legs, his hands rubbing slow, steady circles over my thighs. I let out a breath, the tension in my body beginning to slip away, unspooling like a thread pulled loose. Exhaustion settles over me like a weighted blanket—heavy, but oddly welcome.
