I nodded. He was a witch. I didn’t doubt him.
Fucking finally he handed over the beer mat. “Thank you.” I glanced down at the address, then back to find him still watching me. “If you’re his best friend, then why did I never meet you before?”
Nick smirked. “Because he knew I’d have told him to leave you the fuck alone, and he didn’t want to hear it.”
I wondered if he’d said the same thing to him now.
Either way, I didn’t give a shit.
Turning on my heel, I slipped the beer mat into my pocket and walked out without looking back.
* * *
I watchedmy taxi drive away, then faced the small cottage that Gabriel was apparently calling home while he was here.
That thought made my steps falter. How long was he staying, exactly? Max hadn’t said whether this was a permanent move or not. I got the feeling it wasn’t. Yet another reason to keep the fact we were soulmates to myself.
I shrugged off the stab of guilt that caused and walked up to Gabriel’s front door. His cottage didn’t have close neighbours, but the night was eerily still and sound carried. No one would thank me for waking them up at three in the morning.
I raised my hand to knock as quietly as I could while still being heard, but it swung open before I got the chance. A tired-looking Gabriel stood in the doorway.
He didn’t invite me in, and he didn’t look especially pleased to see me.
Not that I blamed him.
But I was tired of this game, tired of the guilt and the anger.
After a few seconds of us staring at each other, Gabriel sighed and leant against the doorframe. “What do you want, Rys?”
“Why didn’t you come after me?” I didn’t elaborate. He knew exactly when I meant.
“We’ve already been through this.” He went to close the door, but I put my hand out, stopping him.
“Wait.Please.” That surprised him enough to make him stop and look at me. Dark blue eyes met mine, reeling me in, and I knew there was no going back if I did this.
Not for me, anyway.
I took a deep breath. “I asked you, but you never gave me an answer.”
Anger replaced the tiredness, and Gabriel’s harsh whisper cut through the night air. “Because you walked off without giving me a fucking chance.”
I knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but at this rate, I’d never get past the front door.
Is that what you want? To go inside his home?
Now that I was here with Gabriel in front of me, albeit with his feathers ruffled, I knew I’d been stupid to think I could ever stay away. Despite what had happened in the past.
“I know, and I’m sorry.” I reached out to touch him, his jaw or his arm, I didn’t care where, but he stepped back and shook his head. “Can I at least come inside?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” His gaze dropped to my mouth and I licked my lips, wondering if he tasted the same as he had back then.
The air seemed to crackle between us. I couldn’t be the only one who felt it. “Gabriel.”
He closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t say my name like that.”
“Like what?” I whispered, fighting the urge to pull him close. His scent teased me, called to me in a way I was finding harder and harder to resist. I wanted to bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathe him in until he was all I could smell.
“Like you want me.”
