by Eva K. More
His satisfied groan after taking the first bite filled her with pride and made her stomach flutter. Goodness! Why was everything he did so blatantly and overwhelmingly arousing?
She nibbled on her lower lip as she sat down on the stool in front of him.
“How did you come about wearing the mask?”
He didn’t blush, but the sheepish smile that graced his features was charming enough. “Don’t laugh, but when I was young, I saw something like that in a movie. And when I grew up, I thought it would make me look more bad-ass in my line of work.”
“You have certainly succeeded. I fainted the first time I saw you in it,” Kat said.
He frowned. “I never wanted to scare you that way.” He didn’t need to say it out loud for her to see his remorse. But he took the edge off the situation with his next bite. “Jesus. And how come you’ve got the best damn culinary skills?”
Kat blushed. “I wouldn’t say the best, as you haven’t been eating anything my Baba’s made,” she had to swallow the word ‘yet’ as if that would ever happen, “but thank you. It’s sort of a hobby, at least one that was completely approved of.”
“You were swapping recipes with your grandmother while others were out getting high and having sex?”
“Something like that.” She answered with an embarrassed look.
“It’s not so bad, you know. You learned valuable skills and kept your wits.”
He was looking at her with a friendly expression, and so she shot him a small smile of her own. “I guess, in a way, it was good. Imagine me stumbling onto you earlier. I couldn’t have handled it back then.”
Gabriel’s gaze turned stormy. “You weren’t ready when you did anyway.”
Kat shrugged a shoulder in response. “But I am now?”
“You think you can handle me now, little bird?” He lowered his fork, and his eyes flickered to her mouth. It made her feel hot, and she licked her dry lips.
“I know I can.” She murmured.
Kat remained quiet during his perusal, no doubt he was trying to intimidate her with his hard stare.
“I know what you’re doing,” she said. “But, you won’t scare me, Gabriel.”
The wolfish grin he shot her didn’t quite reach his eyes. “No? I could have you bent over that table within a second, and you could do nothing against it.”
Kat’s pulse quickened. “I know... And I would enjoy that.”
He clenched his jaw then. “Jesus. Damnit! Don’t say things like that.” After looking to his side for a moment, he returned to his food. He was not glancing back at her.
“Why?” She asked boldly.
Gabriel then only gave her a brief scowl. “You’ve got no idea, little bird.”
He gulped down the water she had brought him in one swig; she was mesmerized by the movements of his Adam’s apple and the cords roping down his muscular throat. He appeared relaxed, yet his gaze was sharp, and his arms taut. Did he ever truly let loose some of the tension simmering inside him?
In her small kitchen, he looked ridiculously big and powerful. His scruffy cheeks and throat only made him appear more dangerous, just like the mouthwatering tattoos.
“Thank you for the meal,” Gabriel said, his voice an octave deeper. “And you should stop watching me like that.”
Too caught up with his strong male appearance, she didn’t even blush. No wonder Eric didn’t interest her. After spending time with a man such as Gabriel, no woman would ever want anybody else.
“Like what?” she asked softly.
“Like I’m dessert.” The vibrations of his low rumbling voice made her stomach quiver.
Reflexively, she wet her suddenly dry lips and watched his eyelids flutter; the soft groan he emitted came from a place deep within his chest.
“Don’t worry; I won’t jump you,” Kat teased.
Gabriel’s eyes darkened as he fisted his hands on the table. “If you keep looking at me like that, I might.” Her breath hitched, and his jaw clenched. “You had some questions for me, that’s the reason I came. You better ask them now because I’ll get going soon,” he said.
She sobered up a little then and lifted her head so she could lay her hands on the table. The air between them was full of sexual tension, but he kept tight control over himself.
This time, though, she wouldn’t be the one to act first.
Besides, it was true that she wanted to know what kind of person Maryan was. Her biological father was ingrained in her DNA. He might not have raised her, but he was partly responsible for how she turned out. Her curiosity this time was a given.
“I’m not sure what to ask exactly. I want to know about Maryan, what kind of person is he? I don’t know, maybe, what kind of parent would he have been? Do you know how he met my mother? Or anything about their time together? My grandfather told me a couple of things, but I want to know all sides of the story.” She looked around her kitchen, not seeing anything, and ran a hand through her hair.
Gabriel’s burning gaze swept over her face, down the front of her blouse, and lingered on the exposed flesh of her cleavage. “He told me you look a lot like her, so I guess I know exactly how you came about. Other than that, you’d need to ask him yourself.”
Had it suddenly gotten warmer inside her tiny kitchen? “I thought you were like a son to him?”
Gabriel leaned back into his seat and let loose a small, gruff laugh. “He is my mentor, my boss, and my friend, I guess. But these things he keeps to himself. We don’t talk about that.”
She frowned. “About women or the past?”
“About feelings.”
“Who do you talk to about these things then?” she asked, wanting to know more about him.
His lop-sided grin vanished. “No one. I’m not wired that way, Kat. I don’t do feelings.” He said, and her breath hitched. Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t.”
She widened her eyes. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t dwell on that. Don’t think about my emotions or lack thereof.”
He sat in her small kitchen as if he owned it. As if the air and space around him were there specifically for his body. He might have wanted to appear insignificant in front of her, but his whole being demanded her attention. However, he was closing in on himself, and she didn’t want to overstep, so she swallowed her questions.
“We are talking about Maryan, not me,” he said with a stern voice, no room for further discussion.
“Right.” She brushed a hand through her blonde hair. “Can’t you tell me something? Anything? What is he like? What does he want from me?”
“That’s a lot of things you should ask him yourself. I can’t tell you more about him than I’ve already done. You should just meet him.”
Kat groaned in frustration.
Gabriel reached across the table, and like her grandmother had done earlier that day, he captured her hand in his. Except that this time she felt a jolt of electricity surge down her body when his warm skin came into contact with hers.
His stormy eyes still held a dangerous glint but were now looking upon her with a heartwarming softness.
He is wrong, Kat thought. Gabriel had plenty of feelings. He just didn’t acknowledge them. “Fine, just tell me one thing. What would Maryan do if he knew that you slept with me?”
Gabriel chuckled. “What any sane father would do in that position. Probably cut my balls off – with a blunt knife. Then kill me with his bare hands.”
She shuddered when the visual entered her mind. “Is that the reason you are afraid to be alone with me?”
Once again, his rich laughter filled the room. Then he stood up and, with his hand still holding hers, took a step around the table and pulled her up into his arms. With one arm snaking around her lower back, securing her in his embrace, he fisted his other hand in her silky hair.
“Frankly, I don’t need your father to remind me that I’m not good for you. Remember, I’m the wolf, little bird.”
“No, you are the Beast. But you’r
e also my Gabriel, the man.” She replied and cupped his cheek with her hand.
Despite his good intentions, he pressed his lips against hers. He felt and smelt incredible, and Kat just wanted to savor him for a moment longer. It was only a short, chaste kiss, but it still left her breathless.
“The man and the beast are one.” He whispered as he released her. “Lock the door behind me.”
at woke up from a nightmare with a flutter in her belly and found herself spooked by the ring of her doorbell. However, she didn’t think twice before opening her door, and when she found Gabriel’s serious face, she momentarily felt scared.
“What did I tell you about checking the door first?” Gabriel forcefully said.
“I- I’m sorry,” Kat breathed.
Yes, oh, goodness, there was still Ivo to consider. Gabriel looked at her with a fire burning in his eyes, the same fire that was now spreading in her stomach. Gunmetal eyes, melting away the world around her, and his larger-than-life presence overtook all of her senses. How could she ignore those animal urges?
It was like he had seen inside her at this very minute. His hands smoothed down her arms and rested on her hips; his scowl turned into a frown. “Are you okay?” It was the way he said it, with compassion and sincerity that ended melting her insides. But when she nodded and swallowed, never leaving his gaze, his expression turned smoldering.
Then he leaned forward, his fingers tightening on her as he put his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. “Fucking delicious,” Gabriel growled, but quickly let go of her and turned into the direction of her kitchen.
He cleared his throat and moved his eyes from her massive breathing chest. “What have you cooked? It smells delicious. What is it? I’m fucking hungry. And then you tell me why you’ve been so carefree.”
Trying to gather her jumbled thoughts and emotions, Kat was a bit slow to follow him.
Feeling a headache building behind her eyes, she tried to put all the thoughts about being abducted by a psychopath into the background. Gabriel was confusing enough.
This time, when he finished a portion intended for at least two people and complimented her culinary skills with a satisfied groan, she moved them into the living room. Kat was surprised when he sat down next to her on the couch, his massive thigh brushing hers.
Today he wore an aquamarine shirt with black jeans, and his black hair was sexily disheveled. He was so big he positively dwarfed her grey couch as he stretched out his legs and lay down his head on the backrest. Admiring his corded arms and the tattoos on them, she noticed for the first time that evening how exhausted he appeared to be.
“Tell me now, what happened before I came?”
Kat looked away from his sharp gaze. “I had a nightmare, and- I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It upset you.”
Not wanting to go into detail, especially not with him, she shrugged her shoulder.
“I guess it has something to do with Ivo?” He asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Gabriel,” Kat said, slightly exasperated. “Please.”
He looked her over and then nodded, making her sigh in relief. How could she tell him that she had woken up from the image of him stabbed to death and Ivo standing over him?
Without overthinking about it, she brushed a wild lock of hair from his forehead. He didn’t move except for capturing her eyes in a heated gaze. “You look tired.”
***
“I have a lot of work at the moment.” He replied as he let her hand play with his hair, because it was damn pleasant and because he accepted her change of topic. Whatever her dream had been about, it had made an impact. However, he took it as a good sign that Kat hadn’t thrown him out.
Then he swerved his eyes across the room.
From what Gabriel had seen from her apartment so far, it was neat and cozy. The kitchen was small and tidy, but obviously well used. The living room consisted of a couch and a sofa chair in the same grey color the walls were painted in. She had placed her TV on a white chest located on the opposite wall of the sofa, and the surface was artfully littered with various objects: a small wooden Buddha, a marble elephant, and a silver statue of an entwined pair.
He had noticed the many paintings on the wall and mused that unbeknownst to her, she had something in common with Maryan. He was also an avid fan of decorative art.
“I guess it’s too much for you to come back here to chat after spending the day looking for Ivo.”
“It’s not because of you.” Just partially. But because she appeared genuinely concerned, he wound an arm around her. Her weight pressed into his side, and he sighed in pleasure. Tipping her chin up with his other hand, he peered into her eyes. “Work is brutal, and I’ve taken on a lot more responsibility ever since Ivo disappeared.”
“Are you responsible for the brothel, too?”
He stiffened next to her but didn’t push her away. He noticed that she was holding her breath, anxious for his answer, and there was a glimmer of hope in her expression that things weren’t as bad as she thought.
“For Maryan, this was the necessary evil to lure Anton. He wanted Lina to decide how to deal with that, but now- Listen, Kat.” He called her by her name, so she knew she wouldn’t like his answer. “We are a criminal organization, and I won’t deny that what we deal with is brutal and dangerous. Most guys have it coming, but sometimes innocent people are involved, too.” Her breath hitched, and he nudged her chin upwards when she tried averting her gaze. “Even though we do not deal in drugs and whores in general, it’s not a pretty business.”
“Then why should I want to meet a man responsible for these kinds of dealings?” she asked.
“You shouldn’t. If I could turn back time, I would make sure that you never stumbled into this world. But you did, and you might not believe me- society-wise, we are the bad people. However, Maryan is still a decent human being. If killing innocents can be avoided, he will do it. You need to know that whether or not it’s him at the top, these things – drugs, prostitution, corruption would still exist. It’s human nature to exploit. But he at least tries to keep civilians out of it.”
“Has it always been so easy for you to accept this dark side of living?” She asked, and he heard the curiosity in her voice. No judgment.
Absentmindedly, the hand on her lower back had started stroking her softly. “I don’t remember ever living on the bright side. It’s all I know,” Gabriel said.
“Does it mean you have never thought about a different life?” She whispered then, and the curious tone mutated to a strange one.
“You mean a white picket fence, a wife and children?” He laughed humorlessly. “That’s not for me.”
His expression was somber as he watched her wryly. In the face of an angel, his sins were starkly clear, biting his conscience until he had the urge to repent on his knees. But it was also the reminder he needed to why he should never lay a finger on her again.
Unfortunately, instead of pulling away from him, she pressed her body more tightly to his side, effectively killing his good intentions.
“Even if you fall in love?” Her eyes had taken a determination that he had never seen in her before.
“Jesus, little bird. I kill for a living. How’s that compatible with a functioning relationship? The white picket fence is no option for killers.”
He knew he had struck a nerve when she stopped her mindless drawings on his chest. “Is that all you do for Maryan, kill people?”
“Not the only thing, but yes, if necessary. I help him with the contracts and the organization of some business deals. I visit the districts and check if everything is alright.” Gabriel didn’t want to tell her too many details. For one, if anything happened to her, the more she knew, the more valuable she would be for their enemies, and the other, he didn’t want to taint her innocent mind more than was necessary.
“You forgot one thing. You keep his daughter safe.” Kat mumbled. Did she even listen to a word he said? He wasn
’t a good guy, but before he could say something else, she continued. “Have you ever regretted killing someone?”
Her question had him pausing. Did he?
Slowly, the hand on her back inched upward until he held the back of her neck as her fingers dug into the soft material of his shirt in the center of his granite chest.
“Neither Maryan nor I am innocent. But as I said, we keep the innocent out of it. When it comes to killing, it mostly has been a question of survival. Either us or them. The only thing I regret is not killing Ivo for what he did to you.”
In the following silence, he mulled over his own words, struck on one thing in particular. Was it impossible to be with a woman he loved? How come love seemed a tangible thing when in the past few years he could have sworn it never existed?
“Have you ever had sex with Lina?” she asked out of nowhere.
Equally surprised and amused by her question, he framed her face with his free hand. “Where did that idea come from?”
She pouted when he smirked. “Did you?”
His grin turned into a full-fledged smile. After everything he had told her, she seemed to be the most disturbed by the possibility of him sleeping with another woman. It was wrong of him to relish in her jealousy and wrong of her even to feel that way, but it made him happy nonetheless.
“No. No, I didn’t. I make sure to keep my hands off those kinds of girls and especially Lina. I barely spared her life, but that’s because I don’t kill women.” And because of Maryan, he thought, but it wasn’t his story to tell. “The last woman I slept with was you.” Frankly, sleeping with a prostitute had always repulsed him. He couldn’t help but see the same helplessness in their eyes as in his mother. It made paying for sex merely impossible.
But sex with Kat, now, that was completely different. She wasn’t helpless, not like that. She was innocent but sexually aggressive in a way that pushed all his buttons the right way.
Kat moved her hand upward until it fisted the hair in the nape of his neck. She had lifted her left leg until it lay across his powerful thigh, and now, they were entwined in each other, not knowing where the limb of one began, and the other ended. Gabriel had tried avoiding this situation, but without even meaning to she was a seductress, and he couldn’t resist.