by Vivian Wood
Cassie seemed to consider his words for a long, silent moment.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m sorry that happened, Gabriel. And I’m glad that Mere Marie saved your sister. Thank you for telling me.”
She looked on the verge of saying more, but stopped. Gabriel let out a pent-up breath, frustrated. She heard his words, accepted them, but didn’t understand the reason for his confession.
“Cass,” he said, squeezing her hand again before withdrawing. “I don’t think you see the point of this discussion.”
“You opening up about your past isn’t enough of a point?” she asked, her gaze narrowing.
“I am trying to explain why I can’t have a mate,” Gabriel said. “The responsibility of it…”
“Responsibility?” Cassie’s brows arched.
“To protect you,” Gabriel clarified.
“Let’s forget the ridiculous things you just said for a moment,” Cassie said, giving him a hard glance. “What is it that you want in your life, Gabriel?”
Gabriel paused, thinking that over.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“Let’s paint a portrait here. You, in the future, without all the guilt of the past. If Caroline never died, and that wasn’t hanging over your head, what would you plan for yourself?”
Gabriel took a moment before answering. He tried to imagine himself ten years from now, imagine the life he’d lead.
“I guess… I always wanted a beautiful home. A big family,” he said, as much to himself as to Cassie. “When we lived on the streets, Caroline and I would make up stories, talk about the great holiday feasts we’d have together. Lots of children gathered around the table, everyone happy and well fed. Yuletide was a special time of year for us.”
Cassie gave him a soft smile, and Gabriel was sad to realize that she understood him all too well.
“Longing,” she said, nodding. “And planning. I did a lot of that. In the Birdcage, especially. I was alone so much, and the holidays feel especially lonely. I used to do the same thing, fantasize about how I’d have lavish Christmas decorations one day, do all the things my parents never did for me.”
“For your children, you mean.”
“Yes,” Cassie said. “I don’t mean to come on too strong, but… you were there, too. I saw you in a vision, a few visions actually, and I sort of put you in my imaginings. I couldn’t know what you’d be like, your personality, but you were in the background.”
Gabriel wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It was sweet, but also a bit shocking.
“I—”
“No, no. I’m being weird,” Cassie said, shaking her head. “I just… I don’t want you to be in the background, Gabriel. Now that I’ve met you, you’re more wonderful than I could have imagined. And if you see yourself finding a mate and settling down someday, I… I’d like to be that person for you. Or at least try. I don’t want to scare you off, though.”
“Cassie,” Gabriel said, growing frustrated. “It’s not you. You… you’re perfect. There could never be someone better for me. I’m the one that’s flawed. I just… I can’t trust myself with you. You’re too precious, and I can’t let myself disappoint you. Or worse, put you in danger. Look what I did to my own sister, for God’s sake.”
Cassie opened her mouth, clearly ready to set him down, but Gabriel heard a noise and put a hand on her arm to still her.
Snick. Snick. Sniiick.
Gabriel turned his head a fraction, and out of the very corner of his eye he saw three tall figures approaching. They wore billowing black robes, hoods covering their faces, and they moved almost without sound.
Almost.
Snick. Snick. Their robes brushed against the cobblestone street across Jackson Square. It was only then that Gabriel noticed that the Square was empty save themselves and the approaching… well, not men, but creatures.
“Kallu demons,” Gabriel said to Cassie, who gave him a wide-eyed nod. “We should try to run while we still can.”
They jumped to their feet, Gabriel pulling Cassie along with him. He took a sharp left into the heart of the French Quarter, figuring that they might lose the demons in the cramped side streets. Unfortunately when Gabriel glanced over his shoulder, the demons were gaining on them.
“Bloody hell,” Gabriel cursed, pulling Cassie down another side street.
“Gabriel,” she said as he looked back at the demons again. “Gabriel!”
He turned, realizing that he had unwittingly brought them to a dead end in a back alley.
“Keep moving,” he said, pushing Cassie toward the dead end. “Stay down, let me work.”
He didn’t have a sword or a gun, but he did have his wand. He hadn’t used it against another person since that day with Caroline, not for any major spell, but it looked like today was the day he’d start again.
Gabriel squared off in the middle of the alley, flourishing his wand so that the demons would know that he wasn’t helpless.
“You don’t want to do this,” he shouted. “I’m a Guardian.”
The hooded figures slowed when they were a hundred paces away, but they didn’t react to his announcement. Meaning they likely knew just who Gabriel was, and that they’d been sent for him. Or worse, for Cassie.
The creatures spread out and approached, a yellow glow beginning to seep out of their empty robes. Kallu demons were shapeless without their robes, invisible and nearly harmless. These had been given form and power, summoned by someone very powerful.
Gabriel shot a nasty spell at the creature in the middle. It ducked the attack with ease.
“Shit,” he mumbled. He’d never fought three of them by himself before, and the buggers were fast.
They advanced again, this time firing spells of their own, and Gabriel was soon caught up in the battle. It only took a few minutes for him to realize that they were intentionally missing him, toying with him…
Then there were only two of them. Gabriel threw a panicked glance over his shoulder and saw that the third was behind him, forcing him to turn his back to one of the alley’s brick walls.
From there, the three demons forced him back until he was nearly touching the wall. One of the demons hit Gabriel with a painful stunning spell, making him cry out.
“Cassie, run for it!” he called, worried that the demons might take him down and then go after her next. He looked down the alley, noting that there were several doorways close enough for Cassie to reach without coming closer to the demons. “Bust in a door if you have to!”
One of the demons glowed more brightly than the others, and Gabriel could feel it gathering magic, concentrating. It closed in on him, looming—
“Ait kisathen,” came a sultry, sibilant voice.
The demon froze, then turned and backed up a step to reveal Cassie, standing mere feet away. Legs spread, arms stretched out, hair whipping wildly in a wind that touched no one else but her.
Only… it wasn’t Cassie. Blinding white light poured from her eyes and mouth, as she spoke again in that same mysterious, serpentine language.
“Kaitssssh. Kaitssssh! Memeshk blissst!” she cried, her voice rising in volume until it pounded in Gabriel’s ears. Thunder rumbled in the distance, saturating the air with anticipation.
The Oracle, Gabriel realized. The Oracle had taken over Cassie’s body, protecting her vessel. Or protecting Gabriel, for some unknown reason.
“Yishhhhk,” two of the demons said at once, both giving Cassie a low bow. The third paused and watched her, cocking its head.
After a moment, the demon’s yellow glow flared once more, and he raised a hand as if to attack Cassie. Before the demon could move, there was an ear-splitting shriek and a thunderous CRACK. A flash of white light followed, blinding him for the barest second. Gabriel winced, blinking to clear the momentary shock.
Then he realized that one of the demons was simply… gone. Cassie took a step toward the other two, who fled without hesitation. They were out of sight before Gabriel could e
ven stagger to his feet, trying to take in what had just happened.
Demons were usually emotionless creatures, but Gabriel could swear that he’d just seen outright fear in the two that Cassie hadn’t… vanished, or whatever she’d done.
She’d struck actual fear into a demon.
“Cass?” he asked, tentative.
She was still the Oracle, just now. She took a step toward Gabriel, then another, and it took everything in Gabriel’s power not to run away screaming. She truly was terrifying to behold, all blinding white light and rumbling thunder.
“Cass,” he said again, stiffening when Cassie reached out and gripped his bicep. Her fingers clamped like a vice, nails digging into his flesh through his dress shirt. The light from her eyes and mouth flashed brilliantly, and Gabriel had the distinct sensation that she was pulling something out of him, some essence.
The Oracle was summoning a prophecy.
That eerie, low voice filtered out of Cassie’s mouth again, a seductive hiss.
“You will give the Vessel a child,” the Oracle whispered. “This Vessel will beget the next Vessel. You will make it so, sorcerer. The fate of many rests on you.”
“I will what?!” Gabriel barked.
But the Oracle’s light was already draining from Cassie’s eyes and mouth, receding until Cassie blinked and frowned.
“What happened?” she asked, then her expression turned fearful. “Oh, no. She took over, didn’t she?”
“Apparently,” Gabriel said, trying to absorb it all.
“I’m afraid to ask what she said,” Cassie said, nibbling on her lower lip. “She didn’t tell you when you’re going to die, did she?”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Not today, at least,” he sighed.
“So what did she say?” Cassie persisted.
“I— It’s private,” Gabriel said, unsure how to tell her. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what the prophecy meant. Cassie had described them to him once as being ‘cryptic and arcane’, telling him that the Oracle’s pronouncements often weren’t meant to be taken at face value.
Then again, the Oracle had been clear and specific. Her words were no riddle, though one could interpret them a few different ways…
“Oh, she said something personal. Fuuuuuuck,” Cassie groaned. “Gabe, I’m so sorry.”
Gabriel paused for a moment, taken back by her shortening his name to Gabe. He hadn’t heard that since he was kid, but it sounded sweet coming from Cassie’s lips.
“Hey,” Cassie said, reaching out and taking his hand. “Remember what I said. You can’t always know what the prophecies mean. Some are straightforward, but a lot of them barely make sense.”
You will give the Vessel a child. Not a lot of other ways to interpret that. The idea of having a mate to protect was already rousing Gabriel’s deepest fears; adding a child to that picture was frankly terrifying.
And yet…
He allowed himself to imagine, for a moment, how it might feel. He pictured Cassie giving him a beaming smile as she rubbed her rounded belly, imagined her cradling a swaddled baby, comforting the child they’d made together. The thought of it dredged up some instinct in him. Having a family, a real family, something he’d never had in his own pathetic childhood.
The concept of it moved Gabriel, even as it stoked his bear’s desire for Cassie. Suddenly the need to claim her was overwhelming, and Gabriel was drowning in his own silent contemplation.
“Gabe,” Cassie said, patting his thigh. “It’s okay, I promise. The Oracle probably just said a bunch of stuff…”
“She protected you,” Gabriel said, wrenching himself from his thoughts. “You annihilated one of the Kallu demons without even trying.”
“I told you I could take care of myself,” Cassie said, a coy smile playing over her lips.
“I’m starting to see that,” Gabriel admitted, then he grinned. “I guess I’ll have to learn to trust you more, listen when you tell me things.”
Cassie gave him a rueful smile as Gabriel offered his hand and pulled her to her feet.
“I feel like I’ve been telling you that for a while,” she said, but Gabriel was far too irresistible for her to truly feel any anger.
“Perhaps you have,” he said. “In any event, I think we’ve had our share of adventures in the French Quarter for tonight. Are you ready to go home?”
“Home,” Cassie repeated, the word feeling strange as she said it. Could the Manor truly become her home, fulfilling her in a way that the Birdcage never had? It was worth a try, wasn’t it?
Glancing up at Gabriel with a soft smile, Cassie nodded. “Home sounds just perfect.”
9
Chapter Nine
Cassie laughed when Gabriel insisted on scooping her up and carrying her up the Manor’s stairs, ‘like a proper gentleman’. His English accent thickened, the polished notes making her shiver as she slid her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Added to the fact that he was likely the most handsome man on the planet, his smooth, low voice and posh accent were practically unfair to mankind.
“A gentleman, huh?” she teased as they reached Gabriel’s rooms. Cassie admired the light beard he sported today, the gentle curl in his chestnut hair, the hard line of his jaw. And those eyes, those eyes the color of the deepest ocean, devouring her with such carnal interest…
Gabriel paused at the door to his bedroom to look down at Cassie, his eyes blazing with hunger.
“I suppose a gentleman would ask you whether you want to come inside.” He paused, lips quirking upward. “Cassandra Chase, would you let me take you to bed? You should know that I intend to ravish you.”
Cassie flushed and laughed, nodding.
“Yes, Mr. Thorne. Carry on,” she said.
Gabriel swept inside, giving Cassie her first glimpse into his bedroom. The room was a perfect contrast with his study and library; the walls were a smooth, dark charcoal, and there were only a few pieces of teak furniture: a bed, a massive armoire, a modest bookshelf, and a small desk without an ounce of clutter. There was a navy rug on the floor, matching the navy linens on the bed, and it was all perfectly orderly.
“What?” Gabriel said as he deposited her on the bed.
“Nothing, I just… This room surprises me. I guess I thought you’d have books stacked on books instead of furniture,” she said with a smirk.
“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s what the library is for,” Gabriel said, wagging his brows. “I like that you’ve been daydreaming about my bed chamber, though.”
“I—” Cassie began to protest, but Gabriel stopped her with a deadly grin, showcasing a dimple in his left cheek. He shrugged off his dark suit jacket and toed off his shoes, then pinned Cassie with his fierce sapphire gaze. Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and pushed them up and took off his tie, casting it aside.
“Stand up,” Gabriel said, offering his hands to help her off the bed. “Let me help you out of that dress, darling. It’s lovely, but I very much want to see you without it.”
Gabriel turned Cassie around gently, giving her goosebumps when he stroked a fingertip up the bare skin exposed by her backless dress. He deftly unhooked the clasp at her nape, then slid the whole dress down her body in one smooth motion, leaving her in nothing but black lace panties and sky-high black heels.
“Stay right here,” he ordered, helping her step out the puddle of silk at her feet. He moved away, presumably laying out her dress somewhere, and then returned to stand behind her once more. Cassie trembled when he gathered the thick gossamer curtain of her hair and flipped it over her shoulder to expose her neck, shoulders, and back to his view. He skimmed his hands up her sides, teasing her bare flesh and stirring sensation low in her body. He stopped, then caressed a path from her shoulders down her arms.
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Gabriel murmured, moving closer until his chest and thighs brushed against her body.
Cassie let out a shaky breath as Gabriel’s hands
slid around to cup her breasts, his fingertips rolling her nipples to taut points. Gabriel’s lips traced a path up her neck, his teeth teasing her earlobe. He gathered her hair in one hand, tugging her head to the side until the column of her neck was at his mercy.
He bit her nape, a sharp moment of pain that he soothed away in the next instant with a kiss. It felt like a precursor to claiming, or a promise.
“Gabriel…” Cassie whispered, uncertain.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Gabriel mumbled, lips still on her neck. His free hand slid down over her belly to cup her sex through her panties. “I promise to sate you before I mark you.”
Gabriel released her hair and pushed her forward onto the bed until she lay on her belly, then he stepped between her knees. Cassie turned her head to watch him, and he gave her a knowing wink as he stripped off his clothes.
He took his time unbuttoning and removing his shirt, then he shed his pants and kicked both garments aside. Standing in nothing but a pair of the tightest imaginable gray boxer briefs, Gabriel was nothing short of glorious. Six foot five inches of thick, carved muscle. A body made for sin, enough to make the most pious fall from grace, coupled with the face of an archangel.
Gabriel drew her attention down from his face by stroking his erection, and Cassie couldn’t help but notice that his boxer briefs could barely contain his thick, heavy cock.
“See something you like?” Gabriel asked, flashing her a panty-wetting smirk.
“You’re awful,” Cassie shot back, squirming. She tried to pull away and turn over, but Gabriel’s hands clamped onto the backs of her thighs, blocking her movement.
“You’re about to find out, darling,” he promised.
Gabriel leaned forward and rucked her panties down, pulling them off roughly. Cassie gasped and tried to draw her legs together, but again Gabriel held her in place. Already his fingers were squeezing her bare ass, and the look of male satisfaction on his face was unbearable. Cassie pressed her face into the bed, cheeks burning.
“I want you on your knees.” Gabriel’s hands lifted her hips, shifting Cassie until she rested on her knees and elbows. He inched her knees back until they were nearly on the edge of the bed, running his hands up her outer thighs and cupping her ass cheeks. “Fuck, Cass. You make me so bloody hard.”