Chapter 8
8
Saturday of that same week, my sixty-sixth day as Gabriel’s partner, is my second full day off.
Partners get four hours off once a week and one full free day a month.
I’ve been excited about spending all day with my family, and Gabriel even gave me extra credits besides the normal ones he gives me for treats to bring home, so I’m able to take my mom and sister shopping and buy them a few new clothes.
We have a great time shopping and two good meals, and my father wants to hear about all the palace news, so we talk and laugh a lot. I’m in a good mood as I return.
It’s late, but Gabriel is still up and working at his desk. He pauses to greet me and ask about my day. He’s pleased that my family enjoyed the treats and that my mom and Carrie were able to pick out some new clothes.
Since I’m wide-awake and jittery, I decide to take a bath to try to relax before bed.
I soak in the big tub for a long time and then get ready for bed in one of the silky white gowns I always wear to sleep in.
Gabriel is still in his desk chair but not working when I come out. He’s staring at an empty spot in the air.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “Was I too long in there? Were you ready for bed?”
“What? No.” He gives his head a little shake, like he’s waking himself up. “I was just thinking.” His eyes run up and down my body. My gown is thin, so he can probably see a lot.
Something changes on his face.
“You should give up on work for the evening and get some sleep,” I tell him. “It’s late.”
“I know. But I’ve been sitting here working since this morning, and it’s hard to unwind from that.”
“That makes sense. Well, if you want, I can take care of you quickly. That might help relax you.”
His face flickers with that expression again. “It’s your day off. And you’re ready for bed.”
“That doesn’t make a difference to me. I like to take care of you. I can be quick so both of us can sleep.”
“If you’re sure.” He says those words at the same time he makes that summoning gesture with his hand. The one that always makes my heart jump with excitement.
He takes my hand and draws me in front of him, so I know he doesn’t want a massage first tonight even though it might help to relax him. Instead, I kneel between his legs and quickly undo his trousers. He lets out a long sigh as he guides my head into place at his groin. “Fuck, Jess, I’ve been thinking about this all day.”
My blood throbs in my veins at the words and at the unexpected chance to please him like this.
I don’t stretch it out tonight since I said I’d be quick. I take him deep and suck hard and fast. Without the buildup we usually have, he seems more helpless than normal. He moves my head up and down over his cock and groans uninhibitedly as the head of his shaft hits the back of my throat.
I’m almost disoriented by how fast and urgent we’re going at it, but I’m also pulsing with excitement and arousal.
I manage to focus enough to loosen my throat muscles so that I don’t gag as he pushes into my mouth. Then he’s coming before I expect it, letting out a strangled sound as his body shakes through a powerful release.
I swallow him down and keep sucking until he’s soft and spent in my mouth. Then I straighten up, smiling at him as I swipe away a few stray tears.
He’s had his eyes closed, all the tension in his body relaxed into satiation. But he must see me through his mostly closed lids because he frowns. “Was I too rough on you?”
“No! Of course not. I loved it.”
“You did?”
“Yes. How many times do I have to tell you that I love it when I can give you what you need? Nothing makes me happier than when you’re able to let go like that.”
“And you really don’t want me to return the favor?”
My body definitely wants it, but that’s something I should never indulge. “No. I told you before?—”
“I know. I shouldn’t even ask.” He lets out a long exhale, and his mouth softens into a slight smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Hopefully you can sleep now.”
“I’m definitely going to sleep. As long as I can find the energy to get the hell out of this chair.”
That makes me giggle. I go back to the bathroom for a few minutes to clean up. Then I spread out my covers in my window alcove and get settled under them while Gabriel is in the bathroom.
He turns out the lights when he comes out again. Then I hear him climbing into bed and stretching out. The mattress shifts a few times. His breathing slows down.
He’s asleep quickly today. Usually I’ll hear him tossing or his breath hitching as he tries to get comfortable for a lot longer.
I did that for him. I gave him the release he needed to go to sleep.
It fills me with the silliest kind of pleasure and satisfaction. My body is still throbbing hotly, so after he’s been asleep for a few minutes, I slip my hand into my panties and rub my clit in fast, forceful circles.
It takes me almost no time to come. I make no sound except some ragged breathing. Then I feel a lot better so I can fall asleep too.
Tuesday is my sixty-ninth day as Gabriel’s partner, and he has a confidential meeting with the president first thing.
He has to cut short his swim in order to make the last-minute meeting, and he’s different when he returns to his rooms less than an hour later.
Something is wrong.
I know it’s wrong although he says, “Fine” when I ask how the meeting went.
He doesn’t have anything else scheduled for the day, so he settles at his desk to work, and he doesn’t stop until he gets up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the afternoon. Although nothing in his routine or behavior is much different from the norm, I know something is wrong.
He’s tense. Stressed. Even more than normal. He’s silently brooding even as he reads and takes notes and studies charts and stares down at his notebook as he thinks.
I ask him twice if he’s okay and if there’s anything I can do to help, but he mumbles out vague, bad-tempered responses, so I finally stop asking.
It’s upsetting. And a little bit scary. I need to know what’s going on, but he refuses to tell me.
I hope when he’s done in the bathroom and returns to the desk that he’ll ask for his break so I can give him some attention and help him relax, but he doesn’t. He gets right back to work without even glancing over at me, and it feels like a slap in the face.
What the hell is going on?
And why won’t he tell me?
I wait another hour, pretending to read but privately stewing with nerves. Then I finally can’t stand it anymore. “Are you ready for your break?” I ask him when he glances up from his papers to stare blankly out the window.
He blinks at me like he didn’t quite hear what I asked.
“Your break? It’s past time.”
For a moment I’m afraid he’s actually going to refuse. Something like reluctance twists on his face, and it slashes through my chest like a knife.
But he finally sighs and pushes his chair back from the desk. “I guess so. Just be quick.”
Not the most flattering of requests, but I bury the hurt feelings down where they won’t get in the way and walk over to give him a very brief shoulder massage.
He doesn’t immediately relax like he’s been doing lately. His body doesn’t soften and loosen under my hands. And he doesn’t close his eyes and focus on letting go the way I’ve finally convinced him to do.
When I move around and lower myself to my knees in front of him, he’s not even looking at me. He holds my head like normal, but he’s staring out the window with that stressed distraction I hate so much.
It takes unusually long to get him hard and then longer still to build him up toward climax. I finally have to start moaning around his cock to make him look down at me, then take him deeper to get him close.
I’m able to hold his attention enough for him to come, and it does provide him with some sort of release. But he’s not as relaxed and sated as he’s supposed to be after I tend to him. He leans back in his chair with his eyes closed, breathing heavily but with a tightness to his jaw that’s just not right.
He probably wants me to return to my spot so he can work, but I’m not going to leave him like this. I move back around to rub his shoulders and neck some more. I push into that tender spot at the base of his skull until he groans and falls forward enough for me to reach his back.
I slide my hands down and knead the tight muscles around his shoulder blades. “Please tell me what’s going on,” I murmur very softly.
He lets out a thick breath that’s almost a groan.
“Please, Gabriel,” I add in a whisper.
“He’s… he’s shortened my timeline.”
“The president has? What has he shortened it to?”
“I was supposed to have a year to finish this project. He’s cut four months off that timeline.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “What? Eight months? He expects one person working alone to put together such an immense project in only eight months?”
“Yes.”
He’s not pulling away from my hands, so I keep up my massage, deeply relieved he’s finally talking to me. “Why is he in such a rush? Is something going on that he needs it earlier?”
“Not really. He wants to get it approved so he can announce it on his fifteenth.”
The day President Vincent became president fifteen years ago. There are already plans for a huge celebration spanning the entire Central Cities. It makes sense to announce an all-consuming overhaul at that time, but it’s really not fair to Gabriel.
All the pressure on his shoulders just got twice as heavy.
“Did you try to get him to see reason?”
“Yes.”
“But he wouldn’t listen? Doesn’t he understand the position he’s putting you in?”
“Vincent? You think he would care?”
The bitterly amused skepticism in his tone tells me something I didn’t know before about the president. I always saw Vincent as personable and reasonable, but Gabriel obviously doesn’t believe that about him.
And Gabriel’s view is the one I trust.
“Do you think you’ll be able to get it done in time?” I finally ask.
“I… I don’t know.”
“How much have you gotten done so far?”
Gabriel straightens up and slides his chair closer to the desk so he can open the top drawer. He pulls out a sheaf of papers in his small, neat print and hands it to me.
I flip through the pages. It’s several sections of an organized report, complete with headings and carefully drawn graphs. “This looks like a lot.”
“It’s the first half.”
“Oh well, that’s good. If you’ve gotten half done in less than three months, maybe you can do the other half in the five you have left.”
“Maybe. But the second half is going to be a lot more complicated.” He exhales and closes his eyes for just a moment. Then he straightens up and reaches for his notebook, left open on the desk. “I better get back to work.”
“Okay.” I pause but then risk the request. “Can I read this?”
He tilts his head to give me a tired, curious look. “Won’t it be boring to you?”
“No! I’d like to read it if it’s not private.”
“It is private. No one has seen it yet. But this first half should be the final draft, so you can read it if you want.”
Gratification washes over me as I thank him and carry the papers back to my window seat. I start on the first page.
It’s not an easy or a fast read. I’ve always known Gabriel is brilliant, but I’m afraid I might have underestimated the depth and complexity of his mind. I pore over each page until I’m satisfied that I understand it and only then flip to the next.
About halfway through, my throat begins to tighten with emotion. A few minutes later, my hands start to tremble, and by the time I make it to the final page, there are tears sliding down my cheeks that I can’t possibly hold back.
When I look over at Gabriel, I discover he’s watching me.
“I’m sorry,” I say with a sniff, swiping away my tears with the fingers of both hands so none of them accidentally land on his finished draft.
“You’re crying over my boring proposal?”
“It’s not boring! Gabriel, this is… This is…”
His eyebrows pull together as he waits for me to finish my sentence. He genuinely doesn’t understand what I’m reacting to.
I get up and take several rushed steps toward him. I place the papers carefully on the top of the desk and then sink down to my knees beside him.
He turns in his seat so he’s facing me. He reaches down to take my face in both his hands, using one of his thumbs to wipe away a stray tear. “Tell me what’s going on, Jess.”
I take a shaky breath and fight to compose my thoughts. “I wanted to be a partner in the palace, in part because of what it can do for the comfort and security of me and my family. But being called to do this was always more than that. It’s one of the few ways I can contribute my service to the palace, to the president, to the Capital. To the Central Cities. And to the… the world. I was born labor class, and there was absolutely no other way for me to do that.”
He’s listening. His forehead is still creased with thoughtful questioning, but he’s definitely listening.
“But that part of my role has always been kind of… kind of vague. Ephemeral. I’ve been focused mostly on you. Taking care of you. Doing my best to make you happy. But this…” My voice breaks as I nod toward the pages on the desk. “This… Gabriel, what you’re proposing would change so many lives for the better. It would transform everything for my family, far more than the treats you’ve allowed me to bring them. It would change… change the world… for the better.” Tears are streaming out of my eyes again. “And it allows me to be a part of that… even in my small way.”
He’s still staring. Not speaking.
“I don’t mean to take any of the credit for this. I just mean that whatever I’m able to do for you feels like it has a larger purpose. It always has, but it’s more tangible now. My… my devotion to you feels… feels bigger .”
“I understand,” he murmurs, slightly hoarse. “I understand what you’re saying. I never… I never understood why you were so happy to do what you do. Until now.”
I smile up at him wetly. “Thank you.”
He finally glances away. “Don’t thank me yet. This is just a proposal. I have no idea whether they’re going to accept it or not or what kind of changes they’ll insist on making to it.”
“I know that. But still. Even in your identification processes, you’ve treated people as… as individuals. With dignity and autonomy. And the change in the credit system that allows us to save credits after the month is over is life-changing. It will allow people to move between classes in a way it’s almost impossible to do now.”
He nods. “I think I can get more than half the council on my side, but I really don’t know if Vincent will go for it.”
“Well, you’re trying. Thank you for trying.”
“You’re welcome.” He uses both thumbs to gently caress my cheeks. “Thank you for helping me.”
I haven’t helped him with the proposal in any way at all, but he’s obviously seen value in the ways I’ve been able to help him find some of the release and relaxation he needs.
It’s everything I could have dreamed of, having him expressing his gratitude so openly. I really can’t keep from beaming. “You’re welcome.”
He looks down at me for a long time until he finally gives his head a quick shake and turns back to his desk. As soon as he does, all the heavy pressure appears to descend on him in an instant. He’s got so much to accomplish and much less time to do it now.