Gabriel & Raven #2
Gabriel groaned and closed his eyes for what seemed to Raven like a full ten minutes.
Although it was probably much shorter, with her fingertips turning blue, a minute was a long time.
When he opened them again, he looked at the fireplace and said, “I don’t want to hand off my responsibilities to anyone else. I’m afraid of what might happen.”
Whoomf, the fire blazed to life, filling the cabin with warmth. Raven rubbed her hands together in front of the flames. “What are you afraid will happen?” she asked.
Gabriel sniffed and stood. “I’m afraid we’ll starve to death if we don’t find some food in this mountain-forsaken place.”
Frustrated with his lack of answer, Raven made her way into the small kitchen and opened the cabinets. “There’s only one bowl and one spoon,” she said.
He scoffed and lifted the lid off a pot on the stove. Steam rose off what looked like hot stew. “At least we’ve been provided for. We’ll take turns. You can eat first.” He filled the bowl and handed it back to her.
Raven carried her food to the table, but when she tried to sit down, the chair lurched away from her. She set the bowl down and grinned over her shoulder at Gabriel. “I believe the cabin would like you to eat first.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It couldn’t possibly—” As soon as Gabriel was close enough, the chair veered around the table and caught him behind the knees. He dropped onto the seat beside her, the legs scraping the wooden floor.
“As I was saying.”
“It makes no sense. Why would the cabin want me to eat first?”
“Ahhhh!” The rug yanked out from under Raven’s feet and sent her flying into Gabriel’s arms. His laugh when he caught her warmed her from the inside out. It had been months since she’d heard him laugh like that. Lately, he always seemed…burdened.
“I think the cabin wants us to eat together, little witch,” he said, his nose brushing the side of hers.
With his face so close, she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and how her body fit easily into his, like they were made for each other.
But then, of course they were. She was his mate.
The other half of his soul. Which made it her duty to understand his early comment.
It was up to her to help Gabriel through whatever was ailing him.
She rested her forehead against his. “Gabriel, what did you mean before, when you said you were afraid of what might happen?”
He kissed the question from her lips, kissed her so deeply, she almost forgot about her question. She dug her fingers into his hair and repositioned herself on his lap when the evidence of his desire for her became apparent. But a niggle at the back of her mind had her drawing back. “Gabriel…”
“It’s nothing.”
“If you’re avoiding talking about it, it’s something!”
“The cabin wants us to eat, Raven. Do not upset the cabin.” He made a show of taking a bite and then held a spoonful to her lips as if she were a child.
It did smell good and it would be a shame to let it get cold.
She caved and took a bite. Mmmm. Delicious.
Feeding each other proved to be romantic and the food incredible, considering a sentient building made it, but when they finished and could not blame the chewing and swallowing, an unsettling quiet persisted between them.
“Gabriel, what is it? What is driving you to work yourself to the bone like this?”
He removed his jacket, winking at her as he hung it on a hook on the wall. “Don’t ruin the moment. Let’s go to bed.”
“There is no moment, Gabriel. The moment is waiting for you to be honest with me.”
He finished undressing and slipped into the small bathroom. “There’s a bathtub,” he stated. “Do you want to take a bath?”
“Will the tub hold your head underwater until you agree to talk to me?”
He closed the door.
Once they’d both used the bathroom, they undressed and climbed into the big feather bed, both distracted by the weight of the unanswered question.
He reached for her, but she scooted to the edge of the bed out of reach.
“Not until you tell me what you’re afraid of that’s making you bury yourself in your work! ”
But the bed began to vibrate and then shrink, one inch, then two. Soon she had no choice but to roll on top of him or fall off the side. “Damn this cabin!” she yelled.
His eyebrows shot up as his hands landed on her hips. “That’s more like it. I’m beginning to like this cabin.”
“Gabriel!” His long, stiff shaft ground between her legs, and despite her anger, she felt her nipples harden. Gods, she wanted him. But not until he gave her what she wanted. She ground her teeth and held absolutely still.
“Fine!” His face grew serious. “I worry about the implications now that our daughter is taking on more and more responsibility. What if there comes a time when she—when the kingdom—faces again an evil force like my mother? What if she’s not ready, but I’m too far out of the loop and can’t help her? ”
“We’re immortal, Gabriel. We could rule for several lifetimes. And I doubt that handing off more responsibilities could ever mean you’d lose your ability to respond to an attack.”
He sighed. “The kingdom is at peace. Our people are happy. Our systems of governance are righting centuries of wrongs. It’s not that I don’t trust her or any of my siblings for that matter.
It’s just that I fear if I take my thumb off this kingdom for even a day, things will get away from me again.
Some dark magic will bubble up from some long forgotten well. ”
“You’ll find yourself locked in a cabin in Darnuith?
” They both laughed. Raven stretched over Gabriel, straddling his hips and threading her fingers into his.
With their faces intimately close, she said, “There are no guarantees in life. We don’t know what will come, and this kingdom has probably not seen its last battle.
We haven’t seen our last battle. But the one thing I’ve learned over our time together is that everything is easier if we face it together. ”
“But what if I let Charlie lead and she fails?”
Raven inhaled sharply. “Oh, she will. She’ll make mistakes.
She’ll fail again and again, just as we did.
That’s how rulers learn. That’s how good leaders become great ones.
And we’ll be here to back her up. Allowing others to help us doesn’t mean we’re going anywhere.
It just means we’re prioritizing us. After all, long after the mountain falls and turns to dust, I’ll still love you, Gabriel.
I’ll love you to the end of this life and the next. ”