Chapter 16 #2
The pants were ruined, and his shirt buttons were missing. Nicholas frowned, unable to recall if this was his doing. Had he torn at Gabriel’s clothing, desperate for him to put an end to the pain he’d been in?
He showered quickly, slipping into a pair of boxer briefs before heading downstairs in search of Gabriel.
A cool draft blew in from the open patio wall. Nicholas closed it, afraid one of the puppies might get out. He was surprised Gabriel had left it open. He was normally vigilant about these things.
The coffee table lay on its side by the fireplace, chunks of it spread over the floor.
What the heck?
Nicholas hurried to gather and set aside the broken pieces before the dogs caught splinters in their paws.
Slipping into the sweatpants sprawled across the floor, he made his way back to the stairs. Maybe Gabriel was asleep in the guest bedroom. He should’ve checked there first.
The door beyond the staircase caught his gaze. The basement was the only place Gabriel hadn’t given him a tour of. He hadn’t thought anything of it. Most basements were used for storage or were dark and dank.
Shaking off his sudden curiosity, Nicholas began ascending the grand stairs. He stopped less than halfway, his nostrils tingling. He leaned over the banister to stare down at the basement door again.
Something down there wanted his attention, the odd sensation pulling until he found himself gripping the door handle. Gabriel entered through the front door at that moment, startling him.
“Geez.” He clutched his chest. “I didn’t know you were gone.”
He peered over Gabriel’s shoulder into the twilight sky. The sun would be rising soon.
Gabriel closed the door without taking his eyes off Nicholas.
He wore an all-black suit that seemed to ripple when he moved, the top two buttons of his shirt undone.
He looked like a comic book villain. A beautiful nightmare that Nicholas wouldn’t hesitate to traverse—although he mourned the green ensemble from earlier.
“Where were you?”
“I got hungry.” The words held both a perilous and sensual edge.
Something lurked behind his gaze. The same thing that seemed to always lurk there. Only now, Nicholas had the unexplainable urge to reach for it. He swallowed past the need.
“You’re wearing gloves.” The leather stretched to Gabriel’s wrists.
“I hate getting my hands dirty.”
There seemed to be a double meaning there that Nicholas couldn’t unravel. Gabriel removed the gloves slowly, dropping them onto the foyer table.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Y-yes,” Nicholas stammered, finding the teasing distance between them intoxicating. He craved their closeness and grew lightheaded with every second that Gabriel stayed back.
“I mean, not really. I had another dream.”
Gabriel hummed.
“What happened to the coffee table?”
Gabriel glanced into the living room area. “What do you remember?”
He stalked closer, with the leisure of a predator whose prey had nowhere to go. Nicholas backed into the basement door.
“I…”
Gabriel wet his lips, redirecting Nicholas’s thoughts.
“You cleaned me.”
“Mm-hm.”
“You… licked me clean.”
“Yes.”
Nicholas closed his eyes, tilting his head up for Gabriel’s kiss. Butterscotch and honey lit up his taste buds.
“H-how did I taste?”
“Better than the meal I just had, Nicholas.”
Danger wrapped in flirtation.
Gabriel’s scent surrounded him. Summer rain and something else entirely, something that niggled at the back of Nicholas’s skull.
“Let me carry you to bed. I want to lie next to you for a few hours.”
“Okay. I could use a few more hours of sleep.”
“Good.” He lifted Nicholas, overwhelming him with a heated kiss as he climbed the stairs. He seemed less careful than usual, and Nicholas tightened his legs around him in silent support of it.
“Are you going to sleep in your suit?” Nicholas whispered once Gabriel set him down.
“If you want to see me out of my clothes, Nicholas, all you have to do is ask.”
Gabriel trailed a finger from his ear to his collarbone, the trail heating in his wake.
“I’m asking.”
Nicholas’s words were barely audible, but he felt in control of his body. Maybe having Gabriel’s mouth on him was all he needed—even if it was only a fraction of what he wanted.
“Let me,” he said when Gabriel reached for his lapels.
Nicholas slid his hands below the shoulders of the jacket, sliding it down Gabriel’s arms. Then unbuttoned his shirt, slipping that off him too. Gabriel’s skin was smooth, muscles chiseled to perfection, and the unchecked power that seemed to radiate off him pushed invisibly against Nicholas.
Gabriel seemed too perfect to be real. Too perfect to be human.
Nicholas knelt at his feet, removing his shoes before reaching up to unbuckle his pants. He sucked in a sharp breath as he peeled them down his strong thighs. Gabriel hadn’t worn underwear.
“We aren’t having sex, are we?” He stared down Gabriel’s impressive erection, knowing he wouldn’t be ruined by it tonight, and preparing for that devastation.
“Can you wait?”
Nicholas was hard, and the involuntary clenching of his hole made him feel shameful, but his need didn’t claw at him as it had earlier.
“Yes.” He sounded petulant, and Gabriel pulled him to his feet with a grin.
“Then we wait.”
They climbed into bed, and Gabriel hauled Nicholas onto his chest.
“Do you want to tell me what this dream was about?” He sounded less hesitant than usual. Nicholas understood his uncertainty. His dreams were outlandish, and much of them he preferred not to share anyway for fear they’d turn Gabriel off.
“The man finally spoke,” Nicholas whispered into his chest.
Gabriel stiffened. “What did he say?”
“Not his name.” The beautiful man never answered that question. “He helped the monster fight off these ugly, two-faced beasts.”
“Two-faced beasts?”
“That’s what I call them.” He shrugged. “They look like dogs, but bigger, and have two heads.”
“What else?”
Nicholas wavered. “Do you… Do you believe in vampires? That they exist?”
“I believe many things are possible, even the unexplainable.”
They lapsed into a comfortable silence while Nicholas thought that over.
“The man wore a collar. I’ve seen it on him before. He said if the monster removed it, he could calm the creatures.” Nicholas wasn’t sure how he planned to do that. There were over a dozen of them, untamed and beyond being reasoned with.
“The monster just wants answers. That’s why he agreed to find the man and bring him in.” Bring him to whom? Nicholas didn’t know. Maybe to the witch the monster mentioned, whoever that was.
“He wants to know who killed his family.”
Gabriel’s hand stilled in his hair. “Is that what the monster said?”
“Yeah.” Nicholas looked up at him. “And he has a name now.”
“The monster?” Gabriel’s fingers curled around his coils. “What is it?”
Nicholas thought back to his journal, to the last words spoken, to the name he’d underlined twice.
“Muharib,” he breathed.