“It was no different from the night of your little stunt at the hospital. Anyone who touches or damages my property will be dealt with swiftly. Let one infraction slide, and we’ll have the whole lot of vile, hellspawn beasts showing up whenever they please, pawing my servers, acting as if they own the place. Bloody hell, it’s bad enough I have to let them in the door at all. There’s onlyoneplace on earth demons belong, and itisn’tObsidian. In fact, it isn’t even on earth at all.”
Jaci clenched her fists at her side, her body vibrating, her face hot.
Charley was wrong. Gabriel Redthorne was every bit the asshole he fashioned himself, and every time Jaci came close to forgetting it, he swept right back in with a firm reminder.
To think she’d wasted even aminuteof her life feeling guilty about the idea of sacrificing his heart to save her father’s soul… What a fucking joke.
Gabriel tapped on the bar and held up his glass, empty once again, gesturing for her to pour another.
But she was done serving him. Done dealing with his bullshit. Done with all of it.
“Any man who equivocates getting emotional with a genuine thank you clearly hasn’t gotten enough of either in his life.” Jaci shoved the bottle of bourbon at him and stormed off, feeling the icy touch of his glare on her backside with every step.
Chapter Nineteen
Gabriel found the witch in the wine cellar, precariously balanced on a step ladder as she reached toward the top shelf for a bottle of his rarest Bordeaux. She hadn’t heard him approach, and as he tried to cobble together some sort of apology in his mind, he took a moment to pause and enjoy the view.
Another thing he should probably apologize for, but wouldn’t.
She stretched up on her toes before the floor-to-ceiling mahogany shelving, fingers wrapping around that bottle, the hem of her dress inching up to reveal another intriguing secret:
Her stockings didn’t go all the way up.
Gabriel swallowed hard, his throat working as he imagined running his tongue along the garters, snapping them with his teeth…
Jacinda’s sharp, sudden gasp shook him out of the fantasy. Gabriel glanced up, saw the ladder wobble. Saw the bottle slip from her hand as she lost her footing and fell.
He blurred into the room. Caught the witch and the bottle both.
It happened so fast, she didn’t even have time to blink. One moment she was falling, the next she was cradled in his arms, her mouth rounding into a glistening pinkohof surprise that stirred his cock to rapt attention.
Wordlessly he set her back on her feet, one hand still holding the wine, the other gripping her hip. Her dress was slightly askew, and beneath the fabric, her skin radiated warmth. Gabriel didn’t want to release her.
Jacinda blinked away the shock, her mouth twisting into a scowl as she glared at his hand, still firmly attached to her body.
“Seriously?” she snapped.
He set the wine on the shelf behind her. “Not nearly as serious as it would’ve been had I not caught you.”
“Quit saving me, Prince.” She jerked away from him, smoothing her dress back into place, losing one of her hair clips in the process. A fall of curls tumbled over her bare shoulder.
Gabriel resisted the urge to bury his face in those locks and breathe her in.
“Quit needing to be saved, witch.” He shrugged as if he couldn’t care less—as if the loss of contact didn’t bother him. But already his hands itched to touch her again. To feel her softness. Her heat.
Jacinda’s cheeks darkened, nostrils flaring. Seeing her flustered only made Gabriel want her more, but his little witch looked about five seconds from nuclear meltdown—an explosion he wasn’t sure he’d survive.
“Every time you help me,” she snapped, “I’m obligated to thank you. But—”
“There’s no need for—”
“—clearlythat’sthe wrong thing to do, lest I offend his royal lordship’s delicate sensibilities with all my messy, complicated emotions.”
“Jacinda, I—”
She held up a hand, cutting him off. “Here’s the plan, vampire.”
“Oh, you have a plan now?” Gabriel’s laughter rang with mockery. “Let’s have it, then. The witch’s master plan. Brilliant, no doubt. Should I find a paper and pen? Wouldn’t want to miss any of the critical details.”
