She opened her eyes and searched his face, trying to find a lie that simply wasn’t there.
“I thought I was dreaming,” she whispered. “I felt your presence, but when I woke up, you were always gone.”
“I couldn’t bear the thought of looking into your beautiful blue eyes and seeing them filled with hatred.” A sad smile touched his lips, and he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m a coward. Even tonight, I wasn’t planning on staying. I thought I could give you the mint, exchange a few pleasantries, and be on my way. But then I saw your smile, your eyes, and I couldn’t walk away from you.”
His words wrapped around her heart, smoothing over some of the cracks. But the ache in his voice was still so raw, so sharp.
Jaci shook her head. “I could never hate you, Gabriel. None of it was your fault. As far as I’m concerned, Viansa’s the one who staked me.She’sthe fucking coward.”
He flinched at her words, closing his eyes and pressing his lips together, his body suddenly tense.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said again. “I’m hurt that you didn’t call or visit me, but I could never hate you for what my sister did.”
“It’s not just your sister. It’s… Bloody hell, Jace. Don’t you get it?” He lowered his hands to her shoulders and met her gaze once more. “Whenever one of Chernikov’s demons hurt you, I knew exactly what I had to do. Wasn’t even a conscious thought—just instinct. Hunt him down, torture him, end his existence. Same with the Dark Flame mages. They hurt you, threatened to kill you, and—”
“And you slaughtered them. No questions asked.”
Gabriel nodded. “So you see my dilemma.”
“No. All I see is a vampire blaming himself for the actions of a deranged succubus. And if you think I’m going to let you get away with that, you’re as deranged as she is.”
“It doesn’t matter that she got inside my head. I’m still the one who… I drove a fucking stake through your chest, Jacinda. I very nearly ended your life.”
He slid a hand beneath the hem of her blouse, his palm easing across her abdomen, fingers brushing the puckered scar where the stake and her sister’s dark magic had done their nasty business.
“When someone hurts you,” he said, “I feel this overwhelming need to make it right. Not just to hurt them back—to take them out of the fucking equation completely. But this time, the monster who hurt you—the monster who nearly killed you—was me. And I don’t know what the fuck to do with that. How to make it right. How to…” His voice shattered, his anguish so dark and deep, she felt the echo of it in her own heart. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I hurt you, Jace. So sorry I didn’t have the courage to say this sooner. I’ve been going out of my mind for days, trying to find a way to make it right, but I just don’t know how.”
“You’re here,” she said. “You showed up. That’s all you ever had to do.”
Gabriel closed his eyes and drew her closer, holding her tight, pressing a long, lingering kiss to the top of her head. His heart thrummed against her chest, making her feel more safe and protected and alive than she had in days.
In that moment, Jaci wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and let herself believe she’d finally found the fairytale, just like Charley and Dorian.
She knew now, despite everything they’d done to each other, Gabriel cared for her. Maybe even loved her, just as she loved him—recklessly and unapologetically. Effortlessly.
Maybe Charley had been right about that—about love being the easy part.
But that didn’t mean they could overcome the rest. All that so-called messy, complicated shit was still a big tangled knot sitting between them. All the cruel things he’d said to her that first night in Bloodbath and in the early days that followed, all her lies about her demonic origins and Viansa’s connection to the Redthorne curse, her plan to carve out his heart… All those past mistakes felt like their own kind of curse, woven so tightly and with so many different threads, Jaci didn’t even know how to begin unraveling them. If it was even possible.
But for now, after far too long an absence, he was here. Maybe as a partner, maybe as a lover, maybe even as a friend. It didn’t matter. Whatever Gabriel was, hebelongedto her. Not in a possessive way—maybe not even in a romantic one. Just in the quiet way a person can slip into your heart and change the shape of it, forever becoming a part of you.
“Will you do something for me?” she asked softly.
“Name it,” he whispered. “Whatever you need.”
“I’m so glad you said that, Prince.” A smile slid across Jaci’s lips, and she stretched up onto her toes, whispering a single command in his ear. “Strip.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into, woman?”
Perched on the edge of the bathroom vanity, Jaci laughed, enjoying the show. “For a two-hundred-fifty-something-year-old vampire, you sure know how to throw a temper tantrum. Seriously—you could do ten rounds with a toddler and come out on top every time.”
“I told you, I don’t favor baths. Especially solo baths. What’s the bloody point?” Gabriel glared up at her from the tub, the steaming hot water lapping at his chest, translucent from the combination of magical ingredients she’d added—sea salt, honey, bay leaves, black pepper oil, white rose petals, and two fist-sized rose quartz crystals.
On the toiletry shelf above his head, a large white candle carved with protective runes burned bright, centered between two Tarot cards.
The Star was for healing, protection, and guidance, featuring a black-haired woman pouring out two grails of blood—one onto a bouquet of dried winter roses, the other onto a summer rosebush blooming with fresh flowers. Behind her, a cloaked woman stood sentry with a bright candle, ready to lead her back out through the darkened forest.
