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I hooked my leg around his thigh and pushed him to the bed next to me. In one swift movement, I was on top. Bringing my lips to his, he kissed me deeply until my head spun. Without another thought, my lips moved down his neck and to his chest, paying extra attention to the skin around his tattoo and his muscular stomach. The way he groaned as my tongue trailed lower intoxicated me. I’d never done anything like this, but I didn’t want to stop.
“I’m glad we made it in time for the show.”
My head snapped up and that’s when I saw Adam and Luke standing in the doorway. Adam was wearing his ridiculously
cocky grin that stretched from ear to ear. He leaned casually on the door frame, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Luke stood two steps behind him, his face white as a sheet. He worked his jaw like he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Gabe swore and tossed the rumpled sheet over my chest, nearly throwing me to the ground. He shot from the bed like a bat out of a cave and put at least five feet of distance between us. I covered my bra with the sheet and closed my eyes.
Maybe when I opened them again, this embarrassment would all be gone. My long lost father wouldn’t have walked in on us with Gabe’s annoying little brother, and all would be right in the world. But when I opened my eyes, they were still there.
“There’s been another attack.” Adam uncrossed his arm and swept into the room, perching himself on the edge of the desk. “An hour after your demon attacked us, she went after one of the Hell Gate patrols. They fought her off, but the board wants to have an emergency strategy meeting. We were just on the way.”
Another attack? Margaret was getting too bold. She should’ve been hiding somewhere, licking her wounds.
“I’m going.” I wrapped the sheet around my torso and stood up. “I need to be there.”
“No, you’ve done enough of your own strategizing tonight,” Gabe said without meeting my eye. He opened the armoire and pulled two t-shirts out. Throwing one to me, he pulled the other over his head. “We’ll fill you in tomorrow.”
So, suddenly I was useless? If that’s what I got for making out with a guy, I didn’t want to repeat that episode ever again.
“Adam went into the woods with me and he’s going to the meeting.” I pulled the soft white t-shirt over my head and threw aside the sheet. It would be a lot easier to argue when I didn’t feel so naked.
“Lizzy,” Luke finally found his voice and stepped in the room, “you’ve done enough tonight. The best thing for you to do is get some rest. Adam is an experienced warrior and will need to attend.”
I wanted to wipe the cocky smirk right off Adam’s face, but I settled for grabbing Gabe’s arm before he walked out the door.
“Gabe, please.”
His eyes flickered to mine and then stared resolutely at the thick red and black carpet under our feet. “He’s right. I’m sorry.”
Adam followed him out the door and turned to shrug his shoulders at me. I nearly screamed as he closed the door behind him. They were shutting me out. Again. It was Adam’s idea to go out there tonight, and he wasn’t being punished.
Turning back to the drawings on the armoire, I stared at Gabe’s sketches of me. My hands itched to tear them down and rip them into a million little pieces, but I couldn’t. They weren’t mine to destroy.
“Keep your pretty pictures,” I whispered, snatching my bloody shirt off the ground where Gabe had thrown it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
They put me on total lockdown for two weeks. No trips to town and no midnight walks in the forest. Everywhere I went, my movements were monitored. If I went to the stables, someone trailed me. If I didn’t show up at dinner, someone would come barging in my room two minutes later. Even though Ashley had been released from the infirmary a week ago, just as haughty and annoying as ever, they were still punishing me. The manor was beginning to feel more like a prison than a home.
Since the embarrassing night in Gabe’s room, I’d refused to train with him. I didn’t need someone who thought I couldn’t handle a strategy meeting as a partner. So instead, I joined Raquel’s training class under Eric Lutz and immersed myself in learning demon lore and defense. Gabe could give me all the hurt looks he wanted from across the room, but I wasn’t giving in anytime soon.
By the thirteenth day of my prison sentence, the manor began to feel stuffy. I excused myself from dinner that night and went outside, breathing in the cool air of the evening. The sun was still setting over the trees, casting long shadows on the green lawn.
A few steps behind me, my customary guard tailed me. Adam was on tonight’s Lizzy-watch. It was laughable that the same guy who’d helped me escape last time was now responsible for keeping me in. Despite the irony of it, Adam wouldn’t crack when I tried to get him to leave me alone. So, I was stuck with him for the time being.
I wandered up to the stables and entered the quiet barn. All the horses were in their stalls for the night. Reba greeted me with a snort and lowered her head for the carrot I brought. The only good thing this past two weeks had been my time with her. We rode together at least once every day. It was the only feeling of freedom I got.
“I heard you have quite the knack for throwing knives. Eric told me he’s impressed by your skills.”
I turned to see Gabe entering the stables, his sword strapped to his back. He paused at Clint’s stall and gave the black horse a pat on the nose.
“Where’s Adam?” I frowned and put my hands on my hips.
He nodded his head at the door. “I relieved him from duty. We just got back from a patrol and I thought I’d come see you.”
I raised my eyebrows and then slowly turned away to face Reba. A voice inside told me I was being stupid and stubborn and possibly ruining everything between us. But the monster that reared its head told me to make Gabe pay for being a part of the plan to keep me hostage. That, and I couldn’t quite forgive him for treating me the way he did after Luke and Adam caught us on his bed.
