AllFreeNovel
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“You don’t understand. Art is life,” Lily joked.
“Oh, but I do. Ask anyone. And the fact that you teach it and get to explore it every day? That sounds like a good way to spend time to me.”
“I just wish I could take the kids outside more for lessons. Nature and art together create the most powerful things for me. Nature triggers the imagination of all ages, I think.”
“I agree. Maybe you could do a summer course where the majority was outside. Could you get enough kids interested?”
She shrugged. “Possibly. I’ve thought about it, but I should actually test out the interest.” She snuck a glance at his perfect lips as he sipped his small cup.
Lily loved how involved and sincere Gabriel was. It allowed her to open up just as much. Especially knowing they shared so much of the same interests.
Thinking of classes, Lily suddenly had an idea. “Wait! What time is it?” she asked excitedly, looking for her phone.
Gabriel glanced at his watch. “Quarter to eight. Why?”
“Come on!” Having already paid, she grabbed her things and Gabriel’s arm as she dragged him outside.
“Come on, it’s literally just across the street.”
He didn’t try to resist her as she pretended she could actually force him anywhere.
“Wine and paint?” he asked as the do-it-yourself painting and wine store came into sight.
“We’re just in time for a class. Care to see who’s the better artist while we drink our talent away?”
He laughed. “Is that even a question?”
Lily swooned at the thought of him wanting to do this simple thing with her. They went inside together and painted the best little forest they could … with the help of a bottle of wine.
After the class, Lily exited the building with a smile. She closed her eyes and took a deep, grateful breath of fresh air. Opening her eyes, she looked to the sky happily.
“The night’s still young,” came Gabriel’s voice from behind her. “Can I interest you in a late-night dinner to keep it going?”
Lily turned and smiled up at his reflective eyes. She wanted the night to continue as much as he did. “Absolutely.”
FOUR
GABRIEL
The mating sense was strong in a way Gabriel could have never predicted. He had known about it, of course, through his mother and various members of the pride. But it had remained at a distance, like some folklore tune or charm discussed and distorted through generations and generations of legend.
It strangled him the moment he walked into the cafe. It was that palpable, something astoundingly undeniable. It reminded Gabriel of Christmas mornings as a child.
And her name was Lily, the tenacious and versatile flower that represented new beginnings. It was fitting.
He was stunned by the fact that he could navigate their interaction without either blurting out that she was his mate or taking matters into his own hands and following his shifter urges. Gabriel had been attracted to women before in a way that was slightly animalistic, but with Lily, merely breathing around her became strained.
After their date, which went wonderfully, Gabriel was smitten. He followed her home in his tiger form, slinking between the shadows of the city and making sure she got home safely. It was something he would have done anyway, but since the mating bond was so keen and embedded in his bones, there was absolutely no way he could avoid it.
Gabriel returned home to find his mother waiting for him. His mind was buzzing, every atom inside his body on fire. She sat with a glass of brandy in her hand while the flames roared in front of her, her silhouette cast in an elegant and electrifying haze.
“So?” Claire said, flashing her son her signature grin. “How did it go?"
Gabriel could barely contain himself. He went to the bar and poured himself a drink, his heart ballooning in his chest.
“Remarkable,” he said, facing away from her and guzzling half the glass of vintage ale. “She is my mate, Mom. I knew it the moment I saw her. I’m going to tell her."
Gabriel was running at a high gallop through endless valleys and hills of possibility in his mind.
