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She raised her hand, nearly having to rise onto her tiptoes to reach him, and cupped his face. Gabriel instantly closed his eyes, and a thousand pounds lifted from his shoulders.
“Let’s go to bed,” she whispered.
Gabriel agreed and let her lead him upstairs into their bedroom. They shared an intimacy that went outside of sex, washing each other's bodies in the shower with kisses peppered in between the most tender of touches. Every so often, the alpha would place his palm over Lily's belly, holding his breath for the chance to feel any indication of life swelling in his beloved’s womb.
Lily giggled as they toweled off, the night finally capping the day outside.
“You won't feel anything just yet,” she said, pulling on a red silk robe. “I don't know how many weeks it's been, but it hasn’t been many.”
Gabriel was slightly delirious in his fatigue, but the warmth of his mate’s presence and the cozy haze of the shower's steam allowed him the peace to frolic within it.
“You would be surprised. Shifter babies can sometimes have the tendency to grow faster than the average human gestation period.”
He had both hands still on her midsection like it was a crystal ball, bent over slightly in the steam-filled room. She pushed him away playfully with another chuckle. She tied the belt of her robe tight with dramatic effect, and Gabriel pouted.
“Curtain is closed for tonight’s show,” she teased him, blowing a kiss. “Maybe later you’ll get a matinee.”
There was a mutual understanding between them that lovemaking was off the table for the night. But that somehow made their cuddling even more precious. They didn’t require sex to feel close to each other. They had an entire lifetime ahead of them to add to their sexual adventures.
Gabriel hoped, anyway.
They drew the curtains, the familiar din of the night’s creatures a consoling orchestra, and climbed into bed together. Gabriel acted as the big spoon, feeling Lily’s naked body close to his pelvis. He never felt more at home than when he was holding her close, and it would be that way forever.
“Goodnight, honey,” Lily whispered in the dark.
“Goodnight, Lily,” Gabriel replied. He swallowed, hesitated, and then took the plunge anyway. “I love you.”
Lily rolled over and faced him, a perky grin stretching across her face. Even in the dim, he could see those hazel eyes swirling with intrigue.
“I love you too,” she said, biting her lip.
Gabriel’s heart pounded in his chest. If he hadn't been so tired, he would have pulled her on top of him and let her ride him until she saw stars. Instead, they kissed deeply, and then she settled against his chest with a long, comforting sigh.
Paradise was real. Happiness was possible. Gabriel knew it. Everything he would ever cherish he held in his arms.
* * *
Gabriel was rousedfrom a deep sleep after only two hours of falling off into the abyss. His phone next to his bed woke him, the pleasant chime of harp strings blending with the dream he was having about Eva and the capturing of his beta. He had been jerked awake just before the spinning arrow impaled him, his entire body doused in a layer of sweat.
Lily shot up next to him, pinning the bed sheet against her chest.
“What is it?” she implored frantically.
Gabriel didn’t answer. He picked up the phone next to him, saw that the call was from an unknown number, then answered anyway. He had a sense about who it was going to be, so when he heard the sound of a sly and seasoned old man, he wasn’t completely surprised.
“Hello, Gabriel,” Malcolm said. “I hear that you are the man in charge. The man to speak to.”
Gabriel was suddenly very awake. He whipped the bedsheets off and flew out of bed, moving toward the window to check the streets for a potential ambush. When he slashed the curtains open, he nearly tore one directly off the wall.
“What do you want?” Gabriel snarled. “Why are you calling me at this hour?”
Malcolm chuckled. “Well, I supposed that you would eventually want to hear about your man, no?”
Gabriel didn't notice anything out of the ordinary in the streets of his community. But he was on high alert, gripping the fabric of the curtain in his hands and about to tear it in half.
“Say what you mean!” he yelled.
That got Lily's attention. She had risen out of bed and slipped on that same silk robe that had looked rosy a mere few hours before. When Gabriel looked at her, she was beyond alarmed.
