Skyler was staring at him as if he were a ghost. Self consciously she forced a laugh. “Just now you reminded me of…” She trailed off.
He deliberately grinned, a boyish, mischievous grin. “A rock star?” he asked hopefully. Skyler’s astuteness was far more than he had given her credit for.
She managed a nervous laugh. “Not hardly, Gabriel. A wolf. A big bad wolf.” She held up the stuffed animal, “lust like him.”
He laughed with her but took great care to appear more human as he left the room with a reassuring wave.
* * *
Chapter Fourteen
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“The couple will arrive today, Gabriel,” Francesca said. She was sitting at her desk, rather absently weaving together abstract designs. They looked a jumble of materials to Gabriel, but he could see how her fingers traced each swatch lovingly, even though her mind didn’t seem to be on what she was doing.
Gabriel crossed the room to stand behind her, wanting the closeness of her slender body. “I am well aware of their arrival, Francesca. What is it you are trying not to say to me?” There was a hint of laughter in the richness of his voice. He was her lifemate, he had only to share her mind to uncover her worry.
Francesca took a deep breath. Her fingers sought a piece of cloth and unconsciously began to rub her thumb over it. “Aidan has requested we do not take their blood.”
There was a small telling silence. The air was heavy with the weight of his disapproval. Francesca understood completely. There were only a handful of humans who knew of the existence of the Carpathian people. Gabriel was an ancient, a hunter unsurpassed by any, other than his twin. He had remained alive by concealing his sleeping chambers, by blending in among the human race. Carpathians could easily control the behavior of humans they took blood from, yet Aidan had asked that they not do such a thing. If the human had knowledge of their race and lived in their home, he held power in his hands. To Gabriel it was putting the lives of his family at risk, trusting two people he did not know.
“What do you say to this strange request?”
Francesca felt her heart leap. “Gabriel.” She breathed his name silently, held it to her. She had been her own person for so long, making her own decisions just as Gabriel had, yet he remembered it was important to consider her opinion as if she was his partner.
Gabriel found a smile curving his mouth. Francesca was his partner, his other half. Her opinion counted where no other ever could. He was extraordinarily proud of her achievements. She didn’t seem to realize just how much she meant to him. That astonished him. She needed to see herself through his eyes. In his opinion she was without equal in the world. “Of course I value your opinion. You may not have mixed with our people all these centuries, but you have kept up with the news. You managed to hide your identity from those in power and from the evil ones continuously searching for females of our race. I believe you are better equipped to judge this strange request than I, who have been buried in the earth for nearly two centuries.”
“I have heard it said that Aidan does not control this family, has never used them to feed, that he respects them greatly. They have helped out other members of our race in times of need. Not all of them are privy to our secrets, but those who know have never betrayed us. If Aidan has recommended two of his human family to aid us, then I believe he must trust them implicitly. He has said this is the son of his housekeeper. This man has known of our people for some time. I believe his wife was told only recently, but she has proved to be loyal. Her husband has assured Aidan that she is trustworthy.”
“I do not like the idea of the wife not being under our control,” Gabriel admitted. “Obviously the husband has known for many years and has proved his loyalty, but this woman is a huge danger when we are under siege. She could turn into a liability.”