Francesca allowed him to pull her from the room, down the hall into the waiting room where she could finish her business with the judge and her lawyer. Gabriel remained at her side, silent but supportive. He didn’t try to catch her eye or hold her attention in any way, yet she could think of little else. He was there, larger than life. He was life. And laughter. She wanted to smile just thinking of him. How had he managed to create such a shifting of her loyalty in such a short period of time?
As a young girl so many centuries ago, she had been certain of what she was, proud of who she was. She knew she was created to be the lifemate of someone extraordinary. She had always known it. She had been proud of Gabriel, always proud of him, even when she thought him lost to her. He was a legend, a great vampire fighter, a hunter unsurpassed by any other. Francesca had known the call of the lifemate was powerful, yet she had been certain the passing of centuries would diminish that strong pull. She had counted on it. She bit her lip, attempting to concentrate on what her lawyer was saying; yet all the time, he was in her mind, filling her senses and confusing her completely.
She wanted peace. Rest. After all the emptiness, all the long years of being alone, she deserved rest. She had been useful, she hadn’t wasted her life or her gifts.
“No, my love, you did not. I could not be more proud of anyone. You accomplished a great deal, all for good. While I was taking lives, you were saving them.” The voice was soft in her head, filled with respect, tinged with regret. As if he considered himself unworthy of her.
At once her large dark eyes turned to capture his. “You were saving lives, too. Gabriel, you are the guardian of our people. You must know you stood between mankind and the undead. You gave up your happiness to do so.”
Watching them from the doorway, Brice saw the raw emotion in Francesca’s beautiful eyes as she gazed so lovingly at Gabriel. She had no idea of her own feelings, how deep, how intense they ran within her, but he could see the truth in her eyes. It looked as if they lived in their own secret world. They seemed to communicate without words. His fingers bunched tightly at his sides, curling until his knuckles were white and his body shook with anger and disappointment. He had courted Francesca for so long, devoted himself to her, yet never once had she looked at him in such a manner. And she was more beautiful than ever, more alluring. Watching her, he realized she was sexy beyond anyone he had ever encountered. He had always thought her beautiful, a perfect ornament to display in the social circles he intended traveling in. Brice had never thought of her in terms of hot steamy nights and sex, yet now, looking at her, he could hardly restrain himself.
Just then Gabriel lifted his head and looked at him, a long cold look that sent a shiver racing down Brice’s spine. Brice turned on his heel and walked away. There was no way Gabriel could actually read minds, no way he could judge the extent of Brice’s hatred of him. No way he could have seen the erotic pictures in his head. Brice needed Francesca in every way and he deserved her. He was not going to allow Gabriel to waltz in and take over. Maybe no one else could see it, but he knew there was something wrong with Gabriel, something dark and dangerous. A monster lurked inside him and every now and then, Brice caught a glimpse of it in his eyes. Brice intended to protect Francesca from her own compassionate nature.
Gabriel shook hands automatically with the judge and with Francesca’s lawyer. He was used to thinking and even speaking on two different levels. He made small talk easily, all the while turning the problem of Brice over and over in his mind. The doctor was jealous and obsessed with Francesca. He was becoming a threat to their well-being. Brice’s hatred seemed out of sync with his bland personality. Was there a subtle taint of power that Gabriel had not caught? Few of the undead could hide such a thing from him. Lucian. Was it his twin playing games again, using his human enemy against him? He examined Brice’s mind. If it was tainted with the power of the undead, the user was extremely skilled. He should recognize traces of his brother, yet he did not. Yet Brice seemed twisted with hatred. It was centered on Francesca, as Gabriel knew it would be. Brice was determined to get her back, to turn her against Gabriel. If the undead was using the human, Gabriel could not detect the subtle power.