Angelica and I were assigned to a temporary suite until tomorrow night. We wanted to allow Tristan and Jane a chance to mate, with fewer of us having to hear it. We didn’t hear it at all, in fact, because Angel and I were a little busy ourselves. Truth be told, we needed the same kind of privacy.

When we were finally alone, we held each other tight for a long while. The only movement between us was our breathing and beating hearts. We spoke through our new pack’s mind-link; just the two of us, our voices inside each other.

“We’re safe and together, Angel. Forever.”

“Avi, you’re finally mine,” she said before I felt her lips curve into a smile against my neck.

There was no ceremony, no foreplay, no questioning. She called me hers, then smiled and promptly bit down into my neck, marking me to prove it.

I moaned at the intense pleasure this brought me, my body tingling into a raging inferno.

I pushed her against the bed onto her back and pressed my chest against hers. Her eyes were as on fire as my body felt, and I gripped her hair to pull her head to the side, then sank my teeth into her neck and shoulder.

She cried out in passionate hunger. I licked the spot I had marked and sucked on it hard.

“AVERY!” She moaned in desperation.

“Mmmmm,” I hummed, “are you ready, Angel?”

“Please,” she begged, drawing out the word desperately.

Then, I proceeded to show her every single ounce of desire and love my body could inflict upon hers until we were exhausted and out of breath. It took all night.

EMMA’S POV

The night air was cool but not cold. My mind was busy analyzing what Jane said earlier. Gabriel wished for something, something Jane thought about. Tristan’s appearance prevented me from finding out.

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What could it be?

I sat on the large back porch looking out across the ranch. It was dark, and I had the lights off, but I could still see everything. My vampire vision was more exceptional than most. My hearing was, also.

Two hundred yards away, I could hear two mice mating just as clearly as I could hear the two on the third floor and the other two on the first floor.

Something primal and simple, yet profound; this was the mating of higher beings. The mice were simply reproducing. We should get some traps.

I heard Gabriel step out onto the porch behind me, and shortly after, his hand popped into view, holding out an ice-cold bottle of beer to me.

I love his hands. They’re so masculine and yet beautiful all at once. I smiled and took the beer. He sat down in a nearby chair.

“Thank you, Master Gabriel.”

He knew how to make a woman feel comfortable. I never had to want for anything practical. Knowing I was thirsty for a beer before I did, he presented it. Suddenly, I would realize it was what I was craving.

It was always this way from the start. It’s why I assumed he read my mind regularly. Which would have meant he knew how I felt.

Jane said he couldn’t know because of what he wished.

Tipping the beer up to my mouth, I gulped down half the bottle and placed it on the nearby table, perhaps a little too roughly.

Here goes nothing.

“Master Gabriel?”

“Hmmm?” he answered, staring out over the ranch.

“Do you listen to my thoughts?”

“Not for a long time, Emma. Why?” he replied as he turned his eyes to examine me.

“When was the last time?” I tried to ask lightly as if the answer didn’t matter.

He sat still as stone, presumably thinking of the answer. He finally gave one after a solid ten minutes.

“I read your mind for the first week you were with me. Then I stopped.”

I met his eyes, refusing to look away.

“Why did you stop?”

“Why are you asking me this?” He asked instead of answering.

“I’m curious,” I answered vaguely.

“Why are you suddenly curious?” he pressed.

“Why aren’t you answering?” I pressed back.

“I’m not ready to talk about it,” he replied firmly.

“It’s been over one hundred years, Master Gabriel, why don’t you give it a go,” I teased, giving him one of my bright, dimpled smiles.

“Let’s get settled in here first, Emma. This place will be busy, and the kids will need our guidance.”

My eyes widened as I suddenly realized he was afraid.

“Master Gabriel!” I exclaimed. “What could you possibly have to be afraid of?”

He leaned towards me. Our faces were no more than twelve inches apart. His eyes met mine with intensity.

“There is only one thing in this world that I’m afraid of, Emma, and that’s losing you.”

“Gabriel,” I whispered with a voice fuller of emotion than I intended.

He broke our gaze and stood, stepping off the porch and into the yard.

With his back to me, he softly said, “I’m off to hunt,” and then he was gone.