Gabriel's Mate Folsom, Tina (historical books to read .txt) 📖

truly was: a move to protect her rather than control her. And he needed time to take care of his problem.

Eddie’s cell phone suddenly pinged. Gabriel turned his head and watched him open it and read the alert. “Thomas, AT&T’s servers are back up.”

Gabriel felt relief wash through him at the news. “Go, both of you and get me the data. Just fax the phone list over once you have it. Oh, and call Yvette on your way to ask her to take over for you here.”

“Will do,” Thomas confirmed and opened the door, Eddie on his heels. With a start, Thomas pulled back and looked over his shoulder.

“It appears you have a visitor.”

Maya let herself fall onto the covers of the bed. As she turned her face, she could still smell Gabriel’s scent lingering in the pillows. How had everything suddenly gotten so complicated? Only hours ago she’d felt happy and satisfied. Now things were in uproar.

p. The man who’d stood in the entrance door when they’d come back from the Castro wasn’t the same man who’d held her in his arms and touched her with almost worship-like reverence. This wasn’t the Gabriel she thought she knew, not the tender, careful lover of the day before.

This Gabriel was different: harsh, unyielding, powerful.

And from his exchange with Thomas, he indeed did have the power he wielded so easily now. This wasn’t the man who’d kissed her tenderly and had told her he looked forward to dinner, as if he was the one feasting on her instead of the other way around. As if she could feed from him right now. She couldn’t face him right now, not after what she’d said to him only a few minutes ago.

She knew why she’d reacted so harshly to his reprimand. It was the flash of memory that had assaulted her in the bar.

Control.

The word spread in her mind again. Something about it filled her with fear. And when she’d seen Gabriel stand in the door, she’d seen it in his eyes: he was used to controlling those around him, maybe not because it was his nature, but because he was the boss. And at that moment, he’d scared her.

She had the strangest feeling that she’d had a similar conversation with somebody else. When she’d accused him of wanting to watch her twenty-four hours, she hadn’t really spoken to him. The words had come to her from a memory she didn’t have.

Maya shivered when her mind led her to connect the dots. The words had come from the memory the rogue had erased – words she’d spoken to the faceless monster who’d turned her. He’d wanted to control her, possess her. Instinctively, she knew that now, even if she didn’t remember it. Her memory of that time was still blank, but her body had retained sense memory. When she’d heard herself say those words to Gabriel, her body had remembered the fear she’d felt when she’d confronted the rogue with them.

She had to explain to Gabriel that she hadn’t wanted to snap at him.

That this wasn’t about him, but about her own fears. He would understand.

Nineteen

Gabriel set the empty glass of blood he’d poured himself onto the coffee table, then looked at Francine, who’d made herself comfortable on the couch.

The witch gave him a long look. “I’m concerned.”

Gabriel’s spine stiffened. “About?”

“I’ve had a long talk with Drake. I have some suspicions about Maya.”

“Suspicions?” He felt himself become defensive.

“Relax, vampire. When I say suspicions, I don’t infer that she’s deceiving anybody. She truly doesn’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“There’s nothing wrong with her.” In fact, he’d never met a more perfect woman.

The witch smiled knowingly. “Do you guys ever come off that testosterone rush, or are you always this jumpy?”

When he opened his mouth to retort, she merely cut him off with a move of her hand. “Luckily, I’m not the one who’ll have to deal with your ego. I’m much more interested in Maya’s condition.”

Gabriel exhaled sharply. “Why is that?”

“She’s a vampire, yet she drinks your blood and rejects that of humans. She went into heat when vampire females are known to be sterile.”

“You know an awful lot about vampires.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s important to know your enemies.

The better to fight them. But pleasantries aside, have you considered the possibility that you giving Maya your blood has triggered her symptoms?”

Gabriel shot up from his seat. “You’re suggesting my blood is not good for her?”

“You sure are one to jump to conclusions. No. All I’m saying is that your blood could have awakened some latent genes in her. You told me yourself when we talked about your problem that your turning was just as difficult as hers. What if you have more than that in common?”

He raised an eyebrow. He had told the witch an awful lot about his predicament that night just before Maya’s collapse. “We couldn’t be more different from each other.” She was perfect, and he was anything but. Even the witch had to know that.

“She craves your blood, and yours alone, as I understand it. Not the blood of a human, nor the blood of any other vampire.”

“Because I finished the turning.”

“No. Because there’s something in your blood that she needs.

Maybe something her body recognizes.”

“You make it sound like I’m a drug to her.”

“In a way you are. But we won’t know for sure until I’ve analyzed blood samples of both of you.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “If this is a trick for you to get vampire blood so you can -“

Francine let out an exasperated huff. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a vampire who’s more suspicious than you are. Trust me, vampire, if I wanted you harm, I could have done so long ago.”

Trust her? Maybe he had to if he wanted to know what was wrong with Maya and with him. “Maybe if you called me Gabriel instead of vampire, I’d have an easier time trusting in your good intentions.” He paused.