He grinned, and she rolled her eyes, turning her back on him to find cereal in the pantry.
"I'd love some," he finally said, relieving the awkward tension in the room.
"I can't help if I stare when you come to breakfast half-naked." She tossed the words over her shoulder as she grabbed the box off the top shelf, her shirt lifting to reveal a tiny sliver of skin on her lower back.
"I'm shirtless, Cate. Not half-naked."
"Same difference." She murmured the words as if she were utterly offended at his shirtless state, taking two bowls from another cabinet and setting them on the counter.
He laughed, the sound coming from his belly and barking out with such loudness that it almost scared him. He hadn't laughed like that since—five years ago.
Cate's sweet smile was a warm caress. "I love to hear you laugh."
As she rounded the corner to take a seat at the bar, Gabriel dropped his towel on the back of the chair and sat down next to her, pouring his cereal into the bowl she'd set out for him.
"You're the only one who has ever made me laugh like that," he confessed. He needed her to know what she meant to him. He had to show her he loved her without scaring her off and sending her running for the hills.
"Oh, yeah? I didn't realize—" she started, but seemed at a loss for how to finish the sentence.
"I haven't had a lot to laugh at in my life. And sure, the guys make coarse jokes that I find amusing. But the kind of belly laugh that relieves stress and fills your heart with joy? That only comes in your presence." Damn it! What was wrong with his mouth this morning? It was like it had a mind all its own.
Her hand, holding her spoon, stopped on its journey to her mouth, and she placed it on the bar, looking at him with questions in her eyes. Gabriel wanted to answer those questions, but he knew that in order to do that, she'd need to know his whole story. He wasn't sure he was quite ready to reveal that.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
He opened his mouth to respond—to give her something—when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and read the message, and her face drained of color.
"What is it, Cate?" He took the phone from her hands.
The message read: I'm watching you.
Included in that disturbing text was a picture of Cate, wrapped in her short, silky robe and standing on the front stoop of her townhouse. Her hair was mussed from sleep, and she had a large cup of coffee in her hands.
"When was this taken?" he asked.
"This morning."
* * * *
"Why were you outside your house this morning wearing that?" Gabriel asked, his impatience and frustration being held back by a thin margin if the redness of his face, along with the muscle in his jaw ticking away, was any indicator.
"The paper was delivered this morning. I stepped out to get it and got caught up in the fresh morning air. It's gorgeous out there, and I—"
"You have a crazy man taking pictures of you and following your every move! Did you even stop to think that someone could be out there waiting to snatch you?" He hung his head, shaking it back and forth. Cate could hear the intake and exhale of his every breath. "And yet you didn't even wake me to let me know you were venturing out."
"I wasn't venturing out! I was just getting the paper!" Cate's own anger rose to the surface, her voice rising along with it.
"That. Is. Out. Side." Gabriel enunciated each word, as if he had a careful hold on his tongue.
"You're not my boss—"
"Dammit! I know I'm not your boss. I’m not trying to be your boss. I'm trying to keep you safe." Gabriel pushed back from the bar, pacing back and forth in the small kitchen.
Cate relaxed, breathing deeply to calm the anger that threatened to overwhelm her.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I'll be more careful. I promise." Cate stood and walked over to Gabriel, her arms wrapping tightly around his bare waist. At the touch of his skin, it was like an electric current ran through her. She vibrated with the energy coursing through her at his nearness.
Gabriel turned in her arms, catching her wrists and placing them around his neck. He pressed closer, pulling her tightly against his body. She looked up into the ice-blue depths of his eyes, seeing the worry and the fear.
But why fear? Surely she didn't mean that much to him. He'd cut her out of his life without so much as a backwards glance five years ago, and he seemed reluctant to let her in even now. Even though he now knew why she’d had to leave back then, it was as if there was still a barrier of sorts.
And yet, he knew about her achievements. He'd kept up with her stories. Still, he'd lived just a few miles down the road for the better part of five years and had not once looked her up or checked in with her. How could he?
Her hormones wanted to see where this thing was going—wanted her to lift herself up onto her toes and kiss him senseless. But the part of her that had been left to deal with her fear and confusion five years ago, after being escorted out of the country, pleaded with her to be cautious.
Losing Gabriel five years ago had felt like her heart had been ripped out, torn into a thousand pieces, and then shoved back into her chest. Every time it beat, its ragged edges had clawed away at her insides until she’d constructed that huge wall around it that kept the remnants together. If she tore down the wall and Gabriel shattered her heart again, she wouldn't have the energy left to construct a new one.
Better to just let things lie.
With that thought in mind, she pulled away, tucking her hands into her back pockets in order to keep from reaching for him. His face fell, and the shutters fell hard over his eyes.
"I need to call Christy," she said, nodding towards the phone lying on the bar.
Gabriel cleared his throat and nodded. "I'll just go get dressed, then."
She turned, quickly grabbing her phone and sliding the bar across the screen to make her call. If she turned around and watched him walk away, she knew she'd call him back. So instead, she dialed Christy’s number and waited for her to answer.
Moments later, after her call had been placed and she'd heard Gabriel take the subsequent call from Christy letting him know that Cate's services would no longer be available, Cate tried to convince herself that she wasn't feeling relief that Gabriel had refused Christy's offer of other escorts for the next few weeks. She also tried to convince herself that he didn't look edible in the tight, black, V-neck t-shirt and worn jeans that hugged him in all the right places.
She decided that she should also try to convince herself that she was better off without Gabriel Sanchez. However, that idea was going to take a little work. She figured she'd give up on the first two and expend all her energy on that last declaration, since the first two were lies, anyway.
Gabriel stalked towards her like a lion hunting its prey. His arms filled out the black shirt, his tattoo peeking out above the collar and out of the sleeve on his arm. The swirls of black ink called to her, begging her to trace them with her fingertips and tongue. She shivered and swore she saw Gabriel's lip quirk up in a smirk. Bastard.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked, breaking the sexual tension in the room and trying to get back to the important task at hand—getting her story and finding Amanda.
"The plan is that you lie low for the next few days. Go about your normal routine as best you can. Let him see you leave and come home as usual, but don't go anyplace where you'll be alone."
Gabriel stepped closer to her, placing both his hands on her upper arms and rubbing the warmth back into them. She hadn't even realized she felt cold until his warmth penetrated through the iciness of her fear.
"Don't take back roads, and don't stay out late. I'll be sure not to be followed when I leave and return every day." Gabriel's hands moved down to her own hands, taking them in his. She realized then that she was shaking. This game of cat and mouse was catching up to her. And she was tired. Tired of the evil in the world. Tired of running from things. Tired of being alone.
/> "I won't let anything happen to you, Cate. Understand?"
She nodded and leaned in, allowing his arms to envelop her. For a moment, she let herself depend on him—borrowed from his strength. For a moment, she wasn't alone.
For a moment, she had Gabriel.
Chapter 16
Gabriel left Cate sitting at her dining room table, typing away at her computer. She had given him the password to her computer, along with the passwords to an encrypted file that held the names and players of this nefarious situation. "Just in case," she'd said.
Gabriel was bound and determined that "just in case" never happened. He hated that she was involved in this. Wished that he could make it all go away. But he knew Cate, and when she was determined to do something, no one would stand in her way. It was one of the things he loved most about her.
Love. Now that he knew what he felt for her, he had no idea how to be around her. He didn't deserve her. And she didn't deserve him and the evil that lurked inside him.
He guessed that she'd realized that, too. His mind wandered back to the moment when she’d pulled away from him that morning. It had hurt, and yet had somehow been a relief—to not have to find a way to contain the monster that lived inside him.
The military had been an excellent outlet for that monster. The monster that was responsible for killing his own mother. But the monster had also helped to keep him alive all those years. Many times during an operation, it was either kill or be killed, and he'd clearly proven that he planned to stay alive. He'd killed his mother in self-defense, but, even so, it was hard for most people to imagine that kind of evil.
Cate didn't have an ounce of that inside her.
It was tempting to bathe in her light. After all, there was warmth in the light, and joy, too. But his kind was relegated to the darkness, and he needed to remember that. If he truly loved her, then he had to leave her alone. So, once this case was over, he planned to disappear from her life again.
She was better off without him.
It was quite difficult, however, to leave her completely alone, since he was her protection. Gabriel was sure that Cate had no idea that he had assigned a team to follow her at all times. They would follow her to the coffee shop where she worked every day, and follow her to the grocery store in the evenings.
As hard as it was, he planned to stay away until he knew she'd be in bed each night. If he was going to leave her, he couldn't spend the next few days—or weeks—with her remembering how much he loved her.
* * * *
On Wednesday, Cate met with the stylist Christy had arranged for her. The fateful night of the party was fast approaching, and today she would find out what it was that Haney had meant when he'd said that she needed attire that met specific specifications.
The bell above the door jingled as she walked through it, taking in the lavish gowns lining the walls. She walked over to a beautiful champagne-colored dress. It was stunning with its hand-beaded accents and sheer overlays. It wasn't until she looked more closely that she could see that the area where the nipples would be was cut out and replaced with see-through fabric.
Upon closer examination, she realized that all the dresses were designed to accentuate certain areas of a woman's figure. She felt the heat rise to her face.
"Can I help you?" a woman's soft voice said softly from behind her. Cate jumped, squeaking out an eep as she turned around, the blush growing hotter on her cheeks.
"I, um—I'm supposed to meet with Maggie," Cate replied, waving her hands in front of her face to cool off the fever rising there.
"I'm Maggie," the woman answered, her strong Southern accent making it sound like Ahm instead of I'm.
Maggie was an elegant woman with long, gray hair swept up into a fancy chignon. She was probably close to seventy, but her skin was almost flawless, with only slight lines around her eyes and lips. Cate wondered why such a classy lady would be working at an establishment that made dresses for sex parties. Because there was no doubt about it—that was exactly what these dresses were intended for.
"I'm Cate—uh, Katelyn," Cate replied, almost forgetting her fake name. Not that it mattered anymore anyway, since Andrew Haney knew exactly who she was. But she figured that Christy had given Maggie her pseudonym, so she used that.
"Well, Katelyn, I understand you have a party to attend Friday night and need a costume," she continued.
Cate could only nod, her embarrassment intensifying as Maggie motioned towards the back of the store.
Ornate, black and white privacy screens partitioned off a section of the store, where a small platform sat surrounded by mirrors. Maggie motioned for Cate to stand on the platform and took a measuring tape off a hook in the corner.
"I have an idea of what size you are, but I'd like to get a measurement on your waist. You're quite tiny, and Christy's clients have high standards for their companions. We'll need to take in the dress to make sure it fits like a glove."
"Thanks," she managed.
"You're nervous, aren'tcha, dear?" Maggie asked as she knelt at Cate's feet, rising slowly to take the measurement from her foot to her hip.
"A little," Cate admitted.
"Your first time at one of these soirées?"
"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?"
Maggie smiled warmly, and Cate began to relax. Clearly, she'd get no judgment from this woman.
"We all do what we have to sometimes, dear. Even little old ladies like me." A dark shadow crossed her face, and Cate suddenly wondered if this wasn't Maggie's first choice of occupation. The journalist in her sensed a story there, but before she could ask any more questions, Maggie plastered a smile back on her face.
"Well, honey, you're every man's dream. Hair that was made for a goddess, and more curves than a mountain road. And every dressmaker's dream, too." She winked and walked behind a curtain.
Cate stood in the middle of the room, her arms crossed self-consciously across her chest. Moments later, Maggie returned with an arm stacked with dresses. She went to a small room off to the side and pulled the curtain back, hanging the dresses inside.
Walking back over to Cate, she took her arm gently and guided her towards the room.
"Now, all these dresses come with some sort of theme that we'll play up once we've chosen the right dress. I stayed with more modest styles since you're a newbie." She winked again and pulled the curtain closed.
"Thank you," Cate called, eyeballing the lavish gowns and hoping they were as modest as Maggie seemed to believe they were.
Of course, after trying on the third dress, Cate understood fully that she and Maggie had far different ideas of what modesty entailed. Fortunately, none had the nipples cut out of them, so that was something. But each dress was cut low or high somewhere, depending on which body part it accentuated, and all of them revealed more skin than she was comfortable with.
Although suggestive, the gowns were exquisite in detail, each one hand-beaded and made with the finest fabrics. One daring red gown was so gorgeous, Cate glanced at the price tag and nearly choked when she saw the price.
With each dress she tried on, she would walk to the platform and look at herself in the mirror. Each time, Maggie would shake her head, and in her Southern drawl would say, "Next." Making the word sound like two syllables instead of one.
Finally, Cate slipped on an ivory chiffon dress. Two strips of fabric shot up from a band across her waist, and met at a beautiful sunburst brooch on her right shoulder. The silky thin fabric lay perfectly across her bare breasts, adorned with tiny beaded flowers. As the dress left her skin visible between the layers, it wouldn't allow for any undergarments, disguising her skin only with a thin, gossamer film. There was no back to the dress, and a satin layer flowed into three distinct strips to the ground, leaving slits up both legs. A see-through fabric billowed around her, slightly disguising the audacity of the barely-there garment. It was beautiful, and Cate's mind went back to Maggie's earlier comment about her hair being that of a goddess. She
certainly looked the part in the mirror.
"Well, I'll be," Maggie whispered. "I had an idea that that dress would be the one, but good gracious, my mind certainly didn't do it any justice."
Cate felt the telltale signs of a blush creep from her almost-bare chest to her cheeks.
"Now, now, honey. No need to get all embarrassed. It's just us girls here." She squeezed Cate's hand. "This is definitely the one, though. We'll play up the goddess role. I've got just the thing."
Maggie disappeared behind the curtain again, returning with a Venetian mask made of white and gold metal filigree, a single pearl dropping down the bridge of the nose. Stepping behind Cate, Maggie reached up on her tiptoes and tied the mask to her face. A single cuff bracelet around her upper arm was the only other adornment.
Cate barely recognized herself. The flimsy but beautiful gown, the intricate mask, and the single gold cuff all came together in a regal effect.
"Wow," she whispered under her breath.
"Wow indeed, honey. I believe you'd give Aphrodite a run for her money."
Maggie fussed over the dress, pinching in the sides a bit and pinning the bottom. Cate was unable to tear her eyes away from her reflection.
I wonder what Gabriel will think.
It was a stupid thought, one that would get her nowhere.
His absence over the past couple of days had sent a message loud and clear. He clearly didn't wish to continue a romantic relationship, and it was starting to look like he was uninterested in even pursuing a friendship with her. He was running, and she wasn't sure she wanted to chase him. Gabriel had let her go once before. How could she know he wouldn't do it again?
"I'll bring the dress to you on Friday, honey. I'll have the alterations done. Leave your address with me, and I'll bill the escort service," Maggie said, and then gently pushed Cate towards the dressing room.
She changed back into her clothes and brought the dress out on a hanger.
"Thank you, Maggie. You knew exactly what I'd be comfortable with. I appreciate it."
Castle Investigations Box Set Page 39
