Olivia pressed herself back against him and began to swivel her hips in a quick motion. He gave a warning growl, but she didn’t listen and continued her movements. Making a quick decision, Gabriel reached down and began rubbing her clit quickly. Olivia went to hide her face in the blankets, but his other hand reached and grabbed her chin to get her to look at him. His eyes stayed glued to hers, his eyes burning with love and pleasure. Olivia’s teeth bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep herself quiet as she quickly approached climax. At the same time, Gabriel’s body went rigid as he came in her. Both of them were left gasping for air as they struggled to recover from the intense lovemaking.
Olivia hadn’t even realized she had dozed off. They had laid on her bed talking and cuddling for a while, but she guessed she had drifted asleep at some point. She slept soundly, snuggled into his side. Then there was a hand breezing through her hair and tender lips pressed to her forehead.
“Olivia…” they called in a whisper.
She was pulled gently from her sleep though her eyes still wouldn’t open.
“Hey… wake up for a minute and then you can go back to sleep,” he purred again, leaving kisses from her forehead to her cheek.
She finally stirred, turning a bit to face him. Her eyes slowly opened to the sight of Gabriel’s face hovering just above hers. His stormy gray hues looked incandescent in the moonlight, and every fine detail of his face was illuminated by the pale light. Gabriel looked like a lovely apparition, haunting her dreams and fantasies alike. In her state of sleepy delirium, she forgot he was actually there for a moment and reached to lay a small hand on his cheek. His lips turned upward in a charming smile, putting a hand over hers.
“Liv, I have to go. It’s almost dawn,” he told her.
She frowned at the notion of him leaving, her hand stroking his cheek. Olivia wished he never had to leave, that he could stay there with her forever. But, she knew his people needed him and that people would find out he was a vampire if he stayed too long with her.
She gave a small nod, “I love you,” she said, her voice still a little groggy from sleep.
“And I love you,” he breathed, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the lips.
Gabriel then moved from the bed, standing to find his clothes. She watched lazily from the bed as he dressed. Once he was done, he paced back over to her and leaned to give her one final kiss before heading to the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he called on his way out.
“Bye,” she mumbled, already turning her face into the pillow in an attempt to go back to sleep.
In the distance, she could hear as the front door closed. Olivia let out a sigh, hating the fact he already had to go. The nights just never seemed long enough, even with it being winter. She tossed and turned in the bed, trying to get comfortable again so that she could get back to sleep.
With having work at noon, she definitely wanted to get those extra hours of sleep. But no matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t get comfortable again. And the longer she fought to get comfortable, the more awake she became. After ten minutes of tossing and turning, Olivia gave up and got out of bed.
Getting a glimpse of her alarm clock, she saw it was only six in the morning. What in the hell was she going to do for five hours? Olivia really wanted to get back to sleep… Maybe if she went for a quick run, it would tucker her out enough to get her tired enough to sleep. With that thought in mind, she moved to her dresser to get ready. She dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt before putting on a jacket, knowing it was going to be pretty cold outside. After a quick search, she found her running shoes and slid them on before heading to the door with cellphone and headphones in hand.
The bright lights of the corridor of the apartment building were not welcome to her tired, dry eyes. She made her way to the elevator, rubbing her eyes in hopes of relieving them a bit from the irritation. Olivia made her way down to the lobby and exited through the front door.
Walking outside, she was glad to find it wasn’t bright out yet. The sky was starting to lighten, but darkness still lingered in the city. Stepping to the side, she put her headphones on and turned on music on her phone before tucking her phone in her jacket pocket. Since she was just going to run a couple of blocks, it didn’t really matter what direction she headed so she just started off in a direction.
The cold air wasn’t very kind to run in, the cool breeze stinging her face and lungs. Luckily, though, she was already growing a little tired after just a block. She rounded the corner, planning to circle around the block her apartment building was on. But as she jogged down the side street, an overwhelming feeling came over her. It suddenly felt like she was in a spotlight, a heat coming over her face and the back of her neck.
It felt like someone was watching her.
Olivia looked around the block, trying to see if she could spot anyone. She thought for a second it could have been Gabriel, but he would have been long gone by then. Trying to shake the feeling, Olivia continued down the street and then rounded the next corner. The feeling didn’t dissipate. It really felt like someone was staring hard at her. Once again, Olivia looked around the street. As it was so early, there was hardly anyone walking around bar just a couple of people, and they were all bundled up and minding their own business.
She started to feel uneasy, her pace slowing to a walk as she looked around. The feeling of someone watching her never faded or went away, but was forever present. Why would someone be watching her? She didn’t know anyone in that city besides her coworkers, Emily, and Gabriel.
When she made it to the next turn and still felt it, panic fluttered through her body. Olivia broke out in a run, wanting to hurry back to her apartment. There was no way someone was just staring at her, they had to be following her for her to be able to feel it after three blocks. She didn’t stop running until she got to the entrance of her apartment building. As soon as she stepped inside, the feeling went away. Her hands were shaking as she pressed the elevator button, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or terror. There was no way she was going to sleep then.
CHAPTER THREE
By the time Gabriel was meant to come over again, she had brushed off her troubling morning run. Olivia told herself she had just been tired and paranoid. She had ran in the dark with headphones on, which albeit hadn’t been the smartest decision she had ever made. The rest of that day and the next went without incident, so Olivia felt like she had no reason to obsess over it. Olivia waited for Gabriel to arrive, excited to have the apartment to themselves for the evening. She had cleaned and gotten dressed a bit before, so she sat on the couch and watched TV as she waited.
Soon enough, though, there was a knock on the door and she sprung from the sofa. Always getting excited when he got there made her feel like a school girl. Every time she heard a knock on the door and knew it was him, butterflies surged through her stomach. Olivia flung the door open and smiled brightly at seeing him in her doorway. Her smile quickly fell, though, as she saw the look on his face. It looked like he hadn’t slept in days by human standards, his expression looking worn and stressed.
“Hey,” he mumbled, stepping into the apartment.
She shut the door behind him and turned to look at him.
“Hey, are you okay? You look a little rough…” Olivia spoke calmly, reaching to put a hand on his arm.
“Nothing. Just been a long day,” he sighed.
“Well, what made it so long then?” she asked him, her hand gliding down his arm and into his hand.
“It’s nothing, Liv,” Gabriel said, a little bite in his voice.
He sighed and ran his hand down his face, “Sorry… I guess I just need to feed.”
Yeah, right, Olivia thought to herself.
She didn’t question him, just giving a nod and walking to her room. Gabriel was silent as they moved into her room and sat in their usual spots. Since she was wearing a t-shirt, Olivia slipped it off over her head and placed it on the bed next
to her. Gabriel slid her bra strap to hang off her shoulder. With only a couple of kisses, Gabriel sank his fangs into her shoulder. Olivia flinched a bit, not having expected him to go right to it. Usually, he kissed and held her for at least a couple of minutes before feeding. The pain didn’t last long, as usual, and the sensual, euphoric vibes traveled through her body.
Once he was satisfied, he licked the wound and covered them in kisses before going up her neck. His hand snaked between her legs, starting to rub her through her jeans. Olivia pulled away, though, forcing herself to ignore the lust that filled her body and screamed at her to have her way with him. He looked at her with confusion, unsure why she had pulled away. When he went to reach for her again, Olivia batted his hand away, even though everything in her body was telling her to pull him in.
She turned to face him then, “I want you to talk to me,” she said as firmly as she possibly could have.
Gabriel gave her a strange look before giving an airy chuckle, “We talk all the time.”
“No. We talk about me and us, but we never talk about you. At least not present day you. I want to know what’s going on,” Olivia touched his knee.
Gabriel would talk about almost any subject matter and even some of his past—but he never spoke about what happened in his personal life that was currently ongoing. He never mentioned the nest and avoided the subject. She was getting tired of it. They were a couple, and she deserved to know what was happening in his daily life.
Gabriel stood from the bed, letting out a small frustration groan, “Why does it matter? I’ll handle it, so there’s no reason to talk about it.”
“It matters because this is you not letting me in. I get that the mysterious vampire is your aesthetic, but I’m supposed to be your partner. You know everything that happens with me, and you wouldn’t take me being sullen for an answer. I want to be able to talk you through whatever it is.”
Olivia stood then as well, walking over to him and putting a hand on his chest. Her peridot eyes searched his for any glimmer of understanding.
“I want to help in any way I can. You do so much for me and protect me. Being there for you is all I can offer, really.”
His eyes stayed on hers, but nothing in his expression shifted.
“I understand that, but I’m a big boy, Liv. I can handle my things on my own. And I don’t want to stress you when it doesn’t need to.”
“So you think I can’t even handle hearing about your problems? Way to think so little of me…”
“It’s not like that and you know it,” Gabriel stated.
“And it’s not like you came over here, apparently upset about something, brushed me off and then tried to seduce me,” Olivia fired back.
As soon as she said it, she realized that it wasn’t very fair. Some people did turn to sex for comfort, and drinking her blood was like an aphrodisiac to him.
“I’m sorry, I’m not upset about that. I get it. I just want you to let me know, Gabe. You never do. I never know what goes on with you as soon as you walk out that door. Just please, please talk to me.”
Her hands went to his face then, keeping him facing her direction. His icy eyes searched hers, but he said nothing. Silence hung thick in the air for a couple of minutes, Olivia wanting to give him some time to decide whether or not he was going to talk to her. When it became apparent he wasn’t going to say anything, she stepped back from him and headed towards the door, “Fine, get out.”
She walked towards the living room, having every intention of finishing the show she had been watching before he got there. Of course, Gabriel was hot on her trail. His hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.
“What do you mean get out?” he asked her, his brow furrowed at her.
Olivia looked at him like he was dull. “As in leave my apartment,” she told him simply, keeping her face void of emotion.
“I just got here. Why do I need to leave?” he questioned, panic flashing over his features.
“Because you aren’t talking to me, Gabriel. You need to understand that I’m your girlfriend and your partner. We’re supposed to share everything and help one another. It doesn’t matter if you think I can handle whatever it is or not. You’re meant to be able to trust me and have some faith that I will try and help you through anything you face—even if my only way of helping is letting you get it off your chest and comforting you. I know you have nearly fifteen-hundred years of shit raging in your head, you can’t tell me that you don’t need to talk things out. So you can get out and not come back until you’re ready to trust me and talk to me.”
Gabriel just stared at her, expressions of shock and frustration on his face. Olivia stepped away, though, continuing to the living room.
“Liv,” he grumbled, following her.
She didn’t respond to him, sitting down on the couch and pressing play on the remote.
After a few moments, Gabriel appeared next to her. He plopped down on the sofa next to her, turned to the side to face her. Plucking the remote from her hand, Gabriel paused the show and then sat it on the coffee table. His hands rested on both of her knees as he stared down, looking deep in thought.
Finally, he let out an exasperated breath, “Okay, fine. I’ll tell you… but you can’t get worked up about it. If you do, I’m not sharing anymore.”
Olivia gave him an inquisitive look then. What could be so bad that she would freak out? It made her hesitant, but he was actually going to try talking to her so Olivia couldn’t be disagreeable.
“I promise I won’t freak out,” she told him.
Gabriel looked into the distance as he began, “There’s a divide happening in the nest because of our relationship. They feel as though I’m being reckless by keeping us in the area, and they know the only reason I’m persistent on staying here is because of you. As I told you before, we move around a lot. We typically blow through a lot of small towns and only hang out for a couple of weeks. So the fact we’ve been in one city for six months is a little crazy. But the city is so large and has so many bars that we haven’t been caught. And the guys have been excellent about not draining any humans. So there isn’t much risk involved being here. However, it’s foreign to them, and they want someone to blame. Some expect me to kill you because you know too much. Others know that we will eventually have to leave the area, so they want me to decide whether or not to leave you or change you into a vampire and make you join the nest.”
He paused for a moment, his thumbs rubbing into her knees in a soothing manner.
“Really, I think it’s my absence that makes them question it. They don’t see me as their fearless, ruthless leader anymore. They know you’re my weakness. I’m trying to get ahold of the situation, though. It just seems like nothing I’m doing is working.”
Olivia was silent, having to take in everything he had just unloaded on her. Some of the vampires really wanted Gabriel to kill her? She hadn’t done anything to any of them, she didn’t understand why they would be malicious towards her. While Olivia knew they were vampires, they were always traveling according to Gabriel so it wasn’t like she would know where they were. And besides, she loved Gabriel. She would never hurt him.
After thinking about it, she looked to him with softened eyes, “So do you think the problem could be fixed if you spent more time with them?”
He gave a small shrug, “Yeah, maybe. But I’m not going to sacrifice time with you just because they are being bratty children.”
“Well, you could always spend time with me and them at the same time,” she told him, scooting closer to him and kicking her legs up onto the couch and placing them on each side of him. Gabriel’s hands subconsciously drifted to her calves and massaged them gently as they spoke.
“You do not need to be around them,” Gabriel said, shaking his head.
Olivia decided to question him without being too forceful.
“Well, I’m not suggesting we go to the place you guys stay at or anything. But we could hang out at
the bar that they go to a couple of times a week. That way you’re watching over them nearly every night. And you could always come back to my apartment for a couple of hours before dawn. It isn’t like they are going to care about just an hour or two, right? How else do you plan on spending time with me and getting control of the nest without having to kill me or turn me?”
Gabriel gazed over her, his hands still rubbing her legs. There was silence as he studied her, Gabriel seeming to be thinking long and hard about his decision.
“I can’t think of anything,” he finally let out in a breath.
“I guess we could try your idea. But we are only trying this once. If it doesn’t go well, then we won’t be trying it again.”
Olivia nodded, “Deal.”
She gave him a small smile, “See? It can help to talk it out.”
Gabriel was weary to grin at her, but eventually, it crept onto his face.
“Don’t get cocky, love.”
She stuck out her tongue at him in a playful fashion.
CHAPTER FOUR
Her palms were clammy as she approached the bar Gabriel had texted her to go to. Meeting up with a crowd that she knew hated her was completely nerve wracking. While she knew she was safe in Gabriel’s presence, she was afraid of making things worse. What if being there made them not only hate her because she was the cause of them staying in town, but hate her as a person as well? Olivia was a kind and friendly person so she knew she wasn’t unlikeable by normal standards—but she had no idea what to expect from the nest. She was going to put on a brave face for Gabriel, though, knowing he was immensely stressed about the whole matter.
Having to take a calming breath first, Olivia pulled the door open and stepped into the bar. Like most bars, it was dimly lit and smelled of yeast and cigarettes. It was more spacious than most, the floor being open with tables and booths spaced evenly throughout. Before Olivia had a chance to look around for Gabriel, an arm snaked around her waist. She looked up to see Gabriel standing above her as he leaned in to kiss her head.
A Forbidden Temptation: A Vampire's Obsession: Book 2 Page 2
