Born in the Shadows (In the Shadows Series Book 1) (14 page)

He wanted to reach out to her but before he could make a move, Nicky became a blur as he moved from the desk to kneel before Cordelia. He took her hands into his own, gazing up at her. “Child, do not apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Nicky’s hand reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, before cupping her chin carefully. They locked eyes, staring at each other in silence as Nicky’s thumb stroked her cheek.

“What are we going to do if Armand does try to get revenge?” Mary asked and Gabe was grateful for her interruption. He wondered if she felt the same jealousy he did at the way Nicky touched Cordelia. Maybe, because her question had him rising to his feet and letting go of Cordelia.

“The good news is that the sun will be up in a few hours. We won’t have to worry about him doing anything during the day time.”

“And during the night?” Mary asked.

“That’s where we could run into a problem,” Nicky said, rubbing a hand over his chin. “If he sees either of you are out in public, he could come after you. The only safe location is here. It is against the law for him to attack clan members on their own land. If he does so, he declares war between the clans.”

“What makes you think that would stop this guy?” Gabe finally spoke up. “I was in a haze and it was still obvious to me that the guy is pretty unhinged. Seems like he’d like the idea of a war.”

Mary chuckled. “He might but his clan would never have his back. Without them, he’d be annihilated in two seconds. He’s an idiot but he’s not suicidal.”

“Our clan is one of the most powerful,” Nicky explained. “Our preternatural traits are passed down through our blood. As the clan grows and Shadow Walkers create more Shadow Walkers, the blood is diluted and so is its power. Armand is a younger generation in a large clan while we are all older generations in a small clan. Even Cordelia, as new as she is, is ten times more powerful than him.”

“Think of it as an army grunt taking on five stealth bombers,” Demetri said. 

Gabe nodded. “He ends up vaporized.”

“Nothing but a smoking crater,” Demetri replied with a grin.

Gabe liked that image. He almost wished that the dickhead would come after these guys just to watch him get destroyed. It would serve the asshole right. The memories of what had happened in the alley were still fuzzy but the dried blood on Cordelia’s clothes told him enough of the story. He wanted that fucker to pay for what he had done to her.

“Since the manor is the one place where you will be safe,” Nicky told Gabe, “I am extending an invitation for you to spend your nights here.”

Gabe was fine with that. He had worried that Cordelia would send him back to his life while she disappeared into her new one. In the back of his mind, he had been trying to come up with ways he could convince Cordelia to see him after tonight. Now it was being presented to him on a silver platter.

“If it means everyone stays safe, I have no problem spending the night here.”

And spending more time with her
, he added in his head. It didn’t matter to him that she had a girlfriend or that she would never be interested in him. All he knew was he hadn’t been ready to let her go when he had thought she was dead. Now she was back and he wasn’t going to let her disappear again.

Chapter 8

Cordelia glanced up at the night sky as she and Gabe walked out the manor’s front entrance. The stars were still sparkling but the horizon was beginning to lighten. The sun would be up soon and despite her new aversion to sunlight, she was grateful. It had been a long night and she was happy to see it end.

The adrenaline high she had been running on since the fight was gone. Sitting in Nicky’s office and talking about what would happen in the coming nights had brought her crashing down to reality. Gabe would leave at sunrise, go about his day and then return to the manor at sunset. 

As she watched Gabe sitting there happily obliging to all of Nicky’s instructions, she had wanted to start crying all over again. She had screwed up his life and thrown everything out of sync by being impulsive. He should hate her for all of this. She had put him in mortal danger and yet he accepted it all as if it was no big deal.

He took being a nice guy to a whole other level. Anyone else would be furious at being forced into this situation but not Gabe. No, he actually seemed happy with the arrangement. Which either made him insane or the nicest guy in the world.

Mary had assured her that the mind tricks hadn’t fried his brain so it had to be the latter. And that truth made her feel like shit for messing with his life. The jerks deserved that, not the nice guys. Unfortunately, time travel was beyond her so there was nothing she could do to change it.

She led the way to the four-door garage a little ways away from the manor. She walked inside the side door and flipped on the rows of overhead lights. She heard Gabe whistle appreciatively behind her as Demetri’s babies came into view.

A black Viper, a red Maserati and a yellow Lamborghini were lined up with an empty space for the Bentley that she had left in the drive. She’d probably catch shit from Demetri for leaving it out there but she couldn’t muster enough energy to care that much. He’d just have to deal with it.

“Demetri is a car nut. These are only his absolute favourites. The rest are in a storage facility in town. Take your pick.”

Gabe smiled widely before ogling each car like a kid in a candy store. Which, of course, he would. Men were all the same when it came to cars.

He walked between the cars, dragging the tips of his fingers along the Lamborghini as he passed it, his eyes wide with awe but he ended up coming back to the Viper.

She handed over the keys and he looked like he was about to weep in happiness as he opened the door and climbed into the leather seat. He stroked the steering wheel lovingly and she felt a sudden stab of longing, wanting his fingers to stroke her body just like that.

Down, girl. Not the time.
 

She should just be glad that he had found some enjoyment in such a horrible night. The guilt she felt for her part in tonight’s events began to creep back to gnaw at her.

He looked up from the dashboard, its many dials and gauges forgotten instantly, as if he had sensed the shift in her mood. He climbed out of the car and came to stand in front of her, concern evident on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

She sighed. God, where to start?

“I’m so sorry that I brought you into all of this and that now you might have an insane Shadow Walker hunting you and you have to come stay here instead of just living your life. I’m also sorry that I bit you and that I punched you but in my defence, I did those things to help you, not hurt you. And I’m sorry for the whole fake death thing too. I know that getting to drive an expensive car doesn’t make up for any of it and you are being really nice about not yelling at me about all of it.”

Well, guess that’s a start.

He stared at her for a moment, his head cocked to the side before laughing. “I think that’s the longest apology I’ve ever gotten in my life.”

“I’m being serious. I can’t apologize enough for everything that’s happened.”

He just smiled. “Cordy, none of this is your fault.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him excuse her just because he was a nice guy and didn’t want to yell at a woman. “Yes it is. The only reason you were in that club tonight was because I was there.”

“And the only reason you were there is because you are a Shadow Walker and I’m to blame for that. If I hadn’t hit Sampson, he never would have attacked you and you wouldn’t have become a Shadow Walker. I should have known that he wouldn’t let it go, I should have stayed after work and waited to walk you to your car.”

He seemed as if he was struck by a new thought and horror crept across his face.

“Jesus Christ. Cordy, if Nicky hadn’t been there, you would really be dead and it would be all my damn fault. I am so fucking sorry, Cordy.”

The anguish on his face hit her square in the heart. God, he was unbelievably kind. Most people wouldn’t care about what she had gone through. They would only be concerned with how it affected them.

There was no way that she was going to let him shoulder the blame. And she really didn’t deserve it either. Neither one of them had asked for any of this. This had been done to them and when she traced all the events back, they came to one source: Sampson. What an
asshole
.

“You have nothing to be sorry about Gabe, and neither do I. We are both ignoring the one person here who is to blame for all of it and that’s Sampson. I mean honestly, is murder really the normal response to a black eye?”

He laughed at her joke and she was glad to see the pain on his face lessen. He still looked guilt ridden and she could still feel some of it weighing on her own shoulders but it was better.

“You’re right. None of this is our fault,” he said. “I want you to know everything we went through tonight was worth it because I found out you’re still alive.”

It was such a simple statement, no flowery words or poetic prose and yet it touched her deeply. Her enhanced senses picked up the relief and happiness in him and most of all the sincerity in his words. Before she knew what was happening, she was overcome with emotion and burst into tears.

He took her mood swing in stride, reaching out and taking her hand in his own. He laced his fingers through hers and she felt a calming peacefulness settle over her, bringing her out-of-control emotions in check. She took a cleansing breath, shuddering on the intake but steady on the exhale.

She felt like an idiot for bursting into tears. He was going to think she was completely unstable.

“Sorry about that. Our emotions can get out of control. And I’m getting really sick of it. I’ve done enough crying tonight to last a lifetime.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gabe assured her, reaching up to wipe a tear from her cheek. 

His tender gesture brought up another swell of emotions. On impulse, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply. It was that same spicy scent he had exuded before when he had been eyeing her. It ignited a longing inside her and she pressed up against the full length of his body. God he felt so good. She wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to strip them both naked and spend the day like that.

She let her soft curves mould against his hard planes as she wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders. She trailed her fingers up the back of his neck and he shuddered. His hands flexed on the small of her back before inching slowly down, hovering just above her ass. She leaned further into him, a silent signal that he was free to proceed, that she wanted it.

“Cordelia, what about Mary?” Gabe asked, his voice hoarse in her ear.

“What about her?” Cordelia replied, confused as to why he’d be asking about Mary at a time like this.

He pulled back to look her in the eye. “I thought you two were…you know,
together
.”

Okay, that was the last thing she was expecting to hear and she had to take a step back from Gabe, her arms slipping from around his neck.

“Wait, you think Mary and I are together? Like girlfriends?”

“Well, yeah, with the hugging and the sweethearts and the kiss earlier, I thought you were seeing each other,” he said, with a shrug of his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t assume you date every woman you meet. I’m not completely ignorant. I know lesbians can have women friends and not want to sleep with them.”

All the pieces finally fell into place for Cordelia as it dawned on her that Gabe had believed the rumours about her. She knew that most of the men at the construction company thought she was a lesbian since she favoured a tomboy look and she had never bothered to correct that impression since it kept the men from hitting on her.

“Gabe, I’m not a lesbian.”

“What?”

“I’m not with Mary and I’m not a lesbian.”

“But Connor had said you went to San Francisco to your ex-girlfriend’s wedding,” Gabe said, his brow scrunched up in confusion.

“It’s true I went to the wedding,” she explained. “But my girlfriend, as in my friend who is a girl, got married to her fiance, John.”

“So, you’re straight,” Gabe said as he looked her up and down. “As in, you are attracted to men?”

She nodded her head. “I mean, I’m able to appreciate an attractive women but I’m into men.”

Gabe let out a low whistle, taking another step back into her personal space. “Well now, that changes quite a lot of things.”

His eyes were hooded as they drifted down to study her lips. His intense focus had her heart speeding up and her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. She heard his muffled groan at her action and he put a hand on her hip, pulling her tight against his body. She could feel the hard length of him pressed against her belly and his arousal shocked her, drawing a gasp from her and he took full advantage of her open mouth, crushing his own against it.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she strained against him, deepening the kiss. Their tongues brushed against one another and she felt like her heart was about to explode from her chest. His goatee brushed roughly against her sensitive skin and she moaned.

All she wanted to do was push him back against the hood of the car and mount him. She knew that he would let her; the evidence of that truth was pulsing against her belly. She would taste every inch of his body before she finally sank her fangs into his throat. She could see herself on top of him, hear their moans as his throbbing shaft filled her wet heat, feel the beating of his pulse beneath her lips and the heady flavour of his blood on her tongue.

She felt the shifting in her mouth as her fangs elongated and heard a low growl, taking a moment to realize it was coming from herself. He flinched when the tip of a fang nicked his tongue but she didn’t care as the taste of his blood hit her, lighting up her body like the Fourth of July.

She wanted him.
Now
.

She backed him up against the car and he kept in step with her, letting her push him back on the hood and take control. She climbed on top of him, a knee on either side of his hips and his hands went to the back of her thighs to pull her tighter against him. 

She trailed her lips across his jaw, nuzzling his neck before tracing the tip of a fang along his flesh. He shuddered beneath her and pressed his hips more firmly against her. She gasped as pleasure flared between her legs as his hardness ground into her.

God, it was exactly as she imagined it. No, seriously, like
exactly
like it, down to very last detail. Then she remembered Mary’s words.
As soon as his blood is in you, you’re the only one who will have control over him.

It was like having ice water tossed over her. Any arousal she felt dried up instantly as she realized that she could be forcing him. Unconsciously, she could be using their blood bond to force him to touch her. The thought made her sick to her stomach and had her jumping off him in an instant.

Gabe lay back against the hood, a confused look on his face and his arousal pushing against the fly of his jeans.
Yeah, so not a good idea to look at that
, she thought, looking up at the ceiling and studying the fluorescent lights. 

“Sorry,” she said, eyes still looking anywhere but at him. “That was a mistake. I didn’t realize what I was doing. Like I said, my head is all over the place.”

She heard him slide off the car and she finally let her gaze fall on him again. His face was unreadable, his features schooled into a blank canvas that gave nothing away. The urge to read his thoughts popped up but she pushed it back down. There was no way in hell she was going to violate him again.

“Don’t worry about it. We can just forget it ever happened,” he replied, giving her thin smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I should get going anyway. I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” she said, not quite sure what to say during such an awkward moment. “The car has a remote for the front gates attached to the visor. So just come on in whenever you get here.”

“Alright, well, see you.”

“Good night,” she said, watching him climb into the car. When the engine turned over, she turned away and headed out the side door. She couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. He could say they would forget it ever happened but she knew that wasn’t possible for her. It would be a long time before she would forget what tasting him had been like.