Chapter 20

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"Yes, I've found her..." Gabe said on the phone to Ella, looking over at the woman sitting at his kitchen table.

The her in question was busy scrolling through her own cell phone notifications, tapping away still oblivious to the carnage she had caused earlier that day.

Finding her and her car missing from the school car park with a big storm rolling in had fear gripping his stomach in a vice.

An emotion he hadn't felt for a long while. He'd been so numb to all emotions except grief and regret for so long.

The fear he had felt was so visceral it left a tangy metallic taste in his mouth. He drove home against common sense and advice and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he found her. It was a stark contrast to his normally level-headed self. He was a Marine, he had experienced worse things but he couldn't shake the fear until he'd seen she was okay with his own eyes.

How did she do that? Go from a complete stranger, to a pain in the ass he barely tolerated to someone dear. She was stubborn, outspoken and didn't have a passive-aggressive bone in her body. She was an open book and said and expressed exactly what she was feeling. It was refreshing. It meant that he never had to wonder and right now she was angry at him. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. She had taken to ignoring him in his own home.

Had he left her to her own devices she'd be sitting in a freezing cold home with no power. Had he overreacted? He had practically hauled her like a caveman over his shoulder and forced her home with him. But she was safe and sound, how they got there didn't really concern him all that.

"When will this storm be over?" She asked when he was off the cell phone.

"Soon," Gabe answered noncommittally as he gathered all the materials to make grilled cheese sandwiches.

She made an annoyed sound at the back of her throat but didn't speak.

"So eager to get away?"

"No offense but you're not high on my list of people I want to socialise with right now." She told him with her face to her cell phone screen, blue light illuminating her face against the dimly lit kitchen. She looked ethereal, and his stomach twisted again. This time with a different fear, that they would never get back to how they were.

"Natalia, we should probably discuss —"

"—there's nothing to discuss, you're entirely within your rights to spend time with anyone you want to. I clearly had misunderstood the situation between us." Her tone was casual, as if she was discussing the weather.

Gabe blinked, slowly. Staring at her face. If she felt his burning stare, she didn't show it. He had been prepared for an argument, a discussion, a fight, anything it took to convince her that Agnes kissing him was a mistake and one that would not happen again. He didn't expect this, however. A complete one-eighty degree turn.

"And what's your take on the situation...?" Gabe asked once he had gathered himself enough to pose the question.

"Can we just drop it?" Natalia said, "I'm genuinely not in the mood."

"Sure." Gabe said tightly, they didn't speak again as he made a light dinner for both of them.

"Thank you." Natalia said when he served her a plate. God forbid, she was impolite in the middle of their fighting. She surprised him in a lot of ways but she was quintessentially British in her demeanour. The epitome of keep calm and carry on.

She offered to clean up when they were done eating, but Gabe refused. There was an awkward silence before she excused herself to watch TV in the living room. And now he felt awkward in his own home.

It was pretty late, when he had finished cleaning up and dealing with the chores he hadn't had time for during the week. The sun was long gone and the moon sat high in the sky.

In the living room, Natalia had fallen asleep on the couch. He was apprehensive about waking her up. A serene look of rest graced her features. It was nice to have some reprieve from the constant glares, and just for a little while he could pretend it hadn't all gone to shit.

He shook her shoulder gently, she woke up confused, blinking her eyes furiously. Until it dawned on her, where she was and who she was with.

"I thought you might like to sleep in a bed."

She didn't speak, letting out an adorable little grunt and got up, her feet unsteady. She must have been really deep in sleep. Gabe followed closely behind making sure she didn't trip.

"There's a spare toothbrush in the cupboard," he informed her. He left her to gather a pillow and sheets from the linen cabinet, he was going to take the couch for the night.

With the wind still howling and rain pounding down, sleep was hard to come by. His thoughts drifted to the woman upstairs in his bed. He wondered if she had fallen back into sleep again and what she dreamt about.

He went over the previous night in his mind, the moment he had first seen her coming down the porch. He had forgotten how to breathe. She was a vision in her black dress, with her hair falling down in long straight waves. Had he told her that she looked beautiful? He was sure he had but he wished he had told her more.

Agnes had caught him coming back from making sure there were no underage drinking in the school's parking lot like there had been last year. She had initiated a meaningless conversation, he couldn't remember what it was even about but she kept creeping closer as she spoke, and he kept taking a step back. In hindsight he could have said something at that point but he didn't know she was going to all but accost him. With her mouth.

He had pushed her away as soon as it happened but as fate would have it, Natalia was walking by at that same exact moment.

He had tried hard to give Natalia space, and not crowd her even though everything in him wanted to make her understand his point of view. But he also knew that she only liked to deal with emotionally taxing confrontations once she had digested all the angles. It perhaps wasn't even beyond her to make a list. His Natalia was a complex and fascinating little bird.

God he wanted to tell her how he felt about her but it was the middle of the night. The feeling stretched out in the darkness and hung in the air suspended, as he lay on his couch, wide awake listening for any indication of her presence.

And what did he feel exactly? He wanted her to be his as much as he was completely hers. He felt content in her presence, all his worries quietened and when she was away, like now, physically present but emotionally distant he felt restless. It was weird, all these years away, in the military abroad, he never felt further away from someone as he did right now.

Gabe was awoken by a sudden crash in the night, he was rising from his position and investigating the noise before his brain had fully processed what was happening.

He found a sheepish Natalia in the kitchen surrounded by broken glass and water.

"Are you alright?" He asked bewildered.

"I just wanted some water," she whispered.

"Okay, don't move," he instructed.

"Too late," she held up her foot a little above the floor, it was already dripping with blood.

Gabe moved closer to epicentre of the shattered glass, and stopped just outside the periphery. He held out a hand, motioning for her to take it so he could help her hop across the floor without incurring anymore injuries.

She took his hand, her grip soft and hesitant, and he hoisted her across easily, until she was right in front of him. He pulled out a chair and led her to sit on it.

"I'll be right back," he told her and he flicked on the switch on his way out so they were bathed in light. Gabe returned with a first aid kit from the bathroom, minutes later.

Bending down on his hunches, so he was level with her bare knees, he extracted some peroxide to clean the cut and a plaster.

"This might sting a little," he told her, eyeing the cut on the inside of her instep. It was a large gash but not large enough to need any stitches.

Inhaling through her nose she nodded quickly, she grabbed his shoulder, her fingers digging sharply as soon as he had pressed the antiseptic to her cut, hissing through a clenched jaw.

She didn't let go even when the sting subsided, though her grip lessened to his relief. She'd leave a mark for sure, not that he minded, he'd wear any mark she left with pride. He just wished it was under better circumstances.

He patted the wound down and applied the plaster. Gabe had completely forgotten he was shirtless, as focused as he had been on her. He could sense the minute she had noticed the nail indents she had left on the junction between his neck and shoulder. Her eyes were wide as she took in the damage she had done.

"I'm so sorry." She caressed the angry, red skin with short sweeping motions, leaving gooseflesh in her wake.

"It's okay." Gabe said, but he wasn't okay, his insides were quaking at her innocuous touch.

His hands trailed away from her foot and up her smooth calves, her skin was warm and so inviting. His fingers gliding up the buttery skin. He couldn't resist.

She squirmed in the chair when he touched her knees, she must be particularly sensitive there, he filed that tid-bit away for future use.

When his knuckle brushed the inside of her thighs, she let out a soundless gasp. He was on his knees, between her parted thighs, with his hands on the outside of her hips pressing her closer until her legs were around his torso.

He tilted his head up, and she was looking down at him with her cheeks rosy from arousal.

"We should talk."

"I don't want to talk right now," Gabe informed her, cutting the space between them. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, she didn't pull away instead she threaded her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer.

Gabe fisted his T-shirt that she was wearing, seeing her in his clothes and not being able to touch her had been pure torture all night. He was touching the bare skin of her back with both of his big hands as he thrust his tongue in her mouth, plundering her taste like a starved man.

She kissed him back with equal fervour, her hands cupping his face and directing the show. Gabe rose up from his knees with his hands under her ass, lifting both of them to a standing position, carrying Natalia with her legs around his waist.

She let out a surprised gasp at his strength and athleticism, which made him chuckle.

He carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. He paused at the door, setting her down to her feet.

He felt her confused stare in the darkness.

He pulled her close to him, letting her feel every inch of his body pressed against her.

"Natty, baby, you have to decide very carefully now. If we do this. That's it. You're mine."

She pulled in a breath. He was so attuned to her, he could feel her swallowing roughly, and wetting her lips before she spoke.

"Okay..." she whispered.

"Okay, what Natalia?"

"Make me yours, Gabriel."

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