Free Tapestry of the Past by Alvania Scarborough

his will was a kaleidoscope—vivid, ever-changing, vibrant with passion and life.
    His humor stilled. He wanted to kiss her. So bad his teeth ached. And that wasn’t the only thing aching. His erection pushed against his jeans. Son of a bitch. Hadn’t last night taught him anything? Survival instincts fought masculine instincts and lost. Gabriel lowered his head.
    The small, inarticulate sound she made went right to his groin.
    Gabriel traced the outline of her lips, just barely touching them with the tip of his tongue. She rose on tiptoe, her arms going around his neck, pulling his head down. Her mouth opened beneath his, a silent command to deepen the light caress.
    Even as he called himself every name in the book, he obeyed. Her low, incoherent murmur when he slid inside to taste her was as intoxicating as any drug. A groan slipped out.
    The woman was dangerous. The more he had, the more he craved. Gabriel prided himself on his control but, kiss by kiss, it started to erode. Gabriel didn’t care. That knowledge should scare him. The fact that it didn’t should scare him even more, he realized vaguely.
    Pulse thundering, lungs laboring, Gabriel finally gave in to the need for oxygen. He pulled back and surveyed Kalesia with satisfaction. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and languid, her lips rosy and damp.
    She ruffled the hair at the nape of his neck. “If that’s an apology for teasing me, I accept.”
    Gabriel nudged her head to one side, dropping a tiny kiss under her jaw. “I never apologize,” he stated against the warm silk of her skin. Her hair was wound in a thick braid. The style exposed the delicate line of her neck. Unable to resist, Gabriel traced an intricate pattern behind her ear, smiling when she shivered.
    “So,” she murmured, leaning her head back, her green eyes deep and mysterious, “you never apologize, do you?” She slid her fingers through his hair. The small, surprisingly sensual gesture sent a chill chasing across his skin.
    “Never.” Gabriel was aware of her gentle amusement but found he didn’t mind her laughing at him. The experience was unique and somehow intimate.
    “So arrogant,” she breathed, brushing her lips across his.
    “We’re going to have to talk about your clients.”
    She stiffened.
    Son of a bitch. No one could ever accuse him of great timing. He let her go with reluctance when she shifted out of his arms.
    “I’ll get the files.” Kalesia hurried from the kitchen and up the stairs.
    Gabriel watched her go, wishing he knew what she was thinking. He rubbed his chest, hoping to soothe the odd ache there.
     
    Kalesia shoved open the kitchen door, an irrational mixture of hurt and anger keeping her temper on edge. “Here.” She dropped the large box onto the white wooden table. She sat and stared at her laced fingers.
    “ Kalesia , I know how hard it was…”
    She held up a hand before he could finish. “Don’t. You haven’t the faintest clue what those files represent to me.” She twisted her lips. “I understand why you feel you must go through them and appreciate your efforts. Really, I do. But I still resent the necessity.” She made a slashing motion with her hand. “Just leave it alone. You’d never understand. I’m not even sure I do.”
    “Your clients rely on you. When you say you’ll deliver, they don’t doubt it for a minute. They trust your word whereas no one else ever has.”
    Shock jolted Kalesia at the quiet observation. For a moment, she couldn’t form a cohesive thought.
    “I’m not insisting on looking at the files because I don’t trust your word that your clients are not involved but as a matter of being thorough. Of checking all the angles.”
    When Gabriel held out his hand, Kalesia passed him the first folder, dazed. Even her parents didn’t understand her insistence on being taken on her word alone.
    But Gabriel did.
    A man with shadows and ghosts haunting his eyes, he understood what she had never quite been able to put