Free MidnightSolace by Rosalie Stanton Page B

in her gut that Gabriel wasn’t with her,
that he didn’t belong to her for three hundred and sixty-four days of every
year. That for every night of the year, save one, he could find solace in the
arms of any woman who crossed his path. That he was not hers. He could never be
hers.
    Tonight, that didn’t matter. Tonight, he belonged to her.
    The door to the pub swung open and a familiar scent washed
over her. Instantly, her body softened into warm compliance. It was okay again.
For a few hours, everything would be okay. Gabriel was here now.
    Her body positively hummed.
    Gabriel.
    He took a seat next to her, looking much the same as always.
Shaggy brown hair, warm eyes, strong shoulders that accompanied strong arms and
hands. He shrugged off his leather duster—a new addition to his wardrobe. It
was longer than the coats he’d previously donned, more becoming. Almost royal.
It was worthy of her Gabriel.
    “Whisky,” he told the bar hand, lighting a cigarette. There
was a thick silence as his glass slid across the bar. Auburn liquid pooled in a
clear tumbler. It was a vile drink, but it suited Gabriel. Vampire drunkenness
wasn’t unheard of, but it took well more than a few drinks to get a nightwalker
inebriated. He took a long sip of his drink, exhaled a puff of smoke, then
turned to her with a small smile. “You wouldn’t happen to be a Kenite, would
you?”
    Jael shifted slightly, a grin tugging at her lips. “Worthy
of recognition, even though I am no woman of Israel?”
    He curled his arm around her and nuzzled her hair with
familiar affection that made her heart flutter and ache in the same instance.
“God, I’ve missed you.”
    “It’s only been a year.”
    “Longest year yet.”
    “You say that every year.”
    “And every year I mean it more.” Gabriel shuddered violently
and downed the rest of his drink. “You look gorgeous.”
    She flushed. “Thank you.”
    “How has your year been?”
    Terrible. “Fabulous.”
    “Really?”
    “Oh yeah.”
    A long pause. “Any new men in your life?”
    “I keep my eyes open.”
    Lie. She shunned every man who attempted to touch
her. Her body—heart and soul included—belonged solely to Gabriel.
    Her eyes fluttered shut as he edged closer, his lips finding
her throat. “You smell divine.”
    “Gabe…”
    “Need you now.” He reeled back, his eyes flashing
apologetically. “I’m sorry, sweetling. I just… Can we go now?”
    That gave her pause. He was acting strange. Gabriel always
enjoyed the pretense that they were strangers instead of what they were. She
supposed it was easier for him if it seemed like a chance encounter rather than
the most important date of the year. If they pretended they didn’t mean what
they did to each other.
    If they pretended it was random, so as not to stir trouble
in the Order.
    “Gabriel?”
    His lips swept over hers. “Please.”
    She needed no persuasion. No reason. The less time they
spent here, the more time they had together. All she needed was him.
    “All right,” she whispered.
    “Your place still—”
    “Around the corner.”
    Gabriel tossed a few bills onto the counter and nodded to
the bartender, tugging Jael to her feet. “Never change, do you?”
    “You want me to?”
    “Not in a million years.”
    She smiled sadly. A million years. Would they still be
playing this game a million years from now? Three hundred had been unbearable;
she didn’t know if she could suffer through a million.
    But she supposed that didn’t matter. Gabriel was with her
now.
    And until the sun came up, that was all that mattered.

Chapter Two
     
    Tonight was going to be different. He felt it.
    Hell, he’d known it the second he stepped into the pub.
Seeing her under the soft glow of lights much too cheap to capture her glory.
The woman he loved. The woman he lived to see for just a few hours. Every
second apart from her constructed another level in his personal hell. He felt
cheap for being so easily defined, for being