Free Gabriel's Rapture by Sylvain Reynard

to eat.
    Gabriel caught her arm before she could approach the steps. “Come away, love.”
    “But he’s hungry. And it’s so cold.”
    “The police will come around and carry him off. They don’t like panhandlers in the city center.”
    “People are free to come and sit on the steps of a church. Sanctuary…” she mused.
    “The medieval concept of sanctuary no longer exists. Western governments abolished it, starting with England in the seventeenth century.” Gabriel grumbled as she opened her purse and withdrew a twenty Euro note.
    “So much?” He frowned.
    “It’s all I have. And look, Gabriel.” She gestured to the man’s crutches.
    “A clever ruse,” he complained.
    Julia fixed her lover with a very disappointed look. “I know what it’s like to be hungry.” She took a step in the beggar’s direction but Gabriel pulled her back.
    “He’ll spend the money on wine or drugs. It isn’t going to help him.”
    “Even a drug addict deserves a little kindness.”
    Gabriel flinched.
    She looked over at the beggar. “St. Francis of Assisi didn’t make his charity conditional. He gave to whoever asked.”
    Gabriel rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going to win an argument with Julianne when she invoked St. Francis. No one could win against that kind of argument.
    “If I give him something, he will know that someone cared enough to help him. No matter what he does with the money that will be a good thing. Don’t deprive me of an opportunity to give.” She tried to step around Gabriel but he blocked her path. He took the bill from her hand and added something to it from his own pocket, then he handed the money to the beggar.
    The two men had a quiet exchange in Italian, and the poor man blew kisses to Julia and tried in vain to shake Gabriel’s hand.
    He retreated, taking her arm and leading her away.
    “What did he say?”
    “He asked me to thank the angel for her mercy.”
    Julia stopped him so she could kiss at his frown until it morphed into a smile. “Thank you.”
    “I’m not the angel he was referring to,” he growled, kissing her in return.

Chapter 5
    The next morning, a limousine met the happy couple at the train station in Perugia. The driver conveyed them down the winding roads to an estate near Todi, a medieval village.
    “Is this the villa?” Julia was in awe as they traveled up the long, private drive to what looked like a mansion on a hill. It was a three-story stone structure that sat on several acres of land dotted with cypress and olive trees.
    As they drove, Gabriel pointed out a large mixed-fruit orchard that in warmer weather grew figs, peaches, and pomegranates. Nestled beside the villa was an infinity pool surrounded by a bed of lavender. Julia could almost smell the fragrance from inside the car, and she vowed at that moment to gather a few sprigs to perfume the sheets of their bed.
    “Do you like it?” He searched her face eagerly, hoping that she would be pleased.
    “I love it. When you said you were renting a villa, I didn’t think it would be so opulent.”
    “Wait till you see inside. They have a fireplace and a hot tub on the upstairs balcony.”
    “I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
    “Who said anything about needing a bathing suit?” He moved his eyebrows suggestively, and Julia laughed.
    A black Mercedes sat in the driveway so they could visit the neighboring villages, including Assisi, which was a destination of particular interest for Julia.
    The housekeeper of the villa had stocked the kitchen with food and wine in anticipation of their arrival. Julia rolled her eyes when she discovered several bottles of imported cranberry juice in the pantry.
    Professor Gabriel “Overprotective” Emerson strikes again .
    “What do you think?” he asked, settling his hands on her waist as they stood together in the large, fully equipped kitchen.
    “It’s perfect.”
    “I was worried you wouldn’t like being in the middle of Umbria. But I thought it