Chapter 8 - The Price of Loyalty
The ride back to Gabriel’s private brownstone in Brooklyn Heights was silent, but it was a silence woven with profound, unshakable intimacy.
The storm raged outside the reinforced windows, but inside the master bedroom, a massive fire roared in the limestone hearth, casting flickering amber light across the high plaster ceilings.
Buster lay curled on the sheepskin rug before the fire, snoring softly, completely unaware of the war that had just ended at the docks.
Paige stood before the towering arched windows, wrapped in an oversized cashmere sweater belonging to Gabriel. She watched the rain streak down the glass, reflecting the distant amber glow of the city lights.
A pair of strong, warm arms slid around her waist from behind.
Gabriel pulled her back against his chest, resting his chin against her shoulder. His heart beat strong and steady against her back, an unbreakable shield between her and the darkness of the world.
“Your mother is currently on a private charter flight to Teterboro,” Gabriel murmured into her ear, his lips brushing the soft skin of her neck. “She’ll be here by morning. I’ve bought the brownstone next door. It’s hers, fully staffed and guarded.”
Paige turned in his arms, looking up into his sculpted, shadowed face. Her hands came up to rest against his chest, feeling the heat radiating through his soft linen shirt.
“You’ve given me everything, Gabriel,” she whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “My life, my mother, my freedom. How am I ever supposed to repay a debt like that?”
Gabriel caught her hands in his, bringing them to his lips, kissing her knuckles with a tenderness that brought an ache to her throat.
“You don’t owe me anything, Paige,” he said, his slate-gray eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that laid his soul bare. “When you walked into my bullpen, I was a man living in an empty castle, surrounded by liars and assassins. I had power, but I was hollow. You brought life back into this empire. You looked me in the eye when everyone else looked at the floor.”
He leaned down, his forehead resting gently against hers.
“The debt was paid the moment you chose to stand by me instead of running.”
“I’m never running from you, Gabriel,” she promised, rising on her tiptoes to press her lips softly to his.
May you like
He groaned, scooping her up into his arms, carrying her to the wide four-poster bed. There were no ghosts between them now. No debts, no fear, no secrets. There was only the fire crackling in the hearth, the drumming of the autumn rain, and the fierce, consuming heat of two souls claiming one another completely in the dark.
***
