Crimson Bound (Blood Oath #7)

12. Gabriel

12

GAbrIEL

K ade leaves the house shortly after Lex and Calla to pick up our blood supply for the next few weeks. With Calla around, we’re all a bit more on edge when it comes to our cravings, making it especially important to keep our fridge stocked.

With more human food too , I remind myself, making a mental note to place a grocery order in the next couple of days once I have a chance to speak to Calla. I know some of what she enjoys from our surveillance of her prior to the other night, but I’d rather her tell me what she’d like in the house. I figure that has a higher chance of going over better than if I fill the fridge with things I know she likes because we invaded every part of her life before we swept her away from it.

Heading upstairs to shower and unwind from the day, I pass Atlas’s office and pause outside the open door. The space is dark, save for the soft glow of a floor lamp accompanying the seating area off to the side of the room. He sits behind the desk, illuminated by his computer screen. His face is all hard lines and focus, but beyond that, I recognize the tiredness in his eyes and the darkness under them. He’s changed out of his more business formal attire, having swapped it for a dark gray hoodie at some point, and his hair looks as if he’s run his fingers through it several times.

I tap my knuckles against the doorframe, though he no doubt already knows I’m here, and step into the office as he glances up from his screen.

“What is it?” he asks in a deep voice. It’s not unkind, though some might feel that way. I’ve long since gotten used to Atlas’s straightforward, oftentimes abrasive personality. It doesn't bother me in the slightest.

I shrug, approaching his desk and taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of it. “You disappeared right after dinner. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything is okay with you.”

Atlas nods. “I had a few things to tie up before the end of the day.” He closes his laptop and leans back in his chair, meeting my gaze. “It’s quiet around here.”

“The kids went out,” I offer wryly.

His lips twitch briefly before his expression turns serious. “Do you think we made a mistake?”

I don’t have to seek clarification to confirm what—or who , I should say—he’s referring to, though I do ask, “Why?”

Atlas exhales a sigh, rubbing his jaw before folding his arms over his chest. “I think she’s going to be more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Are you concerned her parents are going to get the authorities involved?”

He laughs, though it’s devoid of any humor. “No. They aren’t stupid and they’ve known this was going to happen. A deal is a deal.”

I nod. “Do you think we should have let her out of the arrangement?”

His brows knit. “That was never a possibility. The second our enemies catch wind of any hint of weakness is a very dangerous moment.”

“Spoken like a true York.” Being the only son of the most powerful vampires to exist has weighed heavily on Atlas for as long as I’ve known him. That said, he’s never done anything to break away from the shadow of his parents. Evidently, he’s not about to start with Calla and the blood oath.

His jaw hardens. “Do you have a point you’d like to make, Gabe?”

I thrust my hand through my hair, crossing one leg over the opposite knee and shaking my head. “We discussed some of our plans for Calla before bringing her here, but it appears that Lex and Kade are quite taken with her.”

Atlas’s expression relaxes. “And they were so looking forward to torturing the poor girl,” he remarks dryly.

“She’s done well holding her own against them so far,” I muse.

“Seems so.”

“Have you spoken to Simon and Lenora since Calla arrived? Do they know she’s here?”

He shakes his head. “I have no desire to have that conversation with them. You know how they are. Lenora would want to interrogate her and Simon would love to sink his fangs into her.”

I frown at the truth in his words. “I understand. Anything more from Marcel about Dante?”

“Nothing yet. Marcel has his team keeping tabs on the prick. We’ll know of any movement as it happens.”

“If he thinks he’s owed some type of claim to Calla?—”

“We’ll handle it,” he interjects, shaking his head again and repeating, “More trouble than she’s worth,” under his breath.

I leave Atlas to his work and go to my room, taking a shower and mulling over our conversation. Nothing Atlas said surprised me. He’s never been entirely thrilled about the blood oath, nor the push to enact it.

From the moment Calla became friends with Scott Ellis’s daughter, Brighton, we’ve been on high alert, carefully observing so we could step in before he got his claws into Calla. While at this point Brighton doesn’t know her father leads the organization of vampire hunters, the association was concerning enough. We weren’t taking any chances.

Lex and Calla are home when I get out of the shower. After I get dressed, I walk over to Calla’s room to check in on her. I hear her humming softly, and the smell of spearmint and eucalyptus permeates the room when I slip inside and close the door.

I call her name so not to startle her as I walk toward the break in the wall where the en-suite bathroom is located.

“In here,” she says in a soft voice.

I take that as an invitation to walk into the bathroom, where I find her soaking in the claw-foot tub in the middle of the room. “That looks relaxing.” My eyes roam over her flushed cheeks, dropping to her chest and then lower. Most of her body is covered with bubbles as steam from the water fills the room with a warm haze.

She closes her eyes. “Hmm, it is really nice.”

I approach slowly, not wanting to spook her, and kneel at the side of the tub as she blinks her eyes open, turning her head to look at me as she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip.

“Did—” She clears her throat. “Did you need something?”

I smile at her, snagging her chin and tilting her head back to level our gazes. “Seeing you like this is exactly what I need.” And it’s true. While Kade and Lex have taken to tormenting her, and Atlas has taken to mostly ignoring her or scaring her away when he’s had enough, I’ve found entertainment of sorts in caring for her. Calla didn’t choose anything about these circumstances she’s forced to face. The least I can do is try to make things easier, more comfortable. And if it makes me feel good in the process, what’s not to like about that?

She lifts her hand out of the water and pulls me closer with her fingers curled around my neck, whispering, “Kiss me?”

There isn’t a moment of hesitation in my advance as I lean in and capture her lips with mine. Being so close to her ignites a streak of possessiveness that takes me by surprise as I devour her lips, and she tugs on the hair at the back of my neck, making it wet from the bath water. Gripping the side of the tub with one hand, I slip the other into the steaming water and find Calla’s nipple, giving it a gentle pinch. I’m rewarded with a gasp, and chuckle softly against her lips.

She pulls back, peppering her lips along my jaw as my fingers continue teasing her beneath the suds. “I’m sorry you were upset before dinner.” Her tone is gentle, as if she’s trying to calm me, and she kisses the corner of my mouth. “You can talk to me, you know.”

My heart thumps in my chest, the warmth of the water beaming against my face as I slowly move my hand down Calla’s chest until I reach her belly button. “You’re sweet,” I murmur, appreciating the offer more than she could know, and also recognizing myself in her desire to empathize. “I don’t need to burden you with these things.”

“I know that. But you can, is what I’m saying.”

I kiss the tip of her nose, smiling. “Thank you.”

Her lips curve upward, her cheeks blushing deeply as I lower my fingers even more, brushing the apex of her thighs. “Gabriel…”

I hold her gaze. “Tell me what you need, angel.”

“You,” she breathes without missing a beat as her chest rises and falls faster with the anticipation of my touch at her core. “Just…you.”

Focusing on her face, I slowly push two fingers inside her, curling them just so and rubbing her clit with my thumb. Her breath catches, and I murmur, “Relax.” When she exhales, her muscles unclench. “That’s it.”

Calla widens her legs as far as she can, moaning in a way that goes right to my cock. But this isn’t about me; I’m here for her.

“Why do I get the feeling this is a distraction for you as much as it is for me?” she asks, her voice a little uneven.

“Don’t worry about me.” I move my fingers faster, strumming her clit as I lean in and press my lips to the delicate skin at her throat, closing my eyes to focus on the feeling of her against me.

“I do, though.” She tilts her head, giving me better access to her neck as I continue kissing and sucking playfully.

Changing the angle of my thrusts, I hit a deeper spot that makes her legs jerk, splashing water as she moans and I smirk against her skin. My tongue darts out to tease the racing pulse at her throat, and I rub the same spot over and over.

“I just don’t like seeing you upset,” she says quietly, arching her hips and taking my fingers deeper.

I keep circling her clit with my thumb, again increasing the speed of my fingers. She’s talking far too much for a woman I’m knuckles deep inside of. “Calla?—”

“Does it have to do with me being here? With all the secrets?”

She’s asking too many questions , a voice at the back of my head warns.

The water feels colder as realization washes over me. I pull back, keeping my fingers inside her but holding them still. “What?” I search her face, looking for any indication of what she’s getting at.

“I…”

I shift back, leaving the warmth of her, and her heart skips a beat when I say, “What are you asking me? Truly?” My brows inch up my forehead as I wait for her to answer, and she looks at me as if I’ve scolded her. Like she was caught doing something she shouldn’t.

“N-nothing.” She stumbles over her response. “I want to make sure you’re okay. You’ve been looking out for me, and?—”

“And you thought I would share the information you haven’t been able to gather on your own.” Irritation prickles along my spine, and I wait for her to come up with an excuse for her behavior.

“No, I…Never mind.”

Silence stretches between us as Calla folds her arms over her bare chest, suddenly far more conscious of her nakedness now. My eyes never leave her face. I don’t like seeing her this way, despite the fact that she did it to herself.

“What do you want to know?” I ask in a level tone, deciding I might just tell her depending on her response.

Calla says nothing, her pulse still racing as her eyes take on a glassy sheen. She’s been caught, and I think she’s equal parts embarrassed and ashamed.

I exhale a sigh, standing and wiping my hands on a towel from the vanity. “Next time you want to use me, I’d prefer you be upfront about it.”

I don’t wait for her to string together a response before I’m leaving the room, my gut heavy with disappointment.