Gabriel's Mate by Folsom, Tina (read this if .txt) 📕

She raised an eyebrow. “If that’s all it takes, I can do that.” She paused for effect. “Gabriel.”

Gabriel relaxed and sat back down in the armchair by the fireplace.

“How much of my blood do you need?”

“Just a small vial. I’ll take it to my lab and analyze it. Won’t take more than an hour.”

“You have a lab?”

“You didn’t think I could live off being a witch, did you? I work at a commercial lab downtown. It pays -” She winked. “- enough to buy craw feet for my potions.”

“Let’s go upstairs. I hope you don’t mind if we perform the blood-Gabriel’s Mate 157

letting in the bedroom. I’d rather not be interrupted. My associates would find it strange to say the least if I gave blood to a witch.”

She stood and took her satchel which presumably contained all kinds of witchy things. “Normally I’d say no way, but seeing how infatuated you’re with Maya, I daresay you’re no danger to me.”

For the first time since the witch had arrived, Gabriel let out a small chuckle. “You’re an attractive woman, but no offense, I have no interest in you or any other woman besides Maya.”

Once in the master bedroom, Gabriel closed the door quietly behind him. “Just one request. Let’s be quiet. Maya is next door, and I don’t want her to hear us.”

“Fine.”

Francine took out a tourniquet and a syringe. Gabriel merely glanced at it and shook his head.

“That won’t be necessary. Just give me the vial.”

She handed it to him. He willed his fingers to turn into claws and sliced a small cut into his thumb. Blood instantly oozed from it. Gabriel held the vial underneath it and filled it with the red liquid. A moment later, he licked his thumb with his tongue, closing the incision.

Francine took the vial from him and closed it before putting it into her bag. “Good. I’ll leave you one for Maya. Call me when you have it ready for me and I’ll send somebody over to get it. Now, let’s check on your problem. I believe we were interrupted last time just as I was about to examine you.”

Gabriel swallowed. This was the part he dreaded most. “Can I have your word that whatever you discover, you won’t discuss with anybody?”

“Witch – Vampire confidentiality, goes without saying,” she joked, but Gabriel didn’t feel like laughing.

With unsteady hands he loosened his belt, then opened the button of his jeans. The noise the zipper made as he lowered it seemed to echo in the room. Could everybody in the house hear it? When he shoved his pants down mid-thigh, he heard Francine’s breath whoosh out of her lungs.

As he stood before her, she dropped down onto the chaise lounge, bringing her head level with his crotch. “Oh, boy,” she whispered.

Maya’s stomach growled, but she tried to tamper down her hunger.

She’d paced for a good length of time, deciding what to do. Now, she couldn’t stall any longer. She had to face Gabriel and explain to him why she’d reacted so harshly when she’d returned. For the sake of what was growing between them, she had to make the first step and apologize for her harsh words.

And then she needed to feed. By God, she craved him. Not just his blood, but his touch, his lips, his kisses. She felt weak in the knees just thinking about him, remembering how he’d touched her and kissed her, how he’d made her come, using his tongue and his hands. Small beads of perspiration collected on her neck. She felt hot just thinking about being in his arms.

Maya closed the bedroom door behind her and walked down the corridor. At the stairs, she halted. She could clearly sense Gabriel’s presence. In fact, she could smell his blood. Was it more intense now because she was famished or had she always been able to smell his blood from such a distance? When she turned her head, she realized that the smell was becoming more intense – it wasn’t coming from downstairs, but from the master bedroom.

Maya smiled to herself. If Gabriel was in bed, even better. She could first drink his blood and then devour him. On tiptoes, she walked to his door. As quietly as she could, she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

As soon as she took but one step into the room, she froze in horror.

Maya stopped breathing.

Gabriel stood near the fireplace, facing her. But he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was focused on the woman who sat in front of him on the chaise lounge with her back turned to Maya. His face was contorted as if in pain.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst was Gabriel’s pants were hiked down to his knees, his naked thighs showing, while his crotch was blocked out by the woman’s head.

Maya blinked, but she wasn’t imagining this. The strange woman was giving Gabriel a blowjob. And the look on Gabriel’s face wasn’t pain. No, it had to be pleasure.

How could he do this to her?

A sob tore from her throat.

Gabriel’s gaze shot to her, and at the same moment the woman turned. The both stared at her, shocked looks on their faces.

Gabriel tugged at his pants, but failed to pull them up. “Maya, please, this isn’t what it looks like.” The woman turned fully, still blocking her view of Gabriel’s crotch. As if Maya needed to see his hard-on to know what they’d been doing. She needed no proof of it. All the proof was written in their guilty faces.

She spun on her heels and rushed out of the room.

“Maya, listen to me. I can explain.”

His words were lame at best. What was there to explain? He’d brought another woman to the house right after she’d told him she didn’t want to be controlled. Was that his answer to her anger? That he didn’t care what she thought? How cruel.

Maya ran down the stairs, faster than ever before. So this