Fate's Revenge (Twisted Fate, Book 4)

Chapter Seventeen

"Unless you're able to force me out, that's too bad," he said.

He stepped inside and waved someone away before shutting the door. Pausing, he turned around slowly with a sigh, and crossed his arms. As our gazes met, he tried to smile, but the attempt fell flat.

"What?"

He shrugged, leaning his weight against the door. "How do you feel?"

I laughed and looked away. The amusement faded a second later and I glanced back without catching his eye. Not a muscle twitched he was so still, but in another pair of dark jeans and polo shirt—this time blue, like his eyes—he was impossible to ignore. That would require me to stop looking at him, which physically, at this moment, I felt incapable of doing. It was just as unfair as the fact that I couldn't figure out how to use my abilities when I wanted.

"I'm fine."

"Alyssa, I just ran into Suzie, and was only coming here because a student came to get me because you two were so loud."

"I said I'm fine, Gabe," I said, thinking of my physical well-being. He didn't need to know my thoughts. "Go back to whatever it is you were doing before you were interrupted."

Finally, I managed to look away. I didn't hear him push away from the door, but the soles of his shoes scuffed against the floor as he crossed the room. If it were possible to remain composed and look up, I would have tried, but the only thing more disarming than his smile was seeing his concern.

"Alyssa, talk to me."

His hand settled on the mattress beside my foot, but it might as well have been skin-to-skin contact. Instead of taking position in the chair, he knelt beside the bed. It was so hard not to look at him, nearly impossible. The stitches in the mattress made for distraction, though concentrating on it made me wish for the cloud within the beds on the seventh floor. That was where the Brothers stayed, and where Suzie and I stayed when we arrived.

"Alyssa—"

Geez. Apparently, no matter how I said it, Gabe was incapable of getting the hint. Was it a problem with him or something wrong with all angels? Maybe He'd neglected to throw common sense into the mixing bowl while he was creating angels. It was better to think that than to assume Gabe was this dense.

"I don't want to talk, okay?"

I wanted a way to blink the memory of jumping on a bed of cloud with Suzie to disappear from my mind. As fun as that had been, it cemented her betrayal—she'd always known Mike was David. Had she seen what they'd do to me in one of her visions? Is that why they never told me his identity?

His hand began to move closer to my foot. I watched, fascinated by the motion as I held my breath. How could I deal with my response to Gabe when I couldn't process my thoughts—the emotions they produced—about everything else? With less than an inch remaining, just when the heat of his skin became detected by mine, the trance broke. I pulled away, scrambling off the bed and far out of reach.

"What's wrong?" He stood and turned in one motion, his confusion clear. "Alyssa?"

"Just... I want to be alone."

"Are you tired?"

"No." I shook my head and started to box step around him, slowly moving towards the bathroom. Looking behind me and then back to him, I tried to smile as I said, "A hot bath is all I need, Gabe. No offense, but I don't want company for that."

It's too bad the thought of having his company wasn't unpleasant. Maybe I could have been more convincing if it wasn't so attractive to think about.