Sacrifice

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

                With Gabriel safely home, Sophia thought she could get some work done. But after walking hand in hand with Gabriel back home, she decided that she didn’t want to let go of him. Part of her still felt a bit worried he’d take off again, but mostly, she felt like she could show affection now that she had told him the truth.

                Instead of sitting at her desk, she sat next to Gabriel on the couch while making her phone calls. The first call, a short one to the alpha of Western Slope, went well, but halfway through the second call, she found herself becoming distracted by Gabriel. He wasn’t actually doing anything, but Sophia couldn’t leave him alone.

                At first, she was only running her fingers up and down his arm, but it didn’t take long for her to move on, and she was soon touching his neck, face and chest. While she did so, Gabriel simply stared blankly in front of him, almost as if he wasn’t even paying attention to what she was doing. Sophia didn’t like that much, and soon, she was paying far more attention to the lion than to the phone conversation.

                “Uh, sorry,” Sophia said. “I think I may have an idea on what to do with the lions. I’ll call you back.” With that, she hung up the phone, realizing she wasn’t going to get anything done the rest of the night. Not when she had Gabriel next to her.

                For a moment, she stopped playing with him and simply put her arms around him and held him against her. Finally, he responded. He leaned into her and turned his head so he was looking up at her, almost looking confused.

                “What?” Sophia asked.

                “Uh, what’re we doing?”

                “Apparently, we’re cuddling,” she replied. “I thought that should be obvious enough.”

                “Um, why?”

                “Are you uncomfortable, kitty?” she asked with a smirk. “After everything, you can’t handle a little cuddling?”

                “You’ve never done this before.”

                “Well, I’ve wanted to, so shut up and let me hold you.”

                “Yes, sir.”

                Sophia ran her fingers through his hair, something about what he said bothering her. “Why don’t you ever call me by my name?” Sophia asked. She couldn’t recall a single instance where he had actually used her name. It was always “sir.” While it hadn’t bothered her before, now that she was willing to get emotionally involved with him, that had to change.

                “You never call me by mine,” he responded.

                “Okay then, Gabriel,” she said, realizing he was right. She’d only called him Simba and Kitty, or occasionally just “lion.” She had used those names in an attempt to keep herself distant from him, and now that she had used his name, it felt right. “Your turn.”

                Gabriel looked to the floor and then mumbled something under his breath so incoherently that Sophia had no idea what he said even though she was right next to him. She shoved him playfully.

                “Come on,” she said. “I know you can speak clearly.”

                He still didn’t say anything, at least not that Sophia could hear, so she pushed him down on the couch, pressing her weight on top of him. “I can stay like this all night,” she warned him. Then she leaned her head in closer to him. “And there might be something in it for you too.”