Taming The Lockwood

Nineteen

"What's going on?" Gabriel rushes to my side in an instant and I crack a solid smile, turning to Martha, who has her hands full with towels and first aid kits, "False alarm."

Gabriel's face drops back to his stoic posture and he crosses his arms over his chest angrily. My eyes journey towards his bulging biceps and I struggle to tear my attention away from them. A wave of desire and pain hits me at the exact same time and I bite down on my bottom lip to suppress my emotions. On instinct, my eyes shut and my face contorts in a way that tries to help me cope.

I open my eyes immediately, realising I have exposed my facade and at that exact moment, Gabriel stiffens in front of me, hands clenched into tight fists. He's definitely seen right through me. Holy Jesus.

Holding onto the banister, I begin to rise on shaky legs about to seize my escape, but freeze when a strong arm wraps around my torso from behind and I'm folded into his comforting embrace. Oh Jesus.

Within a second, my legs have been flung into the air and my head is resting against the crook of Gabriel's elbow as he carries me bridal style up the stairs.

I'm lost for words, my mouth opening and closing like a fish.

The only thing I can register is the feel of his hard arm against my back and the heat emanating through the thin material of my gown. His other arm bands around the bottom of my thighs and the contact leaves me breathless. From my position, I survey his face, his long, aristocratic nose, full lips and the sharp, sculptured jawline which frames his face perfectly.

How could one person look so handsome?

Before I know it, he's tossed me onto a soft mattress and I bounce on impact, clutching onto the bedsheets beneath for equilibrium. A sweat breaks out on my body again and I'm hit with hot flushes, my chest moving up and down with each waft. I can just about make out the curses he mutters under his breath until he disappears in the adjoining room away from my sight. It takes me a couple of moments to recognise the room to be Gabriel's and the distant sound of water trickling alongside crashing and banging sounds followed by a list of epithets. I moan out my pain, writhing on the mattress beneath me.

By the time he comes back into the room, I've managed to tear off a patch of my dress in my hurry to get the garment off of my body. His eyes survey my clad form and mine collect tears when I look up at him. The heat emanating from me feels worse than the after effects of a volcanic eruption and my only wish is to be doused in a tsunami of cold, revitalising and refreshing water.

"Please," I look down at my dress in a silent plea for his aid and he wordlessly moves forward, face twisted in a display of his own discomfort.

With a swipe of his hand, the material tears into two and I'm too excited by the cool air that fans my body to let the shock sink in. I rip off the dress with the same speed and curl into a ball in front of Gabriel to hide my half-nakedness and look on to the bathroom.

Once again, my legs are thrown into the air as he transports me to the bathroom without a single word, he answers my silent wish, though this time the skin to skin contact knocks the breath out of me. Sparks shoot across my skin and I feel a cover of goosebumps begin to build up. Unfortunately, the feeling disappears right as he lowers me carefully into the bathtub. The ice water instantly relieves my frame and I let a sigh of relief escape my lips as the pain slowly subsides.

He's backed away when I look up and I observe how he takes up most of the doorframe, his mighty form towering over everything else in the room. Our eyes lock and the turmoil evident in his gaze renders me senseless.

I don't know what possesses me but the rational side of me seems to understand that Gabriel's touch had some relaxing effect to me as well as the chaos in my brain so I tilt my head to the side as a form of inviting him to join me. My inner conscience is breaking out a formation of celebratory dances, ecstatic at the prospect of being in a bathtub with him. His eyebrow raises in response, posing a silent question.