Dark Promises(122)

“Will you be gone a lot?” She couldn’t keep the trepidation out of her voice.

He frowned. “Gone where? Where do you think I will go?”

“You hunt vampires.”

“I do not leave you. If I go somewhere, Gabrielle, you will be going with me.” There was a hard authority in his voice, as if he thought she was trying to get rid of him.

She leaned into him, circling his waist with her arm and tipping her head up to look at his face. “I’m glad. I don’t want you going anywhere without me.”

“You know that Gary will not be working with you.” He made that a decree.

“He didn’t want Gregori to convert him, even though he was so close to death. He knew. I don’t know how he did, but he said he was worth far more to the Carpathians as a human than as a Carpathian. He’s a genius. His mind is incredible, Aleksei.” For a moment she forgot what Gary meant to Aleksei and that he might not like her being so enthusiastic about him. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry.” She whispered it. “I wasn’t thinking.”

He gently pulled her hand from her mouth and held it tightly over his heart. “That is the first time you spoke of him as if he was a colleague you admired and not the man you wanted to spend your life with. After seeing your childhood, and how your life has been since, especially after you were converted, I am grateful you had his friendship. To know you had someone who cared about you makes me happy, Gabrielle, not upset. This man will not be able to feel, but he will remember you, and if he is the man I see in your mind, if that is his character, he will check on you to make certain you are happy. He will stay in contact, even if from a distance.”

“Will you be okay with that?” She didn’t want Aleksei to be angry with her, or worse, fight with Gary.

“I have you. You gave yourself to me. A precious gift that I know you will never take back. I have you. He does not. And he never will. I know what it is like to love you, Gabrielle. He may not feel it, but he remembers it. That will always be very difficult for him.”

She swallowed hard. “You love me?” She couldn’t believe that. How could he possibly have fallen in love with her when she’d . . .

Aleksei tightened his hand over Gabrielle’s, pressing her palm hard into his chest. “Do not, kislány,” he warned. He was not going to have her keep blaming herself for something he did not feel was her fault. “We have put that subject to rest. How could I not fall in love with you?”

She didn’t see herself as he did. She was highly intelligent. Gentle. Sweet. Vulnerable. She needed care, and he was a man who needed to care for a woman. He had enough darkness, enough demons, for more than one man. He needed a woman who was all light to bring him back from that edge when it got too close, not one who wanted to fight. He needed her to know he was often at that edge, that his demons didn’t stand down and when he reached for her, to lose himself in her, she was welcoming, she reached back, knowing that was more important to him than fighting at his side.

Gabrielle was that woman. She abhorred violence. It made her sick. He was thankful for that. He would teach her to protect herself, because she needed to know how. For her. For their children. And for him. He had to know that when he wasn’t right with her—which would be rare—she would be able to defend herself as need arose. Other than that, he wanted his Gabrielle. Vulnerable. Sweet. With enough attitude and a lot of intelligence to keep him very happy. Even more, she was scorching hot in his bed.

Gabrielle buried her face against his side. “I want you to love me, Aleksei. I swear, I will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

He smiled down at her. She didn’t have a choice in the matter, because he wasn’t going to give her one. He thought it might be prudent to keep silent about that. “Andre and Teagan are headed up to the monastery. We need to meet them there. Fane has gotten the ancients to agree to let Teagan try to heal them enough for them to get out and look for their lifemates. Andre has access to the database of psychic women through a boy called Josef. If you can connect with each of the ancients and try to be a compass with this parlor trick you spoke of, we may be able to give them hope of a future.”

“If Teagan fails?”

He took a breath. Let it out. She was too intelligent not to know what would happen. He would have no choice but to remain at the monastery, becoming the gatekeeper as Fane had been. Fane had to be released from his duties so he and his lifemate could travel with Teagan and Andre back to the United States.

“I am sorry, little cat, I would have to stay and protect the ancients. We would remain here. I have seen your dream of a house and yard and children playing . . .”