She crossed to it, and he pulled out one of the chairs for her, settling it into place behind her as she sat.
"You're right, this is extremely comfortable," she said, sitting into the thickly padded chair, sighing softly as it adjusted to her.
"Only the best," he said, seating himself opposite her.
"You know," she said thoughtfully as the door closed behind their server as he went to get their drinks. "I was wondering something."
"What was that?" he asked, looking at her, his eyes completely unguarded.
"You put the reservations under Gabriel. Everything I read references you as Gabriel. Do you have a last name?" she asked bluntly. It seemed like a ridiculous question, but nothing she had been able to come up with so far showed one.
"No," he said, his voice deeper and more thoughtful than it had been all evening. "None of us do, in fact."
"Us?" she asked softly when he didn't immediately continue.
"The Stone Bears."
"Why not?" she pressed, her curiosity driving her questions.
"I'm not sure, but I have my suspicions." His eyes flicked downward as they filled with trouble.
"It's easier that way," she said, her lower lip curling up in disgust as she thought about his situation.
"Exactly."
"That's ridiculous though. You aren't born in a tube, so you must have had a family and a last name at some point?"
Gabriel met her questioning glance for a moment before he looked away, shaking his head slightly. His chest rose as he took in a large breath. "I'm an orphan. I had parents, but my mom died giving birth to me, and my dad … I don't know. I was registered without a last name. The Kedyns kept it that way. So, just Gabriel."
"I'm sorry," she said, her heart aching for him as she heard the unspoken pain that he had had to deal with. It was hidden deep within him, likely behind walls more impenetrable than she could begin to imagine, but the echoes of it were still there, audible at just the right moments.
"Thank you. It's not something I talk about much anymore, so I'd forgotten how much it hurts."
He let out the remainder of his breath with a big sigh. Expression brightening, he turned to her. "Well, that's my life story in a nutshell. Orphan, taken in by the Kedyns at age eleven and trained until I was twenty-one. Been working for them the past eight years, first as a newbie Stone Bear, and now as the leader. That's about all there is," he said with a smile.
"I'm sure there's more than that," she chided, "but it'll do for now."
"What is that?" he asked incredulously, staring behind her as the door opened.
There was no alarm in his voice, so she didn't spin around, but waited until the server came into eyesight.
"What is what?" she asked in confusion.
"Your drink!" he exclaimed.
"It's called sangria," she told him as the large glass full of fruit and berries was placed in front of her, along with an empty glass for pouring the mixture into. "And it's delicious."
"It looks it," he said agreeably, watching almost mesmerized as she poured some into her glass.
"You've never seen sangria before?" she asked quizzically.
Gabriel shook his head.
"When was the last time you went out, just to relax?" she asked.
"Raph, Uriel, and I usually go out once a week. But we always get beer."
"When was the last time you went on a date?"
Gabriel winced. "Four years ago? Five? Somewhere around there."
Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"
Gabriel looked uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything.
"What?"
"Well," he said, almost squirming in his seat. "I haven't really needed to go on dates. Or found a girl I wanted to go on one with," he said awkwardly.
"Right," she said, and now it was her turn to be uncomfortable. "Shifter groupies. I forgot, sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for on your end," he said, managing to laugh a little.
Shifters had come into the open over a decade and a half before. Since then, their incredible abilities and innate sexuality had created an entire culture of women who slept with them simply because of who and what they were.
It made taking care of any urges rather easy for a shifter, which likely would go double for someone of Gabriel's looks, and stature, she thought. There would always be women interested in "big" men.
Don't lie to yourself, you have as much desire as them to find out what he's packing.
Despite her best efforts, Caia felt her face heat up as she remembered her fantasy from the night before. Gabriel had been rather well endowed in it, she had to admit. He was huge for a human. There had to be some correlation to that. Not that she would ever tell him that she was curious about his cock.
Not yet at least.
"So what's your story, Miss Caia Rowan?" he asked, letting her full name roll off his tongue smoothly. "You seem remarkably calm and well put together for a simple student of human body language."
Gabriel's cheeks reddened slightly to her astonishment. "I mean like, well-composed, not physically put together. Although you are. Put together. In a good way, I mean," he said, stumbling over his words in the biggest display of nerves she had seen from him.
"So," she said, sitting back with a mischievous smile. "You are flappable after all. I thought you were all nerves of steel over there."
Chapter Seven
Gabriel
He glared at her, though there was no hate behind it, just a shake of his head at her for drawing attention to his ridiculousness.
"It's okay, I'll take it for both compliments in the way they were intended. My thanks for that," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
Gabriel snorted. "You are a handful, woman, I will give you that. Now, before either of us makes another comment that will get us fired, maybe we should at least pretend to talk business?"
He hated making the suggestion, but they did have a few things that they needed to discuss. And if the evening kept spiraling out of control, he knew they wouldn't get any of it done unless they did it now.
"Oh, and what exactly did we have to discuss that was so important that it had to be done in the private room of the most expensive restaurant in town while we're dressed to impress?"
Gabriel's eyebrows shot up. "I think that's the politest calling-out I've ever been on the receiving end of."
"I'm glad someone can appreciate my skills," she said with a theatrical sigh.
"Okay, have it your way," he said, caving rather more easily than he probably should have. She was, after all, trouble with a capital T. If anyone found out about them, they would both likely lose their jobs. Fraternization between LMC employee's and the mining crews was frowned on, but not outright banned. Inter-office relationships on the other hand, were much more strictly off-limits. Gabriel knew that Caia would likely find another job with ease, but he would be rather stuck. His skillset was not exactly transferable to many other jobs. Part of him wondered if the Kedyns would just end him, to ensure he didn't become a problem.
Mentally shaking his head, he focused back on the beautiful woman sitting across from him. He had her all to himself this evening, so he may as well take advantage of it.
"Who are you Caia? You're more than just a well-educated woman. You're too calm in high-tension situations, and I have a feeling the death that stalks Genesis Valley wouldn't faze you much either. So, what's your story?" He leaned in on the table, the solid oak supporting his weight without so much as a creak.
"My story? Well, I did attended school, getting a Masters in human psychology, specializing in body language and reactionary analysis."
"Quite a mouthful," he said dryly.
"Tell me about it. Anyway, from there, I went on to become a police negotiator, actually."
Gabriel's jaw dropped. "Really?"
She nodded. "Really. Lasted all of two years before I had to get out. Too many high-stress situations. There's a huge difference from studying something in a textbook and having it play out in front of you, resulting in people living or dying. I couldn't handle that responsibility, to be honest."
"I can believe it. That explains why you're so calm and collected, however. And the preference toward having a plan before you go walking in somewhere too," he added, many things clicking into place.
"Life is much calmer out here, despite what you might think," she said with a wry smile.
"Actually, until recently," he said, his hand rising up to touch the fast-fading mark on his forehead, "I would have mostly agreed with you. But now? I don't know. Something is going on, and I don't like it."
"You think Evan's involved in it," she said. It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"Somehow, yes."
"How do we use that to our advantage?" she wanted to know.