"What do you mean?" Gabriel was instantly focused.
"This does not leave this room, you understand?" Ajax fixed the two of them with a stare that promised trouble if they betrayed him.
She looked at Gabriel, then the two of them nodded. "Understood."
"Russell, another bear in the Ridgebacks, revealed last week at their wedding that he is actually Garrett's stepbrother. Garrett was on his way to visit Russell when whatever happened, happened."
"We still don't know what happened though," she pointed out.
"My guess is that Garrett stumbled upon something he wasn't supposed to. I'm not sure how he did that, but it would make the most sense."
"Why not kill him then?" Caia didn't like voicing that suggestion, but it would have been the logical action if Garrett had been somewhere he shouldn't have.
"I don't know, but perhaps someone intervened." Ajax wasn't backing down from his support of the Ridgeback Alpha.
"Okay, Garrett it is. Who else?"
"There are a few in my crew that are trustworthy enough for this, as there are a few in Garrett's. I will speak to him, and ensure that they are ready to move at a moment's notice if we call upon them."
"Is that going to be enough to counter the Sapphires, and possibly the remnants of the Opal crew too? We can't forget that they're out there somewhere."
"We need more.
Gabriel looked back and forth. "I think I know where to find a few more hands. Let me handle that, okay?"
She frowned at him, but he didn't elaborate. "You're sure?" she pressed.
"I'll let you know well enough in advance if they aren't available."
They talked for a few more minutes before Ajax rose, signaling the end of their meeting. They said their goodbyes and the two of them headed out. She didn't fight it as Gabriel's hand sought hers as they walked to his truck. His constant warming presence felt far more reassuring than the thought of what they faced.
"My place," she told him when he asked if she wanted to go back and get her vehicle from the bar. "And step on it, driver."
To prove her point, she leaned over and caressed his jaw, her teeth nibbling at his earlobe. Caia needed one thing that night, and it wasn't a lonely drive home in her vehicle, left alone to contemplate what they were walking into.
"Roger that," he said, and he flew back down the road toward the town of Origin and her small little one-level ranch bungalow.
"Are we there yet?" she whispered in his ear several minutes later, one hand resting on his shoulder, the other dipping below his stomach and between his legs.
"Much to my dismay, it pains me to report that no, we haven't arrived yet," he said, trying to use formality to counteract the distraction of her hand and its motions.
"That is a shame," she agreed flirtatiously. Sitting back into her seat, she savored the look of regret on his face as her hand retreated from where it had been gently playing with his cock through his jeans.
He brightened immediately, however, as she took his right hand off the wheel, and placed it between her own legs. She watched his left hand tighten instinctively, keeping the truck aligned with the road, while fingers from his right began to press at her through her pants.
She spread her legs wider for him, enjoying the look of fiendish delight on his face, illuminated as it was by the lights from the dash.
"I really want to get home," she told him huskily, grabbing his hand and forcing him to press harder. A slight moan left her lips as he hooked his finger just right across her, catching all the sensitive spots.
"We're almost there," he said, turning the truck down one street and then another.
"Good," she said, sitting up and placing his hand back on the wheel. "Because when we get there, you're going to fuck me. I want you all the way inside of me," she commanded, watching his body shudder in anticipation.
"We're here," he managed to get out, the truck coming to an abrupt halt in her driveway.
Gabriel all but flew out of the truck, coming around to her side and snatching her from the seat. He held her still, closing and locking the truck behind them, before he set her down. His hand never left hers, his massive paw engulfing her completely. She smiled. Despite the persona he displayed to the public, Gabriel was her big teddy bear, and he took every chance he could to act like it-as long as he was positive no one was watching.
Still, she didn't want someone to cuddle at the moment. Caia needed more than that. She needed passion and fire. A display of his strength and sheer, raw desire. Thankfully, the moment the door closed and their eyes met, Gabriel seemed to pick up on that need.
"Come over here," he commanded, stepping away from the door and off to the left, into the living room.
"Coming," she replied meekly, obeying his crooked finger as she wondered what he had in store for her.
He didn't speak. Instead, his eyes devoured her body before his fingers started removing her clothing. In seconds, he had her stripped down and naked in front of him while he was still clothed.
"Turn around," he ordered, and she obeyed. "Close your eyes."
She heard a rustling sound and seconds later Gabriel's naked body pressed up against her from behind, the searing heat burning her skin as he held her tightly. Hands wrapped around her, dragging up her sides until they cupped her breasts, while his mouth carved a line of delicious pain-filled warmth from her skull down to her neck.
His hard cock was pressed firmly between her cheeks, and Caia took advantage of that, shifting her hips in different directions, teasing him as best she could. Her own hands slipped behind her, grabbing his thighs and pulling him tight against her. Warm honey pooled between her legs in anticipation of taking his cock deep within her, and she hoped he wouldn't make her wait much longer.
They didn't speak with words, instead allowing their bodies to do the talking for them. Eyes met eyes, fingers touched and danced across each other, and skin pressed against skin. Their desire and passion gave way to a raw, visceral yearning that both of them longed for. She cried out not in pain but in ecstasy when his hand connected with her ass as he bent her over, taking her from behind with long, smooth strokes that resulted in his hips crashing into hers. Caia fought to keep herself supported as she leaned over the couch, her hands grabbing fistfuls of leather as Gabriel's hands squeezed tightly around her waist, sending shivers up her spine.
Her cries wove in and out amongst his groans, pushing the two of them to new heights as they relished the pleasure they took from each other. In the face of the unknown, the two of them reaffirmed the most basic instinct of life.
As she lay sprawled out on top of him on the floor some time later, Caia reflected that not only had it been a watershed moment in their relationship, but it had felt damn good too.
She smiled widely before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
***
She rolled over in her sleep, relishing the warmth of the person next to her.
Huh?
There was something off about that thought, she realized groggily.
He's so warm.
Who was so warm?
Gabriel.
Caia smiled sleepily. Yes, warm, handsome, kind, giving, trusting. But most of all, he was warm.
She liked having him nearby in the morning.
What?
Sleep faded quickly as she sat up, realizing exactly what it was that had been bothering her so much. Gabriel was still in her bed. It wasn't the concept of it that bothered her, though she wondered if he had been able to sleep at all in the cramped confines. But no, it was the fact that he was there at all.
"Hey," she said tiredly, giving his arm a shake.
He groaned and rolled over.
"Wake up," she told him, reaching down to pinch his naked rear end.
Gabriel yelped and rolled back over, eyes flickering open, focusing slowly on her.
"I thought you weren't going to be staying over?" she said, jabbing him playfully.
He shrugged awkwardly from his side.
"Well, if you're going to be around for breakfast, then wake up and join me in the shower," she said, giving him a light touch designed to awaken his senses in just the right area.
"On it!" he said, throwing the covers on top of her and racing across the room for the shower.
"Not quite what I intended," she said, giving him a fake exasperated look as she followed him into the shower after disentangling herself from the bed.
"Oh," he said, looking innocently shocked. "I thought it was a race."
Caia snorted and turned on the hot water in the shower.
"Get in first," she ordered, moving to grab some towels from a closet for both of them.
Spying a chance for revenge as he began to sing lustily in the shower, she reached in and yanked the handle all the way from warm to the coldest cold.
A loud yelp a moment later told her that her plan had succeeded.
"I give in! No more! Mercy!" he cried a few seconds later, she assumed after reviving the heat.