Muzzling the Beast: Taming the Beast, Book 4 (9 page)

Constance warned herself not to gape or grin, since she was supposed to be used to this stuff.

Gabe eyed her chair. A throne couldn’t have been more ornate. “You must be important.”

Appeared so. “I am Becca’s assistant.”

Gabe turned a slow circle, taking everything in before he closed the door. “About the people who work here…”

Constance’s chest tightened with so much panic, she found it difficult to breathe. Just as quickly, outrage bubbled up at what he was going to say or accuse them of.

Well, dammit, he couldn’t.

Everyone had gone through so much trouble for her, including Heather, who felt like a prostitute if she wore anything but white, and Zoe, drenched in perfume she hated, not to mention Stefin, Anatol, and Taro having to wear contacts despite how uncomfortable they were.

Constance crossed her arms beneath her breasts and faced Gabe, ready to rumble just as Zoe always was. “What about them?”

He seemed surprised at her attitude. “Take it easy. I didn’t mean anything bad.” He shrugged. “Judgmental maybe, but not bad.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Has Daemon been in an accident recently?”

Constance made a face, not following.

Gabe gestured as if searching for the right thing to say. At last, he sighed. “Is he special?”

“Yeah, to Heather. He’s her boyfriend.”

Surprise registered on his face. “Then why was she kissing MJ earlier?”

“Heather’s into MJ too.”

Gabe mumbled, “Maybe I was wrong about her being shy.”

“You’ve been wrong about everyone here,” Constance said, feeling protective. “If Father Archambault had stuck around and asked us questions rather than running to you, he would have known we’re just ordinary people trying to get through the day.”

“Ordinary?” Gabe arched one eyebrow.

Torn between smiling and sighing, Constance wondered if it would always be this way between them. Fitting together so well in his world, while hers gave him nothing but pause. “Admittedly, everyone here is a little rough around the edges, but it makes them perfect for our clients. They don’t intimidate those poor guys by being cool or sophisticated.”

Gabe seemed to be considering her comment, then finally nodded. “Makes sense. Sorry for thinking poorly of Daemon. He seems so…”

“Guileless?”

“I was going to say clueless. Strange for a grown man.”

“Even if he is awkward socially, he’s a good guy.”

Gabe lifted his hands. “Not arguing with you at all. You work with great people.” He lowered his hands. “I’m glad. Thank you for letting me come here tonight.”

He was killing her again with his kindness and good heart. Helpless to resist his allure any longer, Constance crossed the room and stopped in front of him.

When she didn’t say anything, he lifted his shoulders. “What?”

Her answer was to sag against him, hands on his face, bringing his mouth down to hers. Hours had passed since she’d last tasted and smelled him. Constance didn’t think she could deny herself a moment longer.

Gabe seemed as deprived, one hand on the back of her head to keep her lips to his, the other on her ass, pushing her cunt to his rigid cock. As he deepened their kiss, they turned, each of them trying to get closer. Although they were practically welded together, it didn’t seem enough to Constance. She wanted to be a part of his blood and soul.

Minutes passed before they’d finished, with Gabe breathing shallowly as he rested his forehead against hers. “When can you leave? You don’t have to work as late as you did yesterday, do you?”

At any other time, she would have. Not tonight. “I’ll ask Becca if I can take off early.”

“How about now? Not only asking her,” he said, “but also going.”

“You’re through for the day?”

“I’m never through. When stuff happens, I have to take care of it. But, yeah, I wrapped up my cases as much as possible so I could have tonight free.” He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, each cheek. “Enjoy it with me. Every minute.”

It was too tempting. She had to resist. “Okay.”

Gabe grinned and kissed her hard for a very long time before finally staggering away. “I’ll wait outside. How long do you think you’ll be?”

“A few minutes.”

“Thank Becca for me. She’s a great person.”

So many emotions welled in Constance, she could barely speak. “I know.”

“See you in a few.”

She listened to him say goodbye to Heather, who gushed about the great night she hoped he’d have. He listened politely for minutes and finally took off with Heather still wishing him well.

Constance sank to one of the needlepoint chairs.

Becca hurried in first, followed by Zoe and MJ and finally Heather.

“Everything all right?” Becca asked.

Zoe huffed. “Let’s cut to the chase. Did he buy it?”

“He thinks you’re all great,” Constance said. “He’s glad I work with such wonderful people.”

Zoe and MJ gave each other a high five. Heather wept happy tears.

Becca sat next to Constance. “What’s wrong?”

What else? Everything they’d done here today was a lie and they’d pulled it off beautifully. Constance should have been doing cartwheels in the hall rather than feeling so ashamed.

If she and Gabe did get more deeply involved, she’d have to tell him the truth, just as Becca had warned. Assuming he didn’t run away shrieking, how in the world would he ever be able to trust her again?

From the moment they’d met, she’d done nothing but evade and lie, while he’d been totally up-front with her.

“Sweetie?” Becca said.

Constance sighed. “Can I leave early? Actually now? Gabe wants to take me out to dinner.”

“Of course.” Becca hugged her. “Have fun.”

After what she’d done and would continue to do, how was she supposed to manage it?

Chapter Nine

He greeted her with a huge grin as tourists and locals streamed past. Women of all ages gave him the once-over, many of them smiling at what they saw.

Constance couldn’t blame them. If they knew Gabe a fraction as well as she did, they would be goners too.

He embraced her as though they’d been separated for decades yet kept his hands chastely on her back. Because he was a good guy, while she was a damn fraud.

After easing away, he studied her face. “Becca give you a hard time about this?”

Constance forced a smile. “Not at all. She said to enjoy.”

“Then you should. She’s your boss, after all.”

“Also one of my BFFs.”

Gabe nodded as if he’d already figured as much. “I hope to see a lot more of her and the others in the future.”

Wasn’t possible. Constance’s deception was one thing, but for everyone else… No way could she ask them to be something they weren’t. It wasn’t fair to anyone, especially Gabe.

With his hand beneath her chin, he lifted her face to his. “Hungry? Granted, it’s early, but we can have drinks and listen to music before getting a table. I know this great out-of-the-way place with awesome jazz. At this time of day, they cater to retirees. Lots of Gershwin, Etta James, BB King, all the greats.”

Constance smiled at his enthusiasm, loving it, wanting him even more when she shouldn’t. Why hadn’t she listened to Becca before falling so hard?

Disappointment swept across his face. “Doesn’t sound good?”

Paradise wouldn’t have been better, though it would last. How long did they have before she slipped up or totally lost it and confessed all—a couple more days, weeks, months? Years weren’t even a consideration.

“Sounds perfect,” she finally said. “How do you know about so many great spots?”

“I’m a cop, baby.” Leaning close, he whispered in her ear. “It’s my freaking job to make this city safe for fun.”

Constance moaned softly as he suckled her lobe. This time when Gabe pulled back, he glanced up at the building. Seeing his surprise, Constance turned.

MJ and Heather were on the landing, watching them. If MJ grinned any harder, she’d break her face. Heather wore her usual full-body blush, eyes sparkling with happy tears.

Gabe gave them a good-natured smile and lifted his hand in farewell. “Have a good one,” he called out.

“You will,” MJ said.

He spoke sotto voce to Constance. “Sexy and shrewd.”

“You think she’s sexy?”

“Not like you.”

He was doing it again, turning her inside out, making her forget this couldn’t go on. “Where are you taking me?”

Gabe kissed her knuckles. “Every fucking place I can.”

They shared tender kisses at Rambeaus’s bar in between her smoke on the water and his bourbon neat. The band played the first strains of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”,
with the local boomers applauding vigorously before falling silent. The music took over and swelled, captivating everyone, thickening the blood.

Throughout the piece and others, Constance and Gabe simply regarded each other, lost in their own world, a smile in his eyes, naked longing filling her.

Rarely had she envied mortals more than she did tonight. Once they’d found the person who completed them, they had a real shot at happiness. Not perfect lives, surely. Everyone had their share of crap, but they also had someone to help them through it.

At this moment, Constance wanted to pretend she was just a regular woman, or that Gabe was a demon—no, a warlock—both of them on the same page. The thought made her smile.

“What?” Gabe asked.

She sighed wistfully. “This is nice.”

“It’ll get better once we have our own table.”

With more than an hour to kill before one would be available, they ordered an appetizer of parmesan cheese gnudi. For a place supposedly off the beaten track, this one was immensely popular as dusk fell. Currently, there was standing room only at the bar, with wall-to-wall patrons at the entrance and too many couples on the microscopic dance floor.

When Gabe took Constance’s hand and tried to lead her there, she held back. “There’s no room.”

“After I arrest a few people, there will be.”

She laughed. “Behave.”

“Not a chance.”

With sin in his eyes, Gabe took Constance into his arms and held her close, giving her exactly what she’d missed all these years. A sense of belonging to someone, undeniable closeness. Even though they barely had enough space to sway without bumping into the other couples, it was still perfect. Having him want and cherish her was the greatest aphrodisiac of all, fueling Constance’s desire.

She gave in to passion and suckled Gabe’s neck, relishing his heat, taste, and scent.

After a few minutes, he stopped moving and whispered, “Are you giving me a hickey?”

Constance bit his neck gently before easing away. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ll take a selfie later so I can brag to the guys.”

She laughed so loudly the elderly couple next to them stared.

Burying her face in Gabe’s shoulder, Constance continued to snicker and then suddenly felt as if she might cry. Her damn feelings were all over the place. A little more of this and she’d be certifiable. She held him even tighter.

Gabe responded by prying her off him. When Constance stared in surprise, he smiled. “Our table’s ready. They just called my name.”

They had?

Hand in hand, they followed the server, who wove expertly past the tables and crowd and didn’t collide with any of them. Constance wasn’t as lucky. She bumped into someone who grabbed her wrist.

Stopped at the icy grip, she came face-to-face with a vamp she’d treated at the service.

He smiled. “I thought it was you.”

Her appetizer threatened to come up until she noticed he wasn’t sporting fangs. However, he was glancing past her, no doubt at Gabe.

Crap.
What now? “Hi,” she said quickly to the vamp. “Nice to see you again.”
Please don’t open your big mouth and say anything.
“Our table’s ready. Have a great meal.”

“I will since you helped me so much.” He shoved his hand in Gabe’s direction. “Hi, I’m Quentin.”

“Gabe.” He shook the vamp’s hand, his expression registering immediate surprise, and perhaps a little distaste at how cold Quentin’s fingers were.

“Did Constance help you too?” he asked Gabe.

The room tilted so quickly, Constance hung on to Gabe’s arm to keep on her feet.

“Help me?” Gabe asked frowning slightly before understanding registered on his face. “Oh, you mean at the service?”

“Absolutely.” Quentin grinned. “She changed everything by making me forget all the crap in my head. Can’t recall anything bad now, though I know it was there because of the bill I paid.” He chuckled and then grew serious once more. “Wiping out those memories was the best thing I ever did.”

Gabe nodded politely despite his obvious confusion.

Quentin spoke to her. “What are you taking from Gabe?”

This conversation, if it wouldn’t risk screwing up his brain and life. Quentin must have thought Gabe was immortal.

Cursing herself for not considering this complication, she spoke quietly. “I don’t discuss anyone’s private matters. It’s not allowed.”

Quentin looked quickly embarrassed. “Right. Sorry. Have a good evening.”

Constance felt the walls closing in as she and Gabe finally moved to their table. After helping her with the chair, he sank into his. Rather than study the menu, he regarded her. “I don’t mean to pry, but what was Quentin talking about?”

Stuff no mortal would understand, so she lied again. “He had a lot of trauma from an old girlfriend. I helped him forget it.”

“How?”

Constance recalled an article she’d read a few months back. At the time, she’d thought it’d make a great cover if she ever needed one for a mortal. “Hypnosis. You can make people forget what they want to forget—kind of like giving them amnesia, if you know how to do it.”

He leaned closer, looking intrigued. “You’re a therapist in addition to being Becca’s assistant?”

“I do my best,” she said, echoing Zoe’s earlier words. “Wow, this all sounds so good.” She stared at her menu rather than risk another glance at him and more questions she might not be able to answer.

Gabe was eager to continue the conversation, fascinated at the thought of Constance performing hypnosis to make people forget stuff. He also wanted to know why Quentin thought she’d done the same with him. Strange. Then again…

Something in the back of Gabe’s mind teased, trying to reveal itself.

“Would either of you care for another drink?” the server asked.

Constance downed hers quickly and handed him the empty glass. “Please. The same.”

“I’m good,” Gabe said.

The young man nodded and left.

Constance continued reading her menu. Gabe glanced past her to Quentin’s table. He was smiling at the young woman he was with, her healthy tan making him seem like a corpse in comparison. Gabe recalled how clammy his palm had been, reminiscent of the muck beneath a plastic swimming pool after it had been on the ground all summer.

He wondered why Becca or the others hadn’t suggested something to brighten the poor guy’s complexion, unless he had some kind of skin condition precluding it.

Gabe studied Constance. She kept chewing her lower lip as if troubling over the entrées. “Don’t know what to get?” he asked.

She flinched.

“Hey, sorry.” Gabe touched her hand. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You didn’t. I was really into the music.”

The band had already finished the set and hadn’t started the next.

Once more, a feeling or memory tried to surface but didn’t. Disturbed by it and the sudden change in her mood, Gabe decided to stop being a cop—again—and simply hoped to make things better. “Let’s have a good time. Deal?”

Constance brought his hand to her cheek, her mouth quivering as if she might cry. “I don’t want anything else.”

So why the sadness? Gabe wondered if she was recalling Quentin’s shitty past and figured she must be. Her joy had taken a nosedive the moment they’d spoken.

After scooting closer, he kissed her tenderly until she finally relaxed. They ordered the lamb shank, grilled asparagus, and twice-baked potatoes.

“What about dessert?” Gabe murmured to her. “Want to bring it to my place like the last time?”

She rested her fingertips on his lips, her own parting on a quiet sigh. “We can bring it to mine.”

That’s my girl.

With pleasure awaiting them, Gabe made quick work of his meal, while Constance picked at her food.

Something was still wrong, and he wanted her to tell him so he could make it better, just like cops and good guys were supposed to. Neanderthal thinking, Gabe knew, but he didn’t care. Her happiness came first. Gently, he eased a tress from her shoulder. “Don’t you like the lamb? You want something else?”

She curled her fingers around his. “What do you suggest?”

What had made her happiest last night? “The dessert and check right now so we can go to your place…if it’s all right?”

“Overdue, I’d say.”

Grinning, he motioned for the waiter, telling him to bring the bill and their banana cheesecake to go.

“Won’t be long now,” Gabe told her.

Constance studied him. “No, it won’t.”

They had so little time, hours in fact. The scene at the restaurant had finally convinced Constance to do the right thing and tell Gabe the truth, just as soon as she enjoyed him for one last night.

Girl, you are such a fool.

Nestled against him, Constance opened the door to her apartment and flicked on the lights, showing him her taste in furnishings.

Each cocktail and end table had glass or brass pots filled with incense sticks. Beaded curtains served as a partition between the hall and living room, her sofa and chairs sported red velvet cushions, white sheepskin rugs covered the hardwood floors, while vintage lamps with satin-and-lace shades had crystal fringe dangling from them in a variety of bold, bright colors.

As she closed and locked the door, Gabe took everything in and finally smiled. “This looks like you.”

Yeah, it did—the real her. “You don’t think it’s weird?”

He gave her an odd frown. “Not at all. It’s beautiful. Don’t you like it?”

“I like you.” She moved into him, hands cupping his face. “Make love with me.”

Gabe held on to the box of condoms he’d bought on the way here but tossed their boxed dessert on the sofa. “For as long as you want.”

Constance would have asked for a lifetime but knew she’d never be so lucky. With her lips to his, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth, loving the faint scent of bourbon, his marvelous heat and strength.

Gabe held her more tightly than he had in the past, as if on some level he knew these would be their last hours together. After pulling his mouth free, he held up the condoms. “Hold this.”

Once she did, he slipped one arm around her waist, the other behind her knees, and lifted her into his arms. “Where is it?”

She licked his Adam’s apple. “Where is what?”

“Your bedroom. Unless you want to use the sofa, table, floor, or tub—if you have one. I’m good with all of it, even a shower.”

“The mattress is softest for someone your age.”

Scowling, he dug his fingers into Constance’s ribs, tickling her.

She shrieked and tried to squirm away. Gabe wouldn’t allow it. “Where?” he growled.

“Through the beads, turn left and go through the next set of beads.”

They clacked faintly against the jambs as he pushed past both sets. Moonlight bled through her lacy curtains, spilling over the gold-and-black bedspread.

Gabe pressed his face into her neck. “I like this room even more.”

“Does it look like me too?”

“Nope. Looks like us.”

Constance kissed him deeply for the best answer ever, and he dived right in, not giving her a chance to catch her breath. Fingers tugged, clothes flew. Naked, they came together, falling onto the bed.

The frame made a noise of protest that their moans and growls muffled quickly. Like rutting animals, they went at each other with Constance on top for a few minutes before Gabe had her beneath him once more. The moment he imprisoned her with his weight, he grabbed a condom.