“Never. This is so sad, but she never profited from any of the relationships. She never had her own money. She was married three times, but always with a prenup that left her with nothing if they divorced. And they always divorced.”
“What about your father? He did not provide for you?” Gabriel’s growl has an edge to it on my behalf.
I shrug. “He died from a car accident before I was born, leaving my mom with a heap of medical bills and a baby on the way.”
“And now she is with a stockbroker in Scottsdale.”
“You’ve done your homework. Yes, a grumpy, rigid stockbroker who is loaded and tells her what she can and can’t do.”
“Perhaps she likes giving up control?” Gabriel suggests with a subtle flick of his brows. As if he thinks I like giving up control.
I don’t.
I mean…well, only in bed. But that’s different.
“No. It bothered her. I think that’s why it bothers me. So I decided at a pretty young age I would never go that route. Money and nice things just aren’t that important to me. Since you’ve clearly researched me, you probably know I live in a train car. It’s tres boho chic.”
Gabriel’s lips quirk. “I’ve seen your little train car, Tabitha. It’s as unique and charming as you.”
Unique and charming is one way to put it. My mom thinks it’s filled with junk. “You liked it? I restored it and decorated it all myself.”
“That is obvious. It is completely to your taste. I loved it. I love everything about you, my treasure.”
I’m ridiculously gratified by his reaction. I supposed I imagined he’d pooh-poohed my lifestyle like all my mother’s boyfriends do.
“Would you live there with me?” It’s a challenge. I want to know what he’ll say. He thinks I’m his mate–would he flex for me? Or does he just expect me to leave everything I was to be his dragon-bride?
“I would be enchanted. Although my dragon prefers space. It might be difficult for me to spend a lengthy amount of time in such a confined area.”
“I get that. I also like my space–I can’t deal with crowds. People’s energies, emotions, their auras, it gets to be too much.” I flick my hands like I’m clearing the air around my head.
“Is that why you wander?” He seems genuinely interested.
“Yeah. My close friends expect me to disappear for a month at a time. I need the silence, the solitude, the emptiness to recalibrate. To breathe. But…Taos is home.” I pause, digesting what he said. “You would come? To Taos? You’d live with me?” To say I’m shocked would be an understatement.
“Certainly. You have friends there. Friends who are like family to you. That is why I will not harm your wolves despite their wishes to harm me.”
I’m almost winded by the sudden constriction in my chest. “They wish to harm you?” I shouldn’t be afraid for Gabriel. He’s a dragon. He breathes fire. But the thought of anything happening to him sends inexplicable bolts of fear through my entire body.
“Do not fear, Tabitha,” Gabriel says with a casual wave of his hand. “I can handle your wolves.”
“Why do they want to harm you?”
“Their government sent them to spy on me, and I returned fire. It is a cat and mouse game, nothing more.” His gaze is warm on my face. He reaches out and strokes his thumb down my cheek. “Were you worried for me or for them?”
I swallow. “For both of you.” It’s not a lie, but it’s an obfuscation of the truth. It was Gabriel’s safety that concerned me the most. A fact that makes me feel guilty now.
“When can we go to Taos?” I ask. The sooner I can get in touch with my friends, the better, for so many reasons–the most primary one being my freedom.
“After I’ve claimed you.” His lids droop like the idea of claiming me turns him on. We’ve reached final altitude, and the jet straightens out. The sky is a clear, thin blue.
“Does that mean marry me?”
“Yes.”
For some reason, I feel like he’s leaving something out. Like claiming means more than marriage, but he says nothing more, just watches me with that glittering gaze of his.
“I don’t know if I believe you, Gabriel.”
“I would never lie to you, my treasure.”
10
Gabriel
“This is the one.” Tabitha spins around in a strapless Carolina Herrera gown in burgundy, red, and gold. It has a short skirt but a long train in the back and a giant bow at the front at her waist.
“Only someone with a figure like yours can pull this gown off,” our private stylist says in a melodious French accent. “It’s one of those gowns designed for models not the general public.”
Tabitha shoots me a look under her long lashes. “The colors are right, aren’t they, Gabriel?”
I have to rub my face to cover the steam that streams from my nostrils. The need to claim Tabitha has been coming on even harder since we’ve been in Paris. I made it through the past two nights, but my dragon grows more and more restless.