Blood's Desire (Book 1 of Blood Ties Novels)

First Day

I woke up the next morning calmer than I expected. The more I thought about having an ally in Gabriel, the more I felt prepared to face whatever the office could dish out. I got out of bed and ran a comb through my hair. There was no reason for Gabriel to see me in complete undue fashion. I needed to try to keep our relationship as professional as possible given the types of conversations we had the previous night. It seemed that fate had other plans though.

When I walked into the kitchen, Gabriel was still shirtless, wearing only his pajama pants, which I could only assume he put on for my sake. His skin was tanned beautifully, and without the shirt to hinder my vision of his perfect body, I was more awed. He wasn’t a chiseled statue, but he was toned and muscular. His arms were still his best feature. He looked up from his newspaper and smiled. The glint in his diamond shaped eyes made me think that he had planned his wardrobe with me in mind. I hadn’t even noticed I had stopped in the doorway and was staring at him. 

I felt ashamed immediately. I had made up my mind during the night that I was not going to let myself get carried away by him, but my thoughts didn’t appreciate that decision any longer. Look at me. I look like I’ve been taming a lion all night and he looks like a god. He must be extremely amused at this point. 

“Good morning Gabriel. How did you sleep?” That’s right, play it cool.

“My night was fine. I hope the spare bedroom was comfortable. I’ve never spent much time in there myself. Was the bed nice?” Oh God, he’s making small talk. I must really look a mess in my old college sweatshirt and ratty shorts.

“The bed was fine. So what do we have for wake up juice this morning?” I wanted to get my coffee and get out of the kitchen as soon as possible. I was embarrassed by the change in the way he was treating me and the possible reason for that change, my appearance. 

“Hazelnut, Irish crème. I remembered you saying something about it being your favorite last night,” he replied.

“Oh, you didn’t have to go out and get it, but thanks.” I quickly went and poured a cup. 

“It was not big deal,” he started. I was heading out when he stopped me with a concerned question. “Where are you headed?”

“I need to get ready for work. I was just going to drink this while I got dressed.” And so I could get out of here. Obviously you don’t want me with you.

“I cooked us breakfast. Don’t you eat in the morning? You know it’s the most important meal.” He stood and moved to the chair next to him. “Come sit with me,” he said with a smile. He pulled the chair out for me. I couldn’t say no to his smile. I sat and he pushed the chair under me. “Thank you for joining me. You don’t really have to eat if you don’t typically eat breakfast.” He gave me that smile again. I was in love with his smile already. I’d probably do whatever he wanted me to do if he smiled when he requested it. Glutton. 

“Oh, no, I do eat breakfast. I just thought maybe you weren’t a morning person and I didn’t want to disturb you. I didn’t realize you made breakfast.” I looked down, ashamed of myself when I realized his face was looking at me inquisitively. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but I was sure he was reading me like a book.

“What gave you the impression that I wasn’t a morning person?” he asked as he took a large gulp of his tomato juice. Great, now I’ve insulted him.

“Oh, nothing really. You just didn’t seem talkative at first.” I looked away from him and shrugged, hoping he’d let it go.

“No, you just surprised me was all. I didn’t think you would be up for at least another half hour. I had planned on putting a shirt on before you came in. I guess my embarrassment must have come off as being cranky. Please accept my apology.” My eyebrows shot up. I couldn’t help but wonder about his true intentions. Oh, so I was wrong about the planning?

“Of course, but it’s no big deal. Remember, I have two brothers. It was just us for almost eighteen years. I can handle bare chests.” I blushed at the thought of his naked skin. 

“Well, I’m not your brother. I thought it would be more appropriate for me to be dressed, but if you don’t mind…” He smiled wickedly at me, clearly in tune with what I was thinking. He could see that I was enjoying his bare chest a little too much through the color on my face. 

I just shook my head no. I couldn’t even look away from my plate without blushing. He reached over and tucked my hair behind my bright red ear. His hand lingered on my neck for a moment. A fresh flood of pulsing blood ran up my neck and filled my face yet again. 

You’re acting like a child. Get a grip. He’s going to think you’re insane. “So, hum,” I cleared my throat when the word came out as a squeak. “So, what do you typically do in the mornings when you don’t have guests?”

He was staring at me intensely when my question broke his concentration. He had the same look in his eyes from the night before, smoldering. “Well, typically I get up, take a shower, eat breakfast, and go to work. The same as I’ve done so far this morning. I watch a little T.V., typically news. But since I have you here today, I don’t need the T.V.” He began watching me again. His eyes penetrated me to my soul. What is he looking for when he stares at me like that?

“Well, I still have to take a shower and get dressed, so I think I might go on and do that. Can you show me where the shower is? The bathroom near the spare bedroom only has a bathtub and I’d really rather take a shower.” He looked a little disappointed, but cordial. He took me down the hall from the spare bedroom. I grabbed my toiletry bag from the table next to the door as we passed. He turned the corner into another bedroom. The bed was unmade. 

“The only shower is in here. I still haven’t installed a shower in the guest bathroom. If you can’t find something, yell. I’ll help you find it.” He winked at me again. It made me blush. The only things I might need help in finding were the towels and I surely wouldn’t want his help finding those after I took my shower. 

“Well, a towel would be nice.” His smile slipped a little. Surly he didn’t want to come in after I was done showering to give me a towel.

He regained his composure quickly. He leaned in close to me, our chests barely grazing each other. I could feel how hard his body was even with the slightness of the touch. He reached around me and his body pressed against mine, making the feather touch full-contact. I could smell his sweet, musky scent, so familiar. I breathed in deeply. His hands came down around my neck slowly. A big, yellow towel was now hanging from me like a yellow python. “Is there anything else I can do before I leave you?” His voice was husky and deep. Full of an emotion I couldn’t identify.

You can come close again. “No, thank you. I’ll only be about fifteen minutes and you can have your bathroom back.” I wanted him to stay though. Wanted it with all my being. I could feel my body longing for him like no other and my brain rejected the idea. Have you lost your mind? Stop it now!

“Oh, take your time. We have an hour before we even have to leave to get to work on time.” He turned to walk out. He was shutting the bedroom door when I heard him mumble something; I didn’t quite hear it.

“What?” I asked as I poked my head out the door to see his expression.

“I didn’t say anything.” He grinned as he spoke. 

“Yes you did, I just didn’t hear it all. What did you say?” I knew he had said something. Why didn’t he just tell me?

“Nothing.” He flashed his dazzling smile at me again, “Have a nice shower.” He was out the door before I could push the matter any further.

I was in and out of the shower in just under twenty minutes. I worked on autopilot as I washed. His mumbling kept me company. What did he say? I know the first words were ‘Gah, I’, but that’s all I got. I want to know. I decided to ask him again after I was dressed. Then I realized I had grabbed my shower bag, but not my clothes. All I had were my worn pajamas, or my towel. Oh, no. I wasn’t going to put on dirty clothes, so I was going to have to make a run for it. I put my shower stuff in the corner of the linen closet where I would have it next time and tightly wrapped the towel around me.

I peeked out of his door. He was nowhere in sight. I tiptoed down the short hall leading to the main hall. I peeked around the corner at the end. I could hear him somewhere in the main part of the house. I ran on my tiptoes to the spare bedroom, making nearly no sound. I made it to the door when he came around the corner of the kitchen into the hall. He looked at my dripping wet body and smiled. “Oh God!” I blurted as I blushed, spreading crimson into every atom of my body, and ran into the room. I can’t believe this. Great! Now he’s going to tell everyone that he’s seen me naked. I’m going to lose my job before I even get off the ground.

I got dressed quickly. I already had my perfect outfit, a black pant power suit with a cream button down shirt, picked out and ironed. I wish I had remembered to grab this when I grabbed my bag. I can’t believe how utterly stupid I can be. 

I berated myself throughout the process of getting ready. I couldn’t decide how I should wear my hair. A twist was easy and manageable, but so was leaving it down. I finally decided on a twist. I thought I might need to keep it up so I wouldn’t melt the first day on the job. I looked at myself in the mirror. I’m so plain, nothing extraordinary; a fair complexion, auburn hair, gray-hazel eyes and light pink lips that seem to have no color. What could he see in me? Nothing, that’s what. I scooped up my thick, long auburn hair and twisted it up into a tight French twist and shoved bobby pins into it. My hair looked black, but once it dried, the red tint would shine through. My hair is my only solace in being a beauty.

My heels clicked on the hardwood floors of Gabriel’s hall when I finally came out of my room. I had procrastinated in the bedroom hiding from the upcoming embarrassment. He was sitting on the couch watching the morning news when he turned to look at me. His quick smile told me he approved. “That’s much better than the yellow towel. I think the women will respect you more; but I have to say, the men would have done your bidding from today to the end of time if you had showed up in the towel.” He was making fun of me. How dare he talk to me like that!

As mad as I was, I couldn’t help the hot rush creeping up my neck. “Don’t tell anyone. I would be mortified if anyone knew.” The anger was lifeless and a little more than pathetic; it lost its impact.

“I wasn’t planning on it. I want to keep that memory to myself. I didn’t realize last night that your hair was so long though. Were you raised Pentecostal?”

His question caught me off guard after his remark about wanting to keep the memory of me to himself. He wants to know about your hair stupid. Answer him. “No, I wasn’t. I just prefer my hair long. I can do more things with long hair then with short. I keep it as long as it is because it looks the best.” I shrugged ending the babbling tirade and trying not to remember the first part of his remark. I finally looked at him fully. I was wrong about the suit hiding his body. Every glorious muscle was perfected by the clothes that covered him head to toe. He made the clothes look good, not the other way around.

He came over to me as if he were going to appraise my work on getting myself dressed. He was dressed in a nice navy blue suit with a light lavender button down and a thin lavender and navy blue tie. He twirled his finger, gesturing for me to spin so he could assess all sides. He came close to me and whipped off a piece of lent from my shoulder. He leaned in so he could see my necklace. I was wearing the locket my mother gave me three Christmases before. It was a rather large locket as they go. Inside, it held a picture of my entire family. He opened it.

“Keeping them close today?” I just nodded. He gently smiled as he closed it and put it back against my chest. “It’s beautiful, like its owner.” He took a deep breath and sighed a bit. “You smell good. What is that scent?” I hadn’t put on perfume. I didn’t know. Maybe my shower gel.

“Umm, Japanese cherry blossom I think. It’s my shower gel.” I could feel another blush creeping up. I willed it away. Of course he’d be able to smell you that close. He was just admiring your necklace. Get a grip Andrea! “You look very nice also,” no dreamy. “Now, will you let me follow you into work so I don’t get lost?”

He flashed a quick smile, clearly already on top of things. “You’re going to ride with me until Monday. There’s no reason for us both to take a car when we’re going to the same place. Besides, I can show you around more easily if you’re in the car with me.”

“Oh, okay. Shouldn’t we be on our way then?” He looked at his watch. He grimaced at the time. He hadn’t realized what time it was getting to be.

“Yeah, we don’t want you to be late on your first day on the job.” He took me out through his garage. It was as sparse as the house. No tools hanging, no clutter piling in places, just his car. He opened the passenger door of his silver BMW Z8 and waited for me to be settled. It took me a moment to get passed the admiring stage of riding in the beautiful machine. Great house, excellent car, extremely mannerly…comes from money. Has to be it. There’s no other explanation. Once I was in, he shut the door and got in on his side. 

On the ride there, he showed me restaurants and shops I knew I wouldn’t remember. As much as he made me feel at ease the night before and during the morning, my stomach began to tie up in knots the further we got into town. When we got to the DA’s office, I was completely nauseated and anxious. I peered out my window when Gabriel put his car in park. I had to do a double-take. I was surprised by the enormity of it. It looked like a courthouse in and of itself and his parking place on the street across from the building did nothing to hide the sheer size of it. I realized once I tore my eyes away from the size and focused that the police station was a part of the building also. I saw the sign for it over one of the doors. That makes things convenient, doesn’t it?

Gabriel got out quickly, trotting over to my side of the car. I was still gawking at the enormous building. He opened my door and waited with a helping hand reached out. I reached for his hand hoping that I wouldn’t tremble too much. Not only had my nerves caught up with me, but I was being overtaken with the sudden urge to touch him. Relief washed over me when our hands met. When I was completely out, he tucked my hand inside the crook of his elbow and walked me across the street into the DA’s office. Gabriel ushered me into the mammoth sized building, stopping to talk with several people on the way. When we walked in, he bypassed the metal detectors with his pass. When I tried to follow, a guard stopped me. 

“Ma’am, I’m gonna have to ask you to go through the detector.” The guard didn’t look more than twenty and his light country accent coupled with his sweet, youthful smile made me comply without saying anything to him. I would have said something back, but I realized that Gabriel was the only one that knew me.

I dropped off my bag for the inspection and walked through. The buzzer sounded. I couldn’t fathom what I had on that would have made the thing go off. Gabriel stood waiting for me with a smirk on his face. As I patted my clothes down trying to find the source of metal, he came up behind me and touched the back of my neck sending a shiver down my spine. He unclasped my locket. 

“Try it now,” he whispered into my ear. His breath called the flash flood back to my face. 

Maybe I should have worn my hair down.

I walked through obediently. The detector didn’t sound again. As I gathered my things, Gabriel introduced me to Francisco, or Frankie as he liked to be called. 

“This is Ms. Andrea Bell. She’s our new District Attorney.”

“It’s nice to meet you Ms. Bell. Tomorrow you’ll have a pass that lets you in.” He smiled quickly at me. “Sorry for the inconvenience this morning. It’s protocol though.”

I smiled and patted his hand. “You’re just doing your job.” Frankie was pleased I wasn’t upset, apparently he’d been yelled at multiple times for stopping people without passes. He waved at us as we got into the elevator. 

“May I assume you would like your family back?” Gabriel asked in the same husky voice from the previous night and held up my locket.

“Yes, I would.” I held out my hand to take back my necklace, but he just shook his head. Then, he moved around to my back and swung the necklace over my head. His fingers lightly touched the nape of my neck as he locked the chain together. I could feel the heat of his body radiate toward mine. I wanted him to continue touching me. Why am I acting this way? What is it about him that makes me so comfortable? Why does he make me feel safe when no one has been able to do that for years?

“There, right back where it belongs,” he whispered against the back of my ear, melting my inner control even more. He moved away from me, but didn’t go far. He was still within arm’s reach. As the doors opened to the fourth floor, he reached over and took my hand, placing it on his arm again.

I tried to pay close attention to where we went and made mental notes of where certain things were: conference rooms, break rooms, restrooms, vending machines, et cetera.  When we arrived at the central meeting room, it was packed. I nearly dug my heels into the carpet out of panic. I saw Mr. Robert Jones, the retiring DA and the man who hired me, and Mr. Seth Jackson, the mayor’s assistant and the other man at my interview. I could assume everyone else were my soon-to-be well-known work colleagues.

Gabriel could feel my reluctance. He patted my hand that held tightly to his sleeve. “Everything’s going to be great,” he whispered as he opened the door to the filled conference room. “Take a deep breath.”

“Andrea! Welcome to the Savannah District Attorney’s office,” Mr. Jones said as Gabriel and I walked in. 

I smiled at his greeting and looked around at all of the smiling faces. It’s not going to be as bad as I thought. The bright windowed room wasn’t darkened by any unwelcoming faces. I exhaled, not having realized I was holding the breath Gabriel had told me to take. 

Gabriel ushered me toward the group of expectant faces. He introduced me to all of the Assistant District Attorneys, each person shaking my hand, smiling, and wishing me all the best. Once all of the introductions were over, Mr. Jackson asked everyone to go back to work. 

“Ms. Bell will be here this afternoon. You can each talk to her later.”

I smiled and said my goodbyes as each lawyer walked out. I was relieved in both their gracious welcome and their speedy retreat. Gabriel was the last to go. I looked at him with confusion written all over my face. 

He leaned in close to me. I saw the other two roll their eyes, but before Seth could turn completely away, I saw the hint of a smile cross his wrinkled face. “Have a great first day, Ms. Bell. I have to go to the courthouse in about an hour. I’ll pick you up in your office at five thirty.” His hand lingered on my shoulder and lightly caressed my arm as he moved to leave.

I fought back my blush again and said, “Five thirty then.” He winked at me and I felt the uncontrollable blush reach toward my neck. 

Get a grip on yourself! They’re all going to think that you’re too immature to take this position. Don’t let this infatuation get in the way of your dreams.

I watched Gabriel walk away through my peripheral vision as I turned to face the two elderly men. “Mr. Jones, Mr. Jackson, it’s so nice to see you again.” I smiled as I looked both men in the eyes. They both looked grave.