Gabriel's Heart [The Men of Treasure Cove 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

All he saw was her face, and those innocent emerald eyes. He saw the love and sorrow in their depths. He caused that. It was his entire fault. Then to see Alexander with her, that was more than he could handle. He didn’t know what brought him to Treasure Cove. With Alexander being here, nothing good was going to come of it. He saw the way Alex looked at her. He knew from experience that when Alex saw something he wanted, nothing would stop him from acquiring it.

He had made his decision three months ago. She was free to date whomever she wanted. As much as it killed him to think of Alexander and Antoinette together, he knew his friend would swoop in and claim her. He trusted Alexander. He was a good man, and had no problems expressing how he felt. Yet he wanted nothing more than to march back over to the diner and beat the living crap out of him.

She is mine!
his mind shouted at him.

“She isn’t mine. I must let her go,” he whispered as he leaned his head against the window.

Alone with his thoughts during the day and his dreams of her at night, he had not slept in days. Insomnia was causing him to see and hear things that were not real. On more than one occasion, he swore he heard her voice calling out to him. He was slowly going insane, and he did not give a damn. He deserved everything he was doing to himself.

After that night, it had taken him over a month to sleep peacefully, but then the dreams came. That was when he took to traveling, hoping to free himself from her. Even that was short-lived, for now he had returned, and there was nothing he could do to stop his subconscious from screaming loudly. His nights were now full of delights he would never experience again, and even though he tried to push the memory from his mind, all he could see was the sadness that shone brightly in her eyes as he left.

Which is why for the last couple of nights he had not slept.

The dark rings under his eyes kept his in-house residents away from him. Even his butler, Hawkins, had seemed to disappear.

He knew what he had to do to get her out of his head, but the thought of her with Alexander made him cringe. After three months with her in his soul, it did not feel right being with another woman. He couldn’t bring himself to lay with one, let alone fuck.

Deciding he was just going to have to make himself do the deed, he put down his now empty tumbler and turned to walk out of his office when he saw Alexander leaning against the wall, looking at him. “You look like hell, old friend.”

Fuck off, you bastard!

“Go away,” he ordered, walking over to the liquor bar and pouring himself a double scotch. He did not want to deal with Alexander or any other person of his acquaintance.

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” Alexander asked, pushing away from the wall and walking further into the room.

Go away!

“What do you want?”

“I need your help,” Alexander said, sitting on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I’m busy.”

“I see that.”

“Go away, Alex.”

“I can’t. I want to know if you have moved on from Annie.”

“Her name is Antoinette. Why do you ask?” he asked, taking another drink.

“I am taking her to dinner tonight. And well, I would like to get to know her better.”

Gabriel grinned, leaning against the far wall of his office. This was too much!
This bastard wants me to give him permission to see her!

“Still going after my seconds, I see.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Gabriel? Annie isn’t like that, and you know it. She is exceptional. I knew that within five seconds of meeting her,” Alex shouted, moving closer to him. Gabriel knew he had pissed him off. He wanted to. He wanted a fight, and his old friend was just the lucky bastard who happened upon him. Looking at him, Gabriel smugly said. “I know. She’s also good in the sack.”

Alex lunged for him, throwing him up against the wall. “Fuck you, Gabe! Here, I thought you might care for someone other than yourself. Guess I was wrong,” Alex said angrily.

Gabriel pushed him off, dropping his drink. “Fuck you, Alexander! You have no idea what I feel. You never cared. Get the fuck out,
now
!” Gabriel said, walking back to the window and pouring another glass.

He never heard Alex open the door, but he did hear him when he quietly said, “Only a coward walks away from a beautiful gift that is before him. I won’t make that mistake.”

Gabriel quickly turned and found himself alone, the anger he fought so hard to keep at bay unleashed. Throwing the tumbler across the room, Gabriel let his rage flow as he destroyed the room before him. Throwing chairs and smashing everything in sight, he released all that anger in a fit of rage.

Finally as the last crinkle of glass shattered, Gabriel fell against the wall and slid down, surveying the damage. He felt nothing, not even a single ounce of remorse for his actions, nor did he care to reflect on the matter a second more.

“You must get her out of your head!” he shouted at himself as his cell phone began to ring. Answering the annoying contraption, he yelled, “What?”

“Hello, Gabriel. It’s Janie. Do you have a minute?”

“I’m rather busy, Mrs. Hicks. Can we talk later?”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll see you tonight, and we can talk then. Dinner is at six. Do not be late. And, Gabriel, bring a bottle of wine,” she said just before she hung up.

“
Fuck
!” he shouted, throwing his phone against the wall, watching it shatter into a million pieces.

* * * *

Gabriel arrived at the JC Ranch promptly at six in the evening with a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1996 in hand. He knew Jeffery and Caleb would guzzle the two-hundred-and-eighty-seven-dollar bottle of red wine, but he figured Janie would appreciate the taste. Since it was she that demanded his presence, the least he could do was bring her a bottle she would like.

He waited patiently at the door until it opened, and Janie greeted him, welcoming him into her home. “Master Gabriel. Thank you for being on time. Please come in.”

Leaning over to kiss her cheek, he smiled. “You look ravishing, my dear.”

He grinned as she blushed, leading him into the living room where he saw Caleb stewing, shooting daggers into him. “Something wrong, Caleb?” he asked, walking into the room and taking a seat across from him.

“About fucking time you showed up. Can we eat now? I’m hungry,” he responded, sulking, looking at his wife.

Janie laughed and sat next to her husband, patting his leg. “Ignore Caleb, Master Gabriel. He missed lunch today. Besides, we still have another guest that has yet to arrive.”

“Oh, and who might that be?” Gabriel smiled.

“Yeah, who the fuck are we waitin’ on now? Dang it, woman, I’m hungry!” Caleb grunted, crossing his arms.

“My dear, I do not know how you put up with him. You have my sympathies,” Gabriel responded dryly, looking at the childish man before him.

“Fuck you, Gabe,” Caleb muttered as Gabriel grinned. Something was bothering Caleb, and whatever it was had gotten under his skin. The normally carefree man was now seething in anger. If Gabriel was correct, Caleb was about to lose it.

“Please forgive him, Master Gabriel. Caleb and Jeff are a little out of sorts tonight. You see, Annie is home, and well, she was going out to dinner tonight, but her brothers found out and well, the young man should be arriving any minute.”

“Ah, I see,” Gabriel said and in that second he was with Caleb and Jeff. He didn’t care who it was. Deciding to help Jeff and Caleb get rid of the young pup might just make him feel better. There was nobody good enough for Antoinette. “So when does this young man arrive?”

“Annie went to pick him up. When Jeff found out about her date, he insisted she bring him to dinner. According to him, he has a right to inspect who his sister dates. I tried to explain to Jeff that she was twenty-five and didn’t need their permission, but he wouldn’t hear it,” Janie explained.

“Quite right. I agree with Jeffery. Antoinette isn’t just any young woman. She has her whole life ahead of her. And if he feels the need to examine the young man, then I agree,” Gabriel said, nodding at Caleb.

Just then Jeff walked into the room. “Is she back yet?”

“No, Jeff, and you better behave.” Janie smiled. Gabriel watched as she stood and greeted her husband with a kiss.

“Well, he’s late. That’s strike one,” Jeff mumbled just as they all heard a car door shut.

Gabriel steeled himself. He didn’t know what to expect, but whoever it was was in for a rude awakening. He knew Jeffery was extremely protective of their baby sister and rightly so. She was the moon and stars. She was everything.

When he heard footsteps on the front porch, he stood along with Caleb and turned to greet the young man. His heart was beating fast. His adrenaline was pumping quickly through his veins. He didn’t like the idea of Antoinette bringing someone home to meet her family. There was nothing he could do about it. The moment the front door opened, his heart stopped.

Antoinette looked ravishing with her beautiful long chestnut hair in soft waves down her back. Her face shimmered as she smiled a dreamy far-off look, something that Gabriel had never seen before. She wore a classic black cocktail dress that stopped just above her knees, giving way to shapely long legs, accentuated by her strappy heels. She looked ready for the runway, not some family dinner. As much as she glowed tonight, when Gabriel finally saw the man next to her, the primal instinct to protect reared up, and he growled.

Motherfucker!

It pained him that he was not the one on her arm. The man would be dead if he were not standing so close to Antoinette. Gabriel knew Antoinette had every right to see and date whoever she wanted, just not him! Before Gabriel could stop himself, he lunged forward and pushed the man against the wall, holding him tightly with his forearm against his neck. “I told you to say away from her,” he ground out through gritted teeth.

“Your loss is my gain, old chap. Now please be a gentleman and contain yourself.” Alex grinned.

Stepping back, Gabriel took a deep breath and reeled on Antoinette. “I don’t want you seeing him.”

“It’s not your place to tell me who I can see or date,” she shouted back, pointing her finger at his chest. “And what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be whipping someone right about now?”

“Don’t tempt me.” He growled, never taking his eyes from hers.

The silence in the room was deafening. Gabriel knew that he had given too much away, and there was no taking it back. There was no way he was going to allow Antoinette anywhere near Alex. She did not know his delights, and she was totally unprepared for what he wanted. He had protected Alexander on more than one occasion. He would be damned if he exposed Antoinette to his preferred lifestyle.

She needed to be loved and protected, not chained and whipped for someone else’s enjoyment. Of course, who was he to judge? There were many nights when that was all he wanted to do to her. Remembering holding her in his arms, everything he truly desired fled. All he wanted was the softness that she gave her gentle touches, the genuine smiles, and her love. He had that for one night. Just one night and he would have to hold onto that for the rest of his life.

“What the hell is going on?” Jeff yelled loudly, and Gabriel watched as Antoinette flinched. Turning, he stood in front of her, shielding her from her brother’s anger. There were things that they needed to settle between him and Antoinette, but he was not going to allow Jeff to scold her for his mistake.

Steeling himself for what was about to come, Gabriel slowly pushed her toward Alexander, knowing he would protect her. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Alex pushed off the wall and took a hold of her hand, moving her behind him.

Looking at Alexander, no words were necessary. He looked into his friend’s eyes, and Gabriel knew they were on the same page.

Protect the woman.

“I demand an explanation now!” Jeff shouted, not moving, rooted in the same spot.

“Jeff, calm down, I can explain,” Gabriel heard Antoinette whisper. He watched as Jeff turned his attention from him to her, waiting for her to speak.

“Your issue is with me, Jeffery. I would appreciate if you did not yell at your sister,” Gabriel said, taking a step forward, positioning himself to protect Antoinette.

“Something is going on here, and I want to know what the hell it is.”

Sighing, Gabriel ran his hand through his hair. “What will you have me say, Jeffery?”

“I want you to say you’ve kept your word. Tell me there is nothing going on between you and my sister, and I won’t beat the living shit out of you,” Jeff said, never taking his eyes away from him.

Gabriel had been friends with this man for close to fifteen years, and never during that time had he ever seen such hatred emanate from him. Before him, Jeff was no longer a friend but a fearful brother who would do anything to save his sister. There would be no reasoning with him, no explanation would help his cause. Regardless of what Gabriel wanted to do or say, he refused to surrender Antoinette to her brother’s fury.

There was only one thing left for him to do. He knew this course was going to cost him. Too much history stood between him and the Hicks brothers. It pained him to do so, but he would stand against them to save the woman he loved.