Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) (5 page)

She wasn’t surprised to see
Nisey
sitting on her couch when she came back out. This is the moment she’d dreaded.
She’d been able to brush off the confrontation at the mall as nothing more than
an unpleasant confrontation from a woman from her past to
Nisey
and
Kalinda
, but she knew both women hadn’t believed
a word she’d said. There had been too much emotion on her part for it to
anything other than the beginning of trouble for her and Sophia.

“You want to talk about it?”
Nisey
asked, her arm across the back of the futon.

“Not particularly. It’s in the past.” Zhenya wandered into the
kitchen. “You want a drink? I have some orange juice and Pepsi.”

“O.J. is fine, but I’m not letting you off the hook,”
Nisey
warned, as Zhenya returned with two glasses of orange
juice.

“I know. I have a past, Nis, and not one I’m proud of, but I
thought I left it behind when I came to the States.” She joined
Nisey
on the futon.

“I can understand your need for privacy, but I need to know if
whatever happened is going to follow you here. Who is this
Sebastane
?”

Fear had Zhenya’s heart speeding up. “My husband’s father. After
Ossie died, he kicked me out…”

Nisey
gasped. “Did he know about Sophia?”

Zhenya shook her head. “No, and if I have my way he won’t.”

Understanding crossed
Nisey’s
face as
she set down her juice on the coffee table. “So that’s why you were so rattled
earlier. You think he’ll try taking Sophia from you. I have news for you,
sweetheart. She’s an American citizen. Little Sophia was born right here in
Chicago, and some old Greek tycoon won’t be able to whisk her out from under
our noses.”

A bubble of laughter escaped Zhenya at the fierce look on
Nisey’s
face. Her friend was a little pit-bull when it came
to her friends and family. Zhenya was lucky to be considered as one of the
chosen few.

“The offer is sweet, but I doubt it’ll come to that. To Sebastene
Sikkenga
, only the male of the species is important.
Since Sophia doesn’t have the correct sex to inherit, even if he hears about
her, it’s unlikely he’ll bother to leave the south of Greece to come here.”

Nisey
eyed her. “Be that as it may, I’m going to let
Caelan
know about this ass, so we can be prepared.
Máister
doesn’t take kindly to others threatening our family. He’d be on the phone with
Jackson and Jude in a heartbeat if we even got one whiff of him hitting
Chicago. And once Olivia knows….”
Nisey
shuddered.
“Then you’re going to have every Dom and submissive in Chicago on the lookout.
That man won’t be able to make a move without someone reporting back to
Olivia.” She patted Zhenya on the shoulder. “Which is the basically the same as
coming to
Caelan
,”
Nisey
said, referring to the close brother-sister relationship
Caelan
had with the owner and Mistress of
Olivia’s,
one of the premier BDSM clubs in the greater Chicago area.

Suddenly the weight Zhenya had been carrying since
Corella’s
unexpected visit lifted, and she could breathe
again. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. “Thanks, Nis. I don’t know what I’d
have done without you and
Caelan
.”

Nisey
smiled, drawing Zhenya into a hug. “What are friends for? You take care of
little Sophia, and we’ll leave the rest to
Caelan
.
He’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Chapter
Five

A sinking feeling in the pit of Gabriel’s stomach increased as
he and
Caelan
drew closer to
Olivia’s
. Shifting against
Caelan’s
leather seats, he wondered what his friend would think if he bailed out of the
SUV at the next stoplight. When his friend had basically blackmailed him into
coming, he thought he’d be able to handle walking into the club. After all he’d
been a member for years and it used to be his home away from home, even when he
and Sara weren’t demonstrating or playing. It had been a place for him to talk
with like-minded men and women. Sometimes he’d simply gone just to annoy the
petite owner by asking for a Coors.
As if
Olivia’s would carry such a substandard beer.

“Relax, it’s just dinner. You’re acting as if I’m taking you to
your demise, Gabe.”
Caelan
clicked on his turn signal
as they exited down the ramp not too far from where the club was located.

He never should’ve agreed to have dinner at the club with
Caelan
and Josh, but somehow he didn’t think
Caelan
would let him get out of it now. If he hadn’t been
so damned lonely at home, he’d have refused just as he had in the past. As they
pulled into the parking lot next to the building housing
Olivia’s,
Gabriel had to shove down his panic. He hadn’t been back
to the club since Sara’s death. In fact the last time they’d been there, he and
Sara had helped
Caelan
with one of his bondage
classes. He continued to sit in silence, staring at the building even after
Caelan
shut off the vehicle and exited it.

He was finally prodded out of the vehicle when
Caelan
tapped on the hood. It was obvious his friend wasn’t
going to let him slide. Sighing, he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the
door. Dragging his feet, he joined
Caelan
. “I don’t
know if I can do this.”

Caelan
clapped a hand over his shoulder and squeezed gently. “You can. It’s been
nearly a year. Sara would be appalled if she knew you were moping around the
house. It’s just dinner. Jude is grilling steaks in the atrium. Think about it.
Those mouthwatering slabs of meat rubbed with his family’s secret blend, seared
to perfection. Damn, my mouth has been watering since he invited us.”

Despite his unease, Gabriel’s stomach rumbled. Jude’s steaks
were the ultimate ‘man food’. He’d tried begging, borrowing and stealing the
recipe, but the man refused to give up the goods.

“Steaks, you say?” He licked his lips. “That’s almost worth the
trip.” He focused on his friend’s face. “I just don’t know if I’m going to be
able to face seeing all those couples…”

Caelan’s
expression grew shrewd. “Which is why we’re eating upstairs,
and I’ve managed to convince Olivia that Jude and Micah needed a
guys
night out, so it’ll just be us. There’ll be no
Doms
, no subs, no women at all - just us guys, hanging out,
eating some steaks and drinking some cold ones.” He leaned in. “I even managed
to sneak in some Coors for you.”

A rusty chuckle escaped him and the pressure eased inside.
“Okay, you win. I would’ve gone in for the steaks alone, so the right beer is
just icing.”

* * * *

After making it through the security checkpoint at the entrance,
where he was greeted with obvious delight by the ever-present Carlos, Gabriel
barely had a chance to look around to see if there had been any changes before
Caelan
dragged him up the stairs to the atrium. The smell
of charcoal and sizzling steaks reached his nose. Damn, it smelled good up
here. He was immediately happy he’d given into
Caelan’s
demand he join them for dinner.

When he and
Caelan
entered the atrium
filled with the flowers and other plants in full bloom despite the cool temps
outside, a wealth of memories washed over him. This had been one of Sara’s
favorite places ever since
Nisey
and
Caelan
had their collaring ceremony here a few years ago.
He’d even managed to convince Olivia to give up her inner sanctuary for a night
to celebrate Sara’s last birthday. But before he could sink back into the
lingering depression, his constant companion of late, Josh spotted them and
headed their way.

“You got him to come, I see.” Josh joined them, handing
Caelan
a beer. “What did you have to do? Hogtie him and
shove him into the cargo hold?”

Caelan
shook his head. “Nope. But it came close. I thought he was going to bail out a
couple times.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “You’re too funny. You got one of those
for me?” He nodded to the beer as Micah, Olivia’s other sub approached. Tall
and slender, the black man was an enigma to many in the lifestyle, but there
was no doubt of his devotion to his mistress. He’d been Olivia’s long before
she’d ever collared him.

“It’s good to see you this evening, Master Gabriel…it’s been too
long since you’ve visited.” Micah spoke softly, a trait from his mixed
heritage.

He stiffened at the honorific but forced himself to relax. “I
thought you said there’d be no formality tonight, you Irish prick. Lying to me
already. Sometimes I don’t know how
Nisey
puts up
with your ass.”

Caelan
snorted. “There’s the Gabriel I know. You can’t expect Micah to turn it off on
a whim.”

Micah shifted, unease easily readable. “I forgot. I’ll try to
remember…”

Gabriel shook it off, he needed to get this back on equal
footing. He didn’t need the poor Gabriel looks tonight. He wanted what was
promised…a night out with the guys. “No big deal, Micah. You’re forgiven if…”
He let his voice trail off, waiting to see how easily the other man would rise
to the bait.

“…if what?” Micah looked a bit uneasy, as if he thought Gabriel
was going to tie him up to the nearest spanking bench.

Gabriel decided to put the man out of his misery. “…if you can
convince your buddy to cough up the recipe to his secret blend…”

A stunned look crossed Micah’s face before he glanced over his
shoulder at Jude, who was manning the grill. He scurried over to his partner’s
side. Gabriel’s jaw dropped as the two men spoke.

“Hey, it looks like you just might get that recipe after all.”
Josh took a long swig off his beer.

“I wouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch, Gabe.”
Caelan
retorted. “Jude’s been
bogarting
that recipe ever since he came up North.”

Gabriel shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting him to actually go ask.
Why don’t we go find me one of those?” He nodded to the beer Josh was holding.

“They’re in the cooler next to the koi pond.” Josh offered, not
moving.

Rolling his eyes, he followed the path to the small pond. A cold
Coors sounded good about now. He was just opening the cooler when Micah joined
him, with a grim looking Jude. Not that you could really tell when Jude was
pissed or wasn’t. The giant, dark haired ex-ranger had a poker face that
wouldn’t quit. Combined with his massive physique, and the slight limp leftover
from his time in the Rangers, many grown men avoided him at all costs, sensing
the ever-present danger which was second nature to the man. But not Gabriel.
He’d seen the man kneeling at his mistress’s feet and knew the softer, more
approachable man.

As the man’s shadow fell over him, Gabriel grabbed the neck of
the bottle and pulled it out of the ice. “Yeah?” he asked as he straightened.

“You been trying to bribe Micah into spilling my special blend
again, Gabe?” Folding his arms over his massive chest, Jude glared down at him.

“So what if I was?” Gabe shot back, not really worried about the
bluster coming from the other man. As long as it wasn’t his family being
threatened, or something to do with his security company, the man was all bark
and no bite. The atrium went quiet as Josh,
Caelan
,
and Dominic, who’d just arrived, went on alert.

Jude reached out in a sudden burst of speed and grabbed him by
the shirt collar, yanking him closer. “Then I say…” He leaned in until his face
was mere inches from Gabriel’s. “…it’s about damned time.”

Laughter erupted around them, as Jude gave him a good-natured
shove when he released him. “It’s hard to believe but I’ve actually missed your
constant whining about how you need a recipe that’s been handed down in my
family for generations….”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “You make it sound like it’s some
priceless secret.”

Jude nodded solemnly. “It is. Only people with the last name
Larson are privileged to it.”

Gabriel tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Fine, I’ll just wait ‘til
Deborah is old enough to tell me.”

Jude gave a loud growl at the mention of his daughter’s name,
just before lunging at Gabriel again. This time Gabriel was prepared and
feigned to the left, laughing as Jude nearly ended up in the koi pond. Friendly
bets hit the air, as the rest of the men urged them on. As they tussled
good-naturedly, Gabriel relaxed even more. It’d been so long since he’d cut
loose like this.

That was until a sharp feminine voice broke through their play.
“What the hell is going on here? It sounds like there’s a stampede of elephants
are getting ready to come through the ceiling of my office.”

Jude froze in place, but he still had Gabriel in a headlock.
“Mistress.”

Standing less than twenty feet away, Olivia, who was dressed in
her normal club clothing: a tightly laced corset and black leggings, glared at
them with one hand on her hip. A slight frown creased her brow before she
walked up to the two men. “What exactly are you doing to Gabriel, pet?”

Jude shrugged, taking Gabriel’s head up in the motion. Squirming,
Gabriel tapped his arm. “Hey, you behemoth…let go before you rip my fucking
head off.”

“Oh, sorry.” He let go of Gabriel with a casual ease that had
Gabe shaking his head. Damn, if the man was ever serious about hurting a guy,
there would be no playing around. Limping or not, he was lethal.

“I’m waiting, pet.” Olivia’s reminder grabbed Gabriel’s
attention. He didn’t want Jude in trouble…they were just fucking around. But
before he could open his mouth, Jude did.

“I thought you said it was just us guys tonight, Mistress.” He
darted a look at
Caelan
.

“Don’t look at him to protect you. I did say you and Micah
deserved a night to blow off some steam, but I didn’t say you were to choke the
living shit out Gabriel when we just got him to step foot back into the club.”

Gabriel watched in amazement as Jude actually flushed. “He said
he was going to ask Deborah for my family’s secret blend…”

She studied Jude for a moment, her expression perplexed. “And
your idea of an appropriate response is to choke him?”

Gabriel had seen enough. “We were screwing around,
Liv
. Cut the man some slack.”

“Men.” She shook her head. “Unbelievable. Give them good food
and a few beers and they revert back to the caveman days.”

“Sorry, Mistress.” Jude gave her a small, hopeful smile.

She softened a bit, and cupped Jude’s cheek. “You’re forgiven as
long as you didn’t tear up your knee again.” When he shook his head, she
sighed. “Fine. All’s forgiven as long as there’s no more horsing around up
here…and you bring me down a steak.”

Jude nodded. “Of course.”

* * * *

Leaning back in his chair, Gabriel was tempted to undo the top
button on his jeans. Damned if the steaks hadn’t been as delicious as he’d
remembered. He was more relaxed than he could remember being in a long time.
“Damn that was one of the best steaks I’ve had in a long time. You sure you
won’t cough it up, Jude?”

Across the table, Jude laughed as he tossed his wadded-up paper
towel on the table. There was no fine linen or china here tonight. Just
heavy-duty paper plates, plastic solo cups and a roll of paper towels. “Nope, I
don’t care how many times you ask. The recipe is
gonna
stay mine.”

“But it won’t keep me from asking. One of these days you’ll give
it up.” Gabriel reached for his beer. “Yep…one of these days…”

Jude snorted, before leaning forward to point his finger at
Gabriel. “
Kinda
like you’re going to give up living
in the past? Now there’s something I might actually give it up for.”

“Way to go, you asshole,” Micah growled throwing his empty cup
at Jude. “We’re supposed to ease him into it. Not just lambaste him with it.”

Jude scowled, knocking the cup away from him. “Why pussyfoot
around it? Sara’s dead, and he needs to move on.”

Gabriel’s relaxation flew out the window at the mention of
Sara’s name. “Is that why you asked me out tonight because you think I’m trying
to crawl into the grave with Sara?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that…”
Caelan
was trying to be diplomatic. “…but we’re concerned about you…”