AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1.
ANGELIQUE.
Waking up with the sunshine streaming into our master bedroom was wonderful. I was warm and cozy beneath the duvet; and my body ached in the best ways thanks to the loving I’d gotten from Gabriel through the night.
And best of all? Well... close to it anyway, there was no alarm forcing me to get up. I had no work to get to, and no children to get to school. We were on a forced vacation for the first time in forever, and I was enjoying every moment I could.
My eyes flew open, and I sat up, staring at the huge windows in fear of what I might see. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at Gabriel’s stone form. There was no reason to panic.
“Oh, thank god.” I put my hand to my chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. He was here, he was safe. We were all safe.
I threw back the blankets and slid out of bed, needing the bathroom. But before I went there, I sashayed up to the statue and stood in front of him, still naked from the night before.
“Good morning,” I said, not completely certain if he could hear me or not. He’d inferred that they slept in their gargoyle form, but I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly. “I’m going to have a shower, then check on the kids, but thank you for last night.”
I covered his hand with my own, although his fingers resembled more of a claw than anything else in his gargoyle form. “Sleep well my love.”
I wandered into the bathroom for a long, hot shower, forever grateful for my nanny Sharon. Normally I was a very active Mom, getting up early to be the first one to greet the kids. I’d make breakfast and we’d chat and go over their plans before the bus came.
But this morning I needed to gather my thoughts. I had a... I didn’t even know what to call him. A boyfriend? A husband? A stone statue occupying the window seat?
Well, whatever I called him, he was now a part of my life. And due to that, he was now in my kids’ lives. We were inextricably linked, that was for sure. For better or worse. And there had certainly been a lot of worse lately. And there may still be more to come.
I got out of the shower and dried myself. Despite the worry I had over the future, I felt insanely relaxed. Gabriel’s love making was truly incredible. Every part of my body was sated and replete.
I got dressed into some comfortable leggings and a long sweater and left our bedroom. I wasn’t sure where everyone was, but I was sure to find out. The first person I ran into in the hallway was Jenni my sixteen-year-old daughter, carrying a stack of books. “Oh hey, Mom.”
She looked bright eyed and chipper this morning, which was good to see. “How’d you sleep sweetheart?”
“So good,” she beamed. “My bed here is so comfy.”
“Oh, that’s great. I’m glad.” I glanced around us as though people were going to jump out and yell ‘boo’, “Where’s everyone else?”
“Sharon has most of the kids in the library, studying. I was just taking some books back to my room to read.”
I couldn’t help the proud smile that tilted my lips. Jenni was brilliant. “Well, you go do that. I’m going to try and find some adults.”
“Rose, Bella and Chrissy are in the conservatory.” Jenni said, turning to walk away, “They’re all really nice by the way.”
I stopped and smiled, feeling a warm melting feeling flood over me. “Yeah... they are.”
In falling in love with Gabriel, I’d also inherited three brothers and three sisters-in-law. For someone who’d hated being an only child, I’d officially got my wish. I’d never be alone again.
I headed towards the conservatory, finding Bella, Rose and Chrissy sitting in a circle of chairs around a table of sandwiches and cakes.
“Oh, good morning!” Rose called out, grinning at me. “Sleep well?”
I sat down with them, looking at the food with relish. “Yes, very.” They were all staring at me so to avoid saying anything more, I grabbed a sandwich and shoved it in my mouth. I was starving.
“How’s Roman doing?” Bella asked, looking at Chrissy.
Chrissy sighed. “He’s alive. They brought him here after they’d operated on him, but he was still in so much pain. The doctors stayed with him and although I lay beside him for most of the night, it was hard. He was struggling to breathe and he’s... well, I’ve never seen him like that. It was scary. He’s always so strong.”
Chrissy’s eyes welled up with tears and Bella moved closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “He’s going to be all right.” Bella said. “They have incredible healing powers, we’ve all seen them. Look at Rafael.”
I smiled at Bella and the love she had for her battered gargoyle.
“Have you heard anything from Anthony?” I asked the group, though more specifically Rose. Anthony had been her personal guard for many years and he’d stayed behind in New York to find out who’d been behind the latest attack.
