Page 74 of Fragile

“I’m enjoying being here with you.” His comment sent a shiver of pleasure to tiptoe up my spine, my lips widening further. “You are the most beautiful woman in the room. I may have to keep you by my side all night. I’ve already spotted several dogs panting in your direction and I don’t like it.” His possessive side made me hum.

It was at that moment that I wondered about asking him what we were doing. Was it just a sexual thing or did he see us as being in a relationship?

I changed my mind, if he hadn’t said the latter, I would have felt bad and I didn’t want anything to ruin my buzz.

“I see. So, you’re feeling territorial?” I said playfully with an arched brow.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Gabriel growled as he placed a firm hand on my jaw and bent down to kiss me. His lips were soft as they met mine, just a peck but even that surprised me as I didn’t see Gabriel as the type to show affection in public. My eyelids fluttered closed as I savoured the feel as he tasted me fleetingly with his tongue, gliding it across my bottom lip.

“For goodness sake, Gabriel put her down. There’s plenty of time for that later,” a female voice suddenly said from behind him. He pulled back and looked down into my face with an expression somewhere between mildly amused and annoyed that we’d been interrupted.

Before he turned, he said, “Mother.”

We both moved around to take in the owner of the voice—Gabriel’s mum.

“You look stunning, as always,” he crooned, taking a step forward and planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Leonie Smith, meet Athena Knight, my mother.”

She was exotically beautiful. Gabriel had definitely gotten his dark looks from her. I knew she was part Greek and you could see that stamped on every part of her.

Shaking my hand, she looked me up and down, but it wasn’t overly rude as the smile on her face was pleasant and reached her eyes. I was used to fake women who eyed me as the competition. Athena wasn’t one of those.

“Pleased to meet you little dove. I love your dress, it’s stunning,” she said.

“Likewise,” I replied feeling thoroughly unsophisticated.

Athena took a sip from her chute and ran her tongue over her lips, savouring the liquid as she looked down at me, she was so much taller than me in her heels.

“How is my son treating you?”

I glanced at Gabriel, heat flushed my cheeks and I pushed my tongue into gear. “Really, well thank you. He’s been an absolute gentleman,” I replied with a smile. This caused Gabriel to roll his shoulders and clear his throat.

“That doesn’t sound like my Gabriel, but I can see from the colour in your cheeks, that he isn’t a gentleman all the time. And what woman would want it any other way? There is nothing worse than manners in the bedroom.”

I wished the ground would swallow me whole as I glanced at Gabriel, it was a total duck out-of-water scenario. I’d never even had the birds and the bees talk with either set of parents.

Gabriel was unfazed, “Enough Mother. Ignore her Leonie. Athena has a strange obsession with my sex life for some reason.”

I almost choked on the mouthful of fizz I’d inhaled.

“Not at all. I just understand men too much but Gabriel is right, ignore my teasing, Leonie. You are quite lovely. I am surprised he lets you out in public. He’s very territorial about his things.”

Remaining quiet, I just smiled my understanding. So, I was one of his things in his mother’s eyes. Great.

“Where’s Garrett?” Gabriel said, taking a sip of champagne and changing the subject.

“Your father is up in our suite, resting. I heard he explained the circumstances of his condition to you. We are facing bleak times Gabriel.”

I didn’t know what to say, their relationship seemed odd to me. What mother would bring up their child’s bedroom antics, and in public? They appeared close but in a strange way that didn’t compute with me.

As they spoke about Gabriel’s father, I excused myself and went to find the ladies.

The bathroom was the size of the apartment: all shiny surfaces and glittering lights. There were sofas and a dressing room area with full-length mirrors and the towels were actual cotton, not paper.

I washed my hands and then dried them before reapplying my lipstick. We had only been there for a quarter of an hour and I already wanted to be back at the apartment and alone with Gabriel. I felt a bit of a wuss not staying to talk longer with his mother, but that was something I had a full evening to rectify.

As I was fluffing my hair, a small redhead came into the bathroom and met my gaze in the mirror. She shot me a half smile through the reflection of the glass as she came to stand beside me.

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