Desiree Holt - Caught in the Middle

Don’t blame Gabe? Why the hell not when he deserved all the blame! Fury heated her blood, and she parted her lips, all set to lash out at him, but he never gave her the chance, especially when his next words completely knocked her flat on her ass.

“You knew, Collette.” He whispered. “You just didn’t want to admit it, but I know you had to have felt something. It’s easy to blame Gabe, but ask yourself why he didn’t tell you. Then ask him , because I’m sure he had a very good reason.”

She was prideful and stubborn. That’s the only explanation she could come up with for why, after spending two weeks on sick leave, she’d refused to heed Roarke’s word. She’d ignored calls from both him and Gabe, only to end up back in her office, hastily shoving all of her belongings into a cardboard box before Gabe arrived for work. She wasn’t quitting, she just needed more than two weeks. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

Yes, pride and stubbornness, that had to be it. Or it could just be fear.

“I’m going to say fear.”

She froze at the sound of the familiar voice, before she pulled herself together and whirled around to face the one man she’d been hoping to avoid.

Gabe.

“Get out of my thoughts.”

A tight smile tugged at the edges of his lips as he stepped inside her office and closed the door behind him.

“You know that’s hard to do when we’re near.”

She glared at him, hating that he was right.

“Look, I still don’t want to talk to you-”

“Well that’s too bad, because it’s past time that you do.”

Her nostrils flared in anger, and she clenched her hands into tight fists as she fought back her fury. He couldn’t force her to-

No, but I can force you to listen.

“Damn it! Get out of my head!”

“I can’t help it. I’m sorry.” He dragged a hand through his loose mane, a ragged sigh falling from his lips. “I’m sorry for everything. I should have told you when I first realised it. Believe me, I was going to. I just wanted to wait until it seemed like the right time.”

“Waiting for a right time is one thing, but not telling me at all is another. I deserved to know.”

Damn it. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, but he’d trapped her, leaving her no other choice. Forcing out a calming breath, she pinned him with a hard stare.

“I trusted you Gabe to always tell me the truth. But when it came to the most important thing to tell me, you didn’t. You knew you were my heart mate long before I did, and you should have told me instead of letting me find out the way I did.”

“I wanted to, Collette. Believe me I did. But you didn’t want a mate, you didn’t want any distractions from work. You certainly didn’t want me.”

She narrowed her eyes. What was he talking about? “What do you mean I didn’t want you?” Hell, out of that entire list, he was the only thing on it that she actually did want.

“Oh, come on Collette. I see the way you are with Roarke. It was very obvious to me that you two were interested in each other.”

Was he serious? Her mouth nearly fell open when she realised he was.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Roarke will hit anything that moves, and yet you somehow think that’s what I want.”

His eyes darkened, and she sensed the anger rising in him. She didn’t care how angry he got, because on top of everything he’d done, he’d just insulted her character and her taste. She snorted. Roarke ? Never!

“You know what, Collette? To be honest, I don’t know what it is you want, at least not from me or a mate. Since I’ve known you, you’ve never been in a serious relationship, always claiming that you were too busy and wouldn’t have it any other way .”

She frowned at the mocking tone of his voice, the sound grating on her ears.

“The Collette you’ve always shown me would want a man like Roarke. No strings, no complications, just carefree laughs and fun.” He stalked towards her, closing the distance between them to clasp her arms in his hands. With nothing but mere inches now separating them, she swore the air in the room had vanished, because all of a sudden, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

“The Collette I’ve seen wouldn’t want a man like me. There is nothing carefree about my life, and I come with a host of strings and complications. I want a mate, and eventually, I would like to ease up on my work schedule in order to have pups or kittens, even if that means I don’t get that next promotion, or I have to turn my city over to another vampire. But the Collette I know doesn’t want any of these things, so forgive me for not telling you the truth, but I figured it was for the best.”

“Best for who? You or me?”

“Both of us.”

A lump formed in her throat, as she read the truth in his eyes. He’d feared she would either resent him for messing up her perfectly ordered life or reject him outright, because finding a mate just didn’t fit into her master plan. She couldn’t blame him. She hadn’t shown him much else. But that was because she’d been afraid to openly want such things, to hope for something that, if it didn’t happen, would have people pitying her. So she’d convinced herself she didn’t want a mate, or a litter, because then when it didn’t happen, she wouldn’t be crushed. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Although, she was still mad at him, the raw emotion in his eyes finally made her realise the truth of her sister’s warning. All the signs that Gabriel was her heart mate had been there, but she’d been so determined not to see.

Instantly, Roarke’s words came back to haunt her-Gabe wasn’t the only one to blame. She deserved her fair share, too.

She wound her arms behind his neck, pulling him deep into her embrace.

“I know the Collette you think you know, but I am telling you that I don’t want a man like Roarke, who is nothing but fun. I want someone who I can trust. ” She stared him straight in the eyes, so he understood how serious she was about that. “I also want someone who I can confide in, and him in me. I want a partner, Gabe, in all things. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“And I can be all those things. I want to be that person for you Collette, and so much more,” he said quietly, his hand lifting to cup her cheek.

“I know,” she said softly. Just as you can expect the same from me, she whispered in his mind.

His eyes darkened, and before she could take her next breath, he dipped his head to place a tiny kiss against her lips. She instantly melted into him, but fought to keep a lid on her burgeoning desire. They were at work, and they’d promised Captain Moliker no more antics. If he caught them again, it was patrol duty for a week. But then he’d only mentioned the break room. He’d never said anything about an office.

She pulled back from Gabe, a mischievous smile curling her lips.

“Collette.” He warned, reading the devilish twinkle in her eyes, more so than her thoughts.

“Lock the door.” Before he could say another word she undid the buttons of her blouse and dropped it to the floor.

He couldn’t bolt the door fast enough.

Nadia Aidan lives, works and writes on the West Coast in the United States. Under her real name, Nadia holds a PhD in Political Science and Public Policy and by day she works as an Assistant Professor. She is the self proclaimed NEW FACE OF INTERRACIAL AND MULTICULTURAL EROTIC ROMANCE and writes across all genres, from historical, to fantasy/sci-fi to contemporary.