Blackstone Ranger Charmer - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,29
and then walked around to help her out.
“Thanks,” she said, rubbing at her arms. “I guess I wouldn’t mind getting warmed up.”
Gabriel could tell, seeing as he could clearly see the outline of her nipples through her shirt. He groaned inwardly, remembering how her tits felt pressed up against him earlier. “Er, it’s this way,” he said, quickly turning around before she noticed the tenting in his pants.
Keep it together, Russel. His main goal for coming here wasn’t to get her into his bed, but rather, he just wanted to have her alone and in his den surrounded by his things. He wasn’t sure if it was because of their kiss or that he opened himself up to her, telling her things he had never told anyone, but there was a need inside him and his lion to keep her to themselves until that bond formed.
He led her to the elevator, all the way up to his top floor apartment. Since he owned the entire floor, the elevator opened up directly into his living room.
“Wow,” she said softly. “This place is huge.”
“Er, yeah I got a good price on it,” he said sheepishly. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his wealth, but to him, it wasn’t a big deal, really. But he’d grown up with anything and everything he could ask for, and sometimes he forgot that not everyone was as lucky as him. Thank you, Dad, he said silently. The small trust Howard had left him had paid for this place and also ensured Gen didn’t control all the purse strings.
Temperance already looked apprehensive as she began to soak in the surroundings, probably confused because the mortgage alone on a place like this would cost more than a month’s salary for most people. Panic surged in him as she shrank back, and his lion paced, agitated, urging him to do something.
Do what?
Distract her, it seemed to say.
“Gabriel, how can you afford—”
He did the first thing that came to his head—take his shirt off. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head, and she swallowed audibly. “You should get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold.” Unable to help himself, he looked down to her chest where her nipples were still poking through the fabric.
“What? I—” Glancing down, her eyes widened as she crossed her arms over herself. “Gabriel, why didn’t you tell me?”
He grinned. “What do they say? Tit-for—”
“Where’s your dryer?” she grumbled as a furious blush crept into her cheeks.
“Hold on, let me get you a shirt first. Sit tight.” He bounded to his room, grabbed two dry shirts and towels, then dashed back to the living room. “Here you go. The spare bathroom is the last door there and the dryer is in there.”
She murmured a thanks as she slinked away. He breathed a sigh of relief. Close one. Temperance would have many questions, and he would do his best to be honest with her. But his family’s affairs were the least of his worries. There was another elephant in the room, after all, which was the fact that she was his mate.
It would be difficult to broach the subject with her. When was the right time to do it? His lion was desperate for her to know so they could finish the bonding process. He, on the other hand, knew it was much more complicated than that. Plus, again, there was his family. He couldn’t avoid Gen’s calls forever.
Growing up, he’d seen as much of his oldest sister as he did his mother, which was to say, hardly ever. After all, she was over ten years his senior and being groomed to take over the company when his mother, Geraldine eventually retired. The plane crash that took his parents’ life had been sudden and unexpected, and Gen moving into a leadership position pushed her even farther away from him. As CEO of Lyon Enterprises and Alpha of the Russel Pride, she controlled most of their family holding’s business assets. Cool, controlled, and driven, she and Gabriel had often butted heads on many issues, primarily, his role as the sole male of the pride. Gen wanted him to quit the rangers and “take his place” in the company and marry a lioness worthy of his position. But he refused the former, because honestly, dealing with asshole campers and dirt clods in his hair was preferable to sitting in an office from nine-to-five. As for the latter …
He knew Vicky’s sudden resurgence into his