Gabriel’s Inferno Trilogy by Sylvain Reynard Page 0,65

didn’t have the strength to stand. He held her to keep her from hitting the upturned chair or the floor.

“Are you okay?”

He began to move her so that she could sit down, but she clung to him, wrapping her arms about his neck without hesitation. He liked the feel of her pressed against him, so he hugged her tightly and leaned down to sniff her hair, somewhat surreptitiously. Vanilla. Her little body pressed against his perfectly, as if their shapes were ideal complements. It was astonishing.

“What happened?” she mumbled against his sweater, which was a brilliant green calculated to contrast with the blue of his eyes.

“I’m not sure. I think you grew light-headed because you stood up too quickly. And it’s hot in here.”

She smiled weakly, a smile that melted his heart.

Julia desperately wanted to kiss him. He was close. So very, very close. Two inches and those lips would be hers…again. And his eyes were soft and warm…and he was being sweet with her…

He pulled back from her minutely, testing her to see if she was going to fall over. When she didn’t, he placed her gently on top of the desk before righting the chair. Then he withdrew to the door of the carrel and straightened his tie.

“I don’t mind if you use the carrel—not at all. I was just surprised to find you here. In fact, I’m glad Paul suggested you use it. There’s no problem.” He smiled to put her at ease, watching as she grasped the surface of the desk for support. “I was looking for a book Paul borrowed.” He held the volume aloft and turned to look at Julia again.

Moving slowly but carefully, she stood up and began to stack books on the desk and pick up the white sheets of paper that had drifted to the floor.

“Were you supposed to meet Paul tonight?”

“He’s gone to a graduate student conference at Princeton. He’s presenting a paper tomorrow.” She looked over at him cautiously, and when she saw that his head was cocked to one side and he was still smiling, she relaxed. Marginally.

“Princeton. Yes, of course. I forgot. That’s a very fine briefcase you have.” He smiled at her knowingly, gesturing to the bag that was propped up against the wall.

Julia blushed, trying very hard to keep her secret knowledge secret.

“But there appears to be something alive in there. I can see a pair of ears poking out of one of the zippers.”

She whirled around. Gabriel was right; two little brown ears could be seen sticking out of the briefcase, almost as if she had tried to smuggle a pet into the library. Julia blushed even more deeply.

“May I?” He gestured to the briefcase, but made no move as he waited for her permission.

Hesitantly, she pulled the stuffed toy out of the briefcase and handed it to him, biting her lip in embarrassment.

Clearly Miss Mitchell has a bunny fetish.

Gabriel held the toy rabbit between his thumb and forefinger, gazing at it curiously as if he didn’t know what it was. Or as if, in a fit of temper, it might decide to emulate the behavior of the famous rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and go right for his throat. Gabriel placed a hand to his neck as a precaution and resisted the sudden and overwhelming urge to say Ni.

The toy was brown, of course, and soft, made of velvet or something. It had long ears and short limbs and very pleasant-looking whiskers. It stood straight up, looking rather stiff. It looked familiar to him, strangely enough. Something Grace would have owned and loved. Something from a childhood he never had.

Around its neck someone had tied a very sloppy bow out of pink ribbon. Gabriel measured the bow with his eyes and came to the conclusion that someone who was either slightly handicapped (no disrespect intended), or perhaps who had very large hands and lacked the fine motor skills of someone who was gifted with manual dexterity (such as himself), had tied the bow, such as it was. And there was a card.

Not wishing to embarrass her further, he smiled and let his eyes dart momentarily to the card, just so he could catch a glimpse of it:

R,

Someone to keep you company while I’m away.

See you when I get back.

Yours,

Paul.

The Angelfucker strikes again, Gabriel growled to himself.

He handed the bunny back to Julia. “It’s very—ah—nice.”

“Thank you.”

“But who is R?”

Julia turned away as she placed Paul’s latest gift back into her briefcase,