"Good night, Claire," Gabriel whispered as he kissed her on her forehead again.
"Good night, Gabriel." Claire leaned forward and pecked his lips. Gabriel was taken by surprise, but even more so when Claire snuggled her head under his chin. His steady breath and his smell brought her comfort, making her feel at ease again. Her breath slowed down and became rhythmical, she was already falling asleep, not realising that her action brought a wide smile onto Gabriel's face.
"I want to be your lifeboat," Gabriel whispered as he caressed the back of her head. "I want to be your pillar, your shield. And I want you to know that I'll always be on your side." He sighed, hoping that he'll get to keep his promises, that he'll be able to protect her from everything bad. He hoped that he could help her leave her past behind and help her heal her wounds, as she did for him, even if unknowingly. Claire's arm wrapped around him and she moved closer to him, putting her head in his neck. Gabriel turned onto his back, gently wrapped his arm under her head, placing it across her back, pulling her close to him.
"You know, I think I'm starting to like you," Claire mumbled into his chest. Gabriel laughed, kissing the top of her head, and caressing it with his free hand.
"That's progress."
"I know. I wonder when that's going to change back."
"I hope that the answer is never."
"It's only been two weeks. Can you keep up your act for much longer?" Claire moved her fingertips across his chest, feeling it rising and falling faster.
"It's not an act," Gabriel said with confidence. "You should be sleeping. What's going on in that pretty head of yours now?"
Claire carefully thought about the answer.
"It's my mum's birthday tomorrow and I know that I can't be there. I feel very bad about it." Claire sighed.
"Would you like to go and see your parents tomorrow?"
"No, I can't." Claire shook her head. "I'll try calling them though. And I'll see them once everything's over."
"Are you sure? Harry can assist you?"
"I'm sure. I am not willing to take the risk."
"Okay." Gabriel nodded with understanding. "Would you like to send them a gift?"
"No." Claire smiled. "I think that it'll be another six of eight weeks so not that much longer. I think my mum would be keen to meet you."
"You think so?"
"I've said keen to meet you, I'm not sure whether she'd like you though." Claire teased him.
"Oh. What about your dad?"
"He may be a little less keen," Claire said honestly. "The day that he feeds you is the day that he accepts you in the family."
"So, my main goal is to get your dad to feed me?" Gabriel laughed. "I am absolutely terrified of it." Gabriel's face turned serious.
"Why?"
"I don't want to make any bad impression on your parents, and I think that might be challenging considering that it's me," Gabriel admitted. "Meeting your friends was stressful enough. I'm still traumatised by Zoe's seance."
"Why did you come out with us if you were worried about it?"
"Because it was important to me to get to know the people that are important to you."
"I see." Claire thought about it and realised that she was very curious to meet Gabriel's friends although she was still worried about the perspective of it. "I never knew things like that make you nervous."
"Years of practice."
"You should've said something. I would have helped."
"Would you?" Gabriel asked in disbelief. "Last time I've checked, you enjoyed seeing me being tortured."
"Well, yes." Claire chuckled.
"Are you definitely okay meeting my lot?"
"I've already said that I'll come." Claire nodded.
"I can promise you that they're all proper gentlemen. Alex might be a bit of a weirdo, but he does behave himself around ladies." Gabriel started to worry that Claire might not feel too confident meeting his male friends. "Would you like to bring a female backup?"
"What? Why?" Claire looked up at him with surprise.
"So that you don't feel outnumbered?"
"What happened to my pillar and shield?"
"No, it's not that." Gabriel laughed. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Jacque and Matthew are very much like me. Rather introverted recluses who will quite likely stick to small talk. Alex…" Gabriel contemplated the answer. "He's the extrovert. He can be a little daunting. He's like a hyper-active puppy at times."
"So, he's essentially like my friends?" Claire asked with a giggle.
"Jacque will keep him occupied, so don't worry. And you can always hide behind me."
"Don't worry about me." Claire smiled. "I can deal with people. You have to remember that I work in a male-dominated field. Our company has an above-average number of female employees, but almost all of our clients are male. Not to mention all of the banquets, balls, parties, conferences, and openings. I am not worried about what they might say or do." Claire said honestly. "However, I am slightly worried that they will dislike me."
"Not a chance, Claire," Gabriel reassured her. "The fact that you tolerate me is already blowing their minds. They believe you to be a saint to put up with me."
"They just don't know that I can be just as bad as you and that's the only reason we've made it this far."
"You're nowhere close to my level of wickedness." Gabriel planted the kiss on Claire's forehead again. Claire looked at him with a mischievous smile.
"That's bold of you to assume." She shifted up, kissing Gabriel on his lips, knowing full well that he was reacting to her touch, that he fought off his desire to let his hands explore her, and a desire to rip that nightie off her. This kiss was different to their first. It drove him insane as this time Claire's body was pressed against his, and through the thin fabric, he could feel every curve of it. It took him every ounce of self-control to keep his hands still, gripping one hand on her arm, and his other hand was gently placed at the back of her head.
Claire felt an increasing conflict inside of her. It was a chaotic mixture of her own desires as she felt Gabriel's large hand gripping her more and more, her own want to touch him and feel him, and an unspeakable fear that if she were to do it, she was going to be hurt more than ever before. She didn't trust him enough about his feelings and intentions. She was hurt before after all the sweet promises were made. She wasn't going to be this stupid ever again. She broke off the kiss, out of breath, with a weak and unsure smile on her face. Gabriel quickly pulled a duvet up, trying to cover his excitement, which made Claire laugh out loud.
"You're truly evil." Gabriel laughed himself, his cheeks all red. "Come on, get some rest." He urged her. Claire's watch vibrated which she ignored at first, but then it vibrated again. Claire laid her head back down on Gabriel's chest, trying her best to ignore it. After a tenth or so message, she looked at her wrist. "Who's messaging you at this time?" Gabriel grumbled.
"It seems to be my cousin." Claire sighed. "I may have to respond before he reports me as a missing person."
"Your cousin?" Gabriel looked at her curiously. "How many cousins do you have?"
"Two from my mum's side and three from dad's side. I used to see cousins from my mum's side a lot as they live close by, but I only saw my cousins from dad's side over summer holidays at Nonna's."
Claire wriggled out from Gabriel.
"Don't go…" Gabriel whined as he grabbed her hand. "No."
"I'll just grab my phone and I'll be right back." Claire laughed as Gabriel didn't want to let her go. "Stop being childish!"
"Noooo…" Gabriel didn't want to her go. Claire was strong enough to drag him across the bed. Claire stopped pulling and instead, she moved closer to him. His head was hanging off the bed upside down, as he held onto the bed with his legs. She moved closer and kissed him again. He removed his hands automatically which Claire used to her advantage, breaking off the kiss and running out of the room. Gabriel grumbled something behind her. As she said, she appeared back in his bedroom within seconds, a phone in her hand. Gabriel hasn't moved as he laid across the bed, with his head still hanging off. "So, what did your cousin want?"
"He's back in the city next week and wants to meet up," Claire answered honestly. "Then there's about twenty messages asking if I'm alive and why I'm not responding." She sighed as she walked back towards the bed.
"Which side is this cousin from?"
"Mum's." Claire smiled. "He and Jack are like brothers to me." Claire sat down on the edge of the bed, besides Gabriel's head, quickly typing the message. "What about you? How many cousins do you have?"
"I don't know." Gabriel shrugged. "Honestly, I don't even know how many half-siblings I might have, never mind cousins." Claire looked up at him quizzically, at which Gabriel laughed. "My family is a bit of a mess. Honestly, Eva is the only one I'd like you to meet."
"Every family has some drama." Claire shrugged as she put her phone away.
Claire shifted so that she was back in her spot, waiting for Gabriel to move so that she could get back under the duvet and stretch her legs out. Gabriel slowly sat up, his hair all dishevelled.
"So, are we sleeping now or is there something else?" Gabriel asked looking at the watch. "Why is your cousin messaging you at 4 am?"
"He's quite impulsive. Plus, I'm pretty sure our sleeping problems are hereditary." Claire explained as her phone vibrated again. And as Gabriel crawled back to his spot, his phone started vibrating.
"Talking about nocturnal creatures." He grumbled, turning his phone off.
"And who is messaging you at 4 am?" Claire asked teasingly.
"My very best friend whom you are to meet in two weeks. I'll respond to him at a normal hour." Gabriel continued grumbling. "I warned him before that if he continues to message me after 11 pm I'll punch his teeth out. I guess my threat did absolutely nothing."
"How come you didn't mention your friends before?"
"I did but you didn't want to believe me that I have any." Gabriel reminded her, looking at her with a smile. "We see each other only every few months. They all work in different cities and it's hard for all of us to be in one place for a reunion."
"How did you meet?"
"At uni," Gabriel replied shortly. "Now, get back in here." He opened his arms as an invitation for Claire to lay down on his chest. Claire hesitated but she soon laid her head down by his collarbone. "Alex is my best friend. As bad as he can be, he was always there for me. That's also why I fear that he might be a little overexcited when meeting you."
"But…" Claire sighed.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm just worried that I'll be nothing compared to other girls that you must've introduced to them, and that they'll really dislike me."
"I can promise you that they'll love you." Gabriel tightened the hug around Claire, unsure how to tell her that she was the very first girl that he was to introduce to his friends.
Claire at last settled again, falling asleep, Gabriel following her suit not much later.