"I am guessing it is not something as simple as losing control and having sex with me. Does this have something to do with those sharp teeth I saw?" Megan asked in a level tone.
Gabriel refused to look at Megan. He didn't know what to say.
"I see," Megan said after a minute. "Maybe we shouldn't touch each other anymore. I am not in a hurry to have my throat ripped out by whatever is going on with you." Megan said hopping off the bench.
"Megan, I could never hurt you like that, but it could be dangerous in other ways. I'm trying to find the answers and control myself until I do but it's hard because I want to be with you desperately. Please understand." Gabriel told her in a pleading voice.
"It's hard to understand when you won't explain." Megan muttered, turning to head out of the pool.
Gabriel grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him locking his arms behind her back. He leaned in to kiss her softly. Megan was in the same boat as Gabriel. She desperately needed him to finish what he'd started. She wound her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss herself.
Not even realizing it she found herself straddling him on the bench. It wasn't long before she could feel him hard between her legs. She could feel his pulse against her. Gabriel made a noise, and it was halfway between a groan and a growl. Maybe she should have been scared but somehow, she knew he wouldn't purposefully hurt her.
Gabriel's hands went to her hips and began to rock her core against his hardness with only the thin fabric of their underwear between them. Megan threw her head back and moaned at the sensations running though her. Gabriel had been watching her closely and his eyes zeroed on her throat. Suddenly, Megan was sitting on the bench and Gabriel was climbing out of the pool on the other side saying he would get them towels.
How in the hell had he moved so fast? Megan sighed, she needed to figure out how to deal with this cramped feeling in her stomach. Maybe Angelina would know because she couldn't take any more. She felt like she was primed to explode. It would have been so easy for Gabriel to simply push inside her right then. Why hadn't he, it's not like she would have stopped him? Megan would have thanked him.
Gabriel stepped up to the locked door of the pool locker room. He jiggled the handle but it was no use. Wrapping his hand around the doorknob, he let his eyes go black, he watched as the knob began to glow red-hot in his hand then gave it a savage twist. The locking mechanism disintegrated into ash, and he pushed the door open.
With his other hand Gabriel grabbed two towels and stopped far from Megan when he came back to the pool. He reached the hand he had used to open the door into the water letting the pool make sure his hand was at a normal temperature again. Not a trick he used often but it occasionally had its uses.
Gabriel headed closer to Megan. He wasn't sure what to do about the situation with Megan. Another second and he would have said to hell with it and buried himself in her heat. She was obviously welcoming such an action. Then she had thrown her head back and his entire thought process had been focused on claiming her.
If he had been inside her, Gabriel knew he wouldn't have resisted. He would have taken her and damned the consequences. He couldn't risk it. So, what was he supposed to do when he couldn't stay away from Megan.
Megan climbed out of the pool and took the towel that Gabriel offered her. She gathered up her wet clothes and flats and without a backward glance headed up to the house. Megan couldn't bear to look at Gabriel right then with the stinging rejection running through her system. She had once again thrown herself at him and been turned down flat.
Megan made it to the bedroom and grabbed a new set of clothes. This time she wasn't dressing up. She grabbed stretchy pants and two comfortable tank tops for layering. Megan went into the bathroom and started the shower. Waiting for the water to heat up she sent a quick text to Angelina telling her that she needed to talk to her and then got into the shower.
Megan dried off and got dressed. She used the hair dryer and then loosely braided her hair. She checked her message, seeing one from Angelina. The message told her that it was supposed to be game night and asked if they could come to hers. She said sure and that she would see them at around seven. She would have to ask Angelina her question tonight. Megan begged the house not to do the horror movie intro to the house and to leave it the way it was.
Megan walked out into the hall outside her bedroom and asked Mim if she could please have her own room. A room door opened down the hall on the other side of the house. Megan thanked Mim and went to check out her new room, it was decorated in pale blues, creams, and light gold.
The strange thing was that when she walked into the closet all her belongings from the master bedroom were already moved in. Megan stood staring for a moment before muttering the word, efficient. For a moment, Megan felt sure that the shadow in the corner laughed.
Megan spent the remainder of the day in the library finishing one book and starting another. This room was easy to get caught up in and she often spent hours here. Megan wasn't sure who was ignoring who more, but she didn't see Gabriel again until dinner. Megan told him then that she had guests coming over. Gabriel had simply stared at her for a minute before nodding.
"When I took a shower before dinner, I couldn't help but notice that your belongings are gone from the closet." Gabriel said quietly causing Afton to look up startled.
"Yes, I moved to a room down the hall earlier today. I thought it was best," Megan told him in an even tone.
"Did you do this on your own?" Gabriel asked.
"No, Mim helped me." Megan clarified. Gabriel knew then that he was messing this up because Mim would never have helped Megan move away while he wanted her with him unless Mim felt it was in both their best interests.
"Okay," Gabriel said sadly. His simple acceptance broke Megan's heart and she immediately set her fork down. Megan excused herself to Afton and left the room.
"What are you doing? Go after her and fix this." Afton told his friend with frustration.
"She's right, it's safer for her to be away from me right now. We must stop doing what we're doing because it will end badly." Gabriel answered.
"You don't know that. You feeling the claim with her implies that she is your soulmate. She wouldn't be your soulmate if things were going to end in disaster. You're going to drive her away doing what you're doing. Didn't you see the way your easy acceptance of her putting distance between you two just devastated her?" Afton told his friend fiercely. "Soulmates are rare, and you are putting strain on your bond that doesn't need to be there."
"You're just guessing though, you don't know any of that, right?" Gabriel asked tersely.
"I'm not guessing, I just can't prove it yet. I may never be able to prove it. Are you really going to give her up if you can't get a guarantee." Afton asked appalled.
Gabriel sighed, "I don't know."
Afton scowled standing and dropping his utensils and napkin on his plate. "Then set her free now, before you break her heart. I like Megan and you are not being fair. No wonder Mim let her leave you." Afton strode out of the dining room with a scowl.
Gabriel glared at his dinner. He too no longer felt like eating. He knew Afton was right but after watching what happened to someone when he had been wrong about the claim in the past, he found it hard to even consider allowing Megan to be put at the same risk. Gabriel couldn't bear the thought of it.
Which meant he wasn't able to move forward, but this was Megan; he couldn't let her go either. If he could just be with her but not go into a claim frenzy. That would give them time to figure out the claim issues. Every time he got close enough to be with her though, he would lose control of the claim urge.
Gabriel was at an impasse with his self-control, and he had already lost Megan. He was one step away from losing her forever. Not because they didn't want each other but because they wanted each other too much, that was unbearable.