Sylvain Reynard - Gabriel’s Redemption

The woman turned away from Gabriel and obediently followed her escort to the Mercedes, where he opened the door and patiently waited while she situated herself.

The man seemed oblivious to the Professor’s presence as he closed the car door and rounded the vehicle. He started the car and drove away.

Gabriel watched the Mercedes turn the corner and disappear out of sight.

It was well after midnight when Gabriel entered his hotel room. He was world weary and tired, his hair disheveled, his tie askew.

Without bothering to switch on a light, he threw his winter coat over a chair and kicked off his boots.

(It should be mentioned that his boots were almost, but not quite, bad-assed, given that they were worn with a suit.)

Just as he was removing his tie, light streamed from the lamp on one of the nightstands.

“What the—”

Gabriel’s curse was interrupted by a feminine voice. “Sweetie?”

His eyes focused on the sight of Julianne, naked in bed with tousled hair. Her dark eyes were soft and sleepy, her ruby lips parted, her voice deliciously husky.

She looked like a sex kitten.

“Um, surprise.” She waved.

With a cry, Gabriel ran toward her, crawling across the bed and placing his hands to her face so he could kiss her. He kissed her long and he kissed her well, their tongues touching until they were both breathless.

“What are you doing here?” He pushed her hair lovingly back from her face.

“Delivering the charger cord for your iPhone.” She pointed to the forgotten item sitting on the nightstand.

His long fingers slid to the back of her neck, where they massaged her skin. His eyes gleamed.

“You flew to New York to give me my phone cord?”

“Not just your phone cord. I also brought the attachment that plugs into the wall. You know, in case you wanted to charge it through an outlet.”

He kissed her nose. “I really missed that cord. Thank you.”

“Did you miss the attachment?”

“Absolutely. I was very, very lonely for it.” His lips curved into a half-smile.

“I was worried about you. We kept missing each other on the telephone.”

Gabriel’s expression shifted and his eyes looked tired. “We need a better form of communication.”

“Smoke signals, perhaps?”

“At this point, I’d accept passenger pigeons.”

She gestured to the table that held the strawberries and chocolates, some of which had already been consumed. “I ordered room service. I’m afraid I started without you. I didn’t expect you to be so late.”

He moved so that his back was against the headboard and pulled her into his lap, tucking the sheet around her naked body so she wouldn’t catch cold. “If I’d known you were waiting, I’d have come home hours ago. I was on Staten Island and then I went to Brooklyn to see our old apartment.”

“How did it go?”

“Everything seemed smaller than I remember it—the neighborhood, the building.” He brought their foreheads together. “I’m glad you’re here. I regretted my decision to come on my own almost the moment I left the house.”

She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent. She smelled Aramis and coffee and something that could have been soap. But she didn’t smell smoke.

“You’re quite the secret agent, Julianne. I had no idea you were coming.”

“I left a message for you with the concierge. When I arrived, he had one of the porters escort me.” She gazed around the room. “It’s a beautiful room.”

His lips twitched. “I would have booked a suite if I’d known you were coming.”

“This is far nicer than I could have imagined. And it has a breathtaking view of Central Park.”

His arms tightened around her. “So now that you’re here, what am I going to do with you?”

“You’re going to kiss me. Then you’re going to take off your suit and show me just how much you missed your phone cord.”

“And the attachment.”

“And the attachment.”

“I hope you napped on the plane.” Gabriel grinned before bringing his eager mouth to hers.

Gabriel was still inside her, their bodies entwined. Julia was running her fingers lazily up and down his back as he held himself above her.

“You’re my family.” His thumb traced the curve of her cheek.

Julia’s eyes met his.

He continued, his voice a husky whisper. “All this searching, all this anxiety, when what I was looking for was right here.”

“Darling.” She pressed her palm against his jaw.

“I’m sorry I got lost in my head and shut you out.”

“Sweetie, you needed to find out more about your family. It was part of your healing.”

“What I needed was you.”

She gave him a heartbreaking smile, as if he’d handed her the world.

“I need you, too, Gabriel. I was sad while you were gone, even though Rebecca stayed with me. The house was so empty. And sleeping alone sucks.”

He laughed, and her body reacted to his movements.

“Remind me of this conversation the next time I’m determined to go off on my own.”

“A man has to do what a man has to do. But he should bring his wife with him.” She pushed his hair back from his forehead.

“I’d never argue with a naked woman.”

Her pretty features grew pensive.

He stroked her cheek again, his blue eyes darkening. “Have I made you sad?”

“I was just thinking about what Grace used to say.”

“And what’s that?”

“That marriage is a mystery. That two people somehow become knitted together until they’re one. When we’re separated, I feel as if part of me is missing.” She shifted slightly beneath him. “I’m glad you feel it, too.”

“I felt it before we were married, but it’s different now. The ache is more intense.”

“For a long time, I didn’t see how marriage could be something over and above love. But it is. I just can’t explain it.”

“Neither can I. Perhaps that’s why she called it a mystery.”

He looked down the length of their bodies.

“I suppose I should let you go.”

“I like this. It’s postcoital-cuddling-while-you’re-still-inside-me.”

“That’s the technical description, yes. If we wait long enough, we’ll be able to start up again.”

Julia flexed her muscles around him, and he twitched in response.

“As I recall, Professor, your recovery time is minimal.”

“Thank God for that,” he murmured, beginning to move inside her once again.

It must be said that in general, the Emersons slept better when they were together than they ever did apart. That evening was no exception.

(When they finally stopped making love long enough to sleep, that is.)

The following morning, Gabriel awoke, noticing that Julianne was still slumbering, her face pressed against one of his pectorals. He studied her profile without moving, resisting the urge to lift her chin so he could kiss her.

Instead, he memorized the skin of her back and shoulders with his fingers.

A great burden had been lifted from him. He hadn’t received exactly the answers he’d wished, but he’d received something better—the gift of his sister and his grandfather. Professor Spiegel was erudite and noble, well known for his intellectual insight and charity. He was a man Gabriel desired to know better. He was an ancestor whose blood he would be glad to pass on to his children.

The thought comforted him.

Kelly had introduced a seed of suspicion that their father was not the monster he’d thought. Gabriel’s memories and dreams were mixed to such a degree that it was possible he’d confused one with the other. Still, the facts he knew for certain about his father were damning enough.

What kind of man abandons the mother of his child and disowns his son?

His throat tightened as he thought of himself.

“Did you see your grandmother?” Julianne blinked up at him sleepily.

“Only from a distance. She was walking from her house to a car, with someone who is probably an uncle. At least, I think she was my grandmother. She lives in the same house.”

“You didn’t speak to them?”

“No.” He moved his hand to the small of her back, spanning the twin dimples that were above the curve of her backside. It was one of his favorite parts of her body.

(Privately, he contemplated planting a flag there in an act of corporeal colonialism.)

“Why not?” Julia was puzzled.

“They aren’t my family. Standing there, I realized I might as well be an alien to them. There was no connection. Nothing.” He sighed. “At least when I met my sister I recognized her eyes.”

Julia gave him a questioning look.

“She and I have our father’s eyes.”

“Don’t you need to speak to your grandmother to find out about your mother’s medical history?”

“Carson was able to get the autopsy report for my mother. He was also able to get information about her medical history, through dubious means.”

“And?”

“Heart disease and high blood pressure run in her family, but there wasn’t anything especially worrisome.”

Julia visibly relaxed under his fingers.

“That’s good news, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Gabriel sounded strangely underwhelmed.

“What about your father’s side?”

“Kelly told me there was some heart disease on their side.”

“So you don’t want to meet your grandmother or your other relatives?”

“I have my mother’s diary and a few anecdotes from Kelly. That’s enough.”