"I had Ryuu get your suitcases and take them to my room. I wasn't being presumptuous, but I figured that would be the one place I knew where it wouldn't be a problem for them to be. I have also arranged for a guest room for you, if you prefer." His tone was frosty and his body was tensed.
Her heart turned over. As a little girl she had dreamed of a handsome prince with courtly manners. Between her own fathers and her uncle, very few men had lived up to her very high expectations. Gavriel had smashed through that glass ceiling and raised the bar infinitely higher.
If she said no, she would have more time to herself. Probably only to think about him and second-guess her decision. If she said yes, she would have to face the fact that she was a mated woman now. She looked up at her mate. His eyes were unreadable. He wasn't pressuring her one way or the other. Not one to shy away from a difficult situation she realized she knew what she wanted to do.
"I want to stay with you, only..." she hesitated.
"Only what my mate? Anything you ask for, will be yours," Gavriel assured her.
"Don't expect too much," she blurted out blushing.
He gathered her in his arms and held her close. "Just being here is more than I deserve. There is no way you would fail to meet my expectations, they have been shattered in the face of the beautiful reality that is you."
And there goes my heart, where did it go? Oh yes, in his pocket to carry around for all time.
She sighed and clutched the back of his shirt. He pulled back and kissed her forehead.
"Come, zain'ka moya, I'll show you to your new home." Gavriel took her hand and led her up the stairs.
"I can stay here too?" she asked.
"Yes. That was the topic that Aiden and I were discussing before you commandeered his office," he said, sounding faintly amused.
"How could you let your commander function like that? Really? He didn't even have a filing cabinet," she shuddered.
"Now we have you to keep us in line. Between you and Meryn, the unit will be better than ever."
"Are you teasing me?"
"No, my mate, I am sincere. Things have only gotten better since your arrival."
Yup, right there in his pocket.
He led her down a long hallway and turned. They walked until they reached the last door. He opened it and stepped aside to let her walk through. She walked into the dark room and he shut the door behind them wrapping them in total darkness.
"Gavriel..."
"Shh. It's okay," his voice sounded further away, as if he had crossed the room.
Afraid to trip over any of his furniture she stayed in one place.
"Welcome to my little world," Gavriel said.
Seconds later tiny lights appeared on the ceiling and walls. Stars, galaxies, whole solar systems swirled around his suite. She gasped and spun around trying to take it all in.
"Vampires are one of the oldest races. There are few secrets of this world that we don't know. But the stars? The stars are still a great mystery. No matter how old I become, I look up and feel like a little boy again when I think about their magnificence," Gavriel said, appearing behind her. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body.
"Do you think it's the mating pull that makes this feel so right?" she asked laying her head back on his chest. She felt him shake his head.
"I think the mating pull is there for those who fight their mating. I have seen many couples who have rejected their mates be brought together by the mating pull. It brings them together, but doesn't ensure happiness. What you feel, what I feel, is when two souls who are destined to be one, come together. I was born for you. My incomplete soul rejoices at finding it's other half, and even though it may be jagged and broken, I hope that someday it will be worthy of being the other half of yours."
Elizabeth felt tears well up in her eyes. She turned in his embrace, wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight.
"What is this, my mate?" he asked rubbing her back.
"You're just too perfect. You keep saying the most beautiful things and I feel like I will never be good enough to hear them. I know you're old Gavriel, I don't know how old, but I know you're older than my uncle. Living in Noctem Falls I've picked up this weird survival sixth sense where I can gauge the age of a vampire and you're pegging off the charts. In all that time you must have dreamed of your mate. How can I hope to compare to thousands of years' worth of dreams?" she buried her face in his chest.
He pulled back and in the light of thousands of twinkling stars she saw the raw emotion in his eyes. The same emotion he tried to keep hidden from others. He spun her around and held her from behind.
"Every year I added a new star to my story. Every year I prayed to whoever would listen to send me my mate." His arm lifted and he pointed to a small bluish light.
"That year, I had to kill my best friend who had turned feral after his mate was murdered by humans. I wept as I added that star as a remembrance to my friend and wished for a soft voice to tell me that it would be okay." He turned their bodies. He pointed to a yellow star blazing bright.
"The year I added that star I became godfather to the most beautiful baby boy I had ever seen. He was murdered not two months later; he was only been six months old. All I wished for was to have a hand to hold."
When he went to spin them again she shook her head, weeping. How could something so beautiful contain so much pain? He walked around to stand in front of her.