Page 45 of Guarded Knight

“The doctor’s just stepped in with a late patient, but she shouldn’t be long. You’re her next visit, so just sit tight, and I’ll check back in if it’s more than ten minutes.”

I nod, gripping the edge of the gown where it crosses at my chest.

She exits with a soft click of the door, and then it’s just me and Gabriel.

I cross my arms loosely, then uncross them. My legs dangle off the table, and even under my jeans, I have goosebumps. I shift again, but there’s no getting comfortable on a surface designed for exposure.

Gabriel stands a few feet away, leaning against the wall near the window. Watching me.

I feel the drag of his gaze tracing the edge of the gown where it parts at my collarbone and dips toward my skin. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Just lets his eyes fall for a beat too long… before his jaw flexes, and he pushes off the wall.

He shrugs out of his jacket and crosses the space between us.

Wordless.

Heavy.

God, I can barely breathe.

He drapes the leather over my chest like a blanket, with a gentleness that reminds me of all the other times he’s done this exact thing. His hoodie at a bonfire. His jacket in the stands of a football game.

It’s worn and warm and smells like him, a scent that wraps around me just as tightly as the fabric and gives me comfort.

“Thanks,” I say quietly.

He nods once but doesn’t move away.

I glance up. “You can sit, you know. I won’t bite.”

He pulls the rolling stool over and drops into it beside me, forearms braced on his knees.

Silence falls again, but it’s not the same one we drove here in.

This one feels… full.

Someone has to break it. “This place reminds me of where our troubles all began.”

His eyes meet mine. “Mmm.”

My voice softens. “When you kissed me.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

The words stab clean through my ribs. “Oh.”

He drags a hand down his face. “That came out wrong.”

“Did it?” My defenses rise slowly like a drawbridge.

He sighs. “I didn’t mean that. But… I didn’t know what was going to happen to me out there, Lara.”

“I know you had a tough time, I can’t even imagine, especially with grieving your mom around the same time.” I have to steady my hands from shaking. “But I guess…” I hesitate, but the words come tumbling out. “I was hoping you would’ve come back… when you got better.”

“Yeah…” His warm eyes meet mine with an apology in them. “Well… I never got better, Firefly.”

My fingers tighten around the edge of his jacket. “Never? Like… even now?” A sadness sweeps through me. “You still have nightmares?” I know about the nightmares.

From Xander.