Page 195 of My Treasured Obsession

On my way to her, I paused by the bar cart to pour some whiskey in a glass with my left hand.

I found Gabriela in the dining room area, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows leading to the backyard.

She was fiddling with the new phone Josh gave her, since he kept her old one to monitor any incoming text messages.

I wrapped my arms around her from behind, ignoring the mild ache in my right one. “Hi, baby. What are you doing?”

“Hi.” She melted into my embrace. “Just texting the girls to tell them that we’re fine. They wanted to make sure we were settled in before they called it a night.”

I kissed her temple. “You good?”

“Hm.”

Gabriela seemed far away. Physically, she was present, but her mind seemed lost in another world. It worried me when she got quiet. I wasn’t accustomed to her pensive self. I needed my playful, teasing girlfriend back.

“Look,” I whispered in her ear. “It’s our constellation.”

Gabriela traced her fingers over the window’s glass, glancing at the night sky. The stars were visible, including Pegasus.

“I finished reading the book on Greek mythology,” she whispered back, leaning her cheek against mine. “The one you bought me.”

Excitement zinged through me. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “I know which God I would associate with you.”

My glass halted halfway to my mouth. “And which one is that?”

She stared at me while I took a sip of my drink, eagerly anticipating her response.

Gabriela palmed my jaw tenderly. “Uranus. The personification of the sky.”

A primordial God.

Father of the titans.

Something swelled in my throat. “Why is that your choice?”

“He helped form the foundation of the universe. Some even say he was the first to rule over the world.” She traced her thumb over my lips. “And whenever I look up at this very night sky, I think of you. To me, you’re the embodiment of all the stars and all the heaven I will ever know. You’re my happily ever after, Hunt.”

She’d slain me with those words.

I dropped my glass and it crashed to the floor, shattering to pieces.

Gabriela gasped, but the sound was quickly drowned when I grasped her face and stamped her mouth to mine in a passionate kiss filled with all the love I possessed inside of me.

Love for her.

Only ever her.

Gabriela moaned sweetly into the kiss when I thrust my tongue into her mouth and consumed her like she was my only source of nourishment. My soul fed off her kisses and thrived under the sheer magnificence of the confession she bestowed upon me.

She tasted like red roses, vanilla, and all fucking mine.

I wanted to make love to her.

Right. Now.

I was on the verge of telling her my true feelings when she pulled away and gave me a wry smile that made my insides clench. “Hunter, I want to tell you something.”