Page 28 of Cruel Master

I can't face what that would make me if it meant that I liked it.

Tears spring to my eyes, but I quickly blink them away when I hear the door click open.

I sit up as Gabriel comes in carrying a tray. The aroma hits me before he ever sits down on the edge of the bed.

He has a tray of waffles and bacon and eggs. There's a cup of orange juice and coffee. He sits down next to me and lays the tray on the bed before he smooths my hair back from my head and pulls me into his lap.

I blink in surprise as he holds me there and wordlessly begins cutting bites and holding them up to my mouth.

I stare at him for a moment before he finally speaks softly, “Eat, kitten.”

I open my mouth and allow him to feed me.

He keeps running his fingers through my hair and soothingly over my back as he holds me in his lap and feeds me.

I don't know what to think of this.

He continues feeding me until I can't eat another bite, and then he lays everything on the nightstand.

I wait for him to speak or offer some explanation for his behavior, but he doesn’t. Instead, he produces a brush out of thin air, it seems, and starts brushing my hair.

I close my eyes and savor the sensation. I've always loved having my hair brushed.

He brushes it for the longest time, and then he begins massaging my shoulders and arms and neck.

He's taking excruciating care of me, and his gentleness confuses me after his roughness last night.

How can he be so cruel one minute and so kind the next? I'm too scared to ask him the questions volleying around in my head, though.

He kisses the side of my temple, and I bite my lip as I feel moisture pool between my thighs. My body is obviously still very attracted to him.

“So perfect,” he murmurs against my shoulder before he presses a kiss there.

His hands are moving all over my body, though not even in a sexual way. It's like he suddenly can't keep his hands off me. I feel the possessiveness in his touch. His touch was always possessive, but it’s even more so now, and there’s something different about it. I can’t exactly put my finger on it.

“I have something for you,” he finally murmurs before he lifts me off of his lap and sits me on the bed next to him. He reaches over and grabs his phone before he taps on it and then holds it out so I can see it.

I let out a startled cry and cover my mouth with my hands as a video of my sister plays on the screen.

Tears stream down my face as I watch her. She’s sitting in a diner having breakfast with some of her friends.

I don't know when Gabriel took this video, but it looks like it's happening in real time, so maybe it is.

Is this my reward for last night?

I glance up at Gabriel with tear-filled eyes, and he murmurs softly, “I left a note from you to your sister explaining your absence. I know it's been bothering you having her think that you abandoned her. I simply told her you are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and had to take it.”

I choke back a sob.

“Your sister isn’t upset with you,” he reassures me, still in that soft voice. “She was never upset. She's happy for you.”

I look up at him, more confused now than ever. I don't know what to think of him, but my heart swells at his thoughtful gesture.

Gabriel's blue eyes darken, and he does a complete one-eighty as he gruffly growls out, “Don't go looking at me like I'm a hero, Nora. I’m the villain in this story, remember?”

I lick my lips and shake my head. “Why did you take me?” I ask him once again. And I don't know what comes over me, but I take his hand in mine. Maybe it's just the gratefulness of finally seeing my sister. Maybe it’s the kindness he’s shown me today. Maybe it’s the softness in his voice and the way his eyes are looking at me in a way that makes me feel all warm inside.

I feel his entire body shudder at my touch before his eyes darken again. My stomach drops as he says harshly, “You want me to have some deep and meaningful reason? You want me to tell you you look like my dead mother or something like that? Sorry to disappoint you, kitten, but it's nothing that noble. I saw you. I wanted you, and I took you. It's as simple as that.”

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