Page 37 of Falling for Ash
Sighing in annoyance, Gabby hefted her laptop bag, pocketbook, supply bag, and sword, and walked to her car. How inconsiderate of Fr. Perez to fire her after she’d already bought a new planner! Gabby mumbled under her breath as she pressed the button on her key fob to pop her trunk, placing the bags and sword inside.
Ugh.
She checked her phone and sighed. Twenty minutes to kill until Ash showed up. No way she was leaving him there to be greeted by whatever else Fr. Perez had hidden up his robe.
Eww.
She shook her head when her mind went right to the gutter. First time for everything, she supposed. Her stomach cramped uncomfortably, and Gabby closed her eyes. It was too soon for her period, but the pains she was experiencing bore a striking resemblance to her cycle.
Ouch!
The heat seemed to close in on her, despite the fact her skin was chilled. Gabby gasped, trying to catch her breath. Her head felt foggy, and her stomach clenched. Mim had explained earlier she’d never been very sick as a child because of her Werewolf genes, but what she was experiencing would feel something like a flu and her period rolled into one.
How could it not?
She supposed it was too much to ask that her transformation be painless. Darn it. After her ordeal with the priest, she just wanted to go back home with Ash. To be safe and secure in his arms.
Crazy how a man she’d just met meant so much to her.
Was it too sudden?
Gabby was not one to ponder the validity of love at first sight, and yet, she was pretty sure she was halfway in love with the beautiful Demon after one meeting.
Yes.
Mate.
Mine.
The whispered words were followed by an intense growl and a cramp that almost sent her to the floor. Gabby clutched her abdomen with one hand and opened the passenger side door with the other. She sat down with her feet on the sidewalk. Maybe if she just breathed for a while the cramps would go away. Maybe.
Not likely, something inside of her whispered.
Then she saw it in her mind’s eye, standing clear as day. Her she-Wolf. A beautiful caramel colored beast with long, sharp teeth and piercing blue eyes.
Awoooooo.
Chapter
Eleven
The arid air felt warm and dry, cooler than what he was used to, and definitely a relief after a gory afternoon spent beating back a horde of soulless rogues. But Ash had no time to enjoy the change of temperature and atmosphere as he exited a portal on his way to meet Gabriella. Something was wrong. He felt a force, unseen but strong, as if he were tethered to something, pulling him in the same direction he’d been heading.
He was early, despite Aphrodite’s warning that he would seem desperate. The fact was, Ash was desperate. Shockingly determined to see her, almost to the point of frenzied. He ran his hands through his newly shorn locks. Cutting his shoulder length black hair into a more modern style was another of Aphrodite’s suggestions.
“You can’t go storming after the woman looking like that, Ashmedai! She’ll run for the hills,” gasped the goddess after he’d returned from battle with a burning need to find his mate.
Only after catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror had he seen she was right. He’d been covered in filth and gore, his campaign against the soulless a success much to Lucifer’s delight and everyone’s safety. Typically, he’d celebrate at the bar with a round for his comrades, which was where he’d headed with his legion. Of course, once there, he’d picked up the faint hint of Gabriella’s scent on the air and tried to head up the stairs. That was where the Goddess of Love stepped in.
“Oh, no you don’t! Dammit, Ash, you will not ruin my reputation for matchmaking by scaring the little Wolf off before she even had time to bone you!”
Yes. She’d used the word bone. Which was the only way she’d managed to catch him off guard. A little shocked, he’d allowed himself to be shoved into a shower stall where he dutifully cleaned himself up. After his haircut and shave, he’d dropped by Arachne’s shop to pick up a new set of clothes, and here he was. Dressed and at the ready, and bloody damned furious at himself for the time he’d wasted on his appearance when he noticed Gabriella’s car sitting on the sidewalk, door ajar, and his scrumptious little female nowhere in sight.
“Hot as hell today, isn’t it?” a random passerby said.
“Not really, no,” Ash replied, glaring at the suddenly pale man who rushed away.
His own damn fault for speaking before being spoken to, Ash thought rudely. He jogged toward the car, inhaling deeply as he reached the vehicle. She’d been there recently, only moments ago, in fact. He could see her heat signature, read it on the air as easily as a living breathing thermo-imaging camera.
