She almost missed Belle limping onto the stage, smiling sweetly as the opening strains of Jewel’s
“Hands” started up, startling them. Belle looked like an angel sitting in the light of the stage, her hair a golden halo around her head. She lifted the mic and Sarah sat back, prepared to watch the others get impressed.
Gasps sounded around the table as Belle’s strong, gentle voice floated over them. “Holy shit. She’s good.” Gabe shook his head. “Why didn’t we know that?”
Sarah tilted her head back, the top of her head brushing Gabe’s cheek. “Bimbo persona, remember?
Besides, Livia would have had a fit if she’d known Belle was good at something she wasn’t, so Belle hid it.” Stupid, but there it was. Belle had given Livia a loyalty the rogue hadn’t been worthy of and had wound up paying a price she hadn’t deserved.
“Well she’s certainly not hiding it now.” She would have bristled over the admiration in Gabe’s voice if it wasn’t for the fact that she could feel it. It had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with friendship.
The pride he’d felt when Sarah had sung had been mixed with a healthy dose of lust and…love? Sarah shook her head, not certain she’d felt what she thought she had. How could it be love? She just couldn’t trust her senses where Gabe was concerned. It was entirely possible she was reading something into his emotions that just weren’t there. Wishful thinking could wind up with her heart breaking all over again, and it had barely begun to mend.
Belle’s face tilted up, her eyes closing as she sang. Rick stood at the edge of the stage, a strange look on his face, utter disbelief mingled with astonished pride, his love singing across her senses. “Apparently Rick didn’t know either.”
“I guess.” Gabe picked up a drink and handed it to her. “Strawberry margarita.”
“When did you get this?”
“Just before your song started up. I thought you might be thirsty afterwards.”
“Thank you.” She took a sip just as Belle’s song ended to thunderous applause. When Belle went to get off the stage Rick stopped her, settling her back down on the stool. “Oh, this should be good.”
“Have you heard him sing?” Gabe began peppering kisses around the hickey he’d given her.
“Hmm?” The feel of Gabe’s mouth on her skin nearly turned off her brain. Rick, right. “Nope, but I bet he’s better than we expect.”
“Why?”
“He seems like the type of guy who wouldn’t put himself out there like that unless he was pretty sure he could rock it.”
“True.”
They turned to watch the big redhead take the mike. He nodded to the DJ, holding Belle’s hand in his.
Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” started to play. Belle smiled up at her mate as he crooned to her.
Sarah could feel the mood of the room as Rick sang, the women swaying into their dates as the big bad Wolf showed the world exactly how he felt about his Belle. The feelings swept over her, mellow and sweet, and Sarah swayed with them, lapping them up like a chocoholic in a Hershey’s factory.
Gabe’s hand began stroking her stomach in tender circles. He began to croon into her ear along with the song, distracting her from the emotions floating around her. Sarah licked her lips. Gabe’s voice was nowhere near as smooth as Rick’s, but it affected her much more deeply. She lowered her eyes and leaned back against Gabe, feeling his jolt of surprised joy when she did so, soaking in the sense of safety only being in his arms gave her. It was like the dreams, but so much better, knowing he was actually there behind her. She let her worries and fears drift away on the song in her ears and her heart.
Gabe tilted up her face with a firm hand, placing a soft kiss on her lips before cuddling her close. That first real taste of her mate left her senses reeling, but the sight of Chloe across from them brought her sharply to her senses. She straightened, pulling away from him, much to his annoyance. She could feel it, sharp and tingly. She couldn’t give in, not yet. Not until the question of Chloe was answered to her satisfaction.
Rick’s song ended to thunderous applause. Bowing, he led Belle off the stage and right out the door of the club, the blonde’s happy laughter trailing behind them, the two five-dollar bills still sitting on the table, forgotten by them both.
“Now I wonder where he’s taking her.” Gabe’s shoulders shook as he laughed.
Sarah shook her head. You didn’t need to be Omega to figure that one out.
Chapter Six
Gabe held onto Sarah’s hand and his own hopes for the evening. He knew how he wanted the evening to end, but from the hot-and-cold way Sarah was blowing he had no clue whether or not he’d get his wish. He wanted to drag her into his room, tie her down and deliver each and every one of those spankings he’d promised her. He wanted to watch her beg for his cock while he tongued her luscious pussy. He wanted to come so deep inside her she’d be marked before he ever bit down on her sweet neck. He wanted to hear her purr as he rocked her to sleep.
If he had his way she’d never get a chance to say no.
When they reached the staircase, she paused. One way led to Gabe’s room; the other, to Sarah’s. From the hesitation on her face he had the feeling his dream of having her in his arms tonight wasn’t going to be a reality.
His dream… That was the key, wasn’t it? He might not have known it at the time but they’d been controlling their mate dreams ever since they first started. Gabe smiled, knowing full well how predatory it looked. He had every intention of controlling their dream tonight.
Tonight he would show her he loved her.
He turned left, ignoring her small sigh of relief. He walked her to her room, the perfect gentleman, ready and willing to leave her at her door for just one small favor in return. “Sarah.” She turned and looked up at him, a question on her face. “Let me in tonight.”
She grimaced. “Gabe—”
He put his finger to her lips, gratified at her immediate silence. “I’m leaving you at your door, unmarked, giving you a little time to learn to trust me again.” He leaned in, nipping at her ear, smiling as her breath stuttered. “But in return, I want you to let me in .” He cupped her cheek and turned her face up to his. “I want sweet dreams for both of us tonight. Whatever you’ve been doing to turn off the mate dreams, please don’t do it tonight. Understood?”
She licked her lips, the uncertainty back on her face. “I’m not sure I can.”
He growled, displeased.
She was shaking her head. “How am I supposed to…do that with you when I don’t know if I can trust you?”
He took a deep breath, trying to bury the rage that threatened to overwhelm him. If she sensed it at all she’d be afraid that he was enraged with her . The fact was he couldn’t believe his own stupidity. She was right. A true relationship required trust on the part of both partners, a trust he’d lost by listening to the wrong person for the right reasons. “What will it take to make you believe you’re the only woman I want?”
“More than one night of playing my boyfriend!”