robe from the door on the way past, shaking her head. He was like a force of nature . God help anyone that tried to stand in his way.
Chapter eight
True to his word, they ate breakfast and then cuddled up on the sofa to watch Christmas movies until lunch time. Noelle wasn’t sore, but as she moved around the kitchen making lunch she was definitely aware of the way her body had been used. It was a bizarre feeling, like she was made of plasticine that had been stretched out of shape and re-moulded to something that approximated her body. She still couldn’t quite believe what she’d let happen to her, but worse was that she didn’t know how she felt about it. Gabriel had overwhelmed her from the moment they met. His charm, generosity and wickedness had blown away her reservations about his damaged soul , and she realised now that she was in very real danger of falling for him and falling hard. There was a tiny, yet hard to ignore, part of her that was secretly pleased she’d had something to give him that was her first. She tried to imagine a lifetime of allowing him to expand her sexual experiences and it was nowhere near as scary a concept as it should have been.
“What are you thinking?” He asked, perching on the stool by the breakfast bar, watching her make salad. “Your eyes have gone all distant.”
“I was trying to imagine what you’re going to do when you’re old.” She admitted. “Somehow I just can’t imagine being tied down to the table in my sixties. You’ll have to keep exchanging for younger models.”
“I’ll book you into extra yoga classes.” He grinned. “Wrinkles can be overlooked in the face of flexibility.”
“You cheeky bastard!” She gaped at him and he roared with laughter, catching her by the waist and pulling her in for an affectionate hug.
“I’m kidding. You’ll always be beautiful to me.” He kissed her forehead and then released her. “Does the fact you’re thinking about me being old mean you’re thinking about something long term here?” He asked curiously and she shrugged.
“I’m not thinking anything.” She said honestly. “You know me Gabriel. I like to live in the moment. Why would I waste the excitement of today worrying about what all of our tomorrows might bring?” He made a moue and she blinked at him. “What does that face mean?”
He looked a bizarre blend of pained and pleased. “It’s...well....I don’t know if that statement makes me happy or irritated.” He tried to explain. “The guy part of me is happy you don’t want commitment , but my heart is kicking the crap out of itself because you’re not dreaming of a bright future together.”
“It’s still early days.” She reminded him. “Let’s just see where our feet take us.”
“Okay.” He grinned. “Are they taking us towards lunch? I’m starving.”
They spent the afternoon in separate rooms, wrapping presents while soft music played throughout the house. Gabriel had recordings of ancient Christmas carols sung a capella by a cathedral choir and it was achingly beautiful. Every now and then a particularly poignant clash of notes would sound and Noelle had to stop what she was doing to listen. She’d never felt this way about Christmas before. When she was a child it had all been about the gifts and the food. After her parents had died it had been about grieving. Family holidays just weren’t the same when you didn’t have any family. This year, everything about her had been flayed raw and left open, and the whole of it was surrounded by this incredible music. For the first time she was examining her place in the world and it shook her how lonely it was. Surrounding herself with the children at the school had seemed like enough for her for so many years, but then Gabriel had crashed into her life and turned it upside down.
She thought about the music, how it seemed to form a counterpoint to what was going on in her soul, soothing against the maelstrom of
Chapter eight
True to his word, they ate breakfast and then cuddled up on the sofa to watch Christmas movies until lunch time. Noelle wasn’t sore, but as she moved around the kitchen making lunch she was definitely aware of the way her body had been used. It was a bizarre feeling, like she was made of plasticine that had been stretched out of shape and re-moulded to something that approximated her body. She still couldn’t quite believe what she’d let happen to her, but worse was that she didn’t know how she felt about it. Gabriel had overwhelmed her from the moment they met. His charm, generosity and wickedness had blown away her reservations about his damaged soul , and she realised now that she was in very real danger of falling for him and falling hard. There was a tiny, yet hard to ignore, part of her that was secretly pleased she’d had something to give him that was her first. She tried to imagine a lifetime of allowing him to expand her sexual experiences and it was nowhere near as scary a concept as it should have been.
“What are you thinking?” He asked, perching on the stool by the breakfast bar, watching her make salad. “Your eyes have gone all distant.”
“I was trying to imagine what you’re going to do when you’re old.” She admitted. “Somehow I just can’t imagine being tied down to the table in my sixties. You’ll have to keep exchanging for younger models.”
“I’ll book you into extra yoga classes.” He grinned. “Wrinkles can be overlooked in the face of flexibility.”
“You cheeky bastard!” She gaped at him and he roared with laughter, catching her by the waist and pulling her in for an affectionate hug.
“I’m kidding. You’ll always be beautiful to me.” He kissed her forehead and then released her. “Does the fact you’re thinking about me being old mean you’re thinking about something long term here?” He asked curiously and she shrugged.
“I’m not thinking anything.” She said honestly. “You know me Gabriel. I like to live in the moment. Why would I waste the excitement of today worrying about what all of our tomorrows might bring?” He made a moue and she blinked at him. “What does that face mean?”
He looked a bizarre blend of pained and pleased. “It’s...well....I don’t know if that statement makes me happy or irritated.” He tried to explain. “The guy part of me is happy you don’t want commitment , but my heart is kicking the crap out of itself because you’re not dreaming of a bright future together.”
“It’s still early days.” She reminded him. “Let’s just see where our feet take us.”
“Okay.” He grinned. “Are they taking us towards lunch? I’m starving.”
They spent the afternoon in separate rooms, wrapping presents while soft music played throughout the house. Gabriel had recordings of ancient Christmas carols sung a capella by a cathedral choir and it was achingly beautiful. Every now and then a particularly poignant clash of notes would sound and Noelle had to stop what she was doing to listen. She’d never felt this way about Christmas before. When she was a child it had all been about the gifts and the food. After her parents had died it had been about grieving. Family holidays just weren’t the same when you didn’t have any family. This year, everything about her had been flayed raw and left open, and the whole of it was surrounded by this incredible music. For the first time she was examining her place in the world and it shook her how lonely it was. Surrounding herself with the children at the school had seemed like enough for her for so many years, but then Gabriel had crashed into her life and turned it upside down.
She thought about the music, how it seemed to form a counterpoint to what was going on in her soul, soothing against the maelstrom of
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