Chapter 113: The reason he hated his birthdays

Camille’s POV

I ran like my life depended on it.

Well, it didn’t. But my heart did. I had almost given in to Gavriel in the car. And that terrified me. I had been mad at him for a whole day, and yet within a twenty-minute drive, I had managed to be enraptured by him again.

...I was afraid I would lose you...

I didn’t even get the logic behind those words and yet I had melted into a fucking puddle when he spoke them. It didn’t help that he had looked so anguished. So torn.

I was ready to forgive him there and then and that, that was terrifying.

“Camille slow the fuck down!” I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder to see him and screamed when I saw he was much closer than I had expected him to be. Dammit, wasn’t he nearing fifty?! How on earth was he so agile?

“No!” I yelled in reply. “I’m not listening to you!”

The sea lapped at the shore peacefully, oblivious to me making an obvious fool of myself. I was growing very tired and running in the sand wasn’t exactly easy.

A large hand caught me by the dress I had on and when I yanked away, I had us tumbling into the sand. I gasped when Gavriel moved swiftly, pinning my arms above my head while kneeling on either side of me.

For a long minute, all we did was pant heavily, staring at each other. The top he wore was a V-neck. It was a simple black top that revealed an enticing bit of his neck and chest. I watched the fabric struggle to contain his heaving chest as it expanded and relaxed while he panted.

Thick, strong arm muscles flexed when I moved, pressing down harder to hold me down. Dark hair, beautiful thick strands, framed on either side of his face. It was unfair that he got to look as gorgeous as ever while I looked like a hobo in the past twenty-four hours.

I could feel the heat radiating off him, his eyes boring into mine, his gaze drifting lower until they settled on my heaving breasts. He let out a stifled groan, low in his throat as he moved his eyes back to my face.

“Camille,” he began, his voice low and gravelly, sending shivers down my spine. “I know I messed up. I should’ve never said those things to you at the party. I was selfish and I got carried away thinking about myself. “

I struggled against his hold, but it was like trying to move a mountain. “Let me go, Gavriel,” I demanded but my voice weakened, betraying the way I felt inside.

Damn, these hormones. I was supposed to be mad at him. His stormy eyes softened, and he loosened his grip slightly, leaning lower. “You know I can’t do that, darling,” he murmured. “

Seeing that his grip had loosened, I placed my hand on his shoulder and shoved him off, scurrying in the sand away from him.

“Camille!” He groaned, crashing to the ground.

At first, I expected that he would pick himself up and keep chasing, so I was a long way off before I realized he hadn’t followed me. I looked back to see him lying very still in the sand. My heart jumped in my throat. Had I pushed him too hard? Crap, what if he passed out? What if I had hurt him?

I rushed back to him, my heart pounding with worry. When I bent to shake him awake, Gavriel suddenly sat up, grabbing my arm. I squealed as he pulled me down and trapped me between his legs.

“You will be the death of me, do you know that, Camille?” he chuckled darkly, tightening his grip around my waist.

I scowled at him, a mix of relief and exasperation flooding through me. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

Gavriel just grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. I could feel the tension easing away and a familiarity that I had missed more than I cared to admit settled between us. In my defense, I was exhausted. I hadn’t had breakfast yet and I had gone through all the stages of grief.

“I got married to Victoria twenty-two years ago. We had been dating in college.” He murmured. “I… I cared about her. Deeply. When she told me she was pregnant, I didn’t think twice about asking her to marry me.”

I sucked in a breath at what that meant.

“You have a child with her?”

He sighed, nuzzling my neck with his nose. “Yeah. Nolan. He’s a good boy. Unlike his crazy mother.”

“For someone you cared about, you sure sound very annoyed with her,” I grumbled.

“I did care about her. Until I found out she was fucking my boss. For two solid years.” He grinded out. “On my birthday.”

“Oh,”

That explained why he was angry. His birthday must have been a constant reminder of what Victoria had done to him. I felt myself grow hot with anger. But not at Gavriel this time. At the crazy witch who ruined his birthday for him. Technically, it was all her fault that Gav had lashed out at me.

“We got divorced. I kept custody of Nolan. Then she came back eight years later when I’d managed to raise my company off the ground, to fight for Nolan because that meant she would be getting money for child support. That was all she cared about anyway. Money.”

His arm tightened around me, and without thinking, I stroked his arm comfortingly.

“And now she’s back,”

“Yeah,” He murmured. “For more money I’m sure. I’ll handle her okay. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her. Victoria belongs to a part of my life that I am not exactly happy about. I wanted to keep it separate from you. From what we have, Camille.”

I sniffed, trying to hold on to whatever scraps of pride I had. “I’m sorry too. I should have been more considerate and taken your words seriously when you said you just wanted something quiet. It was silly of me to try to force something like a party on you.”

He cupped my face then, titled my head to look up at him. “You wanted to make me happy. I should have considered that too. You mean the world to me, love. It tore me apart to see you cry.”

I blinked rapidly fighting the tears that threatened to fall. “Really?”

“I never joke when it comes to you, kitten,” he murmured, brushing his lips against my cheek, kissing the tears as they rolled down.

“Aww Gav,” I sobbed, throwing my arms around him, peering up.. “I forgive you. I can’t stay mad at you when you’re being all mushy.”

“You’re a stubborn one, Camille,” Gavriel teased, his voice warm and soothing. “You’re lucky I love you for it.”

I gave him a cheeky smile trying to ignore the rapid thud in my chest. Did he just tell me he loved me or was he merely referring to my stubborn self?

Was I ready to hear that he loved me though? I had tried not to think so much about me and Gavriel and what we were. I didn’t like labels much, and in all honesty, I was only having fun at first. Gavriel was an intense lover. Once he touched me the first time, I couldn’t get enough of him.

You’d think that now that we had gone at it like rabbits a couple more times, I’d have him out of my system.

Wrong. I needed him more. Always. It was impossible to not be aware of him. Aware of his warm breathing cascading down my face. Aware of his arm propped under my breasts, so close and enticing. Aware of his chest, pressed against my back, hot and driving me crazy.

He hadn’t touched me in two whole days.

“You’re quiet all of a sudden,” He rasped, mischief burning in his gaze. I drew in a sharp breath when his hand moved and cupped one of my breasts. A sharp thrill traveled right down my spine as he whispered. “What are you thinking about, baby girl?”

I shook my head, unable to form words. His touch set had me brewing with emotions, hot and intense. Every nerve ending in my body was screaming for his attention.

And he knew it. Oh, he did. Gavriel’s lips brushed against my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Do you want me to touch you, Camille?”

Fuck. We were at the beach. Although, I hadn’t seen a soul since we had been arguing. I currently sat enclosed in his arms, facing the ocean.

If he touched me, nobody would know.

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. The longing in my body for him was overwhelming. I was done resisting.

“Then show me,” he urged, his voice rough with desire causing a smirk to graze my face.