I will be a blanket of love warming you.

Lady Eloise of the Daffodil Fields

GABRIEL

I opened my eyes slowly, stretching my body as the night before came back to me in a sudden wave of sleepy elation; the way Ellie had come to me, the way my heart had soared to see her standing at my door, the words she’d spoken, the words I’d been waiting to hear. I want you.

Ellie was sitting on the side of the bed, staring at the light of dawn just peeking beneath the blinds. My eyes roamed the feminine lines of her smooth back, the way her waist dipped inward and flared out to the roundness of her hips, and I felt a soft throbbing again, despite having spent most of the night making love.

“Don’t go,” I said, my voice thick with sleep.

She turned, her eyes tender and vulnerable, her lips swollen with all the ways we’d used our mouths the night before. She looked soft; God, she looked so soft. And I’d been right—she was most beautiful in the first light of morning, and especially so after a night of being loved.

“The sun’s starting to rise,” she said quietly, bringing her hair back over her shoulder. “I don’t want you to miss it just because I’m here.”

I smiled. “Open the blinds. We can watch it from this bed as well as we can watch it from the patio.”

She glanced at the window and back at me and then stood, opening the shades to the view of the sunrise just peeking above the forest behind my house. The room was washed in a pale golden glow, and her naked skin seemed iridescent. She returned to me and slipped under the sheets and smiled as she opened her thighs beneath me, creating a perfect cradle for my hips. And she accepted me into her body again as the sunrise welcomed us to a brand-new day.

And I finally knew what it was like to love a woman: body, heart, and soul.

* * *

That weekend was spent exploring each other’s bodies and learning everything that brought pleasure to the other. I felt insatiable for her, both satisfied and yet constantly hungry. On Saturday, we didn’t leave the bed much except to eat and bathe, but on Sunday, we took a walk so Ellie could exercise her leg and feel the freedom and pleasure of walking without crutches slowing her down. She had a slight limp, but the doctor had said that would lessen in time.

We held hands as we strolled under a different covered bridge than the one we’d gone to the weekend before, and I pulled her to me where I leaned against the ancient rough wood and kissed her. She laughed and kissed me back, and it felt as if the whole world had stopped and it was only us within it.

I was shaken from my reverie when we pulled up in my driveway and saw a car I didn’t recognize parked there. We got out and two men in suits stepped out of the car, walking toward us. “Gabriel Dalton?” the blond man in the navy suit asked, extending his hand.

I shook it, nodding. “Yes.”

“I’m Detective Cotterill.”

I was slightly confused, but figured it was in reference to Ellie’s case, so when she came up next to me, I introduced her, but he only gave her a fleeting glance. “I was hoping I could ask you a few questions.”

The other man had walked around the car and introduced himself as Detective Barbosa, and we shook his hand as well before I answered Detective Cotterill. “Of course. Uh, come on in.”

I led them to my front door and inside, where I gestured to the living room area. “Can I get you something to drink?”

They both declined and we sat down. I glanced at Ellie, and she looked slightly nervous. “I’m assuming this is about Ellie’s case?”

Detective Cotterill shook his head. “No. This is about a boy who was abducted in town.”

“Wyatt Geller?”

Detective Cotterill looked up from his notepad. “Do you know him?”

“I know of him. I’ve been following the case closely.”

He looked at me strangely. “I see. Any particular reason for that?”

I frowned, looking back and forth between him and Detective Barbosa, who had leaned back on the couch with one arm resting on the back and an ankle on his knee. “If you don’t know, I was abducted myself when I was—”

“Yes, we’re aware of that.”

What was going on here? “Okay, well, then you can understand why I’d be interested in what happened to Wyatt Geller.”

Neither detective answered that, instead turning to Ellie. “You’re Eloise Cates?”

“Yes,” she murmured, scooting closer to me. I put my hand on her knee protectively, and Detective Cotterill looked at it there for a moment before turning his gaze back to my face. “And you work at the Platinum Pearl, er, gentleman’s club?” He’d described it in polite terms though he looked at her distastefully, conveying exactly what he thought about her job. Judgmental bastard. Anger arced down my spine.

“I used to. I’m no longer employed there,” Ellie answered.

“Is that where you met Mr. Dalton?”

“Yes.”

“How often do you patronize the Platinum Pearl, Mr. Dalton?”

“I don’t anymore.”

“Hmm,” he hummed shortly. “We spoke to the manager there.” He flipped a page on his notepad. “Rodney Toller. He said you became pretty obsessed with Ms. Cates and made several of the other girls uncomfortable, almost had to be escorted out a couple of times.”

Ellie shook her head. “No, that’s not true.”

“That’s an inaccurate version of what happened. I’m sorry, Detective, what is this about?”

“The parallels in your case and the Wyatt Geller case are very similar. We’re simply trying to figure out why. Do you know why that would be, Mr. Dalton?”

“In what way are our cases similar?”

“We’re not able to share that information at this time. We were wondering if you might already be aware.”

I paused. “If you’re implying I know something about that little boy’s disappearance that I haven’t told the police—”

“We never said that, Mr. Dalton. After all, your abductor is dead. You stabbed him, correct?” By the look on his face, he knew very well I had. Condescending asshole. Next to him, Detective Barbosa picked at his teeth.

My heart had started beating rapidly, and I worked not to show that this was affecting me. I was confused and upset that I was being questioned in this case as if I were a suspect. “Do I need a lawyer?”

“Why would you think you need a lawyer?”

I let out a pent-up breath. “Listen, Detectives, I don’t know a thing about the Wyatt Geller case that I haven’t read in the news. And I can’t speculate on why there might be parallels in our cases if you won’t tell me what the similarities are.”

Detective Cotterill closed his notepad and put it in the pocket on the inside of his suit coat, along with the pen he’d been holding. “We appreciate your time, Mr. Dalton, Ms. Cates,” he said, standing.

That was it? I stood, too, rubbing my hands down my hips. Detective Cotterill followed my movement and then gave me a tight smile. “You think of anything we should know, you give us a call.” Detective Barbosa pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I walked the detectives to the door and said a terse goodbye, shutting it behind them.

“What was that about?” Ellie asked, walking over to where I remained standing by the door.

“I have no idea.” I looked at her and gave her an encouraging smile. “Just covering their bases, I guess.” Still, a chill moved through my blood at the news that our cases were similar. How? And why? And what was that little boy enduring right this minute? God, I didn’t want to think about it. But I couldn’t help it.

I’d been there.

I already knew.