INNOCENT (Gabe's Trials)

Defense mechanisms

      The knock on my door was loud enough to wake the dead, so of course I stood no chance to it.

      "Julia, I know you're in there. Open up!" Gabriel's angry growl floated to my ears, making me cringe and pull the covers over my head. I wasn't ready to face him yet. "Julia, open this fucking door, or so help me God..." Sighing, I rolled onto my tummy, covering my ears with the pillow.

     The knocking and angry growling suddenly stopped, my phone starting to ring instead. Huffing, I tried to ignore the annoying sound until it stopped as well, but then the phone just started ringing all over again. My eyes closed on a frustrated groan of my own, my hand fumbling for the source of the noise on the bedside table. Connecting the call, I took the cell to my ear, waiting for a yell that never came. Lifting my head from the pillow I checked to see if Gabriel was still on the line or if he'd hang up. He was still on the phone, the impossible man, but he refused to talk.

       "What?" I barked after another long moment of silence. His heavy breathing was the only thing I could hear coming from him, the sound a little unsettling. "Look. I'm really, really tired, so if you've got nothing to say to me, I think I'll just hang up now and go back to sleep." I'd just started to remove the phone from my ear when Gabriel sighed.

      "I do have a lot of things to say to you and even more to ask, so could you please open the door and let me in?" His gentle tone took me aback. What the fuck was he playing at? The Gabriel that had almost knocked my door down just a few moments ago was an angry as fuck bastard, so why this change?

      "Aren't you gonna scream at me, or threaten me or something?" I mumbled, trying to figure out his change of approach.

      "Would it make you open the door if I did?" Hm, probably not. Who the fuck am I kidding? Surely not.

     "No..." I answered, biting into my lip while trying to decide weather to let him in or not. His gentle approach scared me more than if he just screamed at me. It made me realise just how unpredictable he was. "Fine, you can come in. The door is open." An angry growl came through the phone, as my front door bursted open. I just stretched, preparing myself for Gabriel's wrath. I was in a lot of trouble, judging by the angry footsteps heading towards the bedroom, toward me.

      The door separating my room from the rest of the apartment opened a moment later, Gabriel showing up in the doorway. He was wearing a black Ralph Lauren Black Label, single breast suit and a white shirt casually unbuttoned at the collar, no tie, the combination amazing. What really got me out of bed, though, was the look in his eyes. Oh, if only looks could kill...

     "Why the fuck would you leave your front door open, Julia? For Christ' sake, woman! Do you happen to have any idea how dangerous that is?" I just watched him go balistic, the defense mechanisms in my brain helping me to keep a straight face and not make him angrier -if that was even possible at this point. Taking a few deep breaths and repeatedly raking his hands through his dark, messy hair, Gabriel closed his eyes, denying me the pleasure of drowning in his hazel pools of lust and anger. "I need a drink." A drink? At ten in the morning? Turning around and exiting the room, he headed for the kitchen, stopping next to the fridge and taking the bottle of Montrachet out, curiously glancing at it. "What's wrong with this?" I casually shrugged.

     "Nothing. Does it have to be something wrong with it?" Gabriel frowned, then pulled two wine glasses out of the cupboard and placed them on the counter.

     "You don't like it then?" I should've been a fucking idiot not to like expensive wine, so I simply shook my head.

     "I find it amazing actually." Absently nodding his head, Gabriel focused on pouring the wine, the glasses steaming up at the contact with the cold liquid. Putting the cork back in the bottle and placing it down, he picked up both glassed, handing one to me. Not letting go of the glass, his eyes ran down my body, lingering on my ruby wine, pleated babydoll.