Fate's Demand (Twisted Fate, Book 3)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gabe hesitated, as though thinking that sitting with me on a soft bed alone in a room with a closed door was improper. Smart. It was good when he did as I asked, though doing so wasn't so clever. Still, intelligent people did stupid things all the time.

"What do we need to talk about?" he asked, sitting on the very edge of the bed on my left as though providing himself with an easy escape. He looked at me with a guarded expression.

Maybe he wasn't stupid after all.

I watched him for a few minutes, a slow smile lifting my lips. When he looked like he was about to squirm under my not-so-subtle scrutiny, I jumped up, leaned sideways, and threw my arms around him. It felt exactly as it had before I passed out outside of the arcade: safe, warm, and just like Mike's kisses.

"Alyssa?" Gabe asked, his voice muffled against my shoulder. One hand touched the small of my back, like it was reflexive for him to hold me so that I wouldn't fall. A second later, he dropped his hand back to his side on the bed.

I pulled back and extended my arm, ignoring his reluctance. "Hold my hand."

"W-what?" His eyes grew wide. He eyed my hand like I had just offered him a taste of forbidden fruit, poisoned with sin. "What for?"

"Just do it," I ordered and waved my hand in the air.

People in charge usually earned their position through loyalty and exemplary work. At some point, that included following orders. It was funny, though, how leaders had so much difficulty taking directions from others once they reached the top.

"Hold my hand, Gabe."

He didn't lose the suspicion but reached out and twined his fingers with mine.

The feelings remained the same.

Safe, warm, and just like Mike's kisses.

Nothing else.

An experiment wouldn't be cheating, right? It's not like I was with Mike—neither of us had made any declarations of togetherness. We hadn't even surpassed the stage prompting secrecy yet. Finding out how I felt when I kissed Gabe compared to how I felt when I kissed Mike wasn't wrong.

"Whoa! Hey!" Gabe jumped to his feet and out of reach when I leaned forward, moving so quickly our lips didn't even graze. "What are you doing, Alyssa?"

My stomach dropped over the unexpected rejection.

David would never have backed away, not like that. He wouldn't make me feel stupid or rejected. Kiss or no kiss, Gabe wasn't David. It was good. Finding out this way, without having to kiss him, meant that I had stayed true to Mike. No wonder he and Suzie were always chatting. Was it about me? Did he hate that a relationship with me was forbidden as much as I did? How secretive it all was?

"I'm sorry," I said. The embarrassment of his reaction was balanced by the realization I'd made. "It was stupid. I didn't mean to... whatever. Just forget it, okay?"

"Alyssa, it's forbidden for a relationship to exist with angels. Angels and angels, angels and mortals—it's not allowed," he said, leaning forward from where he stood a few feet away. "Ever."

"What did you say?" My heart grew to pounding in the canals of my ears, echoing throughout my head.

Forbidden.

Was that a party line all angels practiced, or had everyone I was expected to interact with been given directives for what to say?

"It's forbidden for my kind to have a relationship with anyone of any kind."