Knots

Still adding chapters, see? So why aren't you adding feedback...

Chapter 6: Distraction

"We should get finished. The hot water tank is only good for about 20 minutes before you end up with nothing but lukewarm misery."

"Point taken," she laughed. If I have to learn to accept your scrutiny, then you've got to take it from me too. The more I learn, the deeper I want to be drawn into your world. I really hope you're willing to share and let me in.

Sara stepped back and vigorously scrubbed the conditioner out of her hair then quickly rinsed the soap from her body. She didn't notice how Gabriel stilled to watch her intently as she moved under the steady rain of the shower. By the time she returned her attention to him the heat in his gaze had been carefully smothered as he refocused on the safely innocuous bar of soap. She didn't feel his eyes as they bore into her again, watching the sweet spot where her ass and thighs met as she stepped out of the shower.

Gabriel shook himself mentally as she stepped out of the shower. Rinse, he commanded himself. She's not going anywhere.

"So, um, why were you dressed so, um-" he found that he couldn't finish the sentence.

Sara smiled, so you noticed the clothes, huh, Gabriel. Maybe there had been an unexpected fringe benefit to her undercover assignment. She made a mental note to see if she could get him to reveal how long he'd been attracted to her before the witchblade forced both their hands.

"I'm working an undercover assignment right now. A couple hookers have turned up beaten to death recently and we're trying to collar the perp before this turns any uglier."

"God if you've been going out dressed like that, you've got to be attracting some serious attention," he tried and failed to keep the protective concern out of his voice.

"Relax, Gabe. Remember, I've always got Jake for backup and the witchblade if that fails." Not to mention a certain psycho-stalker. Lord knows what Nottingham will do when he finds out about Gabriel and I.

"Just be careful, okay? I know this is your job and I'm not going to suddenly become some over-protective moron. But with the witchblade giving you distractions, you might not be as fast as you think you are right now."

"Fair enough. I promise I'll be more cautious than usual till we get this figured out. Speaking of the witchblade, any idea what's going on with that band around your arm?"

Gabriel tried not to let his mixed emotions at that particular turn of events come out in his voice when he answered, "none of the research I've done up till now has included anything like this. That doesn't mean this is entirely new. It might be that there's an explanation, but I've never come across it because I wasn't specifically looking. I'm going to do a deeper search."

She couldn't resist finding his supreme confidence attractive. She knew he was tenacious when it came to research. She doubted that he had ever failed to find information about a chosen subject of interest. If any previous records existed of the witchblade claiming a second person while still bonded to a living wielder, he would find it.

"A word of advice from experience," she offered, "you may not like it, but for the moment, you probably don't want to take that thing off or try to mess with it. If it's anything like the hunk of metal on my wrist, it won't take kindly to being separated from you."

"I'll keep that in mind," he responded, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel off a hook on the back of the door. He couldn't keep the uncertainty and anger out of his voice.

"Do you blame me for this," Sara asked haltingly. She had to know.

"No," he sighed, "we both made choices here. I'm just really not comfortable being drawn deeper into this."

"Now you know how I feel. I'm finally learning to live with its presence in my life, but I was never given a choice. The acceptance has been hard won for me." I hope it will be easier for you, she thought silently. You may not ever know it, Gabriel, but I promise I'm going to try to shield you from the worst parts of what's to come.

Sara had always been fiercely protective of her friends. She was beginning to realize that protection had always run deeper with Gabriel than most. She knew he could handle himself but she never wanted to see him lose that incredible spark that made him who he was. She knew from her own experiences that close contact with the witchblade would slowly and surely devour someone like Gabriel leaving nothing but an empty shell in its wake. Sometimes she felt like that was what it had done to her; there was nothing left but the struggle to bring justice and balance to a fight so ancient that she knew it would never be achieved in her lifetime. That knowledge had ground her down as surely as centuries of pressure turned coal to diamonds. Like a diamond, Sara frequently thought of herself as nothing but the distilled elements necessary to achieve certain perfection. All that would remain when the witchblade was done with her would be a perfect world. She'd fought against it at first, but now she knew that a small part of her had welcomed the knowledge that the world would be a better place when she finally left it behind. Accepting the witchblade's had at least bestowed that one gift on her. That didn't mean she was eager to share the experience with this man whom she was just beginning to love.

Wrapped in a towel, she stared at him frankly, "so do you have any suspicions about why the Witchblade has extended itself to you or why I'm having these seizures?"

Gabriel cleared his throat uncertainly as he rubbed his hair dry with his towel, "No to the first and yes to the second."

"Well," she said impatiently.

"As I said earlier, there's something coming. Something big. Whatever it is, the witchblade sees it as a threat to its goals. The seizures are the beginning of a deeper bonding process. I don't have that much material about it because it hasn't happened very many times. Kenneth Irons might know more," he grimaced.

"I figured," she crossed her arms over her chest. "So what do we do about it?"

We, Gabriel's breath hitched a little at his inclusion. God I hope I don't ever have to let her go.

"Right at this moment we take care of the ordinary things. I need to dig deeper, see what else I can find out. You need to get some sleep. Even if the blade did heal you, you're still going to have the emotional exhaustion to deal with. And honestly, I want you to have time to think and process all of this before we talk about what could be between us."

"Always looking out for everyone, aren't you Gabe?" her smile was heartbreakingly intimate, "We'll talk. How's about we make some time for that tomorrow? Think you can put up with having that thing on your arm till then?"

He laughed, "oh yeah, I doubt I'll do anything more than take care of shipments tomorrow. I figure I'll be a bit too busy figuring out this new little mystery."

Sara's heart held tight, he's not just talking about the witchblade; he's talking about us too.

"Yeah, thankfully, I don't have to go in to do paperwork tomorrow. Until we bust this murder open, I'm pretty much doing nothing but night shifts."

Without thinking about it too hard, Gabriel did the impulsive thing, "in which case, I'd feel a lot better if you stayed here tonight. I just want to know that you aren't alone if you have another episode."

Sara scrutinized him, is there something more to that offer than the obvious?

"Look," he add defensively, "in this case, I'll freely admit that I'm trying to protect you, okay? Deal with that or not, but I'd be asking the same thing if we were still just friends."

Am I really that much of an open books? A surreptitious glance at the band around Gabriel's arm confirmed her suspicions. Color and light danced in the stone's depths. I don't think he's even aware that he's tapping into that thing to read my emotions. Is it taking advantage of him, or is he just more open to it than I've been? Her answer came in the form of the purring heat on her own wrist. It seemed that the Witchblade approved. I'm not sure I like it, but I'm not going to say anything yet.

Sara shook her head, "I didn't object, did I? Actually I'd feel better not being alone tonight. The fact that I'd get to spend the night with you, only adds a certain appeal."

This time it was Gabriel's turn to flush with embarrassment, "you really want this?"

Sara stepped closer in the small confines of the bathroom eyes dark and lips curled seductively, "oh yes, "she purred, "this is exactly what I want."

"Damn, you have no idea what you do to me woman," Gabriel panted.

"But I can't wait to find out," her voice sounded the way warm cognac feels in the throat.

"Um, I'm going to go grab some clean clothes now, before I give in and do something I'll regret."

Gabriel hastily grabbed his clothes off the floor and shut the door firmly on his way out. The sound of Sara's laughter followed him down the hall, making him squirm inside in a way that was all together too pleasant for words. It's so very wrong that she can make me work this hard to keep control over myself. I absolutely love what this woman does to me, and she's barely even touched me yet.