บท 21: The penthouse

"You're not Gabriel," Esme pointed 'finger guns' in Lenny's direction.

Lenny walked around the bar and towards her, his face hardening the longer he looked at Esme. She looked to the side awkwardly, not meeting his gaze.

"No, I am not." He stopped just in front of her, lightly gripping her chin and tilted her face towards his. "What happened last night, Esme?" He asked quietly, observing her features.

Esme pulled away from him, pushing his hand away and turned around, grabbing the first bottle of whiskey she could find. "Nothing much," She shrugged as she started to make two drinks.

She slid the tumbler of whiskey across the bar towards Lenny before shuffling away from him, but he did not move to collect the glass; instead, he blocked her way. Esme sighed and tapped her finger on her chin while pouting, "Let's see.. A door hit me in the face, and oh.. this scratch mark? That's from a.. a damn cat that acted all cute, letting me stroke it then bam.. scratched my face. Vicious little creatures, I must prefer dogs."

Esme then downed the whiskey in one go and slammed the glass onto the bar after seeing Lenny's unimpressed face. "A door and a cat?" He drawled, opening and shutting his silver flashy silver lighter.

"What can I say.. some shitty luck right there," She joked nervously as he invaded her personal space again. This time he caressed her cheek, his thumb brushing just below the first cut on her face.

"I'd say it was a pretty big cat," Lenny murmured; he slowly looked from her cheek then gazed into her eyes, his fingers slipped into the back of her hair, "It also looks to be nearly scabbing over.. You said this was from last night? You said "

Esme gulped. This was the first time she had to deal with a human finding out her secret. Not that Lenny, a mafia boss, would ever believe in the supernatural AND that she could magically turn into a giant wolf. With her petite frame, hell no.

"I heal quite quickly.. high metabolism and all.." She looked to the side and pursed her lips, then wriggled free from his hold and walked away from the bar, looking in Lenny's direction only to bump into someone's chest.

Large hands wrapped around her arms, the strength too much to be a human's as she felt the pressure increase. Esme's heart rate spiked, and she became alarmed; her thoughts instantly turned to Ethan even though it would not make sense. But when she looked up to see Gabriel, his icy gaze moving from Lenny to staring at her face, her shoulders relaxed. Icy gaze or not, she didn't mind staring at such a masterpiece.

"It seems MY employee is in need of some medical attention," Gabriel drawled, his gaze not moving from hers as he spoke to Lenny. "Next time, you should alert me of your arrival, Lenny," He looked at Lenny menacingly, the specks of red in his eyes glowing before he released Esme's arms and grabbed her hand and started to pull her along his lengthy strides. Her little steps had to double to keep up with his pace.

"I missed seeing your little bartender here. You keep hogging her, Gabriel. It's not very nice, especially among friends," Lenny replied quietly; his words made her frown, and she turned her head to look at him.

"I am not an object!" Esme snapped, her anger bubbling up, making her body tense up. She stopped walking and glared at Lenny. Gabriel clicked his tongue in annoyance, his grip tightening on her hand but not bone-crushingly tight. She didn't get the creepy-crawly feeling from Gabriel holding her hand as she did Paul.

"Of course not, kid. I just missed your beautiful face," Lenny smirked, his eyes lazily moved from Esme and to the vampire behind her.

"Well, I owe you rent money anyway, so I will see you at some point," Esme replied, her voice calmer as she ignored the comment from earlier that still annoyed her.

"That's okay. I think your boss is getting impatient." Lenny walked towards her and leaned down as though he was going to kiss her; Gabriel tensed. Lenny stopped just before her face. "I will just collect it at your place, text me when you're free," He smiled, looking up at Gabriel before leaving a gentle kiss on each cheek in farewell.

Esme stood there stunned, her hand still inside Gabriel's, she turned to look at him, trying to wriggle her hand free, but one look at his hardened features made her stop. He continued to glare at Lenny until he left the VIP room. Without another word, Gabriel pulled Esme behind him again, stopping at one side of the wall waterfall. Esme glanced at his back and to the side, waiting for him to speak. He reached behind one of the dangling plants, and the water feature stopped.

The soothing sounds came to an abrupt stop, and like a spy movie or something, part of the wall in front of Gabriel moved back and to the side, revealing marble floors and walls, the path lit up, showing a tunnel that led to a golden caged elevator. Gabriel gently pulled her hand, and they stepped onto a small step to avoid getting wet shoes and into the hidden tunnel.

As soon as they walked a couple of steps, the water feature was on, and the wall slid back in place. Esme couldn't help but gape at everything. The wall on this side was like a window; she could still clearly see the VIP room.

Esme turned back around to look at the elevator and tilted her head to the side at the engraving, showing it to be from 1924.

"This won't break down, right?" She sneaked a look at Gabriel's brooding face and pursed her lips when he didn't reply. When the lift arrived, he opened the gate and pulled her inside with him. She forgot he was still holding her hand, but she tensed, watching him pull the gate closed.

Esme's breaths started to shorten, and her heart hammered against her chest as beads of sweat began to form at the back of her neck. She felt her throat beginning to tighten and the air becoming thinner. Esme pulled her hood away from her head; feeling overwhelmed and overheated, she tried not to look at the bars and moved her hand to her wrist.

But her hand was yanked away, and Gabriel was in front of her, his hands gently holding her face. At first, she panicked, but then she stared into the infinite blue hues of his eyes, "Breathe," He whispered, "You should have told me you were claustrophobic."

Esme couldn't reply as she focused on her breathing and started to count how many red specks there were in Gabriel's eyes. She didn't care if their foreheads were nearly touching; his eyes alone were calming her down. While she was lost in Gabriel's eyes, he tried to read her mind. Her emotions were chaotic, he could see that, and maybe it was an opportune moment while he calmed her down.

Gabriel saw a flash of memory; it was dark, she was curled up on the ground, cold, and there were rusted silver bars in front of her. It reminded him of the hunter's basement. He started to delve deeper into the memory-

DING!

The elevator bell rang, jolting the pair out of their intimate bubble. Gabriel was blocked once more from her mind, but he was more than satisfied; Esme was breathing normally, and her heart regularly beat again. He stayed there for a moment, searching her face; she looked a lot better now. Gabriel dropped his hands and turned to pull the cage door away again, stepping aside for Esme to leave first. She quickly stepped out with Gabriel's hand resting on her back; she found it oddly comforting.

The mark on her chest burned, and she bit her lip from the pain and distracted herself with her surroundings. Her jaw almost dropped at the vast open-spaced floor; there was a lounge area with a black marble bar with a vintage golden backdrop. The décor was both modern and vintage, with black and white furnishings, everything she'd expect from a billionaire. Esme ambled forwards, her gaze following along the high floor to ceiling windows that had a water feature in the floor running by the sides.

It was apparent they were in the penthouse, and it was marvellous. Esme tilted her head back and stared at the glass ceiling, revealing the sunny morning. The sun.. "Oh, are the windows specially designed to let the sun in but without the like UV affecting the vampires who enter here?" Esme asked thoughtfully.

Gabriel didn't respond and instead gently pushed her towards the lounge area. "Sit," He ordered before going behind the bar and pouring himself a glass of blood. He took a swig of the blood and stared at her, glancing at the leather sofa. Esme sat down then blinked in surprise at the vampire now sitting right next to her, his arm resting behind her on the couch,

"Tell me what happened."

Esme sighed and returned his stare. "I was out with Hana, Leo and Rory-"

"Like a double date?" Gabriel enquired; she narrowed her eyes but saw amusement behind his.

"No.. I don't do dating," She felt uncomfortable about the subject. Most people pried. "Anyway, we were hanging out, and when we left the bar, I smelt another rogue in the area. I followed the trail and came across four rogues."

"Why did you follow them?"

Esme paused, a frown forming on her face. "Why wouldn't I? It's like a rogue's natural instinct, either flee the area or follow your curiosity."

"What were you going to do?"

"What is this a police interrogation? Are we under arrest?!" Isana snapped. She then yawned, appearing to have not long risen from her sleep. Esme cringed a little at her wolf; luckily, the vampire couldn't hear her.

"I just wanted to check them out, Gabriel. I told you before, I am a lone wolf. I take extra precautions."

"Why? This is my territory. I would send my men out.." He trailed off, watching her intensely. There was more on her mind that she wasn't spilling.

"If it isn't safe for me to stay here then-"

"So, you took on four rogues by yourself?" His gaze went to her cheek then swept across her body as though he could not believe it. Esme rolled her eyes by the speculative look.

"No, I took on two. The other two fled," Esme muttered.

"Did you let them flee?" He asked slowly before knocking back the rest of the blood.

"Well.. They were leaving. Not all rogues want to make trouble, you know," She smirked and lightly punched his chest, taking the vampire by surprise. Gabriel placed the glass down on the coffee table in front of him and leaned closer to Esme.

"Says the troublemaker of all rogues," He purred, making Esme's mouth go dry. "Did you sleep on the streets last night?" He then asked quietly, playing with a strand of her hair. Esme's heart fluttered then her chest burned.

Why was she reacting so much to him?

"Do I smell that badly?" She joked, avoiding his gaze. Gabriel leaned closer and smelled her head, his chiselled chest almost touching her, his sweet scent filling her nostrils and almost making her dizzy.

"Why.. does he smell good?" Isana wondered; her wolf was both disturbed and overwhelmed by how nice the vampire smelt.

"I can smell it on you. Do NOT lie to me, little wolf. Did you sleep on the streets last night?" He almost growled the question.

"Yes," She breathed, leaning closer to his chest as she nonchalantly smelled him and closed her eyes.

"Don't you dare rub up against him! What is this!?" Isana screamed in her mind making Esme flinch and pull away.

"Why!?" Gabriel pulled back and glared at her.

"Because it wasn't safe for me to return to the apartment," She automatically replied, then covered her mouth. Did he.. Did he just use compulsion on me?

"Why was it not safe?" He asked gentler, his eyes softening.

Esme lowered her hands. "I dunno, if it was paranoia or if someone was actually there, but I felt someone watching me," She whispered, trying not to cringe at how paranoid she must sound. Esme also noticed just how comfortable she positioned herself next to Gabriel; her feet were curled to the side resting on the sofa, while she almost leant into the vampire.

Gabriel sighed. "Stay here," He declared, his voice firm. Esme looked at the vampire in surprise, from both his words and the warm feeling in her stomach. What was wrong with her?