Dear Everyone,

Please enjoy the following outtake, which takes place after the close of “Gabriel’s Promise.”

-x-x-x-x-x-

Crash.

Gabriel Emerson startled awake.

Light from a street lamp streamed in through the bay windows, illuminating the half-empty bed. Julia was gone.  

It had been some time since their house in Cambridge had been invaded.  Gabriel had slightly relaxed since their move to Scotland. Nicholas Cassirer had upgraded the security systems in the townhouse provided by the university.  

Something had awoken him and so he strained his hearing.

Silence.

No light shone through the open door to the ensuite. No light from the hallway, which lead to the staircase and beyond, to his daughter’s room.

Clare.

He pulled on underwear and thrust his feet into slippers. Even with the heat engaged, it was cool inside the house.  He threw on a cashmere robe, grabbed his phone, and jogged to the nursery.

The toddler gate was still intact, spanning the threshold to the nursery.  Through the open door he saw Clare, sleeping peacefully in her crib.  A fanciful nightlight projected pink stars on the ceiling and wall.  The contents of the room seemed undisturbed.

Gabriel’s heart rate slowed and he carefully crept away.

Julia.

He flew down the staircase to the ground floor and found the gas fireplace burning, and lights twinkling on the Christmas tree.

Julia was sweeping what appeared to be broken glass.

“Are you hurt? What happened?”  He crossed toward her.

“I dropped one of the ornaments.” She straightened; her expression guilty. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Gabriel leaned down to kiss her, before examining her face. “But you’re all right?”

“I’m fine.”  She gazed wistfully at the fragments that glittered in the dustbin.  “It was pretty.”

“You’re pretty.”  Gabriel wrapped her in his arms.  Julianne was far too fetching in her tartan pyjamas, her long hair piled carelessly atop her head in a style he could not name.

“Be careful walking here. I may have missed a piece.” She put the broom aside, leaning it against a stack of boxes.

“Come here.”  Gabriel took her hand and led her to the couch.  She settled herself sideways on his lap. 

He cocked his head to one side.  “Do I hear … Christmas carols?”

“Satellite radio.”  Julia pointed to her cell phone, which sat on the coffee table.  “They play Christmas music all day and all night.”

“Of course they do.”  Gabriel wiped the sleep from his eyes and pulled her against his chest. He appraised the six foot tall Fraser fir, noting the carefully placed strands of white lights. “How did you manage to reach so high?”

“I borrowed a chair from the dining room, but I’m too short to put the star on top.  You’ll have to do it.”

He frowned. “I thought we were decorating tomorrow, with Clare.”

“I woke up in a panic, realizing that all the ornaments I bought are glass.  I thought it would be better if I decorated the tree while she was asleep.”

“Ah,” said Gabriel.  He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Julia rested her head against his shoulder.  “I know you haven’t been sleeping well.”

“It’s all right,” he deflected, eyes still closed.  “What about you? I would have thought with the semester ended and examinations looming, you’d be mired in grading for Graham Todd’s class.” 

“I am, but I have a chance to catch up until exams start on the ninth of December.”

Instinctively, Gabriel slid his hand to the small of Julia’s back.  

“I’ll have to put the ornaments on the top half of the tree. We may need a fence.”

“A fence?” Gabriel opened his eyes and moved his left hand to Julia’s backside. He squeezed.

“You aren’t really listening, are you?” Julia leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. 

“I listen with my hands.”  

Gabriel’s kiss was unhurried. His right fingers sifted through her hair to find the hair tie, which he tugged, spilling the locks to her shoulders. He tossed the tie on the table.

“You’re very good at that.” She smiled against his lips.

“I’m good at a great many things.” He traced the curve of her cheek with his thumb. “What do you want for Christmas?”

“I want to go home to Selinsgrove and spend Christmas with our families.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Gabriel hummed.  His Christmas plans for Julia were far more elaborate. He thought of the unwrapped boxes hidden at the back of the wardrobe in his office and what Julia would look like wearing their contents . . .

“I suppose christening this room is out of the question?”

Julia laughed. “A bit risky, since I may have missed some glass.”

Gabriel scowled. 

“Are you awake now?” She looped her arm around his shoulders. 

“Absolutely.” He pulled back so he could examine her features – the warmth of her large, dark eyes and her rosy lips. “You’re quite fetching with your hair just so, in the glow from the fire.”

She smiled, slightly embarrassed. 

“We’ll save the fireside for another time. Come to bed.”  He lifted her to her feet and swept her into his arms.

“What about the tree? And the decorations?”

Gabriel began climbing the stairs. “We’ll put a toddler fence around the tree, and you can decorate to your heart’s content.”

“Someone is good at problem solving.”  Julia pushed a curl back from his forehead.

When they arrived at their bedroom, he kicked the door closed behind them before setting her on her feet.

Julia gazed up at a very awake, very focused Gabriel.

“Here.” He touched her chin, lifting her face so that he could kiss her properly.

With his gaze fixed on her, Gabriel removed his robe and slippers and walked her to the bed, joining her atop the comforter.  

Julia reclined next to him on her side.

He took her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles. Lifting her head, he settled a pillow beneath her.

He touched her cheek once again before moving to undo the buttons of her top. 

“Too cold?” he whispered, parting the fabric to expose her breasts.

“Yes, warm me up.” She pulled his naked torso to hers, reveling in the contact. 

He chuckled against her lips, before pressing kisses down her neck and across her collarbone.

Julia’s hands smoothed across the muscles in his back.

He kissed across her breasts as he slowly freed her from her pyjama bottoms.

Julia pushed his boxer briefs over his hips and sighed when he stretched over her, his legs between hers.

“I worship you,” he said quietly.

Julia reached up to kiss the furrow in his brow, then drew him back into her arms, chest to chest.

Gabriel kissed her while his hands traced lazy patterns across her skin.  It was slow. It was sure. When Julia grabbed at his backside to move him forward, he gently tugged her wrist to rest above her head.

“Don’t make me rush,” he whispered, his fingers slipping between her legs.

She lifted her knees and curved a leg around his hips. “Please.”

“So impatient.” He chuckled, capturing her mouth again.  But he would not deny her.

When at last they connected fully, she sighed against his cheek. 

“What’s that sigh for?” Gabriel lifted his head, his expression concerned.

“I love you.” She stroked his face, her fingertips catching on the stubble. “I like how we feel together – like home.”

“Because you are home.” His words disappeared into her shoulder and then he was moving.

Julia laced his fingers with hers and closed her eyes …

Fin.

Thank you for reading,

SR.

www.sylvainreynard.com