Disclaimer: I own Ivy and Chris… that's about it.
A/N: SO SORRY. I know I said I might be able to get the next chapter done earlier, but life happened. I'm back to college now, so I'm not gonna have as much time to write, so I'm super sorry. I keep trying to get these chapters out as fast as I can, but you'll have to be patient with me. Without further ado…
Rated: T
CHAPTER EIGHT – Poison
The record had stopped playing by the time Gabriel opened his eyes and broke himself out of his own dream. He wasn't sure if he was completely awake yet, though, because of the close vicinity of a certain someone with long brown curls that he was sharing a blanket with.
He cursed silently when he was ripped out of the heavenly dream, as it had been just as intense as his partner's. He would have stayed asleep longer, but the chip was trying to waken him in order to check an important email that Officer Bates had sent him.
He read the message in an instant. Apparently, the park rangers had went in search of Chris at eleven o'clock. It went on to thank Gabriel, telling him that they would alert him when the camper was found. He frowned at the clock, which now read 2:30 in the afternoon, seeing that it had been quite a while after the message was sent. What was taking them so long?
Ultimately, he decided he really didn't care all that much, and turned to look at Riley. He vaguely remembered moving her more comfortably against him, which explained why they were spooning. Gabriel moved his arm to shake her very slightly to tell if she was asleep, to which she did not respond.
It was no wonder he dreamt of her during their nap; the scent of her shampoo was filling the air around him. It smelled wonderfully like her, he realized. He laid back down and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. He was unprepared for when she flipped in his arms and faced him, eyes still shut.
Her pink mouth was slightly open, and she was breathing out little puffs of air against his cheek. Her hands fisted into his shirt and she pulled herself further into his warm embrace, huddling against him in a way that sent a shock throughout his body. He felt his hands involuntarily tighten at her waist, prompting the still-asleep Riley to erase the distance between their hips. His eyes dilated as another, entirely different shock coursed through his veins at the contact.
To his annoyance, another email distracted him and he grudgingly opened it to read another message from Officer Bates. She indicated that she needed to talk to Gabriel urgently. He grunted loudly in displeasure. If she was going to ask him for help in apprehending that obnoxious camper, he was going to flat-out refuse. There was no way was he gonna move from his spot given that Riley, his tough-as-nails, assigned-to-protect-him adorable bodyguard was snuggling into his chest at the moment.
Not to mention, her head was resting against his arm, less than a hand's distance away from his own face. From here, he could watch her sleeping peacefully and just gaze at her unabashedly.
That sounded a lot creepier than I thought it would, Gabriel concluded as he replayed that last thought in his mind.
He grumbled again as the chip announced yet another email from Sally. Gabriel instantly regretted the sound, though, because Riley started blinking up at him all of a sudden. All negative thoughts were eradicated from his mind as he watched her struggle to reach consciousness. A dreamy smile was plastered on her face, and he wondered what she was so happy about. "Pleasant dreams?"
He watched as she nodded with rosy cheeks, but then Riley furrowed her brow as she quickly glanced about the room. She faced him again and glanced at his nearby mouth before looking him in the eye. "How…how long have we been sleeping?" she stuttered.
"Well, it's way past lunch," he replied. In the time that it had taken Riley to wake up, he'd made up a great plan in his mind.
Earlier, Riley had said that what she wanted was space. In reality, Gabriel could tell that she secretly was just trying to distance herself for the sake of her job. He was sure she would come around eventually, but because it wasn't happening as quickly as he liked, he thought that he would speed things up a little. He saw the way that Riley leaned into his touches and threw herself passionately into their kisses – it was only a tiny thing holding her back, really.
He would sort out that later, though. If he wanted to be able to kiss and touch her as much as he liked, he had to get her to consent to it. But, the only way to get her to do that would be to make it seem like it was her idea. For that to happen, he would just have to convince her by teasing her mercilessly until she gave into his charm.
Teasing each other was what got them into this mess in the first place, so he could surely use it to amp up the sexual tension between them. No more kissing her because he felt like it; it would take a lot of resolve on his part, but he decided he was going to taunt her without ever satisfying their unspoken needs. Since they were only a small space apart, now seemed like a perfect time to put his plan into effect.
"Speaking of lunch, we should make some. You're going to wither away to nothing, agent, if you skip a meal," he said matter-of-factly.
His hand at her lower back came up to softly squeeze her thin waist when he emphasized the word "nothing." He felt her muscles tense and her eyes widen when his thumb brushed her. He could tell his plan was working already, so he dropped his hand and internally counted it as a victory when she frowned.
"I eat just fine. I like my body the way it is," she retorted. "But, I would love to eat whatever you want to make." Ah, she was trying to get back at him by making him cook. He could make that work to his advantage. "You can also make me more hot chocolate, while you're at it," she added.
"Oh, I'd be delighted." Gabriel grinned widely and raised up on his elbow. His eyes never left Riley's as he reached his arm slowly across her. Both their mouths were open slightly and Gabriel felt her heart rate pick up, as his chest was now over hers. His arm was still extending though, and Riley looked confusedly between his lips, now inches from hers, and the empty hot cocoa mug he was reaching for. Much to her disappointment, he sat up once he grabbed a hold of the mug and lifted off of her.
Before he entered the kitchen, he caught the huge eye roll that accompanied her full facial flush. Gabriel never remembered seeing Riley blush so much in their entire time of working together. He loved that he had that effect on her.
He started running warm water and put soap in the mugs to wash them. The padding of tired footsteps ten minutes later told him that she had decided to follow him into the kitchen. "I'm thinking of making some grilled peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. Sound good to you?"
"Strangely yes. I can't believe you actually know of a meal I haven't heard of before." She had been leaning against the frame of the doorway to the kitchen, but moved slowly into the kitchen to help him put the dishes away. "Are you sure it's a real dish and not some made-up dream sandwich?"
He scoffed. "Of course it is. I practically grew up with these – don't you trust me?" He put a hand over his heart and feigned hurt.
"I guess I'm willing to risk eating it. It doesn't sound half bad, anyway." After they were done with the dishes, Riley sat up on the counter nearest to Gabriel, watching him make the sandwiches. Her feet swung back and forth and she reached out to nudge the side of his leg briefly. "Hey, thanks for taking the time to make me such good food, by the way."
He smiled up at her and put the sandwiches on the stove. It was time for another installment of his plan.
"I see you changed into shorts," he started, turning his attention fully to her. She nodded in reply and looked down at her clothing as he continued. "Much better than those long pants from before. It's going to be slightly warmer this afternoon, right?"
Riley kept her head down, picking at the edges of her shorts. She hadn't thought about it when she put them on, she just knew that her own temperature had risen substantially from their cuddle session on the couch. She jumped when she realized he was now standing right in front of her, and swallowed as his hands rested beside either side of where she was sitting on the counter.
He wasn't exactly in her personal space; he was leaning slightly away from her body with his weight on his hands, just barely able to be considered a reasonable distance away. She felt an unexpected thrill from being essentially cornered where she sat on the countertop. She cleared her throat when she realized she was asked a question. "Um, well…I'm hoping the weather will look up. It was only supposed to get cold last night, right? From the looks of the outdoors," she pointed towards the kitchen window, "it already looks like the rain just stopped. I don't see any harm in wearing the shorts."
When Gabriel followed her gaze to the window, he intentionally moved his arm in such a way that his wrist lightly grazed the skin of her thigh when he turned. He moved his feet a step towards her when he looked back, watching her face closely as she looked anywhere but at him. He allowed himself a smirk. It was working.
"They're completely fine by me," he said with a deliberately smoldering look at her long legs that were revealed by the shorts. He lightly placed his hands on the skin above her knees, leaning in by just an inch and whispered to her. "Those shorts are a personal favorite of mine, actually."
He saw her unintentionally lean her body closer to him, and that's when he knew he'd really got her good. Pretending not to notice the lessened distance, he glanced at the stove. His hands skimmed the rest of the way down to her knees when he left her to flip the sandwiches by the stove.
Gabriel could've sworn he heard a quiet grunt behind him and grinned to himself. Gabriel – 1, Riley – 0.
"Do you like your sandwiches lightly browned or black and burnt?" he questioned. He kept a straight face and acted like nothing happened, and was pleased to note the unhappiness in her returning scowl. Well, he didn't like that she was unhappy, but he loved the reason behind it.
She grouchily answered his question and he made sure to turn the heat down on the stove to grill the sandwich to her liking. Once the sandwiches were flipped, he walked over to her again and ignored the suspicious look he was receiving. "The food will be ready soon, partner. May I help you down?"
Riley's glare softened, if only a little, and she rested her hands on his shoulders while he placed his hands on her hips. He caught her quick, mischievous grin as he gently lifted her off the counter. Riley probably thought he was going to try and pull her into his arms again and she looked…happy about it?
This realization sent a warm current flowing through his chest because it only confirmed his suspicions about her liking their nearness.
Maybe she had decided, in the few hours that they had spent pressed up against each other, that she was going to damn her boss's orders and do as she pleased. If that was the case it was all the better for him, but because he was stubborn, he knew he couldn't just drop the teasing act. It was already turning out to be fun.
Since Gabriel had walked right up to the countertop and stopped directly in front of her, there was little space for her to hop down when she was helped off. When Riley was set down, still incredibly close to him, his body had ended up accidently pinning hers against the counter. He let his tortuous fingers slide down and smooth out her shirt, which had ridden up slightly because of their close contact.
Riley's mouth was hanging slightly open again. She really was still expecting to get kissed?
He wasn't about to satisfy her, though. He had to make her wait just a bit longer, because this was the best kind of torture. Gabriel also silently agreed that he wouldn't make his plan last for too long, as it was sort of backfiring on him. As much as Riley appeared to miss him "taking charge" with her, he knew he missed it ten times more.
"Sandwiches are done," he spoke in an unexpected gravelly voice. Gabriel forced himself to release her and got the sandwiches off the heat. That was definitely enough of that.
He handed Riley her plate and guided her to the dining room table with a hand at her back. They ate in tense silence, Gabriel aware of Riley's eyes on him the whole time. He refused to meet her glare and smiled to himself all the while. He was winning this round.
Internally, Riley was seething. Her partner was being completely cruel. Since when did he not take every opportunity to kiss her senseless? It was that question that ran through her mind for the whole of lunch.
They were finishing their last few bites when Gabriel got up to answer the phone. Riley watched his face darken slightly at the voice on the other end. She chided herself for being uncharacteristically happy that something finally put a damper on his unusual good mood – something really could've been wrong.
"What's up?" she asked. He looked more annoyed than upset now.
"Looks like we're not going to stay trapped in the cabin all day after all," he grouched. He made fists with his hands and took their empty plates into the kitchen. He really didn't need this to happen and ruin his day.
His day with Riley. Just the two of them.
What a nice day it might have been had they actually gotten to spend it alone with each other.
"Seriously, Gabriel, what's wrong?" Riley was really starting to worry now. The tense set of his shoulders transitioned into a sort of defeated stance.
"Remember the email we sent to the lodge about Chris? They emailed me back a couple of hours ago, saying that they'd sent out a search team for him," he turned around and met her eyes with a frown. "Bates just called to ask for our help. Chris has officially gone missing."
"Remind me why we have to do this again?" Riley sighed.
Gabriel filled her in during the car ride over about how he'd received several emails while they were on the couch. Officer Bates had wanted to ask them if they'd be a part of the search party for Chris. The mountainside was wet and the park officials had guessed that Chris might've gotten into trouble when he tried to hike the old, overgrown trail. It hadn't been maintained lately, and Bates told them it was easy to get lost in these muddy, springtime woods. Much to their dismay, Officer Bates already knew they were in some department of law enforcement, so she knew they wouldn't refuse to help.
"Seriously, must we do this?" Riley repeated.
"Yes. We have to keep up appearances," Gabriel insisted. He held out his hand, waiting.
She rolled her eyes and took the hand, giving Gabriel a sour look when he intertwined their fingers. He had insisted upon still acting like a married couple and told Riley to hold his hand. Little did she know that it was yet another installment of his plan.
"Don't frown. Look like you're happily married to me," he smirked. He brushed his thumb against the back of her hand absentmindedly.
"Married couples fight all the time. I'm sure this looks perfectly convincing." She tried to look a little less angry, though. She was already distracted by the warm hand that held hers, and it would be hard enough acting like everything was normal.
"Yeah, only if we were actually married. This is a fake marriage, so you need to be fake happy. You can be real angry with me when we're real married," he replied.
Riley stopped dead in her tracks and almost dropped his hand. "What?"
"What?" He furrowed his brow. Gabriel felt heat arise on his cheeks when he suddenly realized his slip-up. "That's not what I- I didn't mean…" he stuttered. "Not that you want to get real married, I mean, not that I…neither of us want to get married, right?" One point to Riley for that one.
Dammit, it was really emasculating to be blushing this hard. Riley just laughed nervously at his reaction.
They stood there, frozen where they stood, looking rather intensely at one another. They were still holding hands, and Gabriel was still brushing his thumb against her hand. Gabriel almost took a step forward.
As their famous luck of bad-timing would have it, they were interrupted when Sally walked over to greet them at the base of the mountain's trail. She saw the two supposed lovers and gave them a little wave. "How are you guys doing this afternoon? I'm so glad you could come. We really appreciate your help."
Gabriel painstakingly tore his gaze away from his stunning partner and towards the bumbling officer. "It's no problem, we weren't doing anything important anyway," he replied with ill-concealed sarcasm.
Riley nudged him, but he just smiled at his "wife" lovingly. Trying to return the smile, Riley asked, "Have you seen any dog tracks alongside Chris's footprints?" She wanted to bring Gabriel's attention back to the real reason they were joining the search party, and she squeezed his hand extra hard in emphasis.
If he was affected by her grip, Gabriel didn't show it. He kissed the top of her head just to get under her skin.
"As a matter of fact, we did find prints. I'll tell the search party we're looking for the dog too," Sally beamed. She handed them a map and directed them to the search party before hiking back to where she came from.
Once she was out of earshot, Riley gave him a harder, more painful nudge. "What the hell Gabriel? Was all that really necessary?" She glared at him as he gave her a trademark smirk. "You're just enjoying how uncomfortable I am."
"Says the woman still holding my hand," he pointed out. She groaned aloud, ripping her hand free and heading off in the direction circled on their map. Gabriel -2, Riley – 1. He was still winning.
She really was beautiful when she was angry with him. He watched her retreat, hips bound in the same shorts from this morning and a short-sleeved tee. They had left in a hurry, and Gabriel guessed she hadn't had time to bring a jacket.
She was going to be cold later… He made a mental note to offer his sweatshirt to her if they were still in the woods by the time the sun set.
An hour later, Riley and Gabriel still hadn't found Chris. However, they found Ivy tied to a tree near the trail by a leash. It was Riley who had seen Ivy first, and she ran up to her, sadly noting how Ivy's tail was between her legs. Riley hated that Ivy thought she was going to be punished, and scratched the dog's ears until she was drooling happily. Gabriel took the dog and reluctantly handed her over to the awaiting medical team at the bottom of the mountain.
"There may be hope yet!" Bates exclaimed when they found the dog. She had just circled a new place of interest and handed Riley and Gabriel their map back. "Chris can't be too far from his pet – no respectable dog owner would leave their pet alone like that," she added, walking away.
The agents shared a knowing look and both decided to search an area outside of the marked one. The local law enforcement was getting nowhere with their poor methods, and the agents needed to take initiative if they were going to actually make progress in the search. Sure enough, another hour later, they found a withering Chris, soaking wet and huddling against the base of a tree. Gabriel did his best not to laugh when Riley reminded her partner that Chris was probably upset and traumatized. In reply, Gabriel told her, "Well, he certainly deserves it."
It took a while, but the agents finally convinced Chris to get up and move with them down the mountain. He was silent, fortunately, and only thanked them when he was offered water. He walked behind them, trudging slowly and solemnly. Walking side by side, Gabriel reached for his partner's hand again once they reached the clearing, ever eager to keep up the act.
The crowd that had gathered cheered loudly for the noble agents. They were none too keen about the missing hiker, who was handcuffed after he checked in with the medical team. He escaped with a few bruises and a broken wrist, and told the police that he'd lost the trail once it started raining. Ivy had been chained to a tree because she kept tugging him along in a direction that Chris didn't want to go. Gabriel assumed that the poor dog was just trying to run away from her cruel master again.
"I guess we're something akin to heroes on this campsite, now," Gabriel whispered to Riley. She shared a smile with him.
"Yeah. The only deed I'm proud of is that we brought Ivy back. Oh, and getting that asshole arrested," Riley added. Then, she glanced behind Gabriel. "Don't look now, but I think we're about to be interviewed."
Gabriel glanced in the direction Riley was looking in to see a woman holding a microphone with a cameraman on her heels. A third man with a pad and pencil was coming along as well to catch their words by hand. "Oh great. We have to make sure they don't broadcast our faces - the guardsman could see it and he'd track us instantly."
"How? You can't just ask them to turn their camera off!" she whispered hurriedly. They were getting nearer by the second. Riley looked up at him with wide eyes. "What do we do?"
"I think I have a plan," Gabriel told her, just in time for the reporter to tap him on the shoulder. He made sure their fingers were locked and turned to show his dimples off to the blonde woman holding the microphone. She beamed back at him and shook his empty hand.
"Hi. Can I talk to you two about your heroic efforts to find the missing hiker? How long did you search for the poor guy?" She asked. Her face contorted into what she deemed a serious look, acting like she was a hard-hitting reporter and puffing her chest out to try and make her posture more noticeable by Gabriel.
Riley clenched her hands. The reporter wasn't giving her the time of day. She was directing her questions purely at Gabriel, leaning towards him enough so that he could have a perfect view down the reporter's shirt. Riley forgot that he was holding her hand at the same time, though, and frowned when he looked over at her clenched hand as he answered the reporter's questions.
Why couldn't she just keep it together? She thought the reporter was beneath her, so she couldn't possibly be jealous. Could she? No… Riley just didn't like how loose she was being with her partner. For goodness sake, they were supposed to be married, so how dare that woman try and flirt with her man?
Not her man…. Her fake man. Yeah.
If she was going to keep her fake marriage intact, she'd have to play it up a little bit more. Her other hand came to rub Gabriel's forearm that was already in her grasp. She leaned onto his shoulder and sighed heavily. Interrupting whatever question the woman was going to ask next, she said, "Oh honey – you forgot to mention how Chris abandoned his dog all alone on the mountain."
"That's right," Gabriel said, picking up on what she was doing and playing along. "Not to mention that his whole plan to hike was illegal. He caused a lot of people to worry and his dog could've been killed. We're happy we found them both alive, but it would've paid to hike more safely," he said with fake worry in his eyes.
The reporter pouted with her own bout of fake concern. "Well, on behalf of this town, we thank you for your great service today," she said. Turning back to the camera, she signed off for her local news channel. When the cameraman gave her the signal, she turned back to Gabriel, eyes gleaming.
"You know, if you ever wanna discuss how the search went down further, you can always call me." The reporter handed him a slip of paper with her number on it, which Gabriel did not accept. Riley grinned victoriously.
"Thanks, but I'm married. Riley, here, is my beautiful and loving wife. She did most of the work and saw Chris sitting against a tree well before I did," he told the blonde, putting his arms around Riley's shoulders and giving her a smack of a kiss on the lips.
Riley's smile almost disappeared at the shock of electricity that erupted from his short kiss, but she recovered quick enough to shoot the annoying woman a smug grin. Boy, she loved this side of Gabriel. His defensiveness made her feel overwhelmingly proud to be his partner.
Partner? Friend? She didn't even know what they were anymore.
Regardless, the reporter turned away in disappointment at the couple. She may have been a little too forward, but she certainly wasn't as rude as Chris had been to them. That had to count for something, but Riley was still happy to see her go.
Riley turned on Gabriel once the woman left, and said charmingly, "Wow. I've never met Possessive Gabriel before."
"And I've never met Jealous Riley," he shot back. He was still very close to her, and he thankfully hadn't moved away yet. He could see a trace of something in her eyes when she gazed at his nearness. It may have been doubt, but he thought it was justifiable given the way he'd kept teasing her this morning. He promised himself he would relent just this one time.
He had decided to downplay his evil plans for the moment, and Gabriel leaned down a bit further until he could feel her warm breath against his lips. He gently moved the extra inch to meet Riley. Gabriel closed his eyes when he felt her sigh against his mouth. She barely registered the click of a camera in the background, as he was tugging her waist closer to his. He softly sucked her bottom lip into his mouth briefly and slipped a hand into her hair. The short kiss ended when they heard someone whistling at them.
Riley stepped back, embarrassed by the sudden audience they'd attracted. Camera phones were being held up by what was left of the crowd, no doubt so they could post something on their favorite social media sites about how they'd seen the couple, described as both heroic and romantic, lead the missing hiker out first hand.
"Had to keep the crowd entertained," Gabriel said a little too quickly, trying to make up an excuse offhand. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry. I hacked their phones. Those photos will be gone instantly." He smiled into her hair, leaned back, and waved to the crowd. The agents nonchalantly backed up towards the edge of the clearing, discouraging the amateur photographers and isolating themselves from more interviewers.
Riley's eyes lit up once they'd reached the tree line. "Wait – what about the reporter's camera? I thought you said you had a plan to make sure we weren't caught on film?"
He smiled calmly and gazed at her still-swollen lips. "I did. The camera was hooked up to a wire that ran into the news van over there," he pointed towards the vehicle. "That footage automatically uploaded to a storage hold on one of the computers inside the van, which was accessible by internet." Gabriel tapped his head and added, "I erased the video from all existence."
Riley smiled and let out a relieved laugh. "And they still have the written interview on hand, so they won't come back and ask for another interview. That's genius, Gabriel." She beamed proudly at him.
"Thank you, I thought so too," he grinned. He was glad he thought to do so – there was no way he was going to let their cabin excursion end anytime earlier than it needed to. The guardsman finding them was not something he wanted to happen.
What he did want to happen was for them to forget their responsibilities and live in the cabin forever, but he doubted that would ever happen. Besides, he was sure Riley would never agree to that, much less agree to be alone with him for that long.
She was pacing around currently, watching the crowd near the road disperse and disappear. The sun was about to set, and a chill had finally settled in the air again.
How was she not cold yet? Gabriel looked more closely at the way her arms were crossed over her chest and saw she was shivering very slightly.
Dutifully, he shed his sweatshirt and held it out to her. Riley's eyebrows were raised suspiciously, but she took the proffered article of clothing when the wind blew a cold burst of air towards them. He noticed a teasing gaze settle on her perfect features after she put it on, though, and she asked him, "Are you sure you can handle this Gabriel? Remember the last time I borrowed your clothes?"
He noticed the way her pupils had suddenly dilated and chuckled. "Oh don't act like you didn't love it," he said, knowing exactly what she was referring to. His tongue involuntarily flicked out and he tried hard to remind himself not to reach for her for the second time in the span of ten minutes when she blushed furiously.
She didn't get a chance to voice her retort, though, because Gabriel suddenly frowned and wore on a worried expression. "Ivy!"
"The dog? I handed her back to the ambulance over an hour ago. She's fine," Riley said, furrowing her brow. Gabriel looked deadly serious that something bad had happened, and it almost scared her when he grabbed her hand and dragged her over to wear he stood.
"No." He pointed down to the ground she had been standing on and looked at her.
Riley looked back at the pile of weeds she'd been pacing through and swore. She put her head in her hands and groaned.
"Poison ivy."
A/N: Special thanks to diana_of_wales for beta-ing my chapters for me. My work wouldn't be possible without you.
Also – special shout-out to a guest reviewer named "Cassie" who keeps giving me incredibly lovely reviews, and who also told me that she (or he, one can never know) liked my story better than any other fanfiction she (or he ;D) had ever read. It brought tears to my eyes, and I think I love this guest reviewer very much.
However, I cherish every review I get, so here's a big thank you to all of you who have given me a review – I appreciate it more than you know, even if I don't have time to mention everyone.