"He refused to stay here," I whispered as I fixed the guest bed for Gabriel. He stood behind me, fresh out of the shower, and half naked. There was something about men being half naked around me that day; to haunt me with of memories of sex and desire, to tempt me in loving one of them…
I shook my head and stopped staring at Gabriel. I bit my bottom lip as I finished making the bed and went to the window. If I stared out the window I wouldn't have to look at Gabriel's gorgeous half naked body that was still glistening with water from his hot shower.
"He probably doesn't trust you," he said coming up behind me. I frowned slightly, knowing that he was close to me and if I turned to him I'd be pressing myself against his naked muscular chest.
I felt Gabriel's hands on my shoulders, which were bare because I was wearing a tank top and jeans. "Can you blame him?" he asked.
"No, of course not," I whispered with a shrug. I turned to Gabriel and gave him a small glare. "He still thinks we're screwing."
"I wish it were true," Gabriel smirked as he walked away from me. I hit his shoulder, which caused him to stop and look at me with raised eyebrows. I couldn't help but smile at his playfulness as he grabbed my waist, lifted me up and threw me on the bed. I grabbed his arms as I flew onto the sheets and pulled him towards me. I lifted my leg, planting my foot in his stomach and flipped him over me onto the other side of the bed.
Gabriel heaved a heavy sigh as he stood up from the grand where he had landed.
"I was just messing around, Cadence," he said roughly despite the grin on his lips. "No need to get violent."
He jumped onto the bed and grabbed my arms, pulling me to him despite me struggling. He pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him and held me tightly with his arm around my waist.
"You started it," I whispered glaring at him.
He gave me a charming crooked smile that made my heart melt. Who was I kidding? I loved the way he made me violent, I loved the way he held me and pinned me down, and I loved the way he looked at me like I was the only woman in the world he had ever loved. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he leaned forward and kissed me deeply on the lips. We continued to kiss for a few moments before I slowly pulled away.
"You need to rest," I whispered as I crawled away from him. I stood up straight next to the bed and threw my hair out of my face. "We have a meeting with Scrimgeour tomorrow morning."
"Going back to work so soon?" he asked moving to the edge of the bed in front of me. His hands touched my hips and traced the waistband of my pants, then slowly began to push up my shirt. He was looking up at me with dark green eyes that were full of desire and passion.
"Gabriel," I said batting at his hands. I stepped away and went to the bedroom door. "Good night."
Gabriel was standing next to the bed now, smiling at me. "Good night, Cadence."
I closed his bedroom door and walked down the hall to my own room. Sleeping did not come easily. I lay awake for hours thinking about how Sirius didn't trust me, how Gabriel was sleeping down the hall half naked, and how despite believing he was innocent I was still responsible for catching Sirius. Gabriel and I had discussed on the journey home that it was something we should keep to ourselves; no one would believe us if we started to say that Sirius Black was innocent and it was probably a good way to be labeled as Death Eaters again.
Sleep didn't come for hours, and I killed the time by getting up and doing pushes on the bedroom floor. I didn't know how else to burn the energy I seemed to have. After about an hour of doing strength exercises I went and took a hot shower, hoping it would relax me.
When I fell back into bed sleep was almost instantaneous. The bed was warm and comfortable as if someone had been in it, waiting for me. I rolled over and found Gabriel in the bed, which was surprising and yet I didn't feel so. I smiled slightly at him and got comfortable on my side, staring at his dark green eyes as he stared at mine. He sat up, leaning on his elbows and smiled. I couldn't help but smile at him, and when I went to speak he put his fingers to my lips. He didn't say a word as he leaned forward and kissed my lips gently. I let his weight press against me as I laid back, kissing him in return and wrapping my arms around his broad muscular shoulders.
He kissed me with deep passion; it was a burning passion that I only felt when I kissed Gabriel. There was more then love in his kisses, there was lust and desire. He wanted every inch of me to be pressed against every inch of him; there was a desire to explore each other, and a need for the other's touch. Gabriel was a passionate person, affectionate, and I let him take my pain and worries away. It had taken fifteen years for Gabriel and me to be together because of Sirius Black. And even as I lay next to him, the man who always loved me the best and whom I loved, I could only think of Sirius Black. The pain had been gone while we made love; while Gabriel was deep in me, and we were moaning together, moving together as one; but as soon as it was over and Gabriel fell asleep with me in his arms Sirius entered my mind again. I couldn't forget him. I felt just like I had years ago when Gabriel would share an intimate kiss despite me being in a relationship with Sirius. I felt like a dirty whore. How twisted was my mind if I couldn't lie next to the man who I actually loved without feeling guilty towards my ex? How much influence did Sirius Black have on my self-perception? How much control did he have over me? He had enough control to cause me constant pain, the bastard. Sirius Black had cut a gash down the center of my heart and now he was throwing salt in the open wound. Even Gabriel couldn't take the pain away as he lay with me, filling me with his passion and desire, his love and sex. Nothing it seemed was every enough.
"Stop thinking," Gabriel whispered in my ear as he pressed into me for the second time. His head was buried in the crook of my neck, kissing my flesh and taking in my scent. I moaned with pleasure as he lifted my hips and pushed into me deeper. He rolled over so I was on top of him, allowing me to take some control in our sexual adventure. "We're enough." He said it before he kissed me deeply and bucked his hips up into me. I couldn't help but smile at him, sitting up as I arched my back and rocking my hips on him nice and slow. He held my hands, allowing me some support, as he watched me with loving eyes. He moaned loudly and sat up, wrapping his arms around me suddenly and holding me tightly against him, he flipped us over again and moaned my name in my ear.
"Cadence," his voice was so tender. "Cadence," we were coming close to climax. "Cadence!" He was shaking me—"Cadence!"
I opened my eyes and sat up in the bed quickly, gasping for breath and looking around startled. Gabriel was standing next to the bed, fully dressed in jeans, a lavender button up shirt, with a dark purple waistcoat and tie. His sleeves were rolled up revealing his strong tattooed forearms. I sighed and fell back in the bed as I tossed my hair out of my face.
"Good dream?" he asked with a smirk. He continued to smile at me as he headed for the door to my bedroom.
"What makes you say that?" I responded as I sat up and moved the sheets off of my body. Gabriel stopped at the bedroom door, his hand on the handle, ready to close it once he left.
"You were moaning," he shrugged.
I didn't respond; what could I possibly say to him? I definitely couldn't tell him I was having a sex dream about him. He would never let that go, and use it as justification for us to actually have sex.
"Come on, love," Gabriel said cocking his head to the hallway. "We have a meeting with the boss."
"Go away," I said throwing a pillow at him. He caught it and came into the room, closing the door behind him with his foot. I smirked as he approached the bed slowly with a dark, but teasing look in his eyes. There was a flutter in my heart that I tried very hard to not reveal with my face. Gabriel could see my weakness though, the moment he smirked again, I knew he could read me like a book. There was no secret I could keep from him, nothing I could hide. He placed one knee on the bed and leaned over me, much like he had in my dream. His hands touched my shoulders and neck, making me quiver. I released a heavy, desire-filled sigh as his lips came close to my neck, tickling my senses and turning on my lust.
"Must have been a good sex dream," he whispered in my ear. I smiled and shoved him away, which caused him to laugh. He grabbed my hands as they lingered on his shoulders and pulled me from the bed so I was standing in front of him. He clapped his hand on my thigh and pulled me tightly against him.
"Who said it was a sex dream?" I asked as I looked up at him, leaning back away from him, but not escaping his arms because they were tightly wrapped around me.
"Your eyes," he said smiling as he leaned down and kissed my exposed collar bone, slowly and very cautiously dragging his lips farther down to the exposed flesh of my breast. I pulled me towards him and kissed up past my collar bone to my neck, then my jaw line. He kissed my ear before he whispered, "We could make your dream into a reality."
"No," I said pulling away and smiling up at him. My hands rubbed against his chest and pulled at the tie that was tucked into his waistcoat. His purple shirt and vest matched his purple eyes today; or did they make his eyes look purple? I would never know the different…"We have to go to work…remember, we have a meeting."
His embrace loosened on me and I moved away, walking towards the bedroom door. "I'll shower and be down in a minute." I took off my shirt as I walked down the hall and dropped it on the floor outside of the bathroom door.
"Damn you! You're a horrid tease Cadence Coleman!" Gabriel shouted down the hall as I entered the bathroom. I leaned my head out, making sure to keep my body well hidden behind the doorframe. Gabriel was standing outside my bedroom door, arms crossed over his muscular chest giving me an ugly eye.
"I think I'm rather good," I said then went into the bathroom, closing the door tightly. I quickly got in the shower and rinsed all of the dirty thoughts from my head. I needed to keep a straight head if I was going to go into work with Gabriel and discuss with Scrimgeour our new assignment. I also had to remind myself not to speak about Sirius Black to Scrimgeour. As I stood in the shower I thought more about Sirius and how to find Peter Pettigrew. Sirius seemed to think that Peter was with Ron Weasley, disguised as his pet rat. How could I get my hands on that bloody rat?
When I got out of the shower Gabriel was not in the bedroom, which revealed me slightly, but also disappointed me. Perhaps I was ready to be with Gabriel, despite finding Sirius again and learning of his innocents. I bit my bottom lip as I got dressed.
Dressed yet?
I sighed with annoyance as I looked at myself in the mirror, brushing my hair. Gabriel's voice was in my head asking me if I was ready yet. Even after all of these years, I still didn't block Gabriel from my mind.
You should.
I opened the bedroom door and shouted down the stairs. "Would you stop it! I'll be done in a moment!"
"You're still naked!" Gabriel yelled from the kitchen.
"I hate you!" I turned and slammed the bedroom door shut then went into the closet, throwing on a black bra, black underwear, and a pair of black slacks. I snapped my fingers and my hair dried instantly, curling smoothly around my shoulders. I threw it out of my face, pulled my boots on and strapped a holster to my thigh. My curved knife slid smoothly into the holster, and I slipped my wand down my left boot. I paused for one moment in front of the mirror to check my reflection and grabbed a black button up shirt from the pile of clean laundry next to the door. I dashed out of the room and slid to a stop in the foyer.
"Gabriel!" I yelled pulling on the shirt and looking for my cloak. "Let's go!"
He appeared from the kitchen looking very suave with his black pea coat on. He buttoned it up as he looked me over. His eyes lingered on my exposed torso, chest, and black bra. He raised his eyebrows at me and smirked.
"You rushed me," I said pulling on my cloak. I began to button up my shirt as Gabriel nodded, shaking his head.
"I would hate to think that you purposely left those buttons undone," he said. I smiled at him but didn't say anything. Once my shirt was buttoned he opened the door and motioned for me to step out before him. I moved out onto the porch and he closed the door tightly behind us. "Do you wish to walk today?"
"Not from here," I said looking out at the country road ahead of us as we made our way down the path towards the front gate of my property.
"I meant through London," he said smoothly as I opened the gate and let him pass. I followed and closed the gate, looking up at the house for a moment. I nodded to him as we began to walk up the dirt road. Gabriel grabbed my hand and Apparated on the spot. I frowned slightly as our bodies were pressed together magically with invisible forces. Our feet struck the ground in a London alley and the world spun around me as I gained my balance. I felt Gabriel's hands on my hips as he waited for me to gain my composure.
"You probably shouldn't be Apparating," I said looking up at him. Gabriel smiled.
"I feel fine," he said. "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Gabriel," I said sternly. "What makes you think Scrimgeour is going to let you come back to work right now anyways? You just got your memory back yesterday."
"And I remember everything," he said with a nod. "From my Mother's death to your numerous kidnappings, our time in Azkaban, and Carrigan's birth. I'm back."
"It' only took a couple of months," I sighed as I rubbed my head.
"I thought after our meeting with Scrimgeour we could go visit Carrigan at Hogwarts," he said softly with his hands deep in his pockets. He wasn't looking at me, as if he were a child who had just asked his parents for a dragon for Christmas. I frowned and shook my head.
"You're just as bad as she is, you know," I said as we walked down the busy street, people squeezing between us occasionally.
"How so?"
"You both can guilt me into anything," I said beaming. Gabriel smiled and nodded as he rubbed his chin.
"She had to learn it from somewhere," he shrugged. I laughed and shook my head as we continued to walk. "And Merlin knows she's the master. She got me to buy that damned griffin for her."
"He is doing fine, by the way," I said. "Carrigan goes down to see him every Saturday."
"And how is Buckbeak doing?"
"You mean since he's sentenced to death?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "Hagrid is doing far worse then Buckbeak. The poor animal doesn't really know what is going on. When I spoke to Carrigan about it a few weeks ago she was furious."
Gabriel nodded. "Well if Buckbeak is in fact innocent that does not surprise me."
On the next corner, we turned and separated in the crowd, heading for the public restrooms that were on the street. I walked into the ladies restroom without hesitation and was not surprised to find a long line of at least twenty women waiting to get into the stalls. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for the line to file down. The women in front of me moved rather quickly, and within two minutes I was waiting outside the fifth stall. The sound of flushing toilets seemed never ending. I suddenly wished Gabriel and I had just Apparated to the office. I really hated using the public entrances for the Ministry. Honestly, whose brilliant idea was it to make the toilets of a public restroom the magical transportation to the Ministry fire places? When I heard the flush of the fifth toilet, I sighed and pushed the door open. There was no one in the stall. I stepped up into the toilet, my boots not getting wet despite the water. I pulled the chain handle of the flush, and as the water started to rush down the toilet into the pipes my body spun and went with it. My stomach turned as my body spun rapidly and then came to a sharp stop as green flames licked and tickled my legs. I stepped out of the fireplace and into the atrium of the Ministry.
Gabriel was already in the atrium, standing towards the center of it, being greeted by numerous coworkers as they walked by him. It had been about a month and a half since his accident, and despite his return, I still wasn't sure if Scrimgeour was going to allow him to come back to work. The Healers had shown some concern when Gabriel's memory returned so quickly, they were expecting it to come back in pieces. They had warned him as he left St. Mungo's that he may still forget things: people's names, codes, dates, random events. Just because he had most of his memory back didn't mean he was all back. The mind was a mysterious thing, and no one really had any idea what had happened to Gabriel's mind.
I approached him and he beamed at me.
"Nice to be back?" I asked.
"Yes," he said placing his hand on the small of my back and ushering me towards the lifts. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows, which caused him to move his hand away from me. "All the attention is a little overwhelming."
"Well that will teach you to have a supernatural episode," I said smartly as I stepped into the lift. Gabriel followed, ignoring my comment, and pushed the button to close the lift doors. We stood in silence as the lift traveled to our floor and when the doors chimed open, Gabriel stepped off first.
As we walked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and into the Auror Headquarters, people continued to greet Gabriel, welcoming him back and congratulating him on a speedy recovery. He shook hands, hugged a few women, and thanked everyone for the well wishes. I silently followed until the attention starting to annoy me. I turned sharply and walked away from the crowd of people around Gabriel, and took another path to Scrimgeour's office.
His secretary stood up as I approached her desk, standing on her toes to see over the line of cubicles. I rolled my eyes as she smiled at me.
"It's nice to have Mr. Quintin back," she said to me.
"Uh, yea, I suppose," I said softly. "Scrimgeour is expecting us."
She nodded and looked back at the crowd of people across the office. Gabriel was breaking free of them and approaching the office. He had unbuttoned his pea coat, and was smiling broadly.
"You are so lucky Miss Coleman," the secretary said with a jealous sigh. "I don't know how you can look at him everyday and not do—"
"I suggest you not finish that sentence," I said rather harshly. I had never in my life been spoken to by a coworker that way about Gabriel. Yes, he was good looking. Yes, he was charming. And yes, nearly every woman in the department wanted to be in my shoes, but honestly, did this woman have no self control?
The secretary gave me a dark glare as she took her seat.
"It was simply a compliment," she said.
"It was a jealous objectifying remark," I retorted. "Trust me, you don't look nearly as much a fool now as you would have if you had finished it."
"Hello Millie," said Gabriel approaching the desk. "I trust all is well?"
"Yes," Millie, the secretary said and she turned to Gabriel. Her ugly glare lingered on me before she turned and slapped a bittersweet smile on her face for Gabriel. "How are you, Gabriel? You had us all worried." She stood up and took his hand, squeezing it. I thought I might gag, so I turned quickly and walked into the Scrimgeour's office without knocking.
"Ah," he said with some surprise. "Hello Miss Coleman." He stood up from his desk and walked around to shake my hand. His eyes were darker then usual, and I could see that he was not very happy about seeing me. Perhaps he was still upset with me about the last time we had seen each other at St. Mungo's. "Where is Gabriel?"
There was a girlish giggle from out in the hall and caused me to frown. Scrimgeour smiled slightly and nodded. "Of course," he said going back to his desk. "Shall we wait for him?"
"Please don't," I said annoyed.
"No need to," said Gabriel coming into the office as he closed the door behind him. I frowned at him as I crossed my arms over my chest. He smiled broadly at my scornful look, and pinched my elbow as he walked by. "Don't be jealous," he whispered. I smacked his hand away and quickly took a seat in front of Scrimgeour's desk, my arms still tightly crossed over my chest.
"Hello Mr. Scrimgeour," said Gabriel extending his hand.
"Welcome back Mr. Quintin," Scrimgeour nodded with a shake of Gabriel's hand.
"It's good to be back, Sir," Gabriel took the seat next to me as Scrimgeour walked around the desk. He took his seat and looked at both of us very seriously. "I'm rather anxious to get back to work."
"Well, Gabriel," Scrimgeour hard a sharp tone to his voice that made me nervous. "I'm not sending you back to work just yet."
"I'm sorry, Sir, but why not?" Gabriel questioned quickly as he moved to the edge of his seat.
"I spoke to your Healers at St. Mungo's," he said easily. "They recommend that you at least take another month off to recover your strength and memory. They're not convinced that your memory has completely returned. Not to mention that you've been in a hospital bed for a month and a half. You're rusty and out of practice."
"What better way for me to get back into the swing of things then in the field?" said Gabriel. "Cadence needs my help finding Black, Sir."
"No," he shook his head. "She doesn't. You've both been pulled from Hogsmeade. We weren't getting anywhere with that assignment."
"Sir, if I may, I think our presence is still needed in Hogsmeade and at Hogwarts," I interjected. "Black just got into the castle a few weeks ago and nearly killed a student he had mistaken for Potter. I'm ninety five percent positive that he is hiding in the Forbidden Forest somewhere. We have not had the opportunity to search the area because of everything that has been happening with Gabriel—"
"Which brings me to my next point, Miss Coleman," Scrimgeour's voice was growing harsher each time he spoke. "You're both excellent Aurors, and the Ministry is lucky to have you—but you're too close."
"Excuse me?" I said.
"You're too close to each other," he whispered. He looked down at his desk with a sight then back up at us. "Cadence you should have continued your work without Gabriel—"
"He's my partner, Sir!" I snapped. Scrimgeour gave me a very nasty look for speaking out of turn and I sighed, leaning back in my chair. I was starting to think there was no point in arguing with the man. He obviously had made up of his mind already.
"Gabriel you're being benched for the next two months, and Cadence you're being assigned a new partner. End of story," Scrimgeour growled. "Millie has your paper work, Cadence. Your new partner is probably in your cubicle by now. Get out of my office. Gabriel there is a mountain of paper work waiting for you at your new cubicle. Are we understood?"
"Yes Sir," Gabriel said standing up and buttoning his pea coat.
"Miss Coleman?" Scrimgeour was giving me a very dirty look because he knew I was not happy, and of the two of us, I was more likely then Gabriel to disobey orders.
"Yes," I hissed standing up. I marched out of the office without another word, Gabriel following me closely.
What Scrimgeour had said was repeating in my mind…Gabriel and I were too close…He was suggesting that our emotional attachment was hindering our work. I bit my bottom lip and kept walking, despite desperately wanting to stop and punch a wall. Perhaps he was right, how else did I explain the sex dream, and the very flirtatious behavior the night before and that morning? I ran my hand through my hair as Gabriel caught up to me and said my name softly. I looked up at him, he was frowning and his eyes were a dark midnight blue. My stomach did a flip flop and I released a sigh.
"It will be fine," he said with a shrug. "In two months we'll be partners again."
"No," I said stopping in the middle of the aisle and looking up at Gabriel. I put my hands on my hips as the cubicle walls around us started to vibrate with a low hum. Gabriel's eyes grew very dark and he grabbed my shoulder with urgency. "We won't! He's separating us because of an emotional bond we have! We've been partners since I was seventeen, of course we would have an emotional bond!"
"I don't think that's the emotional bond he was referring to," Gabriel sighed squeezing my shoulder. "Control yourself, Cadence."
"I don't want to!" I screamed. The cubicle walls began to shake violently, causing a few of them to fall over with cracks up their sides. Gabriel gave me a very nasty glare, which I countered with my own. "This is absolutely ridiculous. I'm offended that he is suggesting we cannot separate our work from our private life. Our emotional bond is appropriate at work and any partner would have been just as concerned as I was—"
"Would any partner take their injured partner home for the night," Gabriel whispered. "Our behavior last night and this morning was not appropriate of two people who work together, and let's not forget your very exhausting dream—"
"It doesn't matter," I said taking a deep breath and glaring at him. "But I can't help find Peter if I have a new partner—"
Gabriel grabbed my elbow and dragged me down the destroyed aisle of cubicles. People were looking at me with horrified looks because I had destroyed a small portion of the office. The walls were being replaced as we walked by, but people were giving me the ugliest looks they could manage. Gabriel turned a corner and walked down the aisle next to the wall of the building. He opened a closet door and threw me into it quickly, following, and then slamming the door shut.
"Are you crazy!" he hissed in a low whisper. I looked around the room and snapped my fingers, making a light appear on the ceiling. He had thrown us into a storage closet full of office supplies. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. "You can't go around shaking walls because you're emotionally unstable, and you most certainly cannot talk about Sirius and Peter in front of hundreds of people."
"So hiding in a public closet is supposed to raise less suspicions?"
"Shut up," he retorted. "I can help Sirius—"
I started laughing the moment the words left his lips. "Yea, right."
"We don't have any other choice," Gabriel said. "If he wants our help then I'm the best he's going to get because you're right you can't look for Peter if you have a new partner. The risk is too high."
"Sirius doesn't want our help, he wants my help," I said. "And even then, I'm kind of just helping, no questions asked."
"Well you can't now," Gabriel said. "And I have nothing better to do, so I will do it."
I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. "Sirius is not going to like this."
"He doesn't have much of a choice," Gabriel said.