Mentally shoving that thought aside, he said, “My dad is just giving me some pointers on how to control my wings.”
Even from a distance, he saw her lips curve into a smile.
“I can tell it’s going well. Don’t worry. I love your wings. I don’t mind if they keep popping out, especially when I get to touch them.”
“Careful, princess,” he growled. “You don’t want to tease me. I’m already on edge.”
“But you make it so easy to do so.”
“Keep it up and I really will carry you off.”
“Behave, mate,” she scolded in a teasing tone. “We cannot insult your family by leaving before we share a meal with them. They are celebrating us, after all.”
Damn it. She was right.
If they left now and missed dinner, he’d never hear the end of it. Then again, his family obviously loved Lyrica so they might forgive him.
“We are not leaving,” she stressed. “Now, stop tempting me with those wings. Put those sexy things away…until later.”
“That was cruel.”
Lyrica’s soft laughter slid into his head like a soothing caress. His connection to her filled his heart with love, and he was finally able to relax enough to retract his wings. He blinked in surprise when Koric’s hand came down on his shoulder. Gabriel had been so focused on Lyrica that he’d forgotten that his father was standing right next to him.
“Sorry, did you say something?”
“I said well done. And try not to stare like that when you’re speaking to your keeper through your bond. People might think you are having a stroke, or just being creepy.”
Gabriel glared at him. “I think you are enjoying all of this a little too much.”
“You have always excelled in whatever you’ve chosen to do, so watching you acclimate to your new situation is highly entertaining.”
“I’m glad I amuse you.”
“You need to relax, son. D’Aire young spend years learning how to use their wings, while you’ve only had a few days. You and Vaughn never had to go through it, but you have to remember how difficult it was for Poppy to learn how to use her wings.”
Gabriel did remember how difficult it had been for his sister to learn how to fly and use her wings during combat training. He’d laughed at some of her failed efforts, but most of that had been because he’d been jealous that she’d been born with wings when he hadn’t. Now, he wished he’d paid more attention to what Koric had taught her.
He sighed. “I’m going to have to learn how to use them properly. Do you think you could help me with that?”
“I would be happy to instruct you, but first, you need to give yourself time to get used to all of these new changes. And speaking of new…stars, your muscles feel like solid steel.” Koric shook the hand that had slapped his shoulder. “You really did hulk out.”
Gabriel snorted out a laugh. “Apparently this is what happens when you mate a Xenon. Thankfully, only the males go through the growth transformation.”
“It is always fascinating to see what happens when two races come together, especially when magic is involved.”
“It wasn’t so fascinating when my ass literally dented a metal door the other day,” Gabriel muttered.
Koric blinked in surprise. “Did that really happen?”
“Yeah.” But that wasn’t a memory he wanted to revisit at the moment. “The transformation was painful, but it was over pretty quick.”
“You are done growing, aren’t you?”
“I sure as hell hope so. I already had to replace my entire wardrobe.”
He looked down at his plain black shirt, pants, and boots. Only the basics had been available in his size, and he’d had to special order the rest. Besides the dented door, he also had several other pieces of furniture he needed to replace. Hell, he had smashed, dented, or broken half of the stuff in his quarters. He was a walking, talking wrecking ball, and until he got used to his increased strength, he had to be extremely careful not to hurt anyone.
The only person who seemed to be completely safe from him was Lyrica. He was instinctually gentle with her, no matter if he was sleeping or awake. Thank the gods for that, or he wouldn’t be able to touch her until he was sure he wouldn’t hurt her. Not only was she extremely skilled with magic, she was also a lot stronger than she seemed.
When Dorian and Dima walked outside carrying large platters of food over to the long wooden table that was set up on the terrace, Gabriel’s stomach rumbled. Since the twins were excellent chefs, they had offered to prepare a special celebration meal for the evening. They always came up with a variety of creative dishes that could have been served in the best restaurants in the city, but they only cooked for family.
Gabriel surveyed the platters of food with a longing that bordered on desperation. Since he had gone through his transformation, he always seemed to be hungry. Lyrica had told him that would calm down once the magic in his body balanced out. He knew he should wait for everyone to sit down before he touched the food, but all of the wonderful scents were starting to drive him crazy.
As the females walked over to join them, Gabriel’s thoughts were distracted away from the food. Hazel leaned against Koric, while Poppy’s mates immediately reached out to stroke their hands over her baby bump.
He had that same kind of bond now, Gabriel thought with no small amount of wonder. When Lyrica slid her arms around his waist, a different kind of hunger
