This was not surprising. Gabriel was usually a deep sleeper, but there were nights when he’d toss and turn and even talk in his sleep. Usually, Julia wasn’t bothered by it. But on this evening, he started thrashing in bed and cursing.
She was at his side instantly. “Gabriel?”
He continued his erratic movements, punctuated as they were by moments of torpor.
She switched on the lamp. “Gabriel?”
He mumbled. Then, all of a sudden, he tore at the bedclothes, wrestling and flailing until he was free.
His eyes shot open and he sat up, gasping for breath.
“Are you all right?” Julia elected to keep her distance, speaking in a low voice.
He looked at her, disoriented, and clutched his chest.
“Is it your heart? Can you breathe?”
“Nightmare.” His voice cracked.
“I’ll get you a drink.” Julia returned to the en-suite and retrieved a glass, filling it with water from the tap. He accepted it wordlessly.
She sat on the edge of the bed and waited, watching him closely.
“What was your nightmare about?”
He finished his drink, placing the glass on the nightstand.
“Give me a minute.”
Julia wanted to brush his dark hair back from his forehead, but she didn’t think he would welcome the gesture.
His blue eyes blinked before fixing on the wall behind her.
“My biological parents.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Julia reached out to hug him, but he stiffened. She paused for a moment, then walked over to her side of the bed.
Gabriel didn’t move. He didn’t even bother to turn out the light but continued to sit with his back against the headboard.
She slid over to him, underneath the sheets. She wanted to comfort him. But the air around him was charged with a strange kind of energy. Gabriel didn’t want to be touched.
She closed her eyes and had almost drifted into sleep, when his voice came out of the darkness.
“I was with my mother in our old apartment in Brooklyn. I could hear her and my father arguing.”
Julia’s eyes snapped open.
“I heard a crash. I heard my mother crying. I ran into the kitchen.”
“Was she okay?”
“She was kneeling on the floor. He was standing over her, shouting. I hit him with my fists. I shouted back. He shoved me and went to the front door. My mother crawled after him, begging him not to leave.”
Gabriel’s eyes glinted coldly, anger distorting his handsome features.
“Fucking bastard,” he spat.
“Sweetheart,” Julia murmured. She slid her hand across the sheet, making contact with his hip.
“I hate him. He’s been dead for years and still, if I knew where his grave was, I’d piss on it.”
Julia pressed her palm into his hip.
“I’m sorry.”
When he didn’t respond, she stroked his skin softly, an act that was meant to be soothing.
“He hit her. It was bad enough that he seduced her and abandoned us. But the asshole hit her.”
“Gabriel,” she whispered. “It was only a dream.”
He shook his head, still staring off into space.
“I don’t think so.”
Julia stilled. “You think it was real?”
Gabriel covered his eyes, pressing his fingers into the sockets. “I don’t think that was the first time they fought. Or the first time I intervened.”
“How old were you?”
“Young. Five or six. I don’t know.”
“You were a brave boy, defending your mother.”
Gabriel dropped his hands into his lap.
“It didn’t do any good. He broke her. Can you imagine crawling after a man who hit you? In front of your son?”
“She must have loved him.”
“Don’t make excuses,” he snapped.
“Gabriel, look at me.” Her tone was gentle.
He turned in her direction, his eyes blazing fire.
“I stayed with Simon,” she remarked quietly.
Gabriel blinked, and slowly the fire in his eyes began to diminish.
“I didn’t know your mother. But I know how messed up my head was when I was with Simon.”
“That was different. You were young.”
“I can’t imagine your mother was very old when she had you. How old was she?”
“I don’t know,” he ground out.
“She thought she loved him. She had a child with him.”
“He was married.”
Julia fidgeted with the sheet that covered her. “We can’t change our pasts. All we can change is the future.”
“I’m sorry I woke you.” Gabriel pressed a kiss against her hair.
“You didn’t.”
He pulled back so he could see her face. “Oh, really?”
“I had a female problem to attend to.”
After a moment, realization passed over his features. “Oh. Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m not feeling my best but it will pass.”
“I thought you seemed a little sensitive earlier.” He ghosted a hand over her breasts.
She grabbed his hand, stilling it.
“I’m sorry about your nightmare.”
He moved away, turning the light off. Then he slipped under the sheet next to her.
She could hear him bring his teeth together, clenching his jaw.
“Do you really think it’s a memory and not just a nightmare?”
“Sometimes I can’t tell,” he admitted.
“Has it happened before?”
“On occasion. It’s been a while.”