Gabriel

Nate and Isabella stepped off the plane as I smiled and waved. Internally I was groaning. Gods, that woman is a shrew! Sure, she was sexy, but that's where her beauty stopped. Inside she was a devious, petty, harpy that drove me insane. Isabella gave me kisses on each cheek, trying her best to be posh as Nate fought to not roll his eyes. I pulled him into a hug and hissed, "I thought she had some runway thing?"

He grunted, "Yeah, me too."

We pulled back as my men grabbed their bags, "I'm glad you two could make it. I couldn't quite get the penthouse, but we did get the presidential suites. Seems the owner has the penthouses reserved. Oh, and you'll never guess who is coming?" I told them. Nate raised his eyebrows in question. "My manager got a message from our long-lost leader. Owen is an attorney here in London now and is coming with some associates. I sent him passes and invites to the afterparty. I thought it might be fun to catch up."

"No way!" Nate gaped. "Damn, now I'm really glad we made it."

"Who is Owen?" the harpy snapped. "Is he someone famous?" Leave it to her to only be interested if he was famous.

"I've told you about him, Iz. He was our friend before I signed up. We all lost touch after I deployed. Hell, it's been what...six, eight years?" Nate said as we loaded into the SUV.

Her interest faded, "Oh, if that's all," and turned to look out the window. I wanted to slap her as I watched Nate seem to deflate at her indifference. He really needed to end things with her.

We pulled into the private parking garage and took the elevator to our floor. I handed Nate his key. "I'll let you two get cleaned up. Why don't you join me for dinner downstairs in a couple of hours?"

"Sounds good, Gabe. Thanks for inviting us," he said, gripping my arm, then heading into their suite. I let out a sigh and walked into my door. This was going to be one long week.

Owen

"I already sent a car to the airport for them," I told Luke who was visibly on edge awaiting Kota and Avery's arrival. "Do you plan on letting her make it in the door before you attack her?" I chuckled.

He grinned, "Do you?"

"Touché," I grinned.

The door opened and she stepped in still talking. "All I'm saying is right now I feel very much like the country mouse, Kota."

I think we all sucked in a collective breath as we took in her appearance. She was wearing a free-flowing silvery gown with her hair up in a delicate bun that exposed her neck and ample bosom. "You may feel like a country mouse, but right now, you look like a goddess," I said as she turned and met all our eyes.

"Woah," she breathed, "I think my ovaries just exploded. Feck you all look good."

North chuckled, "Thanks shortcake, but let's keep those ovaries in place."

Her cheeks flushed as she covered her face, mumbling, "I said that out loud, huh?"

He pulled her hands down, "Yes, but we love the compliment, and Owen's right, you do look like a goddess." He leaned down and kissed her softly. She leaned into the kiss, her small hands wrapping around his wrists as he cupped her face.

When their kiss broke, we all took turns greeting her with soft kisses and embraces. "We should probably make our way to the dining room before you lose that beautiful dress, our goddess," Sean smirked, taking her hand and placing it over his arm.

"Wait, you mean we are all going out in public together? You...you want people to know?" she sputtered. I admit it stung. Did she want to keep us a secret?

"Av, are you ashamed to be seen with us?" Luke asked, his voice reflecting my own hurt.

"No!" she quickly snapped, "I...I just, well, I didn't know how it would look. I mean, you all have careers and what if someone thought it was wrong. I don't want any of you to," she paused and growled. "I don't want to embarrass you," she finally whispered.

Luke lifted her chin, "Avery you could never embarrass us. We are proud to be with you and to be yours. I know this is still all new, but trust us when we say we want this relationship, we want you."

A tear rolled down her cheeks as she nodded, "Okay. I'm sorry, I just...I just keep thinking you'll all realize I'm just a simple country girl from a tiny town and not good enough."

Sean spun her around, pulling her against his chest. "Say that again and I'll tan your ass, little miss. You are perfect." He nuzzled her neck, kissing her softly. "Now, raise that head like the goddess you are, and let's go wow the rest of the peasants." She let out a small giggle and nodded.

I think we all let out a collective sigh of relief as we stepped into the elevator. I watched her eyes light with joy as she looked out the side of the glass elevator. A small gasp passed her lips as we descended into the atrium. It was a cavernous room with a landscaped gentle waterfall surrounded by hundreds of plants and flowers. It was the feature that drew me to buy the hotel. It looked like a small oasis amid London. The host looked up as we approached and smiled, "Good to see you this evening, Mr. Blackbourne. We have your table ready. Please, follow me."

I noticed she gripped Sean's arm a bit tighter as we made our way through the room. Her eyes drifted downward and for a moment I was hurt, but then I took a moment to think of her perspective. She was so much younger and this was her first relationship if what Luke and Victor said was accurate. Now, here she was in the center of attention with not one, but seven men surrounding her. I reached out and brushed her arm. "Avery, would you prefer a private dining room?"

She gave me a soft smile, "No, I'll be okay as long as you all stay with me. It's just..."

"I know, love. It's different and new, but we want to show you off. We want the world to know how lucky we are to be loved by you," I told her as she smiled wider and nodded. Our host seated us and we placed our orders when he stepped back up and whispered in my ear. I frowned, then turned to the others, "Excuse me a moment. I need to speak with a guest." Excusing myself from the table I followed our host, George toward the far end of the dining room where a woman was complaining loudly.

"I don't care what they say it is, that is not comestible. Such an excusa patética for a cook, I demand a refund!" the woman yelled, going back and forth between English and Spanish.

"May I help, Madam? I'm the owner of the hotel," I said.

"Holy fuck! Owen?" I turned to see Gabe's blue eyes staring wide at me with Nate beside him also looking shocked.

"Gabe, Nate!" I exclaimed, quickly reaching for their hands. They both stood and one after the other pulled me into a hug. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a showing later?"

Gabe chuckled, "Yeah, we were getting dinner first. I booked the presidential suites." He raised his eyebrows playfully, "Seems the owner had the penthouse suites already. Wonder who that could be, I thought you were a lawyer?"

I laughed, "Well, I am, but a solid investment here and there doesn't hurt."

"Excuse me, are you going to fix my meal or not?" the woman interrupted. I saw Nate groan and turn to her.

"Iz can you just let it go? We will order you something else. This is my friend, Owen."

"You call this a first-class restaurant?" she snorted.

"If the meal is not to your liking, may I suggest something different?" I offered. "The braised lamb is very tender and one of our house specialties."

"Free?" she asked.

"Of course. Matter of fact, would the three of you care to join my party? I have a feeling you might enjoy the group," I smirked.

Nate put his arm around the woman, leading her forward, "Sure thing. We would love more company." Gabe gave me an eye roll as I motioned for them to follow me.

I walked a bit quicker and frowned when I noticed Avery was absent, then spoke, "Look who I found?" I moved as Gabe and Nate came into sight and the table erupted in greetings.

Everyone was hugging and greeting each other as the woman Nate had called Iz seemed to become more irritated by the moment. I felt a soft touch on my arm and looked to see a confused Avery. "Um, what's going on?" she asked softly.

I put my arm around her and explained, "Well, I sort of stumbled on Gabe and Nate when I went to speak to the upset guest. I invited them to join us." Her smile broadened as I cleared my throat, "Nate, Gabe, I'd like to introduce you to someone very special to us. This is Ms. Avery Dorman."

They both turned around and I thought Gabe was going to pass out. "Chaton?" he breathed as she gasped.

"Gabriel?"

Wait, what?

Author's Notes:  Ahh, all nine have arrived...now what?  *Chaton is French for kitten.

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