Gabriel entered their private suite with a long sigh, tugging at the knot of his tie until it came loose, his blazer slipping from his shoulders. The day's weight clung to him like smoke, the news of Wrohan turning in his mind even now. He had barely lifted the blazer to drape it over a chair when something small latched onto his leg.
He stopped, looking down.
Silver eyes, wide, solemn, and too bright for such a small face, stared up at him. Cecil clung to his trouser leg with both hands, dark curls sticking out in stubborn tufts from his nap. His chubby cheeks were still flushed from sleep, his little mouth pursed as though announcing a silent claim.
"Already staking territory," Gabriel murmured, brown eyes glinting with humor. He stooped, scooping the boy up onto his hip with ease. Cecil nestled there at once, small fists curling into Gabriel's shirt as if he'd been waiting all day for this exact moment.
