Whats In A Name Ch 07

Hi everybody! Thanks for your patience and your wonderful comments. They encourage me to keep on writing and satisfy your curiosity to how Ravenna will find true peace of mind. Here is the next chapter, as always edited by LissaSue. Thank you! Have fun reading and please vote!

***

Closing the door of the mansion behind her, Ravenna walked to the car. She looked good, Alexander observed, cheerful and impatient. He smiled; she almost looked like she was eager to drive into the city. That would be a first.

She was chattery that morning, telling him enthusiastically about the computer security system she was designing for the company. As she sat beside him in the car, illustrating her words with her hands, he had some difficulty grasping the technical details she was unfolding for him. She didn't seem to mind though, content to share the plans she'd made with him.

Chatterbox, he suddenly thought. That was the word that described her now. He smiled, wondering whether Gabriel's visit had something to do with her good mood. If so, they'd have to keep him somewhat longer. He liked this side of the girl next to him.

Alexander parked the car in the garage, and Ravenna got out impatiently. Shifting from foot to foot, she rapidly kept pushing the button to call the elevator. He grinned at her impatience as she stood there bouncing from side to side until the doors finally opened.

As soon as they reached the top floor, she darted from the elevator and turned on the computer in her office with swift movements. While the system was starting, she whooshed through the room, cleaning the papers she had left behind the day before. She paused for a moment in front of her favorite painting, a small smile on her face, but then, finally, the welcoming tune indicated her computer had booted.

She immediately installed herself behind her desk and focused on the security projects she currently was working on. First, she'd map the software that was in use and inventory what was needed for the new system; she should be able to do that in a week or two. The software was a globally used system that had been patched up more than once, and she really needed to dive into it to be able to fully map what her predecessors had done.

She sifted through the bits and bites; feeling like she was part of the system rather than the controller. This was why she was so good with anything digital, she could immerse herself in the 0's and 1's, see the structure of the software rather than reading it, and manipulate it with her mind. It made anything digital easily accessible.

She worked like that for some hours, concentration on her face. She ignored Dominic's attempts to distract her; he'd have to find another playmate today. Today she had

The Vibe,

and she'd better make good use of it. It was 12:30 when a soft knock on her door pulled her from the digital fortress. Looking up, she felt her mood improve even more. Gabriel was standing in her doorway.

He'd be standing there for about a minute, looking at the beauty that was working, concentrating on her computer. He realized seeing her again made his stomach leap and hesitated for a moment on whether he would disturb her, without Alexander or Dominic at his side. There was a good chance she'd be frightened again.

He decided he would take his chances. "Hey, Ravenna."

She looked up surprised. "Hey, Gabriel," she answered, a smile spreading on her face. That was a good sign and Gabriel felt his insides glow at her warm welcome. He answered her smile with one of his one. "You look like you've been working hard and could use some lunch. I've heard they have an excellent restaurant on the fifth floor. Care to join me?"

For a moment, she hesitated. She'd never left the floor before. Gabriel saw the hesitancy flicker across her face and crossed his fingers. Maybe asking her hadn't been a good idea after all. Something in Ravenna made her smile at the thought of sitting across of the gorgeous man at her door again, though. To his surprise and delight, she accepted his invitation and started collecting her things. She seemed balanced and comfortable, but Gabriel noticed her checking three times whether she had her cell on her. She even took the charger with her. He realized sadly that she made it look easier then she actually felt.

They walked to the elevator, and he pressed the button for the fifth floor. As the indicator crept down to their destination, he felt the anxiety radiate from the young woman beside him. He wanted to put his arm around her, protect her from the new impressions, but he kept his arms firmly to his side. "

Slowly, give her time

" he reminded himself.

She sucked in a deep breath as the doors opened. Gabriel waited for her to be ready to leave the elevator, smiling at her reassuringly. Holding her breath, she took a tentative step into the restaurant. She looked around skittishly and surveyed her new environment. The restaurant had a quiet atmosphere, piano music playing in the background. The buzzing of muted voices drifted towards her and, with a quiet whoosh, Ravenna released her breath. Nothing out of the ordinary for now.

They were at the executive restaurant where the managers had their business lunches. The luxury tables had already been set, crystal glasses sparkling in the light of the chandeliers hanging above the tables. Slowly, Gabriel led Ravenna to the counter where a waiter stood to assign them a table.

"Good day, sir, madam, a table for two?"

Gabriel kept close watch on the young woman besides him. She looked around anxiously, trying to keep an eye on everything around them at once. "Do you want a table Ravenna?" he asked her kindly. If she was too frightened, they'd just order something on her own floor. She looked up to him questioningly; suddenly aware of the choice he was giving her. Her lips curved in a trembling smile, and she nodded once.

Gabriel smiled, relieved, this was going much better than he had expected. "Do you have a somewhat secluded table?" he asked; it really wasn't necessary to push her limits. The waiter nodded, leading them away from the center of the restaurant.

They were seated a table behind a grand aquarium and palm plants. It was perfect; Ravenna could oversee the restaurant but was covered by the ornaments at the same time. Feeling more and more at ease, she smiled a genuine smile at Gabriel.

"Voudriez-vous boire quelque chose?" a new waiter asked, offering them the menu at the same time.

She looked up, surprised. It actually was a French restaurant, the menu also written in the tongue twisting European language. She shook her head, smiling. Her vampire friends seriously had a decadent taste.

Gabriel translated for her. "He asked whether you would like something to drink."

She nodded. "I know, thank you." Turning to the waiter she placed her order. "Un jus d'orange fraise, s'il vous plait, et pour mon collegue un moccachino avec canelle."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed infinitesimally as she called him her colleague. He did not like that one bit. He let it pass though and breached something else. How did she know French? And how on earth had she known what he wanted to drink? "How did you do that?" he asked surprised.

"Order? In French?" She said innocently, her eyes twinkling.

Gabriel laughed. "That was not what I meant."

She shrugged. "I had the feeling that's what you wanted. For a moment, you doubted whether you'd take a regular coffee but then decided you wanted the moccachino."

He was speechless for a moment. One of his talents was the ability to read others minds, even when they shielded themselves, and to protect his own thoughts from others, but the girl across him picked his order from his brain, just like that. He'd have to concentrate on keeping his thoughts to himself when he was around her, he realized, awed.

"I'm impressed."

She smiled and changed the topic unsubtly. His scrutinizing look made her feel uncomfortable. "Where are you staying during your visit?"

Gabriel saw through her diversion but let it go. He'd try to learn to know her better soon enough. "I've rented an apartment nearby. I'm not very fond of hotel rooms, so I figured I'd stay there for a while. That way I can also cook for myself, if I'd like. You can't do that in hotels."

"You like to cook?"

He nodded. "Yes, very much. I don't do it very often, though, as I usually meet my clients over dinner. But, when I have the chance, I try to cook something nice."

She hesitated for a moment, curiosity winning over her reluctance. "Dominic told me you are not human." She cringed, monitoring his reaction closely; relaxing somewhat when he just nodded encouragingly. He did not look upset or angry at all, and she continued carefully. "Can I ask you about your race?"

Gabriel smiled reassuringly. "Sure, fire away."

"You are Zerphirdean?"

"Hm hm."

"Do Zerphirdean have special powers?"

"Yes, they do. You can compare them to vampires. They are fast and strong, have excellent senses, and can read unshielded minds. Zerphirdean need regular food to sustain themselves, though, and only a few exceptions are immortal. Those that are immortal, on the other hand, are actively immortal, unlike the passive immortal vampires."

She looked up, confused. "There are different kinds of immortality?"

"Yes," he said, explaining. "Passive immortals can be killed but will not die unless they are. Active immortals cannot be killed, they will heal of every wound inflicted on them."

Ravenna sat there listening to him concentrated, when the waiter suddenly interrupted their conversation. With a start, she sat upright again. Unconsciously she had been leaning towards her table partner. "Puis-je prende votre commance, monsieur, madame?"

Ravenna looked at Gabriel, her eyes twinkling. Grinning, he quickly concentrated on shielding his thoughts, changing the choice he'd made. He would not let her play that trick on him again, he thought, amused. Gabriel decided he'd return her the favor, and started nudging at her thoughts, trying to decipher her pick. Ravenna smiled when she felt his attempts to uncover the dish she wanted to order, straining to keep him out. He was very strong she realized soon, and she had to concentrate even harder to hide her choice, feeling as if he could breach her barriers.

They tested each other's defenses like that for a swift second, too fast for the waiter to notice anything unusual. They found they could not penetrate each other thoughts, and grinning, both admitted defeat.

"

Well, that leaves only one solution,

" Gabriel thought, smiling. "Je voudrais le lapin aux legumes, s'il vous plait." They'd each have to order their own menu.

Ravenna smirked. "Pour moi le menu vegetarienne, s'il vous plait. "

Gabriel decided it was his turn to ask the questions, diverting the subject from immortal Zerphirdeans. "What were you working so hard on this morning?" He repressed the feeling that he was keeping his own immortality a secret from her. Haughtily, he tried to ignore the reason behind it. Would she ever have wanted to dine with him if she knew he was over 2000 years old, unable to die? Unable to change?

Ravenna did not seem to notice the change of subjects and began explaining her work animatedly. "I'm designing new security software for the Rivers Company. I'm now mapping the existing software, and I really need to focus to see through all the strange changes that have been made to the system the past few years." She rolled her eyes. "People really didn't know what they were doing before."

Gabriel nodded, impressed. "How are you managing so far?"

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Quite good, actually; it's going easier then I had expected. I did encounter something I don't understand fully yet, so I'll explore that some more in the coming days."

"What did you find?"

She tried to think of an analogy to explain what she had encountered in the software that morning. "I'm not sure, It's almost like the system is enveloped in a second system, but I haven't been able to figure out with what, or why, yet." She shrugged; she'd work on that later. The waiter brought them their drinks and a basket of bread. Before Gabriel could ask any more questions, she'd already shoved a slice of the fresh bakery in his hands.

Amused, he took a bite of the bread. She really was a funny little bird. He hesitated for a moment, and then decided he would try asking where she came from again. She seemed more talkative today than she had been the day before. "Have you always lived in the city?"

She frowned. Did she want to tell him those things? Not really, no. But also yes, desperately. She shook her head, trying to shake the confusion from her mind. "I used to live in New York, and had a very nice apartment there." She frowned, thinking back at her apartment. "I wanted to keep living there, but after..." Uncomfortably, she tried to find her words. "Well...you know...Alex and Dom found me."

She sucked in a deep breath. "I've done research on my apartment, but it has burnt down. Someone had set fire to it according to the police." She felt sad as she told about her house, she'd loved her own place; renovated it exactly to her liking and decorated with her self-made money. Now, all there remained was ash and her memories. "The last thing I remember is coming home from grocery shopping, and after that...well...things happened."

Gabriel nodded in sympathy, recognizing the difficulty she had with telling him this. Her fingers were plucking aimlessly at the table cloth, expressing the distress the conversation had caused her. Unable to stop himself, he put his hand on hers, stroking the backside with his fingers. "I'm sorry."

He regretted it instantly as she pulled her hands back, startled, putting them in her lap. He shot her an apologetic look, but she was staring at something in the void, her mind occupied by something far from the table they were sitting at.

He changed to a lighter topic, hoping to pull her back from her sad thoughts. "I saw you had a beautiful bouquet of flowers in your office this morning."

Blinking, she focused her eyes on him again. "Yes," she said, still sounding somewhat remote. "Karen puts them in my office in the morning. I really like them." The thought of the colorful bouquet pulled her back from her reveries, and she smiled tentatively.

Gabriel smiled encouragingly. "She has good taste."

Suddenly, Ravenna grinned. "Yeah, but last week she'd ordered me a bouquet with Arum flowers. That was a bit premature to my taste."

Gabriel laughed, surprised by her jibe. "What did you ask her? Please don't sent me funeral flowers anymore?"

She giggled. "No, no, I used a little more tact. I just asked her to order other flowers in the future."

Gabriel marveled at her laugh. She looked even more stunning when she was relaxed and smiling. The waiter interrupted their conversation when he brought their dishes of delicious looking food, placing them in front of them. They started eating and continued chatting with each other over lunch.

When they finished, Ravenna gave a contented sigh. "That was really nice." Gabriel couldn't agree more. Paying the bill, he got up to escort her back to her floor; he had had a wonderful time.

When they walked back to the elevator, it felt like a barrier between them had been removed. He looked down at the girl besides him and felt his heart leap at her relaxed posture. A complete opposite of how she had left the elevator before their delicious lunch. Something he recognize as trust was visible in her blue eyes that looked at him, sparkling. Admiringly, he took in her face again, she was so beautiful. A stray strand of her blond hair fell over her face, and, very slowly, he brought his hand to her cheek, wiping the hair out of her face carefully. She did not shy away from his touch this time, her eyes warming at the soft caress of her cheek.

Her skin made his fingers tingle, the warmth sending an electrifying pulse through his body. The elevator bell pulled them from the intimate moment, and he stepped away from her, his thoughts confused. Silently, they walked into the stall, pressing the button for the top floor.

"I had a great time, Ravenna."

"So did I, thank you for the lunch."

"You are most welcome." He hesitated. "I have an appointment this evening, so I won't be at Alexander's. Would you like to join me for lunch again tomorrow?"

Ravenna beamed at his words. "I'd love that. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." And with that, he left her at her floor, joy sweeping through him. He pushed the button to bring him to the exit. Tomorrow they would lunch together again.

***

Gabriel took Ravenna out to lunch every day after that. They'd have a great time, chatting and laughing over their food. She found that she was looking forward more and more to their outings, unwilling for them to end.

A week after their first lunch, he stood at the door of her office again, a gift wrapped box in his hands. "Hey, Ravenna. Today is a special day, so I've got you a present."

Her cheeks flushed red as she took the blue box from him. She'd never had presents before. She eyed it uncertainly, was she supposed to open it?

Gabriel nodded at her encouragingly, and carefully, she removed the strings and paper. Surprised, she took in the contents of the box in her hands. It held a necklace with matching earrings and bracelet, all set with brilliant blue sapphires that matched the color of her eyes.

They were beautiful. She felt tears form in her eyes and tried to wipe them away without Gabriel seeing it, feeling silly and somewhat surprised for the reaction. He beat her to it, softly caressing her cheeks with his hands.

"Shh, it's okay." He bent through his knees in front of her, stroking her soothingly. "We've known each other for two weeks now, and I wanted to give you something nice. You see," he said, smiling to her face, "I'm taking you out to dinner tonight."

Ravenna smiled amid her tears, and butterflies tickled her stomach as she looked up at the gorgeous man in front of her. She'd love that. "Come on, I'm kidnapping you from work this afternoon. We're going to get you a gorgeous dress to complement that beautiful body of yours." He threaded her arm through his and they walked down to his car together. He was going to pamper the girl beside him, whether she liked it or not.

They spent the afternoon shopping for the perfect dress and matching shoes. At first, Ravenna had been reluctant to get from the car. Apart from the Rivers Building, she had not visited the city earlier, but Gabriel's dazzling smile and infectious enthusiasm soon made her eager to visit every shop he brought her to. It was great fun actually. They bought her a dazzling, off-white strapless dress that hugged her figure tightly and accentuated the color of her skin and eyes. Matching shoes were next on the list of things to buy.

At the end of the day, they had stocked the car with a beautiful dress, matching heels, very lingerie-ish lingerie, and the beautiful jewelry to accompany all that. She'd had fun that afternoon, trying on everything Gabriel found her and blushing as he made admiring comments. They made a final stop at a stylist, who braided her hair and dressed her in the beautiful new dress.

Gabriel had finished dressing himself and wore a handsome black suit that accentuated his strong body. He paced the waiting room impatiently as he waited for Ravenna to be released from the pampering of the stylist. He smiled, he'd already had a great day, and it would get better still.

He sucked in a sharp breath as Ravenna finally reappeared from the dressing room. She looked stunning. The dress fitted tightly to her beautiful curves, her stunning blue eyes looking at him warmly. Proudly, he looked at the young woman that walked towards him. She would be dining out tonight with him.