Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) by Latrivia Nelson, Latrivia Welch Read Free Book Online Page B

spent his youth away in a school in upstate Connecticut. Visits were sparse and normally the only family that did visit was his father.  In terms of affection, she had never dated that he knew of and she never married, even though she was daughter of a British countess.  She died when he was 21 of cancer, clutching a picture of her mother and whispering nonsense while gazing up at the ceiling of a Fifth Avenue penthouse bedroom with no one with her but him and the nurse. 
    Ivan hadn’t been much better, in terms of building familial relationships.  He was in and out of his life, calling and visiting as much as he could.  When he did give him fatherly advice, it was always something unsettling and hardly ever useful.  Ivan had been married once to a woman, whom he hardly spoke of and even though he got the feeling that his father might have loved her, Ivan never confirmed it. Instead, they spent their years, the few that they had together, at odds over his decision to become an agent.  When they were not fighting about that, they spent their time watching soccer and discussing women.  Ivan always felt like he was a ridiculous romantic.  He would laugh if he saw him now, chasing skirts and knocking up maids. 
    How would he ever be able to conform into a loving husband?  It seemed preposterous.  What did he really know about love anyway? No woman had ever truly loved him.  And yet, he was expected to know what to do.  Money didn’t buy that.  He felt like he was wandering in the dark with his hands reached out looking for answers in a sea of deceit. 
    He had discovered that one night while with Briggy.  She had confessed that she wanted to marry him, that she wanted a life with him.  And he was almost about to give it to her, until he broached the conversation about her past relationship with Anatoly.  He had seen it in her face – that twisted look of indecision.  She lied to him, pleading that she only loved him, but that night while wrapped in his arms after he had made love to her in their bed, she had whispered Anatoly’s name in her sleep. 
    No one could help what they dreamt. He could admit that, but he couldn’t ignore the thoughts lurking in the back of his mind, poisoning every good thing that they had once built together.  He couldn’t ignore how she looked at his cousin when he entered a room or how hurt she had seemed when Anatoly and Renee had the baby.  Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was standing in for his cousin.  And he was tired of standing in, he was tired of being a fucking beta to the other alphas in the house.  Even Briggy had referenced it in their fight a month ago in her bedroom.  She thought that he was just a joke.
    Well, that had done two things for him.  In her anger, she had revealed how she really felt and finally cut the love out of their relationship completely, and she had driven him to work harder and want more out of his family.  He would prove to everyone that he was an alpha and he would prove to her that she was wrong.  But it had been a long time coming.  This hadn’t been the first conversation about manhood that he’d ever had.  His first realization had happened many years ago, far from this place. 
    ***
    Thirteen Years Ago
    Upstate Connecticut Boarding School
     
    Just past midnight, a small group of teens gathered in Gabriel’s dorm room plotting to get off the school grounds to celebrate their win in the soccer tournament earlier that day and his roommate’s 16 th birthday. It supposed to be a joyous occasion, one that called for extraordinary celebration – something that couldn’t be done in the dorms. 
    “We have a small window to do this, guys.  I paid the security guard $400 to turn his head long enough for us to get off the grounds.  Then if we get caught after that, it’s on us,” Kelsey said, flipping her red ponytail off her shoulder.  “If we’re going to go at all, we better do it now.”  She eyed Gabriel,