Gabriel glanced at the woman walking beside him. Jaw set, shoulders relaxed, eyes focused; seeing her demeanour reminded him of the time Alex had come out of her kitchen in Hong Kong. Then and now, she was not a woman who lost her cool in the face of pressure.

He was also not a man who lost his cool. But when it came to Alex Turner... His gaze raked over her curve hugging top, noting how a bead of perspiration was making its slow path down the graceful curve of her neck, remembering how she felt beneath him in the gym...Bloody Hell.

"Dolores?" He called back to the manager who was trailing behind them.

"Yes, sir?"

"Your blazer."

Seeing his outstretched hand, the manager handed her jacket over without hesitation. Gabriel put the material on Alex's shoulders just as they rounded the corner to Petrichor.

"No protests," he warned.

"Thank you," was Alex's only reply as she slipped her arms into the jacket.

"Mr Moncrief, we thought you were out of town!" Jacques reached them as they entered the restaurant. "The gentleman over there claims he got food poisoning from Petrichor. He is refusing to speak in private-"

Gabriel held up his hand to stall his restaurant manager's words and focused on the sight in front of him. A short, balding man stood facing a furious Luca who was being held back by two waiters. Several uncomfortable looking guests were trying to focus on their meals while others were openly staring, some with their phones out. Scanning the interior for guest numbers, he noticed Marianne at one of the tables further away having lunch with some of her model friends. Her eyes lit up with surprise at the sight of him, then narrowed on Alex beside him. He'd deal with her later.

"Jacques, pacify the guests. Delores convince them not ot post anything online lest they be accused of liable. Use a range of incentives to handle this nicely, I don't want any bad PR."

"Yes, sir." Both managers nodded quickly, pasting smiles on their faces as they moved into the fray.

Gabriel glanced at Alex whose attention was now focused on the bag in the balding man's hand.

"I'll do the talking," he told her quietly, then moved forward until he was standing behind the balding man. "Chef Luca, I see you have a guest. Shall we have a coffee in my office?"

The bald man turned in surprise, then his eyes narrowed in accusation. "I know you. You are Gabriel Moncrief! Don't think you can bully me, just because you're rich!" He waved a piece of paper furiously, "Look here! I have a report. Your buns gave me food poisoning. It's all written right here!"

"I see -" Gabriel began, but Luca interrupted.

"He's a damn nutcase, Moncrief. Claims we are using bad eggs and wants to enter my kitchen!"

Gabriel frowned at his volatile chef. "Calm yourself, Chef Bisset. We will get ot the bottom of this."

"What bottom of this!?" Luca shoved away the hands restraining him, his golden eyes blazing. "You know all the buns are made by Alex. Is it even conceivable that she wouldn't have noticed the smell of a rotten egg? This guy is a total Charlatan!"

Gabriel agreed, but the way the chef was acting was going to get them nowhere.

"So you are the one who poisoned me!" Noticing Luca's gaze when he mentioned Alex, he now turned an accusing finger her way. Spit gathered at the corner of his mouth as he continued his rant. "I want this woman fired or I'm going to sue!"

Gabriel's eyes narrowed with suspicion. He had presumed the man was here for a pay off, but why would he want Alex fired? The demand sounded too practiced to be natural.

"The bun in the bag you are holding, is it the one that gave you food poisoning?" Alex spoke up for the first time. Her calm voice seemed to surprise all onlookers except for Gabriel.

"Yes, it is!" The bald man growled, recovering from his momentary surprise. "I was too full to finish it here so I took it home with me. And I'm glad I did because its become my proof!"

"Yes, you are right. It works as proof that you were poisoned." Alex agreed, "But it also proves you were not poisoned with food made here."

"Exactly! Wait. What?" The man did a double take.

Alex took a step forward, almost touching the package the man held between them like a shield. "That bun in there was not made here. The cinnamon is wrong."

"Cin-cin-cinamon?" The man stuttered.

"Hah! Didn't I tell you?" Luca folded his arms, a big grin spreading across his face.

Seeing the certainty on Alex's face, Gabriel realised he believed her. It should be impossible for her to smell cinnamon through a package, much less be able to tell the type, but this was Alex...

"You are crazy!" The bald man protested looking at all three of them. "I'm warning you, Moncreif! Fire this woman or I'm going to sue all of you!"

Gabriel had finally had enough. The suspicion that had been growing in his mind was putting a sour taste in his mouth. Pushing at the man's mind he sifted threw his thoughts and grimaced. Damn it!

Taking a step closer, Gabriel leaned down to speak with a low voice. "I'm going to give you five seconds to get out of here without repercussions. After that, I'll be exposing you and the woman who paid you to get rid of my chef. Not only will you never find employment again, I'll take your beat up little car, your apartment and every last cent in your pocket as compensation for this embarrassment." He leaned back, looking the smaller man in the eye. "Do you understand me?"

The fear in the man's expression was the only answer he received before the bastard ran out of the restaurant leaving his reports and fake evidence behind.

A feeling of relief rippled through the guests who now felt the small disturbance was worth the free meal they were receiving. Two waiters came to clean up the fallen papers while Luca slapped Gabriel on the back. "You are really something, Moncrief. What the hell did you say to the bastard to have him running like that?"

Gabriel looked from Luca's pleased smile to Alex's frown. She must have realised this was not the usual attempt at extortion restaurants had to deal with from time to time.

"You should get dressed," he told her, trying to distract her attention. His comment served to draw Luca's gaze to the low cut neckline of the workout shirt showing under her open blazer. "Bisset, get back to your kitchen and calm the staff."

"No one in my kitchen doubted Alex for a moment," Luca snorted. Then he reached over and pulled Alex's blazer together, his smile gone. "Sorry, amore mio, but the boss has a point. You should get dressed."

Gabriel's eyes went from Luca's hands on Alex's jacket to the blush on her face. His fingers curled at his sides and all reason left his mind as fury boiled inside him. How dare the bastard! How dare he touch his woman?

He took a step towards Luca, when a whimper from a nearby waitresses froze him in place. Gabriel cast a quick look around. All the werewolves in the restaurant were staring at him in shock; the weaker ones cowering at his fury.

What the hell had gotten into him? How could he let his wolf rise to the surface like that? And over what? His woman? Had his wolf claimed Alex? But it couldn't have, she was a human!

Unwilling to think down that path, he transferred his fury to the one that truly deserved it. Marianne shuddered under his look, her eyes wide with fear.

"I will speak to both of you later," Gabriel said, not wanting to look at Luca or Alex lest he lose his reason once more. His eyes did not stray from Marianne as he sent her a command she did not dare to disobey. .