<h4>Chapter 710: Noah’s soft, repetitive babbles</h4>


    Gabriel rested his chin gently on Amelie’s shoulder, both of them gazing down at Noah, whoy curled in the crib.


    "He had the best day," Gabriel murmured, voice low and warm against her ear. "Especially those bells. He wouldn’t let them go and kept shaking them. Watching Noah makes me happy, Amelie. I think we are also living those moments with him which were hard to discover with him."


    Amelie smiled. "Our Noah is exploring new things every day."


    She turned in his arms, her eyes reflecting a deep blue shade before they caught the shimmer of his violet eyes. For a second they simply looked at each other.


    Gabriel’s hands slid to her waist, fingers sying possessively. He tilted his head, closing the small distance between them. Their lips met softly at first, then deepened as they nibbled gently at each other’s mouths. A slow slide of tongues followed, drawing quiet gasps from them both. The kiss grew hungrier until they parted only long enough to breathe before finding each other again.


    In the next instant, they were no longer standing by the crib.


    Ameliended on the mattress with a gentle bounce, the thickforter puffing around her. A surprised giggle bubbled out of her. Her hands found the back of his neck, fingers threading into the dark strands of his hair as she pulled him down with her.


    Their mouths met once more, deeper this time, savoring each other again. Gabriel braced himself above her on one forearm, the other hand cupping her face.


    "Christmas can be this beautiful," she whispered against his lips. "I didn’t know."


    He smiled and kissed the corner of her mouth, then the curve of her jaw.


    "Neither did I," he answered. "Not until you entered my life, love."


    Gabriel’s lips settled against the side of her neck, staying there for a long second to inhale the scent of her pheromones before he started working on her blouse.


    His fingers moved steadily, unfastening each button one at a time, the fabric parting slowly under his touch. When thest button gave way, his hand slipped inside, cupping one breast gently, causing her to moan.


    He kissed the mark of their matebond, then on her corbone before trailing his mouth downward in a slow line along the bone. His breath came hot against her skin with every exhale, sending involuntary shivers racing through her. Amelie’s half-lidded eyes flickered, tracking every shift of his head, the way his hair brushed her chest as he moved lower.


    He tugged the blouse off her shoulderspletely, letting it fall to the sheets beside them.


    Gabriel shifted down her body. His mouth found the soft skin just above her navel. He sucked lightly, pulling the flesh between his lips, then nipped with a sharp bite.


    "Ah! Gabriel!"


    Amelie jerked upward, propping herself on her elbows. Her fingers found his earlobes and tugged, drawing him back toward her face. Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper.


    "Noah can’t wake up."


    Gabriel’s mouth curved into a smirk. "That’s on you, then," he said. "How quiet you can manage to stay."


    He caught her right hand before she could pull it awaypletely. He lifted it to his lips, pressing a slow kiss to the center of her palm. Then he moved to her fingers, one by one, kissing the pads, the knuckles and the sensitive skin between them. When she tried to draw her hand back, he held it gently in ce.


    "If Noah wakes up in the middle—" she started, voice shaky.


    Her words cut off as Gabriel leaned in and sealed his mouth over hers. The kiss was deep, swallowing the rest of her sentence. His tongue slid against hers, one hand cradling the back of her head to keep her close while the other braced beside her on the mattress.


    Amelie’s protest melted into a muffled sound against his lips. Her free hand gripped his shoulder, nails pressing into his shirt as she kissed him back, hard enough to match him.


    When they finally broke apart, Gabriel rested his forehead against hers for a second.


    "This is the best christmas I ever had in my life. I simply love you. And every time I say that I only feel secured that my mate is beside me, who has never judged me," Gabriel stated, his lips finding her cheek before showering kisses on her cheek, thus bursting her into giggles.


    .


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    The next morning, soft gray light filtered through the half-drawn curtains, casting a gentle haze over the bedroom. Gabriel and Ameliey tangled under the duvet, their legs entwined and bodies cuddled together. Her head rested on his chest, one arm draped loosely across his waist.


    The quiet of the room was broken by the sound of a toy gun. Noah had already woken, sitting upright in his crib and holding the stic toy gun he’d discovered earlier. Gabriel’s eyes fluttered open as the sound registered, followed by Noah’s soft, repetitive babbles.


    Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Gabriel sat up slowly, careful not to disturb Amelie. He nced down at her, who remained lost in a peaceful, deep slumber. Leaning over, he pressed a tender kiss to her temple before reaching for the clothes scattered across the floor from the night before.


    "Noah, good morning," Gabriel whispered, crossing the room toward the crib while pulling his shirt over his arms.


    Noah lifted his head, his innocent eyes shining with joy. "Papa!" he called out in his soft tone.


    "Yes, papa is here!"


    He reached down and scooped the boy up, gently prising the toy gun from his tiny grip. "Your mother is still sleeping. How about you and I go have a bath, hmm?" he asked, his voice filled with tired amusement.


    "Ya!" Noah chirped, waving his arms in the air.


    He shook his head with a quiet chuckle and turned toward the washroom, ready to start the day’s first task of preparing his son for the morning ahead.