Chapter Twenty-Nine
That night, Thea made her way stealthily down the dark hallway of the guest wing. A sense of urgency fueled her flight, the hem of her wrapper whispering over the carpet, her lamp casting a moving shadow until she found the door she sought. Casting a furtive glance this way and that, she drew a breath and rapped softly.
Heartbeats passed. She leaned in, pressing her ear to the door, listening for any sounds from within. She couldn’t hear anything above the thudding in her ears. Her hopes fell. Perhaps he was already asleep—
The door opened so suddenly that she toppled forward.
Strong arms caught her, dragged her inside. Her lamp was summarily deposited on a table. Breathless, she found herself with her back against the closed door, Gabriel towering over her, his hands planted on either side of her shoulders. He’d clearly just risen from bed. A tempting expanse of hair-dusted muscle rippled in the vee of his hastily donned robe. His hair was tousled, his eyes glinting silver in the semi-darkness.
He looked dangerous, deliciously predatory. Her desire for him saturated her being like a watermark through fibers of parchment.
“What are you doing here?” he said in low tones.
“I missed you,” she whispered back. “I wanted to see you.”
He ran a finger along her jaw, his touch rasping over her nerve endings. “As much as I appreciate and return the sentiment,” he said huskily, “you can’t be here. You’ll be ruined if we’re caught.”
“I don’t care. Everyone knows we’re getting married anyway.” Earlier, he’d told her that he’d broken the news to Strathaven. Which meant Emma already knew and the rest of the family wasn’t far off. “You’re going to capture the Spectre tomorrow, and life is too precious to waste. I don’t want to lose a single moment with you.”
“There’s nothing to fear, princess.” He took her hands, kissed them one by one. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
How could she convey the desperation she felt? Knowing that he would be out there tomorrow night, chasing after evil—she wanted to give him a part of her, a talisman for safekeeping. If he didn’t want words of love from her, then she would show him how much she cared. Whenever they made love, she felt the bond between them strengthen.
“We could just lie in bed together,” she coaxed, “and not do anything but hold each other.”
“Yes, and hell could bloom with roses.” He sounded wryly amused.
“I need to be with you tonight.” Impassioned, she reached for him—only to have him grip both wrists, this time pinning them above her head.
“No, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m going to see you back to your room.”
Whereas once she would have been hurt by his refusal, attributing it to some failing in herself, now she saw his protectiveness for what it was, and it only made her love him more. With her wrists still anchored by him, she couldn’t use her hands, so she leaned upward on her toes, feathering her lips over his in soft persuasion. She felt like the mouse of Aesop’s tale, seeking clemency from a lion—the moral of the tale being that even smaller, frailer creatures have their power.
And Gabriel had helped her discover hers.
When his mouth remained stubbornly closed, she licked the hard seam. She felt his coiling tension, and sensing her advantage, delicately nipped his firm bottom lip. He shuddered—and then all hell sprung loose.
One moment Thea was standing against the door, the next she was swung up into Gabriel’s arms. His mouth ravaged hers, and she thrilled in the rough possession. When his tongue plunged with voluptuous force, she opened further, holding nothing back. He tasted of desire, dark and primal, and she couldn’t hold back a whimper of excitement.
He set her on her feet by the edge of the bed, his gaze glittering in the lamplight. “Do you know what happens to naughty minxes who disobey orders?”
She didn’t… but she had hopes.
He sat on the mattress. The hem of his robe stopped beneath his knees, revealing his sleekly bulging calves. With his thighs slightly splayed and his eyes heavy-lidded, he radiated male power. “Take off your clothes,” he said. “Be quick about it.”
His clipped commands filled her with heady, feminine triumph. She loved this demanding, intense side of him—loved even more that she had the power to bring it out. Following his instruction, she shed her wrapper, letting it pool at her feet. She kicked off her slippers and pulled her nightgown over her head. Her hair fell in a silken curtain to her waist, but she was otherwise laid bare.
Naked and blushing, she held his gaze.
He crooked a finger at her. “Come closer.”
She took the two steps forward into the lee of his thighs. She could smell his clean scent, nothing but soap and male, and her nipples hardened, straining for his touch. Her toes curled in the soft fibers of the bedside rug.
“Get on your knees, princess.”
Her startled gaze flew to his; her breath lodged at the wicked challenge she saw there. Her knees trembled so badly that she couldn’t have remained standing even if she wanted to. Uncertain and stimulated, she slowly lowered herself so that she was kneeling at his feet.
“How lovely you are,” he murmured.
He, she thought with pulsing arousal, was more along the lines of magnificent. Eye-level with his groin, she couldn’t miss the massive bulge beneath the dark brocade. The words he’d uttered in the library suddenly echoed in her head.
Today it was my pleasure to see to yours. At a time of my choosing, you will see to mine.
She moistened her lips. What would it be like to pleasure him in the same manner that he had pleasured her? To kiss his most intimate parts, the way he had done to her?
She had the shocking, almost overwhelming desire to find out.
He lifted a lock of her hair and rubbed the glinting strand between thumb and forefinger. “You could be made of spun gold.”
“But I’m not.” The last thing she wanted to be compared to was a weak, malleable metal. Lifting her chin to look at him, she said, “I’m not delicate. I helped find the blackmail note in Lord Davenport’s desk, remember?”
“How could I forget? It took years off my life.” he said wryly. “But don’t confuse delicacy with weakness, love. Sometimes the softest things can have the most profound impact.”
His acknowledgement of her power sent a buzzing thrill through her. As did the way he was stroking the silky length of her hair back and forth against her nipple, titillating the sensitive point. The feather-light sensation caused a hot rush between her legs. She squirmed, pressing her knees together as desire burgeoned.
Her cheeks flushed. “Please, Gabriel. I can’t stand it.”
“I like the way you look at me,” he murmured. “With those big hazel eyes of yours. You make me feel as if I’m the most powerful man in the world. As if I could share the darkest corners of my soul with you. As if I’d kill to have you.”
His words elicited another gush of dew.
“I like the way you look at me,” she said. “You make me feel as if I’m the most desirable woman in the world. As if I could give you everything you need. As if I’d do anything to please you.”
They stared at one another, their breaths surging in unison. In that moment, Thea felt something shift between them, as intangible and powerful as an electric current. She saw her own awareness reflected in his stormy eyes.
“You are the most desirable woman in the world,” he said, “and you’re going to give me everything I need.”
He shed his robe, tossed it aside. It was the first time she’d seen him completely naked—and the sight made her dizzy with want. His masculinity overwhelmed her, virile strength in every aspect, from the muscled slabs of his chest to the carved ridges on his taut belly. His manhood stood fiercely, hugely erect.
“Pleasure me, princess.” His words held both a command and a dare.
Eager yet uncertain exactly how to proceed, she came up on her knees. Ignoring his rampant cock for the moment (not the easiest to do since it clamored for her attention), she ran her palms over his chest, savoring the texture of his satiny skin, the light scratch of bronze hair. He bore a few faint scars, mementos of the life he’d led, and it added to his tough potency, his uniqueness. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to the thin ridge of knitted skin below his right nipple. He made a raspy sound.
“Does it hurt?” she said in surprise.
His eyes smoldering, he gave a slow shake of his head.
Relieved, she continued her exploration. She kissed his flat nipples, guessing from his uneven breaths that he liked it. Her hands smoothed over his leanness, learning his edges, his hidden corners, before arriving at the part of him where desire was not concealed at all.
Carefully, she wrapped a hand around his bold member. The thick stalk pulsed with life as she caressed it, moving its velvety cover over the rigid core. Remembering what he’d taught her before, she tightened her grip and increased her pace. She heard his quickened respiration; a drop of liquid beaded upon the burgeoned crown of his cock.
With great daring, she leaned forward and licked it off. His salty clean essence infused her senses. He tasted wild and raw, and she wanted more.
She lapped at the tip, circling it with her tongue. She heard him groan, and determination filled her to please him, to be everything he wanted. She pressed kisses down the length of his shaft, following a veiny ridge down to the root, where his bollocks hung heavily over the edge of the bed. She gave the dusky sac a tentative lick… and his hand speared into her hair.
“Enough.” He guided her head up. “We don’t want this over before it’s begun.”
She looked at him, puzzled.
He gave a dark chuckle. “My sweet innocent, let me have you the way I want.” With his palm at the back of her skull, he brought her lips back to the blunt head of his rod. “Open your mouth, and take me inside.”
With sizzling excitement, she followed his instruction. Fitting her lips around the fat dome, she mouthed him and gently sucked. That had an instant effect, his fingers tightening against her scalp, a hiss leaving him.
“Christ, that’s good.” His eyes were heavy-lidded, his features stark with arousal. “Take me deeper, princess. As deep as you can.”
Giddy with newfound knowledge, she obeyed. It was thrilling to make love to him this way, to hear his grunted breaths as she tried to take as much of him in her mouth as possible. His dark encouragement inflamed her. Relax your jaw, love. Breathe through your nose. Swallow my cock—God yes, like that…
Given his size, the task wasn’t easy. When she went too far, she choked, her throat convulsing around his thickness. A groan ripped from Gabriel’s chest.
An instant later, he dragged her head up, and before she could catch her breath, she was tossed upon the bed, his mouth between her legs. His tongue stabbed deeply into her drenched core. He ravaged her sex, licking, sucking. The storm broke inside her, robbing her of all control.
She bucked against his mouth, the climax wringing mindless words from her. “I love you, Gabriel.”
In the next instant, she was flipped onto her belly, his fingers thrusting into her from behind. The sudden fullness made her gasp, building on the rippling spasms of her orgasm. He penetrated her forcefully, slick hard pumps that sent her soaring toward another peak. He rammed into a place deep inside, and with a startled cry, she went over again. Suffused in bliss, her cheek pressed against the coverlet, she felt his fingers glide along the valley of her bottom, spreading her wetness there.
She jolted at the thick, weighted slide of his cock along the crevice.
“So good, princess.” His voice was thick, urgent. “Let me have you this way.”
Heart pounding, she let her cheek fall back onto the silk. His palms pressed the hills of her bottom together, and her breath hitched at the decadent friction of his erection gliding between. Panting, he began to thrust in a bold rhythm, his hardness rubbing against her delicate tissues, his bollocks slapping against her softness.
Unbelievably, she felt yet another climax building within her. Her pussy throbbed, his plunges grinding her against the mattress, but not stimulating the place where she needed it most…
“Touch yourself.” His voice poured over her. “Come for me one more time.”
It was so easy to obey. Her hand slipping beneath her, she found her pearl, pressing it, letting his rocking motion do the rest. He groaned her name, and she felt the scorching lash of his seed on her back as ecstasy claimed her once more.
The moist sweep of a towel brought her back to her senses. As he tended to her, she lay there, her body limp with pleasure but her pulse pounding. She hadn’t meant to let slip those words of love, but it was too late to take them back. How would he react to her confession? She felt vulnerable, naked beyond her uncovered skin: it was her heart that she’d bared to him. Their future felt balanced upon his reaction, the next moment.
He turned her over and tugged her to her feet. Eyes impassive, he brushed his lips over her forehead. She waited, breath held.
“We’d better get you back to your room,” he said.