Gabriel’s gone when I wake up. I’m sprawled across the bed, sheets and blankets tangled around me, and for a moment I think I’m back at home, that I somehow just imagined everything, that I’m in a room with Joy and Pearl and a guard outside the door.

But then I blink and I’m in reality again: a double bed, the white walls with thin spidery cracks, the TV from 1995, the mismatched furniture. The pillow next to mine with an indentation in it.

I don’t panic. Not exactly, but I sure as hell wonder where he went and whether something bad’s happened. I sit up in the bed, still completely naked, and look around, half-dazed because I still feel like I’m in a strange dream, like I could really wake up at any second and this would all be over.

Then I see the note on the table and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I crawl over, letting the sheets fall off me, and read it.

R —

Went to get you a toothbrush & underwear. You seemed like you needed the sleep. Back by 10 or 10:30.

Love,

G

I glance at the clock. 10:15.

I think I just slept for twelve hours, which might be longer than I’ve ever slept before, and now I just feel sort of pleasant and hazy, like I’m sleep-drunk.

I’ve got nothing to do right now, I think. No one’s here to disapprove or tell me that I should be productive. Besides, I don’t even have clean underwear.

I briefly consider hand-washing the pair I’ve got so I can re-wear it if I need to, but I don’t. Instead I grab the TV remote, crawl back into bed, and start flipping through channels.

I’ve never laid in bed and flipped through channels before, not even in hotel rooms when we had to accompany my father to events. Turns out mid-morning weekday TV is kinda boring.

Ten minutes later, there’s a key in the lock. I hurriedly pull the bed sheet up over myself as Gabriel comes in, plastic Wal-Mart bags in his hands.

“There you are,” he says, setting them on the table next to his note. “You were out when I left.”

“Thanks for running out to get that stuff,” I say, sitting up in bed. The sheet falls down my body to my waist, and Gabriel’s eyes follow it.

Something flutters in my stomach, and also lower. Even though we slept in the same bed all night for the first time last night, we didn’t do anything after the day we had. I just fell asleep almost instantly in Gabriel’s arms.

“I figured I couldn’t get dressed with no underwear, so I didn’t bother,” I say, tilting my head back against the headboard. “But I guess I can now.”

“There’s no rush,” he says, grinning. “If you wanted to just hang out naked all day, that’d be fine.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” I tease, tossing the remote to the other side of the bed. “You’re not just being polite?”

Gabriel leans over and kisses me, getting his shoes off with one hand.

“Trust me,” he says, in between kisses. “This has nothing to do with politeness.”

He kicks his shoes off and then he’s on the bed, between my legs, the sheet still half-separating us. Heat flares through me as I sit up straight, wrapping my arms around him, like we’re magnetically drawn to each other. Gabriel opens his mouth against mine, flicks his tongue along my lip, and before I know it I’ve got one hand tight in his hair and the other under his shirt, feeling the muscles expand and contract as he breathes.

“I could get used to seeing you naked during the day,” he says, running his lips along my jaw. “And I could get used to opening the door and finding you already in bed.”

He finds a nipple with one hand and pinches it gently, rubbing his thumb along the pebbled surface. I suck in a breath, eyes closed, and Gabriel nips gently at my neck, laughing.

A crackle runs down my spine as his lips move lower, to the hollow of my throat and my collarbone, and now I’m awake. I know it hasn’t even been a week since the table outside the bar, but I swear that right now feels like the very first time.

Except I’m not nervous as I pull his shirt off over his head, because we’re not going to get caught. There’s no one to catch us. For the first time, I feel like an actual adult.

And daytime is a great time to see Gabriel half-naked, though I only get half a second to appreciate him before he grabs me by the knees and pulls me down the bed.

I yelp, suddenly on my back, but my surprise turns into laughter of sheer delight as he tears the sheet off my body and plants his lips on my stomach.

“This is anything but funny,” he teases, his lips brushing my skin.

“I’m not laughing at you,” I say, winding my hands through his hair.

“Good,” he says, a smile around his eyes as he kisses me again in the slight hollow above my belly button. “Because I’ve thought a lot about what I’m going to do to you right now, and it’s no laughing matter.”

He kisses the inside of one hip, his hands already stroking the insides of my thighs as he pushes them wider. I can’t help but giggle.

“Seriously?” he asks, though I can tell he’s laughing.

“That tickles,” I say. I’ve already got the bedsheets balled in one hand, my whole body rigid in anticipation of what I know is about to happen.

Gabriel runs one finger, very lightly, along my thigh, and I squirm.

“That tickle?” he asks, his voice so low and wicked it makes my toes curl.

“Yes,” I gasp.

His face is hovering right above my mound. I know I’m wetter than a waterfall right now, my body one huge, empty ache, and I know he can tell how wet I am. And he’s teasing me.

He runs one finger along where my hip meets my pelvis, an inch from my lower lips, and I squirm again, gasping for air.

“That?” he asks.

“Yes,” I whisper.

Then I feel his tongue, teasing at my lips, just barely touching me, and I swallow a moan.

“That?” he asks, his lips brushing up against mine.

I try to say yes but the noise just comes out a half-gasp, half-moan. He does it again, slowly, his tongue sliding between my lips and past my entrance, making his way to my clit.

I swear I can feel Gabriel still smiling as he licks me in slow circles at first, teasing me, as I bite my lip and gasp. I’ve been sharing a room with my little sisters for the past several days, and besides that I haven’t exactly been in the mood, so I haven’t done anything since the night at the bar.

I’m wound tight as a spring, and Gabriel doesn’t stop, never lets up, just licks me faster and faster while I clutch the bedsheets desperately and try not to make too much noise.

He’s relentless and Jesus, he’s good at this, his hands gripping my thighs, pulling me into his face like he needs this even more than I do. I’m right on the edge, back arched as I bite my lip and I force myself not to grab his hair in both fists, my breath coming in whimpering gasps.

“Gabriel,” I half-whisper, half-whimper. “Oh my God.”

He puts his mouth around my clit, sucking gently as he licks, and it pushes me right over. I gasp and moan as I come, still trying to stay quiet, even as his fingers dig into my flesh and Gabriel pushes against me mercilessly, his tongue traveling from my clit to my entrance with total control even as my whole body shakes.

When it ends, I realize I’ve got one hand over my mouth and Gabriel’s got his lips on my belly again, laughing, one nipple between his fingers.

“The hell is this,” he teases, taking my wrist in his other hand and moving it from my mouth. Now he’s in between my legs again before I’ve even had a chance to think, his hardness pressed up against me, rock-hard and thick.

“Force of habit?” I murmur, watching as he kisses the inside of my palm just inches from my face. He still smells like me, and even though it’s still strange, it’s still hot.

“Habits can be unlearned, right?” he asks, still grinning.

He laces his fingers through mine, then pushes ours hands into the mattress above my head, leaning his weight on it and pinning me. I swear his eyes flare in the dim sunlight that’s coming through the covered window, like there’s a fire burning inside him that’s even more dangerous than I’d suspected.

“I think it takes practice,” I say, curling my legs around him, tilting my hips forward. “Lots of practice.”

“That I can do,” he says, dropping his head down for a long, lingering, open-mouthed kiss.

I wrap one hand around his neck, the other still held tightly in his, and trail it down his back, and I shift my hips again. I need him, now, and I’m breathless and impatient.

“And I can promise that from now on, you can come as loud as you want,” he murmurs. “I’ve got no clue what’s going to happen next, but I know we’ve got each other and we’re not going back.”

He kisses me again, slow and deep, and as he does I grab the thick base of his erection and guide him through my wetness, between my lips, and then Gabriel groans into my mouth and I gasp as he slides deep into me with a single thrust.

“Fuck, Ruby,” he murmurs, his lips still on mine, and I just groan in response, clenching my legs around him even harder because having him inside me, skin-to-skin, doesn’t just feel good, it feels right.

He clenches my hand in his and pushes against me even harder, like he’s trying to get deeper even though he’s already completely hilted, but as he shifts inside me I swear his cock hits every single sensitive spot I’ve got, and I moan.

“There it is,” he whispers, and does it again. “Sometimes when we’re like this your eyelids flutter and I swear it’s the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

He moves again, not exactly thrusting, but this time I gasp and then roll my hips against him, savoring the moment and drawing it out because my God does it feel good. Slowly, we speed up, our mouths together as we both gasp and moan. I can feel myself starting to unspool, losing control over my own body as I get closer and closer.

Then, with no warning, Gabriel stops short. Before I can say anything he’s already got one knee in his hand and he rolls me over.

“Oh!” I yelp, but he’s already on his back, grinning as I straddle him, cock still buried inside me, and I keep moving my hips as he takes my hand and kisses my palm, his fingers already on my hip, his eyes moving down my body.

“You’re sexy and I like watching you,” he says, his eyes sparking, his hand moving up my body to cup one breast, pinch my nipple, and I lean forward slightly, anchoring both hands on his chest for balance. I’m almost self-conscious but this feels so good that I forget and just ride Gabriel slowly, electricity sizzling through my body.

“Good,” I whisper, the only thing I can think to say.

His eyes are half-closed, and I force myself not to go too fast, to keep doing the same thing he just did to me, letting my body take over and letting my mind shut off. This feels incredible, having sex in the daylight while he watches me, and I forget completely about everything that’s happening, I forget about being inexperienced and clueless and I let my eyes drift shut and let go.

And it’s good. Gabriel takes my hand in his again, holding it to his lips as we move together slowly but surely, because my body knows what to do right now and it’s my job to just follow along and let it happen. I’m gasping and moaning and I think I’m moaning his name, but everything is happening through a haze of pleasure and I can’t even be sure, because it feels like my skin is crackling with electricity, like I might just explode if this feels any better.

Then he moves, again, suddenly throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and sitting up, his arms around my back so I don’t go over.

I gasp, clutching his shoulders but he just pulls me in tighter. We kiss and we keep going, my legs around his waist now, my face against his as I hold on tight.

“I like this way too,” he whispers, his eyes and voice unfocused.

I’ve got one hand around the back of his head, and I can’t do or say or think anything because the earthquake finally hits me and every cell in my body, every millimeter of me, starts shaking.

I press my face against his. I wrap my legs around him tight, and I can hear myself saying his name but I can’t tell I’m doing it because I feel like the wind is being knocked out of me, it’s so intense.

Gabriel tightens his arms around me as I come, pressing me against him, pressing me down like he needs to be further inside me. I can’t tell where I end and he begins but it seems so totally right that I don’t mind, I just whisper his name again.

As I do, I can suddenly feel him explode inside me as he growls into my neck, then moans my name. I’m still rocking, still shaking, and he holds onto me so tight I think he might break me in half.

Gradually, I stop shaking. Gabriel loosens his grip and kisses my neck, stroking my back gently as I lean down and kiss him on the lips, the kiss slow and lazy, like we’ve got all the time in the world.

And we do. It’s morning, it’s daylight, and no one knows or cares where we are. I get to do this whenever I want, and in that moment, I can’t believe my luck.