by Alice Bello
~*~
The two lay naked under a now clear sky, the stars and a crescent moon made their skin glow in the dark. Wrapped in each other’s arms, Delia rested her head against Gabriel’s chest and listened to the hypnotic beating of his heart. She had never had a heartbeat. Gabriel having one had always fascinated her.
“Tell me about this girl you’ve found… is she pretty?”
Gabriel chuckled, his chest expanding and jerking with the effort. She loved the feel of his body, especially at times like this, when it moved unexpectedly. So alive.
“Jealous?”
Delia stabbed her finger into his stomach, making him groan.
“Okay, okay! You’re above petty things like jealousy… and gratuitous violence.”
“You think that was violent?” She looked up into his eyes and fought off the craving for him, and the yearning to just melt into those fathomlessly deep brown eyes of his. “See what happens if you say she’s prettier than me.”
“Not even close.” He leaned in and kissed her, tasting warm and alive.
After Delia nestled back into the muscles of his chest, Gabriel continued. “She seems to possess the attributes that will impress my family. And she’s shallow, manipulative, and a complete gold digger.”
“She will fit in well with your family.”
Gabriel sighed and pulled her tighter to him. “I’m going to ignore that one.”
She smiled and inhaled the delicious aroma of his naked flesh.
“But she is goal oriented, and she has prowess when it comes to acting out a part and manipulation. I truly believe she’ll be able to play her role more than well enough to fool my family.”
“Good,” Delia whispered, though the feeling the thought of someone else being at his side made her feel anything but.
“And once she’s in place and my family is no longer so fixated on finding me a mate, we’ll be free to be together.”
“Ironic how you need to get married to someone else so we can spend more time together.” She could hear the bitterness in her own words.
Gabriel looped his forefinger under her chin and pulled her face up to his. “This was your idea.”
She closed her eyes and pushed back the sudden wetness and burning. “I know, I know. It’s just…” She pushed all the crazy thoughts out of her mind. She would do anything to be with Gabriel. Anything.
She looked deep into his eyes again. “It’s nothing.” But there was something there. Something new and uninvited. It was a feeling. That feeling that comes when you just know things are going all wrong. She pulled herself up on top of Gabriel, their bare skins sliding with the remnants of the fallen rain. She straddled him, pushing her hands hard into the muscles of his smooth chest, making him groan.
She stared into his eyes. If there was something wrong, wouldn’t she be able to see it in his eyes? But his eyes were filled with his usual longing for her. But was it love? She needed more than anything to believe that indeed it was. For if she didn’t have his love, then what did she have?