Neither one of us was in the mood for gentle seduction. Gabriel kissed me hard and fast. His mouth was demanding, possessive, and I wanted everything he was prepared to give me. Greedily I pushed my tongue into his mouth, feeling the sharp points of his fangs as I slid between them, right before he nipped my lower lip. It was the most incredible turn-on. He growled. The sound rumbled deep in his chest as he looked at me, and my spine clenched in anticipation. Kneading my breast with one hand, Gabriel busied his mouth with the other, suckling my flesh and scraping the taut nipple with his teeth. I almost came right then, but held back because what I wanted, what I needed, was more.
I was drenched, my core hot and swollen, desperate to feel Gabriel muscle his way inside me. I wanted him to stretch me open, make me take him deep. With a will of their own, my legs wrapped themselves around his waist. He raised his head and looked down at me. My aching breasts and the torturous pleasure he been administering were forgotten. I grabbed the thick braid that hung over his shoulder and wrapped the rope of hair around my hand.
“Now,” I gasped in a voice thick with hunger, “I need you in me now!”
He knew how to follow directions. With one hard thrust he was all the way in, slanting his mouth over mine so he could swallow my shriek of pleasure. He was thick, hard, and just as hungry for me. And he felt bigger than before. My body took everything he had as he pounded into me. He kept one hand braced on the floor while the other was curled around my waist, his fingers gripping my flesh with each thrust of his hips.
I climaxed almost at once. Awash in a sea of orgasmic relief, I came and came again, and with each release I could feel Gabriel’s body getting tighter. Every muscle pushed to its breaking point until he finally released the roar trapped inside and emptied himself inside me.
Collapsing, Gabriel buried his face in the hollow between my neck and shoulder, his breath hot against my skin. I placed my hand against his neck. His pulse was pounding so hard it was like a seismic event. If we had had difficulty breathing before, it was almost impossible now. The muscles in my thighs and lower body were screaming in protest at the violence of his invasion, but I brushed it aside. I didn’t know it was possible to feel like this. Ecstasy. Euphoria. Bliss. None of those words did justice to the wave of pleasure that was continuing to ripple through me. Gabriel’s lips pressed against the curve of my neck, the tip of his tongue tracing small circles as he lapped up the sweat on my skin.
Lifting his head, he opened his eyes and smiled down at me. And I stiffened. It was a purely involuntary action, but an understandable one, considering it was the first time I had truly seen his eyes change. His brow became a troubled frown.
“Your . . . eyes . . .” It was all I could manage.
The hot electric blue of Gabriel’s iris had bled out to cover the sclera, and his pupils were now a brilliant gold. I had seen the same thing happen that night in the diner, only I had assumed I was having some sort of sex fantasy. Now I knew the reason why. Anasztaizia had warned me that vampire eyes could transform in this way, especially when the need to feed or have sex was strong enough. Considering what we’d just done, and the fact Gabriel had been licking my jugular, I was pretty confident I knew which appetite had the upper hand right now.
“Do it!” I said, my fingers digging into the back of his thick neck. He stared down at me, the frown deepening as if he did not trust what he was hearing. Tightening my legs around his waist, I pushed my hips up and felt him move deep inside me. All that was important was to satisfy this other hunger in him. “I want you to do this; I need you to do this,” I told him, my voice thick with emotion.
Pulling back, Gabriel broke my hold around his neck with ease. I watched his lips curl back as his fangs dropped. They seemed to go on forever. Pulling my hair to one side, I offered him free access to my neck. His pupils were now glowing twin suns.
“Are you sure?” The tip of his tongue darted out and he licked his lips. “You can still refuse me.”
It was foolish to think he couldn’t sense my anxiety and the way it was spiking, but I needed him to know the reason for it. I had to reassure him before he made any wrong assumptions. “I’m worried that I won’t know what to do . . . and that it’ll hurt,” I admitted.
He grasped a loose curl and wound it around his forefinger, smiling down at me. “Giving yourself is all you have to do, and I promise, a bee sting feels worse.”
“Then do—”
He struck before I was able to articulate the rest of my sentence, his fangs puncturing my skin with pinpoint precision. I don’t know about bee stings, but I’ve had red ant bites that felt worse. The long incisors sliced effortlessly through my skin, honing in on the vein running beneath the flesh and piercing it. As his fangs withdrew, I could feel my blood being pulled up, like liquid drawn into a syringe.
My body freaked out. Going into full panic, my self-preservation mode kicked in. I had no idea what a potent asset Mother Nature had given us in adrenaline. Twisting and turning, I tried to squirm out of Gabriel’s grasp and free myself from his mouth. I drummed my heels in the small of his back, but it made no difference, so I dropped my legs and tried wriggling my way free. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten he was still buried deep inside me. Feeling his cock move reminded me of my accommodating position. Curling my hands into fists, I pounded on his back, his upper arms, his ribs—anywhere that I thought would make him release me. It was all pathetically useless.
With his mouth firmly latched onto my neck, he caught hold of my hands, securing the two of them easily in his one. As my blood was drawn out of me in long, slow pulls, my rational mind shut down completely, allowing primal instinct to take over. I went limp, gathering myself for one last-ditch effort at freedom. But Gabriel now had free access to my emotional state and was able to anticipate my next move.
Rolling onto his back, he wrapped his free arm and both legs around me, immobilizing me with his superior strength. I ceased my pitiful railings against him and accepted the inevitable, relaxing enough to release my mind as I did so. The resulting effect was off-the-wall amazing. A barrier deep inside me shattered, releasing a tidal wave of passion that I had never felt before. Now that I had stopped trying to fight what was happening to me, I found myself drowning in a sea of erotic pleasure. It was the most singular mind-blowing experience I’ve ever had.
As if my consciousness were caught inside each mouthful of blood that Gabriel took, I could feel myself being drawn up, sliding over his teeth and tongue before slipping effortlessly down his throat. Every nerve ending I had expanded and contracted as the pleasure that washed through him also washed through me. The ecstasy I was feeling was part mine, part his; blended together, it was incredible. He rolled over again so I was beneath him once more, and now I wrapped my legs firmly around his waist and surged upward with my hips. Needing no second invitation, Gabriel began to move. Each forward thrust synchronized itself with a draw of my blood, and I gave myself to him willingly and without any hesitation. As he pulled his mouth away, the rumble in his chest became a growl that rattled the window over the sink. I watched him shudder as his orgasm surged through him, feeling him explode inside me with a ferocious, final thrust. When the tremors finally subsided, he leaned forward and licked my neck. His tongue traced a path from my ear to my collar bone, sealing the open wound as he did so.
“I wish you didn’t have to do that.” I murmured with a sigh of absolute contentment.
“Why?”
“It would be nice to see your mark on me all the time.”
He chuckled low in the back of his throat. “If I didn’t seal it, you’d bleed out, love.”
“Hmmm, well, I guess that wouldn’t do.”
“No”—he swept his tongue across my neck again—“it most certainly wouldn’t.”
I sniffed, and a wonderful fragrance tickled my nose, familiar yet different at the same time.
“What is it?” Gabriel asked, seeing my nostrils flare.
“I can smell yo
ur blood,” I told him, “only it seems different this time.” I didn’t remember nipping him hard enough to draw blood, but perhaps I had.
“How so?” Locking his elbows, he held himself up on his arms. I closed my eyes and drew in the scent, letting it fill me. “Hmmm, it still reminds me of pine trees and snow, but there’s more of a citrus undertone now—and something sweeter. Like cloves and oranges.”
Gabriel let out a laugh, a deep, rich sound that made me open my eyes and stare at him. His eyes still hadn’t returned to normal, but I’d already gotten used to seeing the golden pupil awash in a sea of electric blue.
“That, love,” he said, wearing the biggest shit-eating grin I’d ever seen, “is the scent of your blood.”
CHAPTER 15
At some point Gabriel got up and closed the front door, then carried me back up to bed. Safe in the warmth of his arms, I told him everything I could remember about my dream-memory. He was curiously silent.
“Is it painful for you to remember?” I asked quietly, my head against his chest as I listened to the steady beat of his heart. I couldn’t imagine him not being in my bed.
“No,” he said, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “I am reminded of it every day.”
I felt like the biggest blundering idiot who ever walked the earth. He had already said his tattoos told how he came to be, a phrasing that I had taken to mean how he became a vampire. It had not occurred to me that they had been added at the same time his wings had been so savagely removed. “Gabriel, what happened to you?”
Putting a finger beneath my chin, he raised my head so I was looking into his eyes.
“I will tell you,” he promised, “but not now. You have had more than enough to deal with this night.”
Something in his voice didn’t sound right.
“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” I could see a glimmer of caution shine in the depth of his eyes. “I haven’t remembered it all, and you won’t tell me about your back until I do.” I didn’t mean it to sound like an accusation, but that’s how it came out.
He stroked my cheek with his forefinger. “Rowan, be thankful for what you have already remembered. It has brought us to a point I wasn’t certain we would ever reach.”
“Really?” He’d had doubts? “You thought I wouldn’t let you feed from me?”
“I wasn’t sure you would take me to your bed again, much less give your blood to me.”
Not just doubts, he’d been really worried.
“So, what would you have done if things hadn’t worked out between us?”
“This time when I left you, I would not have come back.”
The idea that I’d almost lost him sent a shiver through me. Holding me tightly, Gabriel pulled the comforter up around my shoulders.
“Don’t force it, Rowan,” he said gently above my head. “Let the memories return in their own time. It may be that every detail does not wish to be recalled.”
I wanted to protest, but I could feel myself getting sleepy—a combination of a stressful workday, not enough sleep, incredible sex, and some blood loss. Regarding the latter, I had no idea how much Gabriel had taken, but I was hopeful my body would replenish it quickly because right now I was incredibly tired.
“Why would that be?” I mumbled against his chest, wanting to stay with the conversation.
“There are some reasons that are beyond our comprehension,” Gabriel said gravely, “and now, love, I must leave you.”
I muttered a half-hearted protest as he slipped out of bed and began dressing. When had he gotten our clothes from the kitchen? I decided it didn’t matter and let myself enjoy the reverse striptease he was giving me. The mattress sagged as he sat down to put on his boots. Turning my head, I saw faint streaks of light splintering the night sky. The significance of dawn’s arrival was completely different now. Gabriel was still leaving me, but it was only because I lacked an appropriate place for him to bed down for the day. It made his departure a little more bearable. I plumped up the pillow he had been using, releasing his familiar scent. I’d make a fortune if I could bottle it.
“I wish I could be with you,” I said, knowing it was a completely irrational request.
“I wouldn’t be much fun,” he responded playfully.
“Why’s that?”
“Because, love, daylight puts all vampires into a state of inertia until the sun sets again. Our bodies simply shut down during that time.”
I frowned. “But you’ve called me at lunchtime before.”
Sitting back down on the bed, he pulled me to him. I would never tire of being in his arms. “It’s true I am able to be awake for longer than most with no ill effects, but I need my own surroundings to be sure I am protected. And even I must rest sometimes.”
Being in his own surroundings made sense, and also made the possibility of him staying here highly unlikely. “Are you aware of anything that happens when you’re asleep?”
“Only in a nebulous way. It is why I have a sentinel.”
“What’s that?”
“Someone who watches over me while I rest.”
Aleksei hadn’t said anything about this. “You mean like a bodyguard?”
“I prefer to think of my sentinel as a personal assistant with refined skills.”
“But it would be a man, right?” I gave him a sideways glance and saw mischief twinkling in his eyes.
“Not always, no. It actually arouses less suspicion to have a sentinel of the opposite sex, the presumption being they are either wife or husband, mistress or lover.”
“But wouldn’t a man be better at providing protection?”
“Not necessarily,” Gabriel said with a chuckle.
I swallowed and fussed with the comforter before asking, “So, is your sentinel a man?”
The idea of a woman watching over Gabriel while he slept stirred up some pretty strong feelings in me, feelings I wasn’t particularly proud of. My experience with Katja was still too fresh and raw, skewing my reasoning where Gabriel was concerned. The notion of another female being this close to him did not make me a happy camper, even if he was in a state of inertia—especially if he was in a state of inertia. I tried to curb my jealousy by telling myself whatever their relationship, it had begun long before he’d met me and was purely platonic.
Yeah, right—have you had a good look at your boy lately? Can you imagine any woman not wanting to sample that? My God, just look at those shoulders—
My inner bitch sometimes forgets whose psyche she lives in. Shoving her in a box, I slammed the lid shut. I didn’t need to have my insecurities paraded around inside my head.
“Yes, Tomas is male,” Gabriel said, relieving my fears.
“Ah, that’s his name, is it, Tomas?”
Taking hold of my chin with his fingers, Gabriel turned my head and brushed my lips with his. “Yes . . . and he’s going to adore you.”
Happiness bloomed in my chest. “How long has he been with you?” Gabriel wrinkled his forehead. “Five hundred years, give or take a decade.”
I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped open. “But I thought a vampire couldn’t watch over you?”
“Vampires are not the only supernatural creatures with an extended life span,” he told me, tapping the end of my nose playfully.
Oh shit!
“Would I be able to see where you sleep?” I asked. “I’d really like to have a visual image of where you are during the daytime.”
“I would like that very much.”
“Great, then it’s a date.”
I tried to stifle a yawn as Gabriel glanced out the bedroom window. It was still dark, but he needed to go. Throwing back the comforter, I started to sit up and immediately felt dizzy.
“Whoa, is this going to happen every time I give you my blood?” I asked.
“No, but this was the first time. The more often I feed, the quicker your body will adjust.”
I had a sudden vision of Oliver Twist holding out his bowl and asking for more.
“How often is often?”
“Perhaps every two or three days.” He flushed and looked a little guilty. “I will take only enough until you are comfortable with me.”
I smiled. “Gabriel, I’m more than comfortable with you, and you can take a whole friggin’ pint if you promise me one thing.” He raised a querying eyebrow, and now I smiled slyly. “That you’ll always be inside me every time you need to take my blood.”
“I doubt I’ll ever need to take so much from you as that, but I promise to do my best to meet your condition. Now, love, I must go,” he paused and looked at me with concern. “I don’t suppose I can persuade you not to go to work today?”
“You’re kidding, right?” I don’t think he even realized he growled. “You want Angela to spend Christmas in a padded cell?”
“I think it’s time I met this Angela of yours. I feel certain we could find much to talk about.”
I didn’t want to tell him it wouldn’t be much of a conversation, what with Angela drooling all over the place. But I did give him my reassurance that I wouldn’t overdo it at work.
“I can’t expect Angela to handle things by herself. It wouldn’t be fair.” I shut off any further protest with a kiss, which he returned with a spine-tingling, curl-your-toes deal that left me breathless and even more dizzy than I already was. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to go to the health-food store and get some supplements—iron or B-12 or something.
“Will I see you later?” I asked, playfully tugging the end of his braid.
He shook his head. “I might have to be gone for a day or two.”
Dismay washed through me. I was missing him already. “Where are you going?” I didn’t care if I came off as needy.
“Canada.”
“What’s in Canada?” Other than moose and Mounties.
“Katja. She has a home there.”
He really should have said house not home. In my mind the word home conjures up images of a Norman Rockwell painting. Miss Psycho was definitely not the Suzie Homemaker type. “Is that where you think she is?”
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