Gabriel nodded. His heart was so full, he didn’t think it could get any fuller. “Of course. Val, I love them already. Why else do you think I could leave you behind to get them out of the vampire’s mountain?”
Tears suddenly pooled in her eyes. Val laughed a little, then buried her face into his shoulder. “Thank you.”
Gabriel held her close, knowing that there were no words for this moment. Well… perhaps three words. “I love you.”
Val’s arms snaked around his back and she turned her head to start kissing his neck. God, he was going to have to work to keep up with her. “Love you, too.”
Her breasts pressed against his naked chest as Val’s kisses sent chills down his spine. With a small growl, he ripped his shirt off the rest of the way and pulled on her jeans. They slid off her hips, revealing she was utterly naked beneath. As his hands grasped her ass, pulling her closer again, he nipped her shoulder. The gasp of pleasure was all he needed to encourage him to continue.
He ran his hands up the soft skin of her back, feeling the slight ridges of scars that she had hidden with tattoos. He let his fingers linger on each one as her hands sought out his own scars. They pulled away from each other, foreheads brushing as their hands explored each other’s bodies, finding each and every hurt that they had suffered. Val pressed her hand flat against one of his ribs, onto the scar he had gotten the day he had almost killed her brother.
“I knew that was why you left,” she whispered. “I knew. I think that’s why I hated you so much. Because you were meant to always be there and then… I had to hate you, but I still wanted you to be with us.”
Gabriel ran his thumb over a crescent moon on her breast that covered teeth marks. “Is he going to be okay with this?”
“He’ll have to.”
Val looked up at him. Her eyes so big and beautiful, sparkling. Such tenderness and vulnerability in them. It took Gabriel’s breath away, even as she undid his belt. He stood, letting her have control as she kissed her way down his twitching abdomen and pulled his jeans down with her. She settled them at his knees, then grinned up at him while she took him in her hand.
His head fell back as she stroked him, increasing the need inside of him, while at the same time relieving some of the aching pressure. His wolf growled in pleasure, content to be tended to. He tucked his hands behind his back, letting his eyes drift shut. Whatever tension had been in his body to this point slowly released, replaced by a different type of tension. He was already hard when she took him into her mouth, but the warm wetness made him swell even more.
His hands clenched together as she sucked, moving her head slowly to give him maximum pleasure. There seemed to be a fire in the pit of his stomach, glowing hotter every time her lips came to his end and then slid back down his length. Gabriel concentrated on breathing evenly, although he couldn’t stop his periodic groans.
One of Val’s hands ran up his thigh, making him tremble. She laughed softly, then did it again. This time she left him long enough to kiss his hip and make her way down his thigh, her free hand still stroking him.
“I think it’s time you sat down,” she moaned breathlessly.
Gabriel wanted nothing more than to have this continue. Except for two things. He kicked off his jeans, aching to be inside of her. But when he pulled her to her feet and guided her so she was sitting now, he didn’t enter. Not even when she opened her legs invitingly.
He knelt before her and her eyes widened. “Aren’t you ready?” she asked, looking concerned.
“More than ready.” He cupped one breast in his hand, finding the nipple beneath the fabric of her bra. “I want you to be ready, too.”
“I...” Her face colored.
Gabriel rose a brow at her. “Don’t you want me to suck on your clit? To ease my fingers inside of you while my tongue moves in circles, until you’re feeling so tight you might burst open? So that you’re slick and swollen, ready for me to enter?”
Val squeezed her free breast in her hands, panting. The scent of her arousal made him grin. “Yes, of course, I do… but I thought that you’d…”
His wolf growled. She thought he’d be selfish about it, did she? He kissed up her thigh and then back down to her knee. “Did I just shove myself inside of you at the safe house?”
“No.”
“Then why did you think I’d do it here?” He brought her knee up over his shoulder and glared at her in challenge.
Val chewed her lip, then relaxed. She laid back on the bench, pillowing her head with one arm. “Guess it’s just one of those things. We’ll get to know each other as time goes on, right?”
Gabriel nodded and moved in, so he could lick her clit. “Can I be on top this time?”
A shiver ran down her spine and he grinned, loving the way her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her mouth dropped open and she gave a little moan. He repeated the action, then pushed in deep so he could suck on her clit. It was already hard and swollen, the perfect size for him to wrap his lips around. Val clutched at the bench beneath her as he did his work. The points of her nipples stabbed up into her bra so hard, it was a wonder they didn’t tear right through.
When she was shaking, her hips rocking with every move he made, he repeated the question.
Val held her arms out to him. “Yes.”
He eased a finger into her, finding her ready and mounted her. Her legs circled his waist as she stared up at him, so much trust and love in her gaze that it took his breath away. He entered her slowly, making sure that she was ready every inch of the way, while her back arched and a satisfied sigh escaped her.
Gabriel started moving, letting his body and hers find a natural rhythm together. It quickly grew into a frenzy, both thrusting hard together. He leaned over her, capturing her mouth with his, while her fingers tangled in his hair. Soft cries burst from her throat, over and over, filling his ears with her sweet music.
He ground his teeth against his arousal, wanting this connection to last forever. His hands tightened on her hips and her fingers tugged the hair at the back of his neck. The combined sting and pleasure nearly sent him over the edge, but he held on, his eyes never leaving her face. Her chest, neck, and cheeks flushed red as her head fell back. A cry tore from her, then another as she clenched around him. He forced himself to ride her orgasm out and when another rocked her, he allowed himself his own release.
Gabriel collapsed over her. Their bodies stuck together with sweat as they breathlessly kissed again and again.
After some time had passed and they were laying quietly in each other’s arms, content to cuddle on the narrow bench, Val turned to him. She traced her fingers over his lips and a small smile crossed her own. When she slipped one of her fingers into his mouth, he eagerly gave it a gentle suckle. Val sighed and returned to tracing the shape of his mouth.
“I love you,” she said softly.
“And I love you.”
She grinned and rose herself to one elbow. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing you say that, you know. You love me.”
“You’d better hope I do, since we’re mates,” Gabriel teased. He winked at her, then grew serious. “So. Do you think that this means we ought to get married?”
“Married?” Val laughed. “Are you serious?”
Gabriel nodded.
Her laughter died, only for her grin to widen. “Oh, I see. You want the excuse to put me in some frilly white dress that you can tear off with your teeth, don’t you? We don’t need to get married for that. We’re mates. We love each other. What do we need some piece of paper for?”
“Well… it will make things easier.”
“What things?” Val cooed. “Taxes?”
“No. I mean… adopting the girls.”
Her eyes widened.
Gabriel gauged her reaction for a moment before he eased himself a little to the left, so that they could look at each other better. “I am going to be their father and I want it to be official. So that if anything happens
… I know you said you’re leaving the gang, but I see death all the time. I just want to make sure everything’s in order… I mean, as long as it’s what you want.”
Tears pooled in her eyes as she nodded. “I want you to be their dad. So, yeah, adoption sounds great.” Her hand drifted to her stomach, which was just starting to round out with pregnancy. “Is it legal to put your name as the father on the birth certificate even though we know you didn’t sire her?”
“I don’t know. I’ll look it up.” He pulled her close again, a feeling of warmth and contentment rushing through him.
This was all he wanted from life, to have his mate in his arms and the excitement of getting to know his children. His wolf stretched and snoozed, for once lazy and not feeling the need to go out and dominate everything. He stroked Val’s stubbly head as he considered what their future would be like. He’d remain sheriff, so he could continue to help people the best way he knew (unless, of course, Val wanted him to quit—then he’d find some other way to do it). He knew Val would end up bored as a stay-at-home mom, but there was so much she could do. Open a bike repair shop, start teaching self-defense classes, go back to school.
He hugged his mate to his chest and grinned. The possibilities for their future were endless.
*****
THE END
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Description
An aspiring opera singer is in the clutches of losing her voice when she meets the world’s most lauded baritone, a man whose biting charm might be just what she needs to make all her melodic dreams come true.
Eva St. Marie graduated as the most promising young singer from Julliard, but all that seems all for naught when her voice mysteriously starts to disappear. The best doctors in the field don’t know what to make of her voice but a run in with the world’s most alluring and prestigious baritone seems to magically transform her voice back to its full strength.
Ambrose Leroy is a man of secrets and shadows. With the appreciation and praise of the world at his feet and a last name that means “The King” it is no wonder that the handsome man seems to attract female attention everywhere he goes. But Ambrose’s attention is caught when he meets the budding Eva, a woman on the either the verge of greatness or edge despair, but will her beauty and voice be enough to hold and keep his attention?
When Eva falls under the spell of Ambrose she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. As her attraction to him and her voice flourish in his presence, life seems ready to take her by the throat. With the moment of decision ever creeping forward, Eva will have to decide between the silent darkness and the biting, lyrical light.
Chapter One
“I think we’ll need to run some more tests. You don’t seem to have polyps, lesions or bleeding like we see in other singers.” The doctor’s voice gave the impression that he was intrigued.
Eva got the sense that he viewed her x-rays as he might view a good book.
“But there’s something we can do?” Eva’s voice rasped out.
She’d gotten to the point where even talking was difficult and she now tried to live her non-singing life in a mute silence as much as possible. Today, like everyday, she had a thick gray scarf wrapped around her throat and a bottle of warm honey water by her side.
“I suppose there might be an option to operate but I’m just not sure.” He turned from the computer, where photos of her laryngoscopy illuminated the screen. “Truthfully, I’ve been doing this for twenty years and this is different from most of my cases. You will, of course, need to stop singing for the time being.”
Eva felt like she’d just been thrown in front of oncoming Manhattan traffic.
“Stop?” she asked. Her voice was even less intelligible than normal.
“Well,” his expression turned pensive as he digested the look of stricken panic on her face, “at least for a few months until we find a viable solution.”
A viable solution? Eva wanted to scream. But screaming, or any sort of noise whatsoever, would only make her problem worse.
“I understand that this may be hard to hear.” He pushed his fingers together until the tips of his fingernails turned white.
“And if we operate…will I be able to sing again?”
“If that is an option then there is a possibility that you may experience some loss of your normal singing range… you may also have a full recovery after several months of vocal rest. It’s hard to tell in these cases.”
Eva felt tears sting her eyes and the chubby doctor, with his wisps of thinning black hair, looked uncomfortable. He lifted a box of tissues and handed it to her. Eva took a tissue and pressed it to each eye.
“Let’s set up a follow-up in a month. Give yourself a full month of vocal rest then there might be something new to see. Good?” He stood, obviously trying to get the crying girl out of his office pronto. “Get lots of good rest and perhaps things will look better in a few days.”
Eva let out a strangled sob.
“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but maybe you should look into other careers as well, keep your options open. You’re very young.” The doctor’s voice took an almost paternal tone and Eva hated him for it.
She opened her mouth to respond but found nothing to say. What sort of training did they give doctors for talking to their patients these days? Things would look better in a few days? Look into some other career? Things would certainly not look better any time soon unless her voice magically reappeared. And of one thing she was certain, there was no other world for Eva outside of the musical one.
Ten minutes later, out on Fifth Avenue, Eva gave serious consideration to walking straight into oncoming traffic. The rain, that had been gusting down all day, was only a drizzling imitation of what it had been and Eva let the small droplets fall unabated onto her face.
Her life was crashing around her and she had no idea how to fix it. The small scratching feeling in the back of her throat had begun during her finals. She’d sung Dido’s Lament and all the while there was a sensation of vocal chords growing thick, clogging up her throat, keeping air from getting through. She sounded as if her voice box were filled with marbles.
Eva had quickly stopped speaking when it wasn’t absolutely necessary, used honey, water, cough drops, and sprays that tasted like bitter raw herbs. Nothing worked. It seemed that every day the problem got worse.
It made no sense to Eva or her teachers. She had been trained by the best instructors her whole life. She had perfect technique. She had the perfect genes. But it was no use.
The only thing she’d ever wanted in her life, besides wishing her parents alive again, was growing further and further out of reach.
Another tear slid down her cheek.
The patter of rain began to pick up again and Eva felt glad for it. She wanted the rain to hide her tears, to make her invisible to the thrusting crowds of tourists and Manhattanites around her.
She walked back to her Central Park apartment, climbed the four flights of stairs and left her wet clothes on the floor at her door.
Three days later she was still in her pajamas, listening to records of her mother when singing the title role in Aida.
A loud knock at the door pulled Eva out of her malaise and she walked over to see who
it could be. Looking out of the eyehole, she saw her school friend, Bridget, standing on the other side.
Eva paused. She didn’t feel like seeing anyone, she didn’t want to tell anyone that her career was over before it had begun.
Bridget knocked again and, with a sigh, Eva opened it.
“Where have you been?” Bridget walked in without being asked. “I’ve called you like twenty times, and sent emails.”
Bridget was a few years older than Eva, she’d been a child star on Broadway before deciding to study classical opera. She was one of the most wretchedly optimistic people Eva knew, with milk chocolate skin, and a tiny body that made her look more like a teenager than a woman.
Eva, on the other hand, had always been mistaken for someone much older than her actual age. She’d grown full hips and the curvy body of a woman when she was still only a girl herself. Even as a child she had carried herself with a sense of purpose and maturity unknown to the girls her own age. Julliard had been the best thing that had ever happened to Eva. Until then she’d never known that people her own age could be just as driven, dedicated, and serious about their work. She’d also never fully understood how unique her talent was.
Bridget looked around the apartment with a sigh. Eva’s discarded clothes still lay on the floor where she’d left them three days ago. Dirty mugs of Throat Coat tea lined the coffee table and records lay strewn across Eva’s piano bench.
“What’s going on?” Bridget turned to look at Eva, “You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” Eva rasped.
“And you sound worse, I thought you were going to the doctor,” Bridget sat unceremoniously on the green velvet couch that Eva had inherited from her parents.
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