Gabriel (Guardian Defenders Book 1)

by Kris Michaels

  Her hand unhooked the clasp of her bra and let the lace drop to the floor. It took only a second to step out of her lace panties. She carefully stepped into the warm water of the bathtub, and in a languid move, sat down, leaned back, and extended her arms along the edge of the tub. The water lapped at her nipples and they hardened.

  She saw the moment her intention registered. A smile spread across his face. He walked across the bathroom floor and ditched his jeans and boxers. He stepped into the warm water and folded down beside her, pulling her to him. She went willingly and sighed into a kiss that for the first time in almost two weeks was unbridled and wild. They each wanted what they'd denied themselves. Anna used her hands to feel every inch of his magnificent body.

  She found his shaft and stroked the entire length of his erection. “Oh, God, you’re so big and thick.”

  “That’s all for you.” Gabriel gathered her into his lap, so she straddled him.

  “If we do this, you can’t exert yourself too much. Let me make love to you.” She pushed off his chest so she could see the effect of her words on him. He reached for her and pulled her closer, kissing her with an intimacy that was tangible.

  She reached down and centered his thick cock at her entrance. She slowly and carefully lowered herself, reeling with pleasure so intense it bordered on pain as his shaft stretched her and bottomed out. His eyes closed as if he too was lost in the sensation. She watched his face as she slowly slid up and then down his shaft in one motion, just the way she knew he liked it. Anna placed her hands on his shoulders and repeated the slow up and down slide. Her passion was building to a climax. She’d been aroused and needy for days. This first time after so long would be quick. Gabriel’s hands found her hips and guided her. Her body threatened to explode. Her thighs clenched, and her legs tightened around his hips as she moved.

  “Beautiful.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at her lover.

  His gaze met hers. He smiled at her and leaned forward for a kiss. “I missed you,” he murmured against her lips.

  She smiled as their lips met. When he drew back, she whispered, “I've been right here.”

  When she lifted, Gabriel thrust deeply into her. “But I haven't been here.”

  He pulled her closer, and she molded against him. One of his hands traveled over her rib cage and cupped her breast. His fingers twirled her taut nipple. Electricity splintered through her body. Her head dropped back between her shoulders. She slammed down on his cock and ground against his pubic bone, stimulating her clit as he twisted her nipple. She cried out in the throes of an intense orgasm. Gabriel slammed into her again and again. His body shuddered under the force of his own climax, and they both gasped as they collapsed against each other.

  She buried her face in the side of his neck. As her breathing returned to normal, she pushed back and searched his face. “Gabriel, how do you feel? Is there any discomfort at all? Any pain?”

  He opened his eyes and gazed at her with amusement. “The only discomfort I’ve had for the past week is a bad case of blue balls. I guarantee I feel better now than I did when I walked into this room.”

  Anna snuggled close to him and allowed herself to relax. The doctor's orders had been broken without repercussions. They lazed together with little said, slowly re-stoking the passion they'd just extinguished. The water in the tub had cooled by the time they finished making love for a second time.

  “I have no legs.” She laughed softly as she climbed out of the bathtub with his assistance. The water they had splashed out of the tub covered the bathroom floor. She watched Gabriel grab a towel and blot the water off of his body. He was fabulous, and he was hers. Happiness filled the recesses of her soul, warming places that had lain cold and barren.

  They spent long minutes dressing and kissing. More kissing than dressing at times. He wasn't far from her while she prepared dinner. He found a way to touch or caress her whenever he was near. The intimate contact pushed her happiness to new levels.

  She sang to herself as she put the finishing touches on dinner. The crispy fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad were ready. The settings on the table had been put out before she’d finished making the meal.

  Gabriel wandered in and out of the kitchen, wearing only his jeans. Of course, she was wearing only his shirt, so the bare-chested show was justified. Well, that was her story, and she was sticking to it.

  The raw sexual power he radiated as he stalked through her apartment was enough to knock her over, even after making love to him twice within the last two hours. She didn’t know how she could be happier. Is this what people in love felt all the time? God, she really hoped so.

  Gabriel put the small black box beside her plate while her back was turned. In typical Anna fashion, she was singing to herself. She stopped suddenly and snapped her head to the right. “What did I do with... Oh, there you are.” She picked up singing right where she'd left off. Something about windshield wipers keeping perfect rhythm or some such thing. He'd never heard the song before, but she obviously had. The little wiggle as she danced made the tail of his shirt shift, exposing the back of her thighs. She was tall for a woman, so his shirt hung enticingly and not far from that firm ass of hers. Every shimmy was a move worth watching, even though he knew what was under that material. He chuckled inwardly. Other than when they made love, his woman could not be quiet—or still.

  Not that he'd want her to change. She was a wonderful contradiction of sass, innocence, and unadulterated heart. He was damn lucky to have her in his life, and he hoped like hell fate would smile on them this time. He pulled the cork out of her wine to let it breathe and poured himself a whiskey. Swirling the dark liquid, he considered this, his first drink since being shot, a reward for not taking any pain meds in over a week.

  He dropped three ice cubes into the crystal goblet Anna favored and poured a delicious vintage over the ice. His head moved from side to side. Cold. Red. Wine. Well, the oddity matched her unique personality. He swirled her glass, making sure the wine chilled. He picked up his drink along with hers and wandered back into the kitchen. He enforced a delivery tax. He tilted her backward off balance and planted a deep possessive kiss on her lips.

  “Wow,” she squeaked as he righted her.

  Yeah, he did that. He left the woman speechless. Odds were not many men had done that, and if he had his way, no other would from this point forward.

  He carried the full plates to the table as she followed them with their drinks. Anna sat down and smiled at him as he started to eat. He watched in amusement as she completely missed the box behind her water glass.

  Anna looked up at him as he studied her. “What? Why are you laughing? Do I have something in my teeth?” She moved to stand up.

  “No, you don't have anything in your teeth.” The laughter he'd been holding in rolled out. The look of complete and total confusion on her face made him laugh more.

  Anna giggled. Her eyes darted around the room. “No seriously, like totally, what are you laughing at?”

  He laughed harder. Like and totally in the same sentence, again. She was going to be upset with herself.

  When she realized what she said, her eyes rolled, and she growled an unintelligible string of words.

  “You’re adorable.” He managed the words between gasps for air.

  “Stop laughing at me and tell me what I did!” Anna threw her cloth napkin at him and frowned.

  He held up his hands in surrender and drew several breaths before he reached across the table and moved the box from behind her water glass.

  You'd have thought the damn thing was a spider. She jumped backward, gasped, and her hands flew to her chest. Wide eyes traveled from the box to him and back to the box.

  He tapped it again. “Go ahead. Open it. It won't bite.”

  Her hands shook as she lifted the lid of the small box. Inside on the cushion of black was a silvery-white band. Both sides of the ring were edged in herringbone weave. The center design comb
ined the letters D and X, entwining them. His initials. Step by step, he was giving her more of him. More than he'd given any other woman. Eventually, he wanted her to have all of him. He needed her to be the one to hold all of his secrets.

  Her hands shook as she took it out of the box. He lifted slightly and scooted his chair next to hers. Taking the ring from her trembling fingers, he lifted her left hand and slid the band down her left ring finger. He knew the significance of placing it on that finger. “This was mine; my father gave it to me before he died. I had it sized to fit you.”

  “It's amazing. But I don't understand? What... Why...”

  He stared down at the ring. It was easier than looking her in the eye. Hell, he'd stared down death and walked away a winner, but looking at her right now would gut him. If she didn't understand, or hell, want to wait for him, he'd be ruined. He cleared his throat and continued to look at her small hand as he held it.

  “I wanted you to have something of mine. Something that has a personal meaning and that no one other than me has ever possessed. I want you to be able to look at this and know what we have is special to me.

  “Things are heating up overseas. I have an existing assignment I have to finish. I don’t know how much longer I can remain in the States, regardless of the doctor's orders, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I want you to have this, so you know no matter how long it takes, I will come back to you. Whatever it takes, I'll be back.” He finally lifted his eyes to hers.

  She wasn't looking at him, but at the ring. Her fingernail traced the fine pattern along the edge. “As long as it takes?”

  Although the question was softly spoken, the insecurity in the words screamed across the inches that separated them.

  He cupped his hand over hers. “Yes. Whatever it takes.”

  She finally lifted her eyes. “Are we talking days, weeks, or longer?” Sadness permeated her expression.

  With the current political climate in the Middle East, taking care of the Israel issue would open an abundance of other problems. If he was lucky, he and his team could clean up and pack out in just under four months. Most times, when they operated in the Middle East, luck wasn’t on their side. Skill, tactics, experience, and sheer determination saw his teams through most situations. Besides, luck was a fickle bitch. He wouldn’t bank on it showing up, so he and his team made sure they prepared for every inevitability. “Probably several months.”

  “Two?”

  “Five, maybe more.”

  Anna let out a long breath before she nodded. He saw her back stiffen, and determination replaced the confusion and sadness in her eyes. “Well, nothing like being tested right off the bat. I guess if this is going to work, we need to deal with separations. Right?”

  “Hey, I made you a promise. I promised that I wanted to see this go forward, and I do. That ring is my promise. I will come back. We will get through this deployment. Then, I plan on training others to do what I do. I can do more to advance the future of Guardian here, stateside, by leveraging my connections and influence.” Gabriel took her hand in his. He lifted it to his mouth and kissed the ring on her finger.

  “Wow. Okay. Totally did not see this coming.” A nervous laugh escaped her, and she rolled her eyes at her valley girl slip up. She sighed, “See, I… I really don’t know what I’m expected to do.” Anna lifted her eyes to the ceiling and laughed. “Okay, that sounded pathetic. I’m a big girl. I can do this. You know Jackie doesn’t need me here any longer. Hell, I go up once a day only to visit now. There are no meds I need to administer, and she has the best medical help money can buy. She really hasn’t needed me, and if I'm honest, she hasn't for a while now. Now that there is no threat, it’s like the cloud of doom that loomed over them has lifted. They’re happy. They don’t need me. I probably need to go home. Scratch that. I know I need to go home. I was too happy playing house here to worry about the real world, though.”

  Gabriel pulled her hand, moving her from her chair to his lap. “You could stay here. I'd take care of any rent or monetary concern.”

  Anna shook her head. “Oh, hell no. I'm not going to let you be my sugar daddy.”

  “Sugar daddy?” Gabriel chuckled at her outraged expression.

  “Yeah, when a man keeps a woman. It's called being a sugar daddy. You know, he pays her bills and all that in return for sex.” She threw back her shoulders, and the front of his shirt fell open, exposing her breast almost to the nipple. “I'll have you know, I'm a modern woman. I can bring home the bacon and fry that shit up in a pan.”

  “I don't doubt that for a second. Okay, I rescind my offer. When the time comes, and I have to leave, go back home to Colorado. I'll finish my assignment, and then I'll come to you.”

  “Well, you better.” She leaned into him and tucked her head against his shoulder. “The ring is beautiful. Thank you for giving it to me.” She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers. “What type of metal is this? It doesn’t look like gold, and it’s not quite silver either.”

  “It’s rhodium.” He chuckled when she made a questioning noise. “It’s a rather rare metal and seldom used for jewelry. My father and his father before him were trendsetters.”

  It also happened to be the most costly of the precious metal on Earth, two times more valuable than gold and 154 times more valuable than silver. The Xavier men had given their family ring to their wives as wedding bands. It was a tradition he hoped to share with her after the mission. They needed time to get to know each other without all the garbage of life piling up on them.

  “Will you make me one promise?” Anna pushed off his chest and squirmed in his lap until she was facing him. He placed his hands on her hips.

  “If I can.” He wasn’t going to make a promise he couldn’t keep.

  She placed her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes. “Promise me you will be careful; if you can’t be careful you’ll be smart; and that you’ll do everything humanly possible to come back to me—preferably whole.”

  Gabriel lifted his hand and brushed a stray lock of dark brown hair from her eyes. “I’m always careful. I’m extremely intelligent—”

  Her laughter bubbled up like an oasis in the middle of the desert—refreshing and pure. “Has anyone told you that you are a little conceited, too?”

  “Yes, some have indicated I have that characteristic, but as I was saying, we plan these missions to the best of our ability. There is always an unknown, and unfortunately, those are the risks we have to take. It's my focus and intent to make sure my men and I come home safely.” That was as close to a promise as he could make her.

  Anna’s eyes danced over him. Gabriel recognized the fierce intelligence in her look. She must have believed him because she nodded, almost to herself before she leaned forward and kissed him. The soft contact promised so much more than words could ever say. Moving her ministrations to his cheek, she kissed and nibbled to his earlobe.

  His arms snaked around her, and he pulled her closer. Her softness connected with him, fitting perfectly. He closed his eyes, and savored the attention she showered on him. He wanted every moment with her seared into his memory. Good thoughts to guard against bad moments. When the uncertainty of the next day confronted the reality of a desperate situation, moments like this could sustain him, encourage him, and give him a reason to fight on.

  He stood, lifting her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried them to the bedroom. He unbuttoned his shirt and placed a soft kiss on her skin as it was revealed. Her body quivered under his lips.

  Her hands found the waistband of his jeans, and she tugged and groaned in frustration. He leaned up and rolled to the side, letting his elbow take his weight. Between the two of them, they unbuttoned and unzipped the denim. She tugged the material down, and he kicked it off before rolling back on top of her. “Hi.” He stared down at her.

  She smiled back at him. Her hands ran down his chest and twirled around his nipples. “Hi.” She lifted her eyebrows several time
s quickly, which brought a smile and laugh to his lips. God, he adored this woman.

  His smile faltered as he gazed down at her.

  “Are you okay?” She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek.

  “Never better.” Which was the truth. Gabriel pressed his body down against hers, mating their skin in every way possible. By tomorrow night, he'd be gone. He couldn’t change it. But tonight? Tonight, he'd make memories. Memories to sustain them both.

  Anna lifted her legs, cradling his hips. He entered her slowly as they kissed. Her soft gasp pulled air from his lungs into hers. Fuck, yes. He'd give her the air he breathed. Anything. He took his time and rocked into her, slowly and methodically, torturing both of them with sensation just this side of where they both wanted it to be. He wanted this to last, to be something they both recalled when they were lonely.

  She planted her feet on the bed, and as he thrust forward, she tipped her hips and pushed up.

  “Oh, fuck.” Gabriel shuddered at the way her body clung to his shaft and how deeply he'd penetrated her. He withdrew, and when he pushed forward again, she moved. The technique slammed his orgasm front and center. He strained under it, trying to stave it off a little longer.

  The next thrust sent Anna over. Her back arched, her legs straightened, and her body tightened around him. Holy fuck. Her body pulled him to her, and her wet heat milked him. He slammed forward, chasing the release right in front of him. He flung his head back, winding his arms under her shoulders as he framed her head with his hands. A soundless shout proceeded the blinding white behind his eyelids and the fractured spots of red that followed. Lightning shattered his body in the best possible way. He carefully lowered to her and shared a panting kiss. There was no way he wouldn't return to this woman. If Satan took him as he battled through hell, he swore he'd figure out a way to come back to her as a ghost. Not even death would separate him from Anna.