The Outlaw's Heart

by Amy Sandas

  As his tongue swept into her mouth, he shifted on top of her, aligning his sex with hers. The blunt, smooth head of his erection pressed against her opening, but he did not thrust forward. Instead, he gently rolled his hips, allowing his member to glide over her sensitive folds, teasing moisture from her body, making her insides clench with the need for deeper contact.

  “Gabriel,” she gasped.

  He slid his mouth to the side of her neck, then up to her ear as he whispered, “Trust me.”

  “I do,” she murmured as he closed his mouth over the curve where her neck met her shoulder and gently skimmed his teeth across her skin. “I need you. Gabriel.”

  “I’m here,” he assured her, trailing his lips along her collarbone, then lower to press a kiss against her sternum.

  When his large hand covered one breast, her head arched back and her low belly tightened with delicious sensations. He circled his palm and kneaded the soft mound before lightly pinching the pebbled peak between two fingers. A swift jolt of pleasure seared through her—and then another as he lowered his head and took the other breast in his mouth, suckling on the flesh and rolling his tongue around her nipple. He drew her into his mouth, devouring her and humming his pleasure deep in his throat.

  Such a rich and heady feeling infused her body. She felt weighted and light at the same time. Her insides trembled with fire while the silken slide of his hair across her skin inspired tingling chills. When he slid his mouth lower to press a hot, open kiss to her low belly, her thighs tensed around his shoulders.

  He lifted his head at her brief show of resistance. “Should I stop?”

  Eve shook her head. “No. I just… My experience is…limited,” she confessed.

  His expression darkened as a hint of confusion crossed his brow. “Your husband never kissed you between your legs?”

  A choked sound of shock escaped her lips as heat rolled through her. Was that what he intended to do? It took her a moment to retrieve her voice. “I did not please him,” she confessed. “He struggled to feel desire for me and would become angry…”

  She didn’t want to say more. Her time with Matthew felt like something that had happened to someone else.

  The sound Gabriel made rumbled thickly from his throat and made his chest vibrate where it pressed between her thighs. He slid his hands into the hollow of her back as he gazed intently up the length of her body. Despite his almost reverent position between her legs, he looked like the fiercest warrior just then, eager for battle.

  “He did not deserve you.”

  Eve brought her hand to the side of Gabriel’s face. “No, he didn’t. And I’m sure I don’t deserve you.”

  He made a low growl of denial. “You were made for me,” he replied as he turned his head to press his full lips to the center of her palm. “And I was made for you.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. It was all she could manage because he’d lowered his head again to dip his tongue into her navel. She moaned softly, and her eyes fell closed. Sensations swirled, wild and tender at the same time, as he awakened her to the beauty of what was to come.

  She held her breath as he shifted lower between her legs. When he eased his hands beneath her buttocks and covered her sex with his mouth, she tensed from head to toe with a shock of pleasure so deep and wonderful it nearly stopped her heart.

  Heat—velvety and lush—consumed her.

  He guided his tongue in a long, soft caress over her swollen folds to the bud at the apex. Then he suckled gently, drawing on her flesh before soothing it again with another circling swipe of his tongue. He repeated the action, but firmer this time. Then again, but with lighter teasing flicks. Then again: another heated, velvety stroke.

  What he did with his mouth was so much more than a kiss.

  It was a reverent devouring. An intimate awakening. He was bringing her to life with sensations of pleasure so powerful and bright, she could do nothing but surrender. Thoughts completely disappeared, as did any feelings of uncertainty or nervousness.

  Everything coalesced into the experience of being loved by Gabriel in such an unbelievably intimate way. And the pleasure continued to rise—to build and expand until the sensations started to tumble over themselves, and her body tightened in anticipation of something unidentifiable but infinitely lovely. She could sense it approaching. She needed it.

  Her back arched on the bed, and her hands fisted so tightly in the furs that her fingers ached.

  Gabriel’s hands tensed on her buttocks. His breath was hot against her sensitive flesh. His tongue demanding as it eased along her opening before he covered her tight, swollen bud and sucked her gently into the heat of his mouth.

  A tense fluttering started deep inside her. She gasped and tipped her hips toward him, and he suckled harder.

  She flew apart.

  Pulsing pleasure swept through her in waves. Expanding from her core, spreading through her limbs to her fingertips and toes.

  It was magic. It was life and love and everything beautiful.

  He held his mouth over her until the intensity began to recede. Then he soothed her with slow, gentle licks as her body softened and her lungs filled back up with air.

  Then his great body shifted, and he rose over her. Opening her eyes, she saw him braced on his elbows. His broad shoulders sheltered her and his long hair fell like a curtain, locking them in intimacy as he settled his hips between her thighs. Framing his face in her hands, she brought his mouth down to hers for a kiss. At the same time, she lifted her hips against him, gasping into his mouth when his hot length slid over her gently pulsing folds.

  “Will you enter me?” she asked, arching to press her breasts to his chest.

  “Is that your desire?”

  “Yes,” she answered readily, the word tense and impatient.

  His lips played over hers as he pressed his hips forward. It was a languid penetration, erotic in how she felt the broad head of his erection pushing past her entrance. Slowly, wonderfully, her body stretched and burned to accommodate him. It was a lovely discomfort, eased by her own moisture and her pleasure-softened inner flesh. She had no idea of the effort it took for him to maintain the mindful pace until he issued a low, involuntary grunt.

  He was going slow for her.

  Even though she’d practically begged him for this. Even though he’d already given her the wildest pleasure. He was still thinking only of her comfort.

  Her chest compressed so tightly with emotion that she momentarily lost her breath. Love infused her entire being. Sliding her arms around him, she tucked her face against his throat and held him close. “Gabriel,” she gasped softly against his sweat-salty skin. “I need all of you. I want you to fill me.”

  His breath was heavy and shallow as he wrapped his arms around her, one arm braced beneath her shoulders while he reached his other hand down to palm her rear, lifting her hips as he slowly withdrew from her. The warm, wet glide sent shivers through her. Before she could fully catch her breath from the lovely friction, he gave a powerful thrust, going deep, claiming her completely.

  Eve gasped at the shock of his full possession. Her legs squeezed hard about his hips, and her head pressed back into the furs.

  Gabriel held her secure in his arms. He had completely stopped moving. All she felt were the subtle throb of his body inside hers and the warmth of his breath as he murmured soft words against her throat.

  The slight burning sensation slowly receded as her body learned to accommodate him. Her limbs began to relax, and Gabriel lowered his head to her breast. Sucking her into the heat of his mouth, he rolled his tongue over the peak in soothing circles. After a bit, he shifted his attention to the other breast, lavishing it with languid stokes of his tongue and deep, pulling kisses. As his mouth drew on her breasts, wonderful sparks of pleasure angled down through her core to the flesh that stretched deliciously around his m
ember.

  As though sensing the softening within her, he gave a gentle rock of his hips. The deep, shifting movement sparked interesting, new sensations. Heat and fire and more.

  He rocked again.

  She gasped.

  He slowly withdrew, inch by tantalizing inch, until just the tip of him remained inside her, dragging a soft moan from her throat.

  Then he eased forward again with purposeful, delicious intent. Claiming her until he was fully sheathed. His thrusts were long and leisurely, sparking delicate sensations that tumbled through her. Her muscles tensed, and her insides tightened in anticipation of another free fall into that bright well of pleasure.

  She turned her mouth to meet his and then kissed him. Moving her hips in a rhythm to match his, she thrust her tongue into his mouth to taste him. To feed on his desire and give him hers.

  Their gazes met and held. The entire world existed in his eyes. Shadows and light. Hope and new beginnings. Love.

  This time, the pleasure came on like a rolling wave. One moment, she still felt everything building. And the next, it crested and washed through her. Lovely, deep, pure.

  Gabriel continued to move in long, even strokes as she pulsed around him. Then, after thrusting deep, he tightened his arms around her and stilled. His head lowered until he rested his forehead against hers. His breath caught on a guttural moan as he released his pleasure deep inside her.

  Thirty-Four

  As the delicate aftershocks left their bodies, he brought his mouth back to hers. The kiss was so languid and lovely that Eve only vaguely realized it when he shifted to lie beside her. Smoothing his hand down the center of her body, he rested it heavily on her low belly.

  With a touch that inspired delicate tingling in its wake, he leaned forward to press a light kiss to her temple.

  Then he propped himself on his elbow and gazed at her in silence. His expression was dark and serious when he shifted his gaze to hers, and his tone was heavy as he said, “You should have told me you’d never joined with a man.”

  Eve felt her cheeks warm. She wasn’t sure if that was something he’d notice.

  But she should have realized he would.

  It was difficult to find the words, but she wanted him to fully understand. No secrets. No shadows. No shame.

  She rolled onto her side to face him. “My mother did not explain anything to me about the intimate relations between a man and a woman. Her only advice before my marriage was that my…husband”—she didn’t even like saying the word—“would tutor me on what I’d need to know. Unfortunately, one of my greatest failures as a wife, according to Matthew, was my inability to tempt him…sexually.” Humiliation burned beneath her skin. Humiliation and regret for the naive and hopeful bride she’d been and the lost time she’d spent believing he was right.

  Gabriel caressed her back in long, languid strokes as he stared intently at her face, listening with quiet consideration.

  Feeling his compassion and lack of judgment made the rest come easier. “On our wedding night, I waited hours before he came to me. When he did, it was clear he’d been drinking.” She paused, drawing a breath. She’d never spoken of that night. The idea of talking about it had never even occurred to her. But now, she couldn’t seem to hold it back. “He joined me in bed, but I didn’t know what to do. He became agitated and started cursing and accusing me of…horrible things. And then he struck me. Across the face. I was too shocked to do anything but stare after him as he rolled off me and staggered from the bedroom.”

  Gabriel’s features hardened with barely concealed outrage. The outrage didn’t frighten her. She knew it was on her behalf and was grateful for his attempt at restraining his reaction for her sake.

  “I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this,” she muttered through her thick throat.

  “Because I asked,” he replied simply. “And because it is important for me to know.”

  She took a deep breath, anxious now to reach the end of her pitiful tale. “When he came to my bedroom the next morning and saw the mark he’d left, he said I couldn’t leave the room until the redness was gone. It was more than a week before I saw him again, but the next time he came to my bedroom, it was essentially the same. He would shove himself against me, then grow angry and leave. I understand now…that he could not…grow hard,” she explained hesitantly. “He didn’t hit me again until sometime later, long after he gave up on trying to bed me.”

  Gabriel slid his hand up her spine and around the nape of her neck. The wide pad of his thumb brushed across the crest of her cheek, spreading moisture she didn’t realize had escaped from her eyes.

  “You did not deserve his cruelty,” he said.

  She heard the righteous anger in his tone and felt the truth of his words, all the way down to her marrow. “No,” she replied with utter conviction. “I did not deserve it.”

  With a weighted sigh, she inched closer until her breasts pressed to his chest and her legs slid along his.

  “It almost feels like it happened to a different woman,” she whispered. “I wish my life with him had never existed, but I cannot change what was. I’m just glad it’s over.”

  * * *

  Despite the anger and turmoil rolling through him, Gabriel’s touch was gentle as he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer into the warmth of his body. All he could think to do for her in that moment was ensure that she felt safe and protected.

  She snuggled into him, dipping her chin to tuck her face against his neck. Within only a few minutes, her breath evened out into a long, steady rhythm and her body became lax in his arms.

  Knowing what Eve had endured with the man she’d married was like a sickening poison in Gabriel’s blood.

  The injustices in the world were great and widespread. He knew it as well as anyone. No matter how much he’d once wished it, he couldn’t go back and erase his time with the missionaries. Nor could he erase what Eve had lived through.

  But if she’d let him, he would do everything in his power to shield her from experiencing that kind of pain again.

  He found it difficult to imagine parting ways. In all honesty, he didn’t want to. His heart had recognized hers right from the start. But nothing had prepared him for the stirring experience of their physical joining. He had been stunned by the power and depth of what had occurred between them.

  Without intending to, with no effort at all, she had claimed his heart.

  But she might not wish to keep it.

  The desperation he had sensed in her had calmed, but it was not gone. She was restless and unsettled. He knew that feeling—he had felt it himself in his youth. Now that she had escaped her painful past, he could not keep her from finding her own path.

  Even if it took her away from him.

  She napped for a short while as the sun continued its journey across the sky.

  Gabriel did not sleep. He was content to hold her and listen to the calm rhythm of her breath, but as soon as she began to stir, he instantly hardened with need.

  Her warm body shifted in his arms, her skin smooth and soft as it slid against his. A hum issued from her throat, and her eyes fluttered open just enough to meet his gaze. The impact of her slow smile went straight to his gut before wrapping around his heart.

  She was his.

  He was hers.

  The truth of it was as clear as a cloudless sky. As certain as the spring rain.

  But he would let her go. He’d have to, if that was what she wanted.

  Just not yet.

  He slipped his hand up the narrow valley of her spine, sliding his fingers beneath the fall of her tangled hair until he palmed the base of her skull. Holding her gently, he lowered his head toward hers.

  A sigh slid from her lips to lightly caress his face just before he covered her mouth with his. He absorbed the delicate shudder that
ran through her body by pulling her closer. She slid her leg up to hook over his hip, and her warm hands smoothed over his skin.

  Earlier had been about passion and desperation and need.

  This time, it was about something deeper, something softer and quieter.

  They made love slowly, their bodies awakening to each other. Discovering each other.

  Unspoken promises were issued in sighs against heated skin. Hands soothed and roused sensations to fever pitch as tongues and lips tasted and teased delicate nerves.

  By the time Gabriel rolled to his back, drawing Eve to lie atop him, they were both flushed and panting. Her eyes flashed bright and beautiful, and she pushed against his chest to sit astride his groin. He reached for her hips, brushing his thumbs over her belly as he urged her in a rocking rhythm against his hard length.

  She gasped and bowed her head, but quickly took up the rhythm he initiated.

  After a bit, he lifted her off him and grasped himself at the base of his erection. She held his gaze and shifted to take him into her body. The possession went both ways as he vowed to take all her past pain and replace it with pleasure. If she’d let him, he’d give her everything: his body, his spirit, the very heart from his chest.

  It was already hers anyway.

  Thirty-Five

  That evening, they returned to the bunkhouse.

  Eve was a little concerned with what the others would think or say about the days—and nights—she’d spent with Gabriel. But aside from a curious glance or two, Johnny and George—who were both in the kitchen preparing the evening meal—seemed content to mind their own business. Of course, Gabriel’s rather forbidding stare might have had something to do with how quickly they turned back to their tasks.

  Luke, however, was a slightly different story.

  He was sitting in a chair a little way back from the fire. One foot was planted firmly on the floor, while his other leg was extended in front of him. He looked up as soon as Eve and Gabriel entered the great room.