Shocking me to my core, Gavriel fell to his knees with a soft thud against the hardwood floor. He was completely disheveled. You could tell that he had been running his fingers through his hair. His shirt was wrinkled and half-untucked, and there was at least three days of stubble shadowing his jaw. Those piercing eyes, normally so calculating, now looked up at me with naked vulnerability, red-rimmed and desperate. His hands, those lethal instruments that had ended countless lives, trembled slightly as they reached for mine, enveloping them with surprising gentleness, his thumbs brushing over my knuckles in an unconscious plea.
“Yes. More than anything.”
My voice was barely audible, even to me. “Despite what I did to you?” My fingers trembled against his as I forced myself to meet his gaze, terrified of what I might find there. The question hung between us like a fragile thread that might snap under the weight of everything we hadn’t said, everything I’d risked losing forever. “Despite knowing I could have gotten you killed?”
A smile lifted his lips. “Yes. But if you betray me again—”
“I won’t. You want us as more than Goddess and Pretty Boy? I need you to say it. We can’t make assumptions about anything. Clear, honest, full communication. Understood?”
He brought my hands to his lips, kissed them, and then leaned his forehead on the backs of them. After a moment, he slowly looked back up to me. “You are my Goddess, and I will always be your Pretty Boy. But I am also your Gavriel. I amyoursto wield.”
Shock widened my eyes as I stared at his that were wide and open. Here he was, one of the most dangerous men in the city, and he was saying he was mine.
Just how far would that extend?“What of your father?”
“He will not stand between us.” He stood and wrapped my neck in both of his hands. “We will figure this out. Together.”
“Together.”
We stared at each other, and I reveled in the way his eyes drank me in to my very soul. This simple touch and the affection in his eyes sent shivers down my spine.
“I need you, Elin Perkins.”
Reaching up on my toes, I ghosted my lips against his, and everything else melted away.
His tongue twisted hot and wild against my own in a rhythm that felt like sparks. Those hands of his slid down my spine, every inch traveled leaving goose bumps and fevered skin. I moaned into his mouth, desperate and needy, especially when he nipped my bottom lip just hard enough to sting, then soothed it with a stroke of his tongue. His grip tightened on my ass, holding me right against him, and oh my gods, I could feel his hard cock pressed between us.
“You are so fucking beautiful. Every inch the Goddess,” he growled, lips brushing my ear, every word sending shivers down my body.
“I need you now, Gavriel. I need you to fuck me. Carry me to the bedroom.” I whimpered, arching into him, showing him just how much I needed it, needed him. My nails dug into his shoulders, my way of grounding myself against the dizzying heat of him. Then he swept me up, arms strong and sure, moving quickly through the house and tossing me onto the bed like I weighed nothing at all.
I stripped from my lounge pants and T-shirt, his eyes flashing as he noted I had no underwear or bra on. His mouth was on meagain, hungrier this time, kissing me deep and rough. His right hand fisted my hair, pulling just tight enough to pull any tension out of my body, while his other hand slid between us. A shred of self-control, then his pants and boxers were gone and his cock was positioned just at my entrance, thick and ready.
“Are you ready for me, Elin?” His voice was all ragged hunger. I could only nod, wild for it, and then he drove into me in one hard, perfect thrust. I gasped, my body stretching to take him as he filled me so full, there wasn’t room for anything else.
A groan ripped out of him, his eyes half-closed as he started to move, long, deep strokes that dragged against every nerve. My hands hit his chest and I rolled him over, and I straddled him, rocking against his cock. His eyes flashed, dark with need, with the control I had taken back.
“You are mine.” My voice was a low command, full of heat and every ounce of ownership I felt for him. He belonged to me. To love, to keep.
“Yes,” he breathed, fucking up into me with rough, claiming thrusts, “I’m yours.” Each slam hit my sweet spot, and my body tightened. Faster and harder, I rode him, chasing the edge. “Yes, my Gavriel. Fuck me.”
His voice was rough and almost hissed as he said, “So gorgeous fucking me. Wrapped around my cock. Squeezing the pleasure from me.”
His hands reached up and pinched my nipples as they bounced with each connection of our hips. The pain only enhanced how good and right he felt under me.
“Elin . . .”
My orgasm didn’t come with a slow ache, but instead was built fast and sharp, the tingling spreading out from my core until I was gasping, unable to warn him other than a broken, “I’m going to cum.” Instantly, he slammed harder, deeper, and with a final, shattering thrust, we broke together, coming so hard I thought Imight fall apart around him, every inch of me shuddering with release.
Chapter 32
Ithadbeenalong night of paperwork upstairs, and I was in need of a drink. Gavriel had brought me some food earlier, so I had at least eaten some dinner. As I sat down at the bar, Brandon, the bartender, immediately handed me a gin and tonic.
“Thanks.”
He gave a quick nod before heading to help someone else.
The music filled my senses as I sipped my drink and let out a long breath. Unfortunately, there was a man Brandon had just cut off strutting his way over to me, and I recognized him as one of our newer members. He reeked of stale beer and something vaguely floral, a bizarre, gagging combination.
