I felt it. Felt the words on the tip of my tongue. But although I didn’t hate Gabriel anymore—not that I was sure I ever truly had—I didn’t trust him enough to share a part of me that would leave me vulnerable and open.
What we had now was fragile, both of us feeling our way. I didn’t know what future lay ahead for us. If any.
So I swallowed the words and kissed him.
His mouth was so familiar yet so different. Where I remembered soft, smooth skin was a firm jaw and stubble. Our tentative, exploring kisses born from inexperience were replaced with the surety of having done this a hundred times.
Not a thought I wanted to have, and the possessiveness I fought to quell surged up and I pressed my hips against Gabriel’s, pinning him in place as I sank into the kiss. His cock was as hard as mine, fuelling the fire inside me. He wanted this as much as I did, and thank fuck, because if he’d asked me to stop, I’d have cried.
I might not have said the words, but every part of me fought to show him that he was mine.
That I was his.
That nothing else mattered as long as we were together.
“Bedroom,” Gabriel murmured, hands sliding up to push at my chest. “Rys,” he added when I made no move to let him go.
Couldn’t. Not when my senses were overloaded with his scent and his taste.
“Why?” I whispered, kissing his jaw, his throat, anywhere I could reach. Why would I ever want to move from this exact spot?
Gabriel gave me another gentle shove and said, “Because I want to get you naked.”
That got me moving, although only far enough for Gabriel to push off the wall and start walking down the hallway. I crowded up behind him.
Now that I’d allowed myself to give in and touch him like I wanted, I couldn’t seem to stop. Didn’t want to.
He led me into a room at the end of the hall, not bothering to turn the lights on. I didn’t need them to see, and I briefly wondered if he did either?
Apparently not, as he had no trouble navigating the room and leading me to his bed. The curtains were open, the moon visible from her perch high in the sky.
The sight settled something deep inside me, and I stepped up to Gabriel, one hand cupping his jaw, the other resting on his hip. I kissed him again, softer this time, gentle in a way that I didn’t think I could be. Not with him. Not when I needed him in such a basic and primal way that it scared me.
But when he looked at me like that, with trust in his eyes, it came easy.
I never wanted to hurt him again.
I wanted to give him everything.
Wanted totellhim everything. “Gabriel—”
“I need to answer your question before we go any further.” He wrapped his fingers around mine, grip tighter than I was expecting.
I frowned. “Question?”
“About why I didn’t come after you.” He sighed, the sudden sadness in his eyes unwelcome.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to tell me.” I was more than ready to forget our past. At least those parts of it, but Gabriel stepped back, letting go of my hand and reaching for the hem of his T-shirt.
“I do. Because you’re going to see for yourself soon enough.”
My heart dropped to my stomach, fists clenched at my side. “Tell me,” I whispered, praying to the Goddess I was wrong.
“When you ran off into the forest like that, Tombs knew. He took one look at me and ordered us all back to the compound. Angrier than I’d ever seen him. I should’ve left then, should’ve told him to go fuck himself, but I…” He looked away, like he was ashamed, and I wasn’t having that.
With gentle fingers, I lifted his chin until he met my eyes. “What did he do?”
“Tombs had one rule that he enforced without exception. ‘No one gets involved with a non-human. It invites weakness and that puts the group in danger.’” He grimaced. “I broke that rule and I knew there’d be consequences. He said he’d already made an allowance for me being part-fae, but he couldn’t let this slide. Not even for me. So I took his fucking punishment. Even when he cracked a rib, I figured it was what I deserved after what I’d done.” He looked up at me, tears in his eyes as he traced a thumb across my cheek. “The look in your eyes when you saw me…” The breath he drew in was so ragged, I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into my arms.
