“Bathroom,” she whispered.
“Hurry back,” he murmured, loosening his hold so she could get up.
She went into the bathroom and after peeing she checked her appearance in the mirror. She winced at the still-swollen corner of her mouth and the shadow of an already formed bruise. How on earth was she going to explain this to Jace? He’d freak when he saw her.
Caro would have to work her makeup wonders on this.
Her entire body was tender, but not for the usual reasons. Gabe had been exceedingly gentle with her. Shockingly so. He was always so out of control. Crazy hot for her, which made her crazy hot for him in return. And yet tonight?
He’d taken forever. Teasing, taunting, gentle and so very loving. Her chest still fluttered and butterflies scuttled around her belly at how achingly beautiful their lovemaking had been.
For the first time, she hadn’t felt like it was just sex.
Knowing he’d come to find her if she kept him waiting for too long, she went back into the bedroom and crawled onto the bed. Gabe’s eyelids fluttered open and he viewed her through half-lidded, sleepy eyes. He reached for her but she didn’t go into his arms. Instead she rocked back on her heels, studying him in the low light.
He was so incredibly beautiful, and she’d ached to be able to touch and explore him from day one. She’d never been afforded the chance because Gabe was always, always in control.
Gabe frowned, pushing up on his elbow. The action sent the sheet sliding down his body, baring his chest and then lower, bunching around his hips as he stared at her, concern etched into his forehead.
“Mia?”
There was uncertainty in his voice, a thread of fear that surprised her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
“Nothing,” she said in a husky voice.
His eyes narrowed. “Then why are you not right here?” He patted the indentation where her body had rested moments earlier.
She shifted up on her knees and crawled closer to him, and then she placed her hands on his chest, carefully gauging his reaction to her advances.
His body was a magnet for her hands. She itched to touch him and explore all the muscled lines and contours.
“I want to touch you, Gabe. Can I touch you?” she whispered.
His eyes glittered brightly in the dim light. He sucked in a discernible breath and then his chest caved at the explosive expulsion. “Hell yes.”
She leaned forward until her hair swept over his skin and her face hung just over his. “I want to do more than touch.”
He reached up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently brushing over the bruise at the corner of her mouth. “Baby, you do whatever you want to do. I’m not going to complain.”
“Well. Okay then,” she breathed.
Now that she had him exactly where she wanted, she wasn’t entirely certain where to begin. She let her hands roam over his chest, to his shoulders, and then down his arms before going to his taut belly. She traced every line of his six-pack and then lowered her mouth to trace a similar pattern with her tongue.
His hand tangled roughly in her hair and he squeezed, wrapping his fingers tightly against her scalp, holding her down so her mouth stayed in contact with his skin.
Emboldened by his seeming approval, she gained more confidence. She yanked the sheet down, completely uncovering him. His cock was in a state of semi-arousal, long and thick, rising from the dark hair between his legs.
She smacked her lips in anticipation and Gabe groaned aloud.
“For God’s sake, Mia.”
She threw her leg over his thighs to straddle him, positioning herself just below his cock, which was growing more erect by the second. It strained upward, reaching toward his firm abdomen. Unable to resist the temptation she reached down and wrapped both hands around his thick length.
As soon as she touched him, he jerked convulsively and arched his hips upward, seeking more of her touch.
His erection firmly sandwiched between their bellies, she leaned down to claim his mouth. It was a heat brand against her skin, hard and rigid, pulsing against her stomach. She slid her tongue into his mouth, dueling with his in a teasing dance.
Testing her boundaries, she pulled at his hands, and as he’d once done to her, she planted his hands on either side of his head, her palms pressed to his, holding him down.
He smiled against her mouth. “The kitten has turned aggressor and has become the lion.”
“Damn right,” she growled. “Tonight I call the shots.”
“I like this side of you,” he murmured. “Huge turn-on, Mia. You’re a tigress. Ferocious.”
“Bet your ass,” she murmured back.
And then she silenced him, devouring his mouth as he’d done to her so many times in the past. She kissed him until he was struggling for breath. His chest heaved and each exhale was ragged and erratic. She loved it.
He was wild for her. Every muscle in his body was coiled tight, and he quivered beneath her body. His eyes glowed fiercely and yet he didn’t try to move his hands. Even after she cautiously lifted her palms from his, he made no effort to take them from where she’d placed them.
He was content to allow her to take the wheel this time.
Exhilarated, she kissed a path down his chest, allowing her hair to slide over his skin. She scooted down his legs until she perched at his knees. Her hands circled his cock once more and for a moment she paused, simply holding him in her hands.
She glanced up at him, found his gaze locked on her, lust and desire blazing in the depths of his eyes.
With a satisfied smile, she lowered her mouth to where she grasped his cock and slid her mouth over the head, allowing her tongue to dance around the ridge and linger along the backside where the plump vein traveled the length of his erection.
A long hiss escaped his lips and he arched upward, seeking more of her mouth.
“God, Mia.”
His voice was so strained that his words were barely discernible.
She smiled, a confident, smug smile that said she knew for once the power had shifted to her. He was right where she wanted him. Putty in her hands. He wanted her desperately and he seemed content to let her do anything she wanted.
Anything.
It was like laying out a chocolate buffet to a woman with PMS.
She sucked him deep, taking him to the very back of her throat. Then she swallowed around the head, squeezing and convulsing around him.
His groan was loud in her ears, and then his hands tangled in her hair and she grinned. It hadn’t taken him long to move his hands from where she’d placed them. But that was okay because the feeling of his hands in her hair was amazing. She loved the urgency with which his fingers tightened and pulled at the strands.
But he still let her dictate the action. He didn’t pull her down onto his cock. His hands just remained twisted in her hair like he had to have something to do with them or he’d go crazy.
She sucked her way down his length and then glided upward, leaving a damp trail over the silky-soft skin.
“Holy shit,” Gabe breathed. “Goddamn, Mia. That’s it, baby. Take it deep. Love it when you swallow around me like that.”
She took him deep, until her nose met his flesh, and then she made a low sound of satisfaction that vibrated around his cock. His hold tightened in her hair and for the first time, he bucked upward, his entire body so tense that she could feel his muscles twitching.
When she could hold her breath no longer, she slid back up his cock and took deep, gulping breaths, her hand gripping him, fingers wrapped around his length, working him up and down as she stared into his eyes.
His gaze smoldered, blue smoke, filled with so much heat and desire and approval. Oh yeah, he loved what she was doing. With a smile, she kept hold of him and then inched her way forward, working up his thighs until she cradled the base of his cock in the V of her legs.
Then she rose up, tucking the head of his dick to her entrance, and without waiting, she slid down, embedding him deeply inside her with one smooth motion.
Gabe made a strangled sound, his hands going to her hips, his fingers digging deep as she settled more comfortable around his cock.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he said, his gaze drifting up and down her body.
His hands left her hips and lifted to cup her breasts, molding them in his palms while his thumbs brushed over the taut peaks. But this wasn’t about her. Not that she wasn’t thoroughly enjoying herself, but this was for him. All him.
She wanted to rock his entire universe. Wanted to firmly implant in his mind that he’d never want to allow another man to touch her—anyone to touch her.
With a sigh and tossing her hair back, she began to undulate, rocking back and forth, rising and then lowering herself. She could feel the tension radiating from him. Could see how taut his body was. How tight his jaw was clenched, and the strain around his mouth and eyes.
And then he closed his eyes.
“Eyes,” she said huskily, echoing the command he so often gave her. “I want to see your eyes when you come.”
His eyes flew open, pupils dilated and his nostrils flared, his jaw tightening. But his gaze didn’t leave her.
“Anything for you, baby.”
That made her happy. Really damn happy. A contented sigh whispered past her lips and she went liquidy soft around him.
She increased the speed and force of her movements, taking him higher and higher and closer to the edge until his jaw bulged, his eyes glittered and something unintelligible escaped raggedly from his lips.
She saw the moment he came. Even before she felt his release, she could see it in his eyes. The immense burst of fire, the way they momentarily blanked. Then his hands settled firmly at her waist and he gripped her so hard he’d leave marks.
But then one of his hands slipped even lower and his finger glided through her folds to her clit, stroking as she continued to rock over him.
When she began to close her eyes, his command was swift, for the first time asserting himself.
“Eyes. On me, Mia. When you come, I have your eyes.”
She focused on him, her orgasm rising, billowing with excruciating intensity. She was a restless wild thing atop him and now it was his turn to anchor her. To be that steady calm. He stroked his hand down her body while he gently pressed his fingers to her clit.
It was overwhelming. She didn’t even have the strength to remain upright as she began to come apart. She tensed and slumped forward and he gathered her in his arms, pulling her down, cradling her into his chest as her orgasm quaked over her, a sudden, fierce storm.
Gabe collected her against him, his mind reeling with what he’d just experienced. He was in awe. He was humbled. Most of all he was so damn grateful.
He had no words to describe what she’d just done for him. She’d made love to him. After what he’d done to her, that he still had her trust, much less her giving the gift of herself so selflessly.
He was overcome by what he held in his arms. Gripped by a possessiveness so fierce that he couldn’t comprehend it. He hated himself for what he’d done. And yet she didn’t. And that was almost more than he could bear.
She touched a part of him he’d thought was inaccessible. A part that had been jealously guarded for years. And she’d gotten there with no effort whatsoever. She’d walked into his life and heart like she belonged.
And the hell of it was that he was convinced she did.
Chapter thirty-three
As traumatic an experience as Paris had been for her, in many ways, that night played a crucial turning point in their relationship. Gabe was even more fiercely protective of her and he displayed a tenderness—an emotional tenderness—that had been absent before.
It heartened Mia. Made her dare to dream that they could eventually be more than just a contract. She loved Gabe and she only fell more under his spell with every passing day. Love made her patient. It made her hopeful.
The only thing she regretted was that their relationship was secret. From the world. From Jace. Especially from Jace.
Jace had picked up on Mia’s upset when she and Gabe had returned from Paris. She hated having to lie to him when he asked her what was wrong. She’d played it off as a stomach bug and jet lag. Thank God for Caroline’s expertise with makeup. She’d been able to hide the evidence of her bruise until it faded.
Thanksgiving was approaching, and Gabe had been invited to his parents’ house for the occasion. As much as Gabe had mourned their breakup, he seemed to be struggling with their getting back together as well. There was betrayal in his eyes when he looked at his dad, and he was still fiercely protective of his mother. He blamed his father for hurting his mother.
Mia wasn’t sure of her own Thanksgiving plans. Gabe had seemed torn between spending the holiday with his parents and remaining with Mia. She’d insisted that he accept their invitation. It was only for a day. It was likely Mia would spend it with Jace provided he planned to be in town. If not, she’d hang out with Caro and her family.
Gabe didn’t like the idea of her spending the holiday away from him, but what was there for him to do about it? Unless he wanted to go public with their relationship—and so far he’d been solidly against that.