3. Chapter 3
Iwanted to ask him then why Iris was going to be there with him.
”Iris”s parents and mine are friends. They”re always invited and so is she,” he explained, even though I hadn”t asked. ”And she”s Sophia”s mother.”
How do you win that contest with an ex?
I felt enormously guilty for demanding more than he was prepared to give. Relationships had always been complicated for me. Throughout my life, I had tried to accommodate others—my mother, my aunt, and even my father, as I attempted to maintain a relationship with him, only to be rejected. I was not needy or clingy, but I worried that I might have been acting that way with Gabriel. If that were the case, then our relationship would undoubtedly have ended soon. I loved him like I had never loved anyone else, and I wanted to give it my all to see if we could build a future together.
It didn”t seem likely, even I, the perennial optimist, had to admit.
Sophia didn”t like me—it wasn”t personal; I think she wouldn”t like any woman her father was dating. She wanted her parents back together, it was obvious.
I”d left my perfume and a few makeup items in Gabriel”s bathroom a few months ago. The next time I was there, they were gone. I was looking through his drawers when Sophia came into her father”s bathroom, arms crossed, and said, ”I threw your stuff away.”
”Why?” I was shocked.
”I don”t want you leaving your things in our house.” She swiveled around and left me staring at her back open-mouthed.
Luna had been furious with me for not telling Gabriel what Sophia had done, but I didn”t want to come between him and his daughter any more than I already had.
”Gabriel, I”m sorry if I made you feel bad about not inviting me to your parents” party…luncheon…whatever,” I told him sincerely.
He stroked my arm and pulled me in for a kiss. ”You are too sweet to make me feel bad about anything. I love you, Aurora. I”ve never loved anyone but Sophia and then you.”
I snuggled into him, wanting to feel comforted by his words, but I couldn”t.
Then you? First Sophia and thenafterward me. But that was fair, wasn”t it? He should love his daughter more than he loved me.
”I need you to try with Sophia. It”s tearing me apart that you both don”t get along. I need you both to be friends. Can you please make that happen?”
I felt a chill go through me. How was I supposed to do that? I didn”t have any responsibility or authority when it came to his child, and she was rude and insolent with me. Oh, she put up a good act when Gabriel was around, but the minute he wasn”t there, she was a whole different kid.
”Please, Aurora.”
”Of course.”
”When we”re back from Paris, why don”t you and she go do something together?” he suggested.
I stifled a sigh. Didn”t he get it? I”d done everything I could. His daughter would never ever get along with any woman he dated.
This was hopeless.
”Baby?” he pulled me onto him, so I was lying on top of him.
We were eye to eye, and I could feel his erection against me. My breathing stuttered as it always did. His eyes were midnight blue, and his face, carved by angels, made my heart stop.
”I need you to make it work with Sophia,” he growled, his hips moving against me.
Was that a threat? I wondered. Yes, it was. If I couldn”t make it work with his daughter, he”d end us. I didn”t blame him. How could I when I”d wanted the same thing from my father when I”d been Sophia?
”I will, honey. I promise,” I vowed. I”d do whatever it would take. I loved this man, and he loved me.
”Good.”
His hands on my hips ground me to him as he kissed me. I slid down his body to take him into my mouth. I couldn’t wait.
”Fuck yeah,” he muttered and fisted my hair to lift my head. ”Look at me, baby. Look at me when you suck me off.”
I did as he said and continued to take him deep. It was just us here. The two of us. No daughters, ex-wives, no one. Just Gabriel and me.
He moved his hand to control my movements. I loved how he took charge. I loved it when he let me take charge.
”How do I taste, baby?” he asked as he pulled me up.
”Intoxicating.”
He pushed me down on him and, at the same time, lifted his hips to hit the back of my throat. I whimpered, and tears filled my eyes.
”Fuck. Fuck.” He kept pushing until I could barely breathe. He”d told me if I needed to stop him, all I had to do was tap his thigh, but I never did. I loved it when he lost control with me.
He came, and it was sudden, and he was so far back in my throat that I could barely taste him. He groaned as I pulled away, breathing hard.
”You have the perfect mouth.”
I rested my forehead against his taut stomach, catching my breath and feeling my arousal intensely.
”On your knees, baby,” he ordered, and I scrambled to do as he asked.
”You”re so wet.” He stroked my pussy, I moaned. ”You”re swollen and soft. You want to come?”
”Yes,” I cried when he slid a finger inside me.
”What if I make you wait? What if I edge you?”
He”d done that once, brought me to the brink three times before letting me come. He”d had to hold me after because I was shaking for a good five minutes, sobbing.
”Not tonight.” I was desperate for him.
He licked me then, and I saw stars. The orgasm slammed into me with such force that my hands slipped, and my face met a pillow.
I heard his low laugh. ”Baby, you”re so fucking sexy. You come so hard for me.”
He palmed my ass cheeks and licked the length of my pussy, feasting on my release. He slapped my butt hard, and I moaned louder.
I”d slept with two men my whole life, and my previous boyfriend had never done that. When Gabriel had, for the first time, a part of me had been scandalized, and the other thrilled. I loved being dominated; I knew that, and that had been a major problem with my previous boyfriend, who had wanted me to take charge.
Gabriel slapped my ass again and squeezed a cheek. And then he sucked my clitoris as I writhed. He spanked me harder, alternating between nibbling at my clit and stinging my ass cheeks.
When I was about to come again, he pulled away, and I felt him, hard, ready against me. He turned me onto my back. He liked to watch me when he was inside me. My eyes could barely open, I was so out of it, so consumed by what was happening to my body.
”Look at me,” he commanded as he teased my pussy with the tip of his erection. He moved a hand to my breasts, squeezing my nipple hard.
”Ah,” I groaned in pain. He snapped his hips and entered me; his mouth fell on my breasts. He suckled me hard, teeth and tongue and lips. He knew I liked the bite; it made my pussy wetter and tighter. I didn”t even know that about myself until I met Gabriel; that pain and pleasure blended for me.
He raised his head and lifted my thighs over his shoulders. I was stretched, and he was going deep. His eyes never left mine as he hammered into me.
”Say you love me.”
There was a shift in his eyes, something almost cruel and selfish. ”I love you,” I whispered, all self-preservation out of the window.
”Good, because you”re mine,” he grunted.
I was his, but I was afraid that he wouldn”t take care of me. I hadn”t realized that was what I was afraid of until right now, as I was on the brink of another orgasm.
”Say, you”re mine. Say, my fucking name.” He bit my bottom lip.
His movements became jerkier and stronger; he was losing control. I knew he was about to come. And I gave him my complete surrender.
”I”m yours, Gabriel.”
But I knew even as I exploded into a million pieces along with him that even though I was his, he was not mine.