21. Nora
Chapter Twenty-One
NORA
“I’m going to make love to you,” he said, each word slow and deliberate.
My heart ricocheted wildly in my chest, and I tried to catch my breath.
I felt caught in a rushing current of sensation and desire.
The calloused surface of Gabriel’s palms sent sparks raining over my skin.
His lips felt like hot drops of honey as he pressed them just inside my calf and then on my thigh.
One palm was on my belly, his thumb moving in an idle path, sending heated pinwheels throughout my body.
I was near frantic by the time his fingers teased my folds. I was slippery wet, and I heard his low growl of satisfaction, the hum of it reverberating as he brought his mouth to me.
He made love to me with his mouth and his fingers and his tongue, sending me spiraling higher and higher, chasing after the sweet release I craved. By the time it broke over me, I was near incoherent in a sharp burst of exquisite relief.
Then he was rising above me, and I welcomed his weight, savoring his musky scent and the firm press of his body against mine.
He was always prepared, this man. I didn’t even know when he’d gotten a condom on, but he had.
In a fevered second, he was sliding inside me, the thick, delicious feel of him filling me.
My voice was slurred when I murmured, “Gabriel.”
“Right here, darling.” His lips dusted along the side of my neck, sending hot shivers rippling through me as he drove into me in slow, steady surges.
I was restless underneath him, already chasing after more.
I had no idea how long it lasted, but he brought me to another body-shaking release just before he found his own.
He collapsed on me before rolling swiftly to the side and bringing me with him.
We lay there gasping for air together. The sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears, and my breath came in tattered gulps.
We’d been intimate many times, but I’d never felt like this. It felt as if something had fallen and given way between us. Simply lying there in the aftermath with him holding me, it felt as if my emotions were pressing against my skin.
This would usually make me anxious, because Gabriel always held himself at bay a little. Yet, when I lifted my drowsy eyelids, I found his gaze waiting. The layer of distance was gone, and he looked almost boyish.
The lamp in the corner of my bedroom, which I had no idea had even been turned on in the midst of our rush, cast a soft glow over him, gilding his auburn hair with flickers of gold.
“Well,” he murmured.
I laid still, letting my fingers draw circles on his chest and wondering if I could let myself have faith in us.