Chapter 9
nine
Gabriel
T he taste of her lingers on my tongue, shooting need straight to my dick. This moment isn’t about me, and while pressing my hard, throbbing cock against her hip offers minimal relief, I won’t add it to the mix.
Finally, she answers. “You may.”
Thank god. Biting the inside of my cheek contains my groan as I ease from her side.
“Where are you going?”
The soft pout of her swollen lips invites more kisses and I succumb to the temptation, hovering over her to nip at her lower lip. She tugs on my beard demanding more of whatever I’m willing to give.
Like that third orgasm.
I move my kisses to her neck and whisper, “Sit and face me, please. Back against the pillows.” Then I slip to my knees on the wood-slat floor and wait.
Somehow she keeps that damn ugly robe in place as she moves. At the first opportunity I’m going to burn the ragged terrycloth. For a brief moment I imagine her wrapped in Angel Night’s finest silk or satin. Since taking over the company I don’t do much designing any more, but she inspires me to take up my pencil again.
Propped against the pillows, she watches me. Expectation and a hint of fear war in her eyes. I’m surprised I’ve been able to so accurately sense her thoughts and know she’s still expecting me to turn away. To reject her and the body that makes my mouth water. It may take time to convince her how much I want her. That’s time I’m more than willing to spend.
Starting now.
She’s crossed her legs at the ankles, so I curl my hands under her calves and, holding her wide-eyed gaze, gently spread her legs until her damp curls are exposed. Struggling to keep my eyes on her face when I ache to watch her open to me instead, I slide her ass closer to the edge of the daybed.
“Gabriel?”
“Yes, baby girl?”
“You don’t?—”
“Yes, I do.” She squeals when I tug her the final distance and hunch to slip her legs over my shoulders. The aroma of her arousal fills my nostrils and I inhale deeply, tasting the sweet tang at the back of my throat. “Hang on, Livi. This is all for you.”
Not exactly true. Feasting on a woman’s desire is a pleasure I’ve denied myself for longer than I care to calculate. I’m famished for it. For Olivia.
Adjusting my shoulders as I lean forward opens her a bit more. My thumbs part her folds and I allow my groan of delight to rumble between us. “Livi…” I take my first long, slow upward lick then flick my tongue over her clit.
She gasps and her heels press into my back, encouraging me closer. Perfect. I adjust my position slightly. One of her hands lands on my head, her fingers spearing through my hair. “That’s good, baby,” I mumble with my lips against her.
“Yes, good,” she says, the words ending on a moan.
No way I can hold back. Spreading her wider, I lick, suck, nibble until she’s writhing. Chasing her glorious flavors, I spear my tongue into her weeping channel, lapping at the increasing flow.
Lifting my head slightly, I watch her face as I rub my beard over her tender clit. Eyes closed, she tosses her head, gasps and moans, rocks her hips searching for more. So fucking responsive. I could devour her like this forever. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
Immediately her eyes pop open and she stares at me. Her pupils are huge, dark, and I’m not sure she’s able to focus on me. “Gabriel.”
“Are you ready?” I know the answer. Need to hear it from her. “Livi, baby girl? Ready?”
“Yes. Yesyesyesyes,” she chants as she uses both hands to push and tug my head where she needs.
Slipping two fingers into her channel, I tease until her vocal response grows louder, more desperate. Continuing the inner strokes, I nip and nibble around her clit finally surrounding the firm nub with my lips. I press down with my tongue then suck hard.
Her mouth opens in a nearly soundless scream. Her body jerks and trembles, contracts around my dancing fingers, arches sharply against my mouth. Then she collapses against the cushions, panting heavily. I don’t want to leave her yet, so only still my fingers and blow soft puffs of air over her clit.
With a sharp cry of my name that startles the pigeons on the neighboring building into flight, she comes again. When her body calms, I place one kiss just below her navel then climb onto the daybed and pull her into my arms. I stroke her back, her messy hair. “Livi, my beautiful girl.”
She’s trembling and when I hear a soft sob, I realize she’s crying. Fuck. I did something wrong. I cup her chin and even though she resists, I tilt her face up to me. “Did I hurt you?”
She shakes her head.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
One side of her mouth tips like she’s trying to smile. “Nothing. There’s nothing wrong. I… don’t know… why I’m crying. Don’t… no clue. You… I… Gabriel, it was perfect. You… perfect. Sorry I’m such a… a disaster.”
I understand now. “Not a disaster. Overwhelmed perhaps.”
She sniffs and rubs at her nose with the cuff of her robe. I really am going to get rid of it as soon as possible. “I’ve never come like that. And never more than once.”
As responsive as she is, I find that difficult to believe. Unless no one tried… I struggle with anger for a moment then say, “We’ll just have to work on that, baby girl. See how often I can make you come.”
“You’d—” Obviously halting her thought mid-statement, she sighs. Then yawns.
“I hope that’s no reflection on what just happened here,” I tease.
“You wore me out. And I didn’t sleep much last night. It’s so nice here, I could curl up right now and take another nap.”
“Then you do that, Livi. There’s a couple things I need to do downstairs then I’ll come back and rest with you. If that’s okay?”
Yawning again, she nods. After kissing her forehead, I encourage her to stretch out on the daybed and cover her with a light cotton throw. “Be back in a few.”
She doesn’t answer. I stand watching her sleep for a long moment, probably wearing some sort of a goofy grin. I am so in love with this woman.
I need to take care of her so after tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I rush downstairs. First thing is stripping out of my tight jeans. I probably have a permanent indentation on my dick from how it pressed into my zipper. I won’t be able to hide my reactions wearing lounge pants, but I’ll be more comfortable. And I want her to know without a doubt what she does to me.
I stand at my empty refrigerator berating myself for not having cheese or fruit or anything to munch on while we wait for a meal delivery. Even my chip cupboard is empty. I do grab a couple bottles of water and hope that will do.
Final stop is the bathroom. If I run the water until it’s hot before I soak the washcloths, then wrap them in a towel, hopefully they’ll still be warm when I return to the rooftop garden. I won’t leave Livi without some tender after care, and I’ve already been gone too long. I wrap up the cloths, grab another towel then jog back up to the roof.
Olivia is exactly as I’d left her but when I approach, she opens her eyes. “You’re back.”
“You were supposed to be napping.”
“I woke up when you left. I’m rested.”
With a wave of my hand I encourage her to move then sit beside her and hand her a bottle. “Drink this. Then let’s get you cleaned up.”
Her brows draw together with confusion so I answer her unspoken question. “I’ve got warm cloths to uh… I’ve never had to explain this before. Maybe this is another time where showing is better than telling. May I?”
The tightness in her forehead eases with her cautious nod. The washcloths are still warm, but won’t stay comfortable long, so I peel back the robe and start wiping her upper thighs.
Her hand slaps down on mine. “Oh. I can do this. You don’t need to.”
“I know I don’t need to, but I want to. It’s part of the whole package with me, baby girl, part of the pleasure. Yours. And mine.”
Her hand lifts and I take my time making sure she’s clean and comfortable. Then I tuck her against my side and we talk about inconsequential things until full dark then head downstairs to order pizza. While we wait, I have her make a grocery list that I’ll send to one of my personal shoppers in the morning.
Even though we avoid discussing anything that’s happened over the past two days or her plans for the future, that elephant in the room casts a pall over an otherwise pleasant evening.
When she starts yawning again, I tug her to her feet and walk her to her room. I haven’t allowed myself the enjoyment of more than just a few kisses all evening and now her hand trembles in mine. I know she’s going to ask again.
At the door, I stop and face her. “Good night, Livi.”
“Gabe? Would you?—”
I embrace her and press my hard cock against her. “You know I would, baby girl. But not tonight.”
She gives a tiny shimmy, drawing my groan. “Why not?”
Easing back, I cup her face between my palms. The bruise on her cheek has gotten darker. I should have insisted she continue to ice the area. I brush my thumb over the tender spot. “Because I don’t think you’re ready.”
“You can get me ready.” She gazes up at me through her lashes and draws her tongue over the swell of her lower lip.
“Tempting. But that’s not what I mean. I want more from you than sex. More than what I know will be a fabulous fuck. I want to make love with you.”
“Isn’t that what I’m offering?” Pink infuses her cheeks. “What about earlier? What was that?”
“Come sit with me.” We cross the room to the chair by the window looking out over the cityscape spread before us. The bright lights give the view the appearance of twilight. It’s never fully dark in this part of the city. My arm around her shoulders, I weigh how much to say. How deeply I need to expose my feelings. Holding her gaze in the window’s reflection, I tell her, “That was a promise. Whether fucking or making love, your needs, your pleasure is foremost in my mind.”
“What’s the difference,” she asks hesitantly, “between fucking and making love? I always thought it’s the same thing. Just different vernacular.”
How has no man ever shown her the difference? I sit and pull her onto my lap, taking time to situate her and we both gasp at the pleasure of her ass against my cock. She ducks her head and I wait until she looks me in the eyes. I need her to see the truth in what I’m about to say.
“There’s probably as many different thoughts about that as there are people thinking them. Baby, this is what I believe. For me, for us, fucking is all about need. The passion and urgency to become a part of each other. The satisfaction and depletion of our bodies. Fucking can be rough and frantic or calm and gentle. It’s how two people come together, what they like and experience with each other that ends with orgasms. That’s fucking.
“Making love. Now, making love can be just as frantic as fucking. Or as gentle. It can be as varied as you like. But there’s another factor. Making love is filled with emotions. There’s a deeper connection. More than just our bodies, there’s a joining of our minds. Our emotions. Our souls. We feel more. Sense new and wonderous things about each other. Know more. And the satisfaction? Ah, Livi. The satisfaction is far more fulfilling than with just fucking. It’s a joining of energy. Of light and life.”
She offers me one of her timid smiles. “You’re very poetic.”
“Olivia, do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I think so. Fucking is a release of energy. That’s what most people do when they have sex. But sometimes, there’s more emotion included with the action. Making love.”
She’s on the right track. “There can be times when two people aren’t on the same bed, so to speak. One may be only fucking, while the other is making love.”
“That doesn’t sound good at all. How can you tell? I’ve only… according to your definition… only fucked. Been fucked. Sometimes I wasn’t all that involved.”
“I want your full involvement, baby girl. Every cell of your body focused on me, on us. Before you say anything, I know there are always times when that doesn’t happen. Life’s like that. But when we come together the first time, there will be no problems, no concerns. No other people in the world. Only us. My focus on you, yours on me. Do you understand?”
She blows out a soft breath stirring the hair over my ear. Chasing the tickle, I shrug that shoulder. “I think I do, Gabriel. I’m not sure I’m pleased with waiting, but I understand.”
I take her lips in a gentle kiss. After encouraging her to stand I rise then turn to leave. Stopping in the doorway, I look back over my shoulder. “I’ll make sure you will be well pleased.”