Chapter 23 - Anna #2
He feels it too, as his pace begins to quicken, his control slipping as his own raw animal need takes over. His thrusts become more demanding.
"Come again with me, Bella," he growls, his voice strained with the effort of fucking me. "I want to feel you come undone around my cock."
With a cry that seems to come from the very depths of my soul, I shatter again, my body convulsing as wave after wave of pleasure washes over me with each thrust.
This time, Gabriel follows me over the edge, his grip on my hair tightening as he buries himself deep inside me, his cock pulsing as his warm release fills me.
For a moment, we remain locked together, our breaths the only sound in the room. Then, with tenderness, Gabriel withdraws from me and helps me stand. He turns me to face him, and I lean into him, my legs still weak from the intensity of our encounter.
He reaches up, cupping my face in his hands, and kisses me.
"You're incredible, Sofia," Gabriel says against my lips, his hands stroking the sides of my face in a soothing rhythm.
I smile, feeling a warmth of comfort and protection in my chest.
"You're not so bad yourself," I tease.
I've never taken compliments well.
He smirks and then bends down, bringing my clothes up slowly and helping me dress. He then dresses himself. We finish in silence, each lost in our own thoughts.
And while I'm unsure of what he's thinking, I'm hit by the fact that I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want the lies, the undercover work, Luca, the FBI—none of it. I just want him and to stay in this room forever.
I've made a mess of everything. I've never been so reckless in my life.
Once we're both ready, he pulls me into his arms, holding me close. I close my eyes and can feel the calm, steady beat of his heart against my cheek.
"Should we be getting back?" I ask, avoiding looking up at him. "Luca may be wondering where we are."
Gabriel sighs, and I can hear his teeth grind for a moment before speaking. "Fuck him. Let him wonder."
My eyes shoot open; I've never heard him speak about Luca that way.
"I'm going to speak with him," Gabriel says. "I'm done sharing what's mine. Done with having to think about you with him."
Gabriel's words hang heavy in the air, and I can feel his muscles tighten.
I look up at him and see a possessive fire in his eyes, burning away any lingering doubts about his intentions with confronting Luca, and more importantly, how he feels about me.
"Gabriel," I say, looking into those eyes, "you know Luca and I have never—"
He cuts me off with a kiss that's hard and deep. "I will handle this, Bella. Tonight," he says when he finally pulls away. "I have no intention of letting this thing with Luca continue."
As much as I fear what might come—the potential fallout from challenging someone as powerful as Luca Romano within the Bonventi hierarchy—there's an undeniable thrill that courses through me at Gabriel's declaration. It's reckless and dangerous, but haven't I been going about all this the same way?
Gabriel pushes the bookshelf back into place, and he takes my hand, leading me back through the labyrinth of secret rooms under the Capstone Hotel.
As we step into the speakeasy, the sounds of jazz music and laughter take me by surprise. The atmosphere is lively.
"What's going on?" I ask, confused.
"The meeting's over. Back to business as usual."
As I look around the room, I see Luca at the other end, deep in conversation with a short brunette. His hands are all over her. Thankfully, I couldn’t care less.
Luca catches my eye, removes his hands from the woman, and walks over to us.
"Hey, just the girl I've been looking for. I didn't see you come in," he says.
"Did you get my text?" he turns to ask Gabriel.
"No, I..." Gabriel takes out his phone and looks at it. "No, nothing from you, but—"
Maybe no cell service in our little hideout. I smile at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Luca asks me.
"Nothing."
"No, no. You're smiling. Why?"
"No reason. Just glad to be here."
He stares at me, studying me, but he's unable to make heads or tails of my expression, so he lets it go.
As he goes to grab my arm, Gabriel steps in between us and whispers something into his ear.
Luca shakes his head, and then Gabriel says something else.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why does shit like this happen to me? I don't deserve it," Luca says, picking up a bottle from a nearby table and throwing it against the wall.
I jump in fright, startled by the unexpected outburst. The crash silences the speakeasy as everyone turns to look.
Gabriel grabs Luca's arm. "Let's take a walk. Come on." Luca jerks his hand away as the bartender comes over to clean up the shattered glass.
"Everything all right?" the bartender asks.
"Yes. Clean this up. We're leaving," Gabriel says, then turns to me.
"Sofia, take this," he says and hands me the keycard to my suite. I reach out to grab it, but his hand stays firm on it.
"Promise me you'll go right up to your room and won't leave until you hear from me. Okay?"
"Yes, I promise."
"I'm serious. Stay there and don't leave."
I nod. "I won't leave."
Gabriel looks at me for a moment, then turns and walks out after Luca.
I walk out of the speakeasy. The hallway to the lobby is cold, and when I emerge, I look around but see no sign of Gabriel or Luca.
I wonder what Gabriel said to make Luca so angry.
I'm too nervous to wait around or search the lobby for answers, if there are any.
No, I'll just listen to Gabriel and head up to my room and wait for him.