25. Gabriel
Chapter 25
Gabriel
G abriel knew damned well that Brinley could get out of her dress on her own. She’d managed just fine without anyone’s help after the first week. That didn’t stop him from walking toward her though.
It was as if he had no control; his body was making the decisions, ignoring his head.
He pulled the ties at the base of her neck. It loosened the top of her gown, letting it slide down her shoulders. Then, he released the second tie at her waist.
Brinley turned her head toward him, and it took everything in him not to kiss her. He forced himself to step away and face the wall. When a quiet sigh sounded behind him, he closed his eyes and tried to think of anything else. It didn’t matter. He heard the fabric of the dress fall to the ground, followed by more fabric shuffling, and he started getting hard just knowing she was undressing behind him.
“What are the rugs for?” she asked, almost like she knew he needed a distraction. Or maybe she needed one too.
“Meditation.”
“And soldiers train here to… prepare?”
That was when he understood. “We’re not planning an attack if that’s what you mean.”
“Because that’s such an unbelievable assumption? What, was that village a few weeks ago just a random night of fun destruction and murder?”
Gabriel whirled around and stomped toward her. She’d put the long tunic on, but the pants still hung from her hand. He didn’t care.
“That wasn’t us,” he all but growled in her face.
“Right.” She started to lean down to pull the pants on, but he grabbed her by the arm.
“The wolves who attacked you were more rogues—small packs who refuse to live in a larger community and want more than anything to end the witches. We all wish this war would end, but they believe the only way to do that is by destroying the entire hierarchy system of the queendom and killing every witch.”
Her brow furrowed, but he saw the conflict in her blue eyes. Whether it was because she didn’t believe him or because she had more questions, he didn’t know.
“My people just want peace, Brinley. We didn’t attack that village.”
“Then, why were you there?” She yanked her arm from his grasp. “I don’t believe you.”
Gabriel wanted to yell, to growl, to punch something. He wished he could just tell her everything, but each time he tried, his throat closed up, choking off his words. Besides, what good would it do? He needed to gain her trust in other ways first.
So, instead of arguing more, he stepped back and asked, “Where do you want to start with the magic training?”
Brinley slipped her feet into the pants and then pulled them up over her shorter pantalettes beneath the tunic. He’d specifically asked Daci to find a couple loose, longer shirts, knowing the witch wouldn’t want something too exposing. Even so, she was still beautiful. Nothing she wore could diminish that.
As Brinley finished, he reached for the bag on the floor to grab the belt and sheath he’d also requested.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I need to figure out how to access it before actually learning to use it.”
“That makes sense.” He approached again and looped the belt around her waist on the outside of her shirt. When she looked at him in confusion, he explained, “Keeping it cinched in will give you a little more freedom. You won’t have all this excess fabric getting in your way as you move, it will help prevent enemies from gripping it, and…” He slid the dagger sheath onto it before finishing the buckle. “It gives you easy access to a weapon.”
She nodded, brushing a finger against the worn black leather. Gabriel bent down to pull a dagger from his boot, and she raised a brow.
“How many more of those do you have hidden?” She took it when he offered it over.
“Want to search me and find out?” He couldn’t help but let the tease escape. The faint blush spreading up her cheeks was absolutely worth it. Extending his claws, he said, “I don’t need blades, bijou.”
“Good to know.” She slid the dagger into her new sheath but paused to look back up at him. “So, you brought this just for me?”
“I told you, after this, we’re training to fight too.”
She smiled, and it nearly took his breath away. When he continued staring in silence, her grin fell and she asked, “What?”
Gabriel lifted a palm to her cheek once more, letting his thumb run across her lower lip. “You never smile for me.”
Her lips parted. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted to kiss her more than he did in this moment, but she pulled away and turned toward the pile of rugs. Grabbing two, she returned and put both on the ground. She lowered onto one, and he followed her cue, neither addressing his comment.
Giving up for now, he refocused. “All right, so you said you need to access your magic, but what does that mean exactly?”
“I can’t feel it,” she said. “That night in the forest, it was like it hummed in my veins. I felt it coursing through me, so I was able to bring it forward and use it.”
Gabriel nodded, thinking through what he knew of witches and their magic. “And you haven’t felt it since that night? Is it… is it possible you drained yourself, used too much?”
“No, I haven’t felt it since then, but I don’t think that’s how it works. From what I’ve learned, it’s more like a well that replenishes over time. So, I can drain myself and use too much, but not to the point where it’s just gone forever.”
“And this hasn’t happened to you before?”
She shook her head.
“Did it feel different that night than before? Did something change?”
Brinley’s gaze lowered to her lap, where she played with the hem of her tunic. “I couldn’t feel it before.”
Gabriel could have sworn his heart stopped for a beat. “What do you mean? You used magic before then, right?”
Once again, she shook her head.
“Brinley,” he reached forward to tilt her chin up, “are you seriously telling me that before the night you saved my life you had never used any magic? How did you know what to do?”
“I didn’t,” she whispered, slowly raising her eyes to his.
His mind reeled, but he tried to keep the shock off his face. “Did you use it before I showed up? To protect yourself?”
She shrugged, and he lowered his hand. “When one of the wolves lunged at me, I lifted my hand on instinct, which sent him flying back. But it wasn’t far, and when I tried again, it didn’t work, not until…”
“Until you stopped the one trying to jump me from behind?”
Brinley sighed. “Yes. I stopped that wolf, I levitated you enough to bring you home, and I healed you. Those are the only times I’ve ever used magic though.”
His jaw dropped as he stared at her. His pulse raced at the possibilities running through his mind. She’d been triggered by fear… for him. More than that, she had no idea how to do any of it. She was going off of pure instinct, trusting her gut to save him.
Which meant that subconsciously, she knew the truth. Something deep down, beyond the hatred instilled upon her, told her she had to protect him.
But instead of pointing this out and potentially ruining all of this progress by scaring her, he said, “All right, so it was triggered in an intense situation full of danger. It came to you because you were scared and needed a defense.”
“Yes.”
Making a quick decision, he lunged. She screamed, but he quickly had a hand around her throat as she landed on her back with him hovering over her. Her chest heaved against him, her eyes wide with shock.
But nothing happened.
Until her scent hit him again. He let his claws extend, poking into the sensitive skin of her neck without drawing blood. And still, her arousal only intensified.
Fuck . She didn’t fear him.
She wanted him as much as he craved her. Even if she didn’t understand why.
When she arched up into him, bucking her hips in a weak, fake attempt to push him away, he realized that because of her pants, her legs cradled him without the excess material of her skirts. His own pants tightened. He lowered his body, putting more of his weight on her, letting her feel how she affected him.
“Bijou,” he growled, his chest rumbling as she hooked one leg up around him.
“I told you,” she fiddled with something, “stop calling me that.”
Before he could register what was happening, she brought up her hand in a flash, holding the dagger he’d given her to his own neck. Instead of grabbing her wrist with his free hand, he gripped her side, but she didn’t flinch or back down. He stared at her, this infuriating witch who happened to be one of the bravest women he’d ever met. Not even Daci would make such a move against him. Nor would she be able to keep this eye contact.
He retracted his claws but kept his fingers around her throat.
“I’m not scared of you either, sweetheart,” he whispered. Grinding his hips down into her, he let her feel his hardness.
Her breath stuttered, brushing over his cheek. Gabriel brought up his other hand and wrapped it around her wrist. He released her throat to grab her other hand too, pushing both above her head.
She didn’t fight it. When he started to slowly rock against her more, she lifted her other leg around him. A moan slipped through her plump red lips, and he desperately wanted to taste them.
“I thought you said it was a one-time thing.” The dagger clattered to the hard floor as she dropped it.
Holding both of her hands with one of his, he trailed the other down her cheek, her neck, her collarbone. Finally giving in, he pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t hesitate to kiss him back. When his tongue darted out, she opened, inviting him inside. He rocked against her harder, eliciting a gasp from her.
“Gabriel,” she said with a sigh as he pulled away to look at her.
He shouldn’t have done that. Kissing her like that… it was far too intimate, especially when she didn’t remember who he was to her. He needed more, but he couldn’t do that again, no matter how sweet she’d tasted.
“More.” She tried to pull him down to her, and he shifted his trajectory to suck on the side of her neck as he continued moving against her, feeling her heat through the thin layers of fabric separating them. He released her arms. There were other ways he could taste her. Moving lower, he squeezed her breast and kept heading south. Her breath hitched. He undid the belt around her waist and lifted the hem of her shirt to kiss her stomach, her hip bone.
She swept her fingers through his hair before gripping on and pushing him lower. With a grin, he obeyed. He toyed with the top of her pants and glanced up. The way she bit at her bottom lip nearly destroyed him. For a moment, he wondered how experienced she was with all of this. Had anyone else worshiped her body the way he wanted to? The thought caused another snarl to leave his lips.
Brinley nodded, misunderstanding his reaction and urging him to continue. Clenching his jaw, he fought off the wave of anger. “Lift up.”
She raised her hips, and he tugged her trousers and pantalettes down in one swift movement. He ripped both off of her, tossing them aside.
“Now, spread your legs for me.”
To her credit, her hesitation only seemed to be in question of her tunic. After another beat, she pulled it off over her head, leaving her only in a thin chemise that left nothing to the imagination. She bunched up the material around her stomach, fully exposing her lower half before doing as he said. She was so beautiful it hurt. He strained against his pants.
With a hand on each of her thighs, holding her open, he smiled. “Good girl.”
She braced herself on her elbows to watch him. He leaned in to kiss one knee, then the other. He repeated this all the way up until he reached her center. A slight slickness greeted him as he ran a finger along her slit, and his grin grew. As did his dick. The fact that she wanted this too… He replaced his fingers with his tongue, and she lowered her head to the floor with a soft moan.
She tasted better than he ever could’ve imagined. He rubbed circles against her clit with his fingers as he worked her up with his tongue. Sucking on her, he used one hand to grip himself through his pants. He prodded her with his tongue before switching back to one finger, then two. Her moans grew louder as she drew closer and closer to the edge, though she was clearly trying to muffle them. One of her hands found its way to his hair, and she held him right where she wanted him. By the time she tumbled over, gasping and clenching around him, he was more than ready to go.
Gabriel eased her down to this plane of existence then sat back on his feet. She breathed heavily, staring up at the ceiling as he caressed her thigh. After a moment, she lifted her head, gave a pointed look at his crotch, and whispered, “Your turn?”
He stared at her, his heart pounding. There had been a reason he said last time would be the only time. When he realized her memories had been replaced, he tried not to feel this way. This connection was dangerous and had already broken his heart too many times. But he couldn’t deny her, especially not after having sex with her. It had strengthened their bond. Though, it wasn’t clear if she just didn’t know what it was or if she was in denial. Perhaps whatever spell had made her forget warped that feeling for her too. The thought made him sick. The mate bond was sacred among their people. If someone messed with it…
Brinley sat up and reached for his belt. They shifted around so his legs were stretched out in front of him and she was kneeling between them. He didn’t stop her from pulling out his hard cock. Nor when she wrapped her hand around it and pumped up and down.
When she looked at him with a question in her innocent eyes, he thought he might combust. He tucked some of her fallen hair behind one ear. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know.” The words were so soft, so sweet. It was a complete contrast to the way she normally spoke to him. “Just… tell me how? I’ve never…”
He brushed his thumb across her jaw and gave an encouraging nod. Brinley licked her lips before lowering them to where he’d envisioned for weeks. For years if he were honest.
“Shit,” he hissed as she took him fully into her mouth.
She pulled back immediately. “What? Was that not?—”
“That was perfect,” he said quickly. “Sorry.”
At that, her concern changed into a mischievous grin. She got back to work, effectively stealing all other thoughts from his mind. He buried his hands in her hair, ruining her braid, as she bobbed up and down.
“Yes, do that again,” he said when she swirled her tongue around the tip. She did it once, twice, and he groaned. Licking up the side of his length, she sucked him back into her mouth. A couple minutes passed before he stopped her.
Her brow furrowed.
He needed more, needed to be inside her. “Turn around.”
Understanding seemed to dawn on Brinley. She nodded and pivoted on her hands and knees, putting her bare ass in front of him. He gave it a squeeze, and she spread her legs as he guided her hips up. Shaking his head with a grin, he settled behind her and nudged at her tight entrance.
“This is the only time I will ever ask you to keep quiet, bijou. Only because we’re in a building full of my soldiers.” And I don’t want to share any part of this with them. He slowly pushed inside, reveling in her warmth.
She looked at him over her shoulder. Lust darkened her gaze. She might not know what was between them, but she obviously felt something. No matter how hard she tried to deny it. “You say that like we’ll be doing this again. I thought it was going to be a one-time thing.”
Gabriel shrugged as he slid in farther, eliciting another gasp from her. “We’ve already broken two of the rules.”
“Fine, but this changes nothing.” She pushed her hips back into his, and he hit home.
Buried deep inside the girl he could no longer stay away from, he lied to her for the first time. “Agreed. Nothing has changed.”