30. Brinley
Chapter 30
Brinley
A twig snapped under Brinley’s feet, and she winced at the slight pain. She forgot she’d taken off her shoes. Walking through a forest barefoot in the middle of the night to have sex with an alpha DeLoup… There was something she never thought she would do in a million years.
She slowed her steps, carefully placing her feet as she made her way through the dark. Pausing, she listened for any signs of Gabriel. She heard the people still around the fire, as well as some muffled grunts from somewhere nearby.
She didn’t hear him, but she felt him, his presence, just before his hand slid around her abdomen. His breath stirred her hair as he stood at her back. Closing her eyes, she didn’t move. She knew it was him without needing to look. It terrified her that every single one of her senses was so attuned to him that she could tell he was there before he even touched her.
“Shouldn’t you know better by now than to go traipsing into a dark forest alone?” Gabriel’s deep voice sent scorching heat straight to her core. “There are all kinds of monsters out here.”
“I’m not afraid of monsters,” she whispered.
“No?” One of his hands trailed up her side then back down. His fingers went lower, reaching the top of the slit in her gown. They slipped under the fabric to caress her upper thigh.
“So, this is what you meant by wild festivities?” Her voice sounded too loud to her own ears. “There’s a second celebration for families with children because this one just turns into a giant sex party?”
Gabriel let out a low chuckle. “Basically.”
She turned in his arms and realized her eyes had adjusted, and with the bright full moon now above them, she could just make out his features. The forest canopy wasn’t thick enough here to block out all the light.
“I didn’t think you were coming.” With his hands on her waist, he slowly walked her backward.
“For a minute, neither did I.” She winced as her foot landed on a particularly pointy stick, and Gabriel glanced down.
Wrapping his arms around her more, he lifted her in a hug and continued walking as if she weighed nothing. “What made you change your mind?”
“Um… Joel.”
He stopped and lowered her, only to push her against a tree. “Joel?”
Brinley swallowed. “He may have said something along the lines of, ‘if you don’t follow him, I will’.”
She didn’t know why she confessed the truth. It wasn’t like Gabriel needed the ego boost, and she knew he could see the teasing threat for what it was. Joel had purposely made her jealous. She supposed that confirmed his feelings on the situation.
And her own since it worked…
“I like this territorial look on you.” Gabriel’s thumb stroked along her thigh as he guided her leg up to curl around his hip.
She scoffed, even while pulling him closer. “I told him he should.”
Gabriel stilled. “What?”
At the genuine hint of pain behind the confusion, she felt a stab of guilt and regretted sharing that part of the conversation. Sliding her hands up his chest, she began tugging at the buttons of his shirt. “I told him he should follow you. I… thought it might be best. For one, I wasn’t actually sure which of us you wanted, but also because I… am terrified of what I want.”
Even after all these weeks together, she couldn’t keep the doubts from creeping in.
By the end of her admission, her words had grown so soft that she didn’t know if he’d heard her. At least, not until he asked, “And what is it you want?”
She had unbuttoned the top of his shirt, keeping her eyes trained on his exposed chest. Now, she met his gaze. “You.”
“Then, let me be perfectly clear.” His hand slid to her inner thigh. She was suddenly grateful for the two long slits in her dress. They created sort of front and back panels to the skirt, which could easily be moved aside. Gabriel shifted the fabric as his fingers drifted higher, closer to where she yearned for him to touch. “I wanted you to follow me, Brinley Evnar. Not Joel. Not one of the other females vying for my attention. You.”
Her breaths quickened as his thumb brushed her skin. She leaned back against the tree, letting it support her as she finished unbuttoning his shirt. He took his hand away just long enough to toss the shirt to the dirt. In a near frenzy, Brinley reached for the top of his pants. She needed him. Now. She didn’t care if someone heard or saw them out here, so close to the celebration. They weren’t the only ones in the shadows of the forest for this purpose; she could hear their pants and soft moans floating on the night breeze. It only ramped up her desire.
Gabriel grabbed both of her wrists before she could free him and eased her arms over her head with one hand, gently pinning them to the rough bark. His other ran up and down her side along her curves. She still had one leg hooked around his hip, and he used that position to grind against her.
“Gabriel,” she whispered, pleading. There was too much fabric between them. “Please.”
“Not yet, bijou.” He cupped her breast and squeezed before sliding his hand up to her neck. His eyes dropped to her lips. “I’m tired of toeing the no-kissing rule.”
She smiled, thinking about their heated exchange in the alley. Before that, it had been weeks since their one and only kiss. She knew he’d been avoiding doing it again, and she had told herself that was fine because it kept distance between them. But that was a lie. It wasn’t fine. She didn’t want to push him away anymore.
This afternoon, she had reacted on instinct and felt guilty for taking that when he didn’t want it. To hear that he did want it filled her stomach with butterflies. “Me too.”
Gabriel didn’t waste any more time.
Except, it wasn’t at all what she expected. He’d almost always taken her roughly from behind—save for when he had her up on the counter or splayed out on the table. All right, they weren’t really sneaking about. They’d been caught during that last instance by Darren, who’d just rolled his eyes and chuckled before walking right back out of the room. Brinley was only slightly humiliated for the briefest second. But Gabriel had quickly made her forget why she should care.
Even the times he used his mouth and fingers instead, there had been this intense energy to him, to the way he pulled her pleasure to heights she hadn’t known possible.
But this… This was nothing like that. His lips brushed across hers in a gentle, sweet manner. And yet, even though it was slow and almost soft, it still made her feel as if she was burning from the inside out. She parted her lips to deepen the kiss, and his tongue darted in, accepting the invitation.
Brinley had only been kissed by one boy back in her village. The same boy who’d taken advantage of a lonely girl who longed to feel loved. His kisses had been fine, but nothing too exciting, and the sex had only left her wanting more.
Since that night four years ago, she hadn’t let anyone else touch her. Not until Gabriel sparked that need deep within.
The kiss grew more heated, desperate. He moved against her again, letting her feel how much he wanted her. Releasing her wrists, his hand went to her waist to push the front of her dress aside. When he realized she wasn’t wearing undergarments, he broke the kiss to meet her gaze with a growl. “Bijou.”
With a smirk, she said, “I didn’t have any pantalettes short enough for this dress.”
He leaned in to kiss her again, nipping at her lower lip. She gasped as his finger pressed against her clit before sliding back through her slickness.
This time, when she reached for his pants, he didn’t stop her. His erection sprung free, and she wrapped her hand around him, pumping up and down. He was already so hard. As he kissed his way along her jaw and to her neck, a finger pressed into her while his thumb worked magic against that bundle of nerves.
“Gabriel,” she said with a soft moan. “I want you. Now.”
Withdrawing his hand, he pushed the fabric of her dress farther out of the way, gripped behind her thighs, and hoisted her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist as his mouth collided with hers once more.
Brinley wiggled her body, needing the friction, wanting him to fill her. Using her arms around his neck, she raised herself enough to feel the tip of his cock. He reached beneath her to guide it in as she lowered onto it.
“Oh, fuck,” she hissed, putting her forehead to his shoulder when she’d fully impaled herself on his thick length.
His breathy chuckle vibrated through her. When she started moving again, he pressed her against the tree to use it as leverage. He slowly pulled out to the tip then thrust back into her. As he began to pick up speed, she turned her head to kiss the side of his neck.
“Brinley,” he moaned into her ear as he paused, leaving her to sit with him deep inside her. She lifted her head to see him, and he slid one hand into her hair, holding her with the other. His lips devoured hers, and she started doing the work.
She broke the kiss to look down at the ground. Needing more, wanting to feel his weight on her, she considered how bad it would be to lie in the dirt. She didn’t know what sort of plants there were, and the last thing she wanted was poison ivy near her?—
A short scream escaped her lips as Gabriel lifted her and dropped her onto him again. She clamped her mouth shut. Moving one arm at a time, he managed to get both beneath her legs so he was fully supporting her weight. This new angle, the depth he reached… she closed her eyes, biting her lip.
“Don’t,” he said between thrusts. “Look at me, bijou. Let me hear those beautiful sounds.”
She opened her eyes. “Someone will—” She moaned as he pounded into her. “Hear us.”
“Good. Let them know you are mine.”
“Gabriel—”
“Brinley,” he cut her off then kissed her again. The sound of skin slapping skin was undeniable. Anyone close would hear that much and know exactly what was going on. At least those at the fire wouldn’t be able to, not with all the chatter, the crackling flames, and music playing here and there. Though, if she started screaming the way she wanted to, the way Gabriel wanted her to, they would.
When he started moving faster, she groaned and stopped fighting it. She panted and moaned, begging, “More, more, more.”
After a few minutes of climbing higher and higher, he paused.
“What are you doing?” she all but growled. She’d been so close.
He managed to lower her feet back to the grass without dropping her. Cupping both sides of her face, he kissed her hard, their tongues dancing together. But then he pulled away to say, “Lie down.”
Like he knew exactly what she longed for. Grateful she hadn’t taken her dress off, she didn’t hesitate to lie on the ground. Though, she silently prayed to Luna and Déesse that there was nothing down here that would make her regret this rendezvous. Judging by the hungry look in Gabriel’s eyes as he lowered over her, she didn’t think that would be possible. It would be worth it.
“It’s incredibly unfair that I’m the only one naked,” he said, peppering her exposed collarbone and the top of her breasts with kisses. His pants had fallen to his ankles by the time they made it to the ground.
“Yes, but if you rip off my dress, I’m stealing your clothes to walk home.” She meant it to be teasing, but she heard the words the moment they left her mouth.
She’d called it home .
Gabriel’s thumb brushed her lip as a small smile curved the corner of his mouth. He didn’t call her out on it though. Instead, he began kissing her again and moved the front of her dress out of the way. She cradled him with her legs, welcoming the feel of him as he pushed into her once more. He rocked in and out at a slower pace and continued kissing her.
One hand gripped her hip while the other stayed on her cheek. This was far more intimate than anything she had anticipated when following him out here tonight. She had assumed it would be another quick fuck before joining their friends and pretending to barely tolerate each other.
Because that was what it felt like now—pretending. She wanted to hate this man, to loathe the wolf she’d been taught to fear her whole life, but it was impossible. Each lingering stare, each time he made her see stars as they came together, she knew she could never hate him.
She hadn’t lied earlier. It scared her how much she enjoyed this. How much she didn’t despise Gabriel… How it was beginning to feel like the opposite.
“Brinley, I?—”
“Harder,” she said, interrupting him. She wasn’t ready to hear whatever he was about to confess. When he didn’t change his tempo, she sighed. “Tomorrow, remember? We’ll talk tomorrow. Right now, I just want you to fuck me.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he nodded. “Fine, but you’re not getting out of this conversation another day.”
“Fine,” she echoed.
Nodding again, he kissed her one final time. “Then, turn over.”