36. Gabriel
Chapter 36
Gabriel
G abriel followed Brinley into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. But as much as he wanted to throw her in bed and lick every inch of her perfect body, he knew it wasn’t right. Not yet.
She pulled her hair over one shoulder, putting her back toward him, showing him that the dress she wore today didn’t have simple ties or laces. “Undo the buttons for me?”
“Who helped you this morning?” He didn’t bother hiding the jealousy in his tone as he slowly went to her and laid a hand on her hip.
“Relax; it was Daci. Now hurry up; I want to feel you.”
He loved the honesty, but, “We should talk first.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk anymore.”
“Brinley,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss the exposed curve of her neck. “You just found out a lot about?—”
“I know.” Whirling around, she scowled at him. “I know what I found out, but I can’t… I don’t want to think about it anymore. Not right now.”
Before he could figure out how to argue with the most stubborn woman he’d ever met, she knelt in front of him, reaching for the top button of his pants. He groaned and grabbed her wrists.
“Brinley—”
“Gabriel.”
With a sigh, he hauled her to her feet. He slid a hand around to the back of her neck, forcing her to really hear him. “That’s not all you found out today.”
Her brow scrunched, and it took everything he had not to kiss the wrinkled spot.
“We’re mates.”
Understanding filled her blue eyes, and she whispered, “I didn’t learn that today.”
“Fine, but you remembered everything today and acknowledged it, and then we didn’t really discuss it,” he said. When she didn’t respond, he leaned down close, his lips a breath away from hers. “How long have you known? I mean, since I brought you back here. Did you know before your memories returned?”
“I’ve suspected for a few weeks, but… it was that day we left the town walls and you shifted. Seeing you in your wolf form when we weren’t fighting for our lives…” She inhaled deeply. “It was like something physically pulled me toward you, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”
He remembered her kneeling before him, putting her forehead to his in the meadow. She hadn’t been afraid of him, and it had been simultaneously one of the most heartbreaking and best moments of his life.
“At that point, I knew that regardless of our pasts, our warring races… You truly wouldn’t hurt me. It was as if I could feel your protectiveness of me.”
“The bond is strongest in that form,” he said in a soft tone. “Even with just one of us changed, it’s stronger.”
She leaned away enough to meet his eyes. “That day you saved me when I tried to run away… I felt you. Before you appeared, I knew you were coming. I never understood how, but it’s because of this.”
As she placed a hand over his heart, he nodded. But then, she took a deliberate step back, shattering that very heart. He gaped at her. “Brinley?”
“I…”
One word. That was all she said, but it had him wanting to fall at her feet and beg. So, he did. “No, please don’t do this.”
She quickly shook her head and leaned down to take his face into her hands. “I’m not rejecting you. I just… You were right; this is a lot to take in and think about, and it’s a little overwhelming right now. I hadn’t even really thought about being h-half… I’m…”
Realization struck him. She wasn’t pushing him away. Everything was just finally sinking in. Gabriel pressed his lips to hers as he stood once more. He understood now why she wanted the distraction. Being with him would help her make sense of it all and soothe part of her soul. Making love after acknowledging the bond was her way of taking back control.
His fingers trailed along her jaw. “Just promise me you won’t reject this right away out of fear. Talk to me when it’s too much.”
Brinley stared at him a moment before nodding. “I promise.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Good. Now, let’s break that final rule.”
Turning her around, he ripped the back of her dress open, not bothering with the buttons. The small pieces scattered to the floor, followed quickly by the blue fabric pooling at her feet.
“Seriously?”
He could practically hear her eyes rolling.
“I loved that one, Gabe.”
“I’ll have another one made for you,” he said, reaching for the corset Daciana had helped her into this morning.
“Do not destroy this. Undo the laces.”
He obeyed with a grumble, stepping closer to kiss the side of her neck. “So bossy.”
“Mhmm.”
“Why the corset today?”
She had also picked a thinner dress with a scooped neckline that hugged her torso before flaring out around her legs. It wasn’t anything extravagant, nothing like the garments worn during their full moon celebrations. But there was a distinctly DeLoup quality to it.
Glancing over her shoulder with a smirk, she said, “I was running out of ways to distract you to avoid all this.”
With a laugh, he kissed her cheek. “Ridiculous.”
It took longer than he wished, but soon she was out of the corset and the rest of her undergarments. He moved around to face her and shook his head with another smile. “You are absolutely beautiful.”
Her cheeks flushed pink, which spread down to her chest. He ran a hand along her side, tracing her hip bone up to those perfect breasts. Guiding her backward toward the bed, he lifted her to the edge of the mattress.
“Gabriel,” she whispered as he leaned down to circle one peaked nipple with his tongue, sucking it into his mouth. Her gasp made his cock twitch. He wanted her so bad, but he knew how important this time was. This wasn’t just about fucking around for a release or giving in to that primal need they’d both felt the past couple months. He had no intention of bending her over and taking her hard enough for the world to hear her scream his name.
No, this time, he would go slow. He would let her feel just how much he wanted her. How much he needed her. His mate.
Squeezing her other breast, he made sure it got equal attention before gently pushing her to lie back. He kissed his way lower, down her stomach, across her hip as he knelt. Brinley spread her legs as she pushed her fingers into his hair, guiding him to where she needed him.
Gabriel chuckled and nipped at her thigh before kissing the same spot. He switched to her other leg, making it down to her knee before she let out a sigh of frustration.
“So impatient,” he said, slowly rising again.
“I want to feel you.”
“In time, bijou.” He kissed the inside of her thigh, higher, higher. She squirmed, and he gave in. He pulled her ass to the very edge of the mattress, lifting one of her legs over his shoulder. When he brushed a finger along her slit, feeling her slickness, a different sigh escaped her. One of happiness, of relief.
Gabriel replaced his finger with his tongue and pressed a little harder against her. He licked all the way up to where he knew she wanted him most. The second he sucked on her clit, she gasped again. Her fingers gripped his hair tighter, urging him to continue.
He slowly pushed one finger inside her as he continued working her up with his tongue. Her breathing grew ragged, and she moaned beneath him. When her hips lifted, he reached his other hand up to hold her in place. Adding a second finger to her core, he pumped faster. He pushed his tongue against her harder, swirling it around, knowing exactly how to send her over the edge.
With a muffled shout, she came hard, and he lapped up her juices, savoring her. He slowed his movements, letting her ride out the waves of pleasure. When she finished, he removed his fingers and lifted up to see her. She lay sprawled before him, as if utterly spent.
But he wasn’t done yet.
She smiled as he stripped out of his own clothes and helped her onto the bed more. He covered her body with his, bracing his arms on either side of her.
“Brinley,” he whispered, holding her gaze. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he needed her to know. He couldn’t give her the three words his heart longed to shout though, so instead, he gave her three others. “You are mine.”
A breath escaped her, and a moment of hesitation passed before she nodded.
For now, that was enough. He knew she was scared of letting this be real—likely for the same reasons he’d tried to push her away. She had been ripped from his arms over and over again.
“I will never let anyone take you again. So long as you want to be here, even if you don’t want me, you will be safe within these walls.” He captured her mouth in a deep kiss, lowering his body to hers. Brinley wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him closer, and then reached between them to guide him in. As he sank into her warmth, he lifted his head and opened his eyes to meet her beautiful gaze. He paused once fully inside her. Just lying here, feeling her around him… it felt more like home than anything he’d ever experienced.
“Thank you,” she whispered with a hand on the side of his face. She nodded once more before kissing him.
With deliberately slow movements, Gabriel began rocking back and forth. He meant it when he told himself this wasn’t going to just be another quick, heated fuck. He was going to relish every second of this, of her. Of making love to the woman who completely owned his heart and soul.
She was his, yes. But he was also hers in any way she would have him.
Breaking the kiss to trail his lips down to her neck, he said, “Don’t think I didn’t catch you muffling your moans earlier. What have I told you about that?”
“You—” She sucked in a breath as he thrust into her hard. “Want to hear me.”
“Mhmm.” Gabriel pulled almost all the way out before slamming back into her, and she let out a louder moan, nearing a scream. He smiled down at her as he found a steady rhythm. Each time he reached her core, their bond strengthened. It was as if an invisible rope tied their souls to one another, and what had once been frayed was now braided thoroughly together.
Brinley’s nails scraped along his shoulders as he drove into her over and over. Her moans grew to shouts, until she screamed his name and came again.
He pressed his lips to her temple, continuing to chase his own crest. “Good girl, bijou.”