Chapter 19 #3
Shoulders heaving with heavy breaths, Broxen opened his eyes and looked down at Gabriela.
Her head was turned, her hair was fanned over the bedding around her, and her eyes were closed.
One of her hands rested on her cheek, the other on the bed.
Her breasts, nipples still peaked, rose and fell as she panted. Her skin glistened with sweat.
But it was his bite—his mark—that his eyes focused on.
He brushed her hair away from her neck, leaned down, and licked the small wounds. When he pulled back, pride blossomed within his chest.
A small smear of blood remained on her skin, but her wounds were already sealed. Even had he not learned it through his own research, he knew instinctually that omnyrian saliva could cause such rapid healing—while ensuring a visible mark would remain behind. His mark.
Broxen’s chest rumbled with a possessive growl.
Gabriela’s lashes lifted, and she tiredly peeked up at him. “You bit me.”
“Can bite me next time if you want.”
She grinned, and a wicked light danced in her eyes. “I just might.”
His cock, still buried within her, twitched in anticipation. Broxen’s arousal didn’t ease when Gabriela chuckled, sending faint but unignorable vibrations through his shaft and sparking new pulses of pleasure.
“Looking forward to it, female.”
Her eyelids fluttered shut and she took in a deep breath. “Ready for round two? Bet you could go all night, couldn’t you?”
“Easily.” He brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek. “I’ll never have enough.”
“Mmm.” Her features eased. “Don’t think I will…either…”
Gabriela’s breathing slowed, and her body relaxed. Broxen tilted his head. Had she just…fallen asleep?
His lips curled into a soft smile, and his heart felt like it had expanded to fill his whole chest. It would have been sheer bliss to simply lie down and sleep while their bodies were still connected like this, to enjoy this closeness through the night, but he knew if he were to do that, he wouldn’t be able to accomplish everything he needed to get done tonight.
He also knew just enough about Christmas to understand what was likely to happen in the morning. The last thing they needed was for Ana to burst into the room in excitement only to find Broxen and Gabriela naked and entangled.
Moving as slowly as he could, Broxen withdrew from Gabriela, barely stopping himself from shuddering at the slide of her sex around his cock.
She didn’t even stir. When he finally pulled free, a trickle of his seed dripped from her entrance.
Seeing it triggered that primal possessiveness within him; fire roared in his gut, and he captured his lip between his teeth and bit down to prevent himself from rutting her again.
The sting of pain was just enough to hold him back. That urge to fill her with his seed again, to ensure her womb was overflowing, was not one he needed to succumb to right now.
This had been the first time. There would be many, many more to come.
Pushing himself off the bed, he walked into the bathroom to clean himself up.
He emerged a couple minutes later with a warm washcloth in hand.
With as much delicacy as he could manage, he cleaned Gabriela, wiping their mingled essences from her skin.
She moaned and shifted her thighs but did not wake.
When he was done, he collected his discarded towel and Gabriela’s undergarments, tossing them into the hamper along with the washcloth.
Broxen retrieved a pair of boxers, some sweatpants, and a t-shirt from the dresser, tugging them on before returning to the bed. He eased himself down to sit beside Gabriela. For a time, he simply stared at her.
Zorak akai, she was so damned beautiful.
And she’s mine.
He ran his eyes over her, drinking in every little detail of her body, adoring every inch of her, right down to the faint, shimmery marks on her belly and the bit of loose skin there.
Though he didn’t know for sure, he guessed she’d earned those marks by carrying Ana in her womb.
He gently ran the tips of his fingers over some of them, tracing their paths. Her belly quivered beneath his touch.
Stilling his hand, he snapped his gaze to her face. She simply nuzzled the bedding, releasing a heavy breath before settling again.
Broxen swung his eyes back to her abdomen.
Now he settled his hand over it, marveling at the feel of her soft skin beneath his palm.
It didn’t matter if his seed took root or not.
It didn’t matter if she bore his young, didn’t matter if she even could.
He had everything he wanted right here and in the room across the hall—he had his mate, his kit, his family.
He yearned to lie beside her now, to take her in his arms and fall into the most contented sleep of his life. Longed to drift into slumber with her scent—with the scent of their mating—filling his nostrils. But tomorrow was Christmas, and Broxen had a long night ahead.
He stood up, turned, and carefully slipped the blanket out from beneath Gabriela. Once it was free, he gently draped it over her, covering her body. That done, he bent down and placed a tender, lingering kiss upon her lips.
“And I love you, my Gabriela,” he whispered.