Chapter Five – Gabriel
Gabriel
I LIFT MY head to gaze down at her, my heart clenching almost painfully in my chest at the raw desire shimmering in the depths of her chocolate eyes. ”You have me, Harper. I”m yours.”
My voice is gruff, roughened by the sheer intensity of my need for this woman. I”ve wanted no one the way I want her. It”s a hunger that goes beyond the physical, a soul-deep yearning I can feel etched into my very marrow.
Harper cups my face in her hands, her thumbs grazing my beard.
”Then make me yours, Gabriel.”
A guttural growl rumbles up from my chest as I claim her lips again in a searing kiss. My fingers find the ties of her bikini bottoms and yank impatiently, baring her completely to my ravenous gaze. She”s breathtaking like this, all curvaceous limbs and smooth olive skin and a delectable little thatch of black curls at the apex of her thighs that beckons me.
I blaze a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses down her throat, over her breasts, to the sensitive skin of her ribs and soft belly. I dip my tongue into her navel, swirling, teasing, smiling against her skin when she squirms restlessly beneath me. My hands stroke slowly up the silken skin of her inner thighs, urging them gently apart.
”You smell incredible,” I groan, nuzzling my face into her damp curls. ”I bet you taste even sweeter.”
Harper mewls softly, her hips lifting in shameless invitation. Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I part her glistening folds with the pads of my thumbs, revealing the slick pink flesh that weeps with her arousal.
I take a moment to admire the sight of her laid out before me like a feast, her pussy flushed and glistening with need. Need for me. It”s humbling and sexy all at once.
I lean in and drag the flat of my tongue along her slit, a guttural moan vibrating up from my chest at that first exquisite taste of her essence bursting across my taste buds. She”s honey and spice and something that is all her.
”Gabriel!” she cries out sharply, her fingers sinking into my hair, holding me to her as I feast.
I take my time, exploring every silken fold, every secret hollow with lips and tongue until she”s writhing beneath me, her breath coming in shallow pants. I spear my tongue inside her tight channel, and I lap at her walls, reveling in the way she thrashes beneath me, wanton and unrestrained.
I feel her tightening, her thighs quivering as I work her closer to the edge. I replace my tongue with a finger and wrap my lips around the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her sex and suckle gently, flicking the tip of my tongue rapidly against the swollen flesh.
Harper shatters with a hoarse cry, her fingers clenching almost painfully in my hair as her release crashes over her. I work her through it with gentle strokes of my tongue and finger, prolonging her pleasure until she collapses back onto the mat, spent and trembling.
I press a final, reverent kiss to her intimate flesh before crawling up her body to take her mouth in a deep, drugging kiss.
Harper moans, her arms coming up to wind around my neck, holding me close.
”You are so damn beautiful. So perfect. I can”t believe that you”re really mine.”
”I am yours, Gabriel. I”ve never felt like this before. Wanted no one the way I want you.”
I have to close my eyes against the sudden swell of emotion burning in my chest - a feeling so intense, so all-consuming I don”t have a name for it. All I know is that this woman, this ray of sunshine who burst into my life and lit up all the dark corners of my soul, is everything to me.
”Me too. You”re in my blood, Harper. You”ve ruined me for anyone else.”
Her breath hitches, her eyes going wide and liquid with an emotion that steals the air from my lungs. She says nothing, just pulls me down into a kiss that feels like a promise, a silent avowal.
I settle myself between her thighs, the hard length of my cock nestling into her slick heat. But as much as I”m dying to bury myself inside her, to claim her in the most primal way imaginable, I force myself to slow down.
I”ll be her first man. The thought fills me with a sense of possessive pride - that I get to be the one to show her this pleasure, to worship her body the way it deserves. But it also sobers me, reminds me I need to be careful with her, gentle. The last thing I want is to hurt her.
”We”ll go slow,” I promise as I position myself at her entrance. ”If it”s too much, if you need me to stop, tell me. Okay?”
Her fingers dig into the muscles of my shoulders.
”I want this. I want you.”
Holding her gaze, I push forward, gritting my teeth at the feel of her body stretched impossibly tight around me. Harper tenses, her face pinching and I freeze instantly.
”Breathe, baby.” I brush featherlight kisses over her cheeks, her eyelids, the tip of her nose. ”Try to relax for me. I”ve got you.”
She exhales shakily and I feel her consciously relax around me, her tight sheath easing just a fraction. I kiss her as I rock my hips shallowly, working myself progressively deeper, letting her adjust to the unfamiliar stretch and fullness.
When I’m finally fully inside of her, we both release a shuddering breath. I drop my forehead to hers, my heart hammering against my ribs as I fight the urge to move, to take. She feels too good, hot and tight and perfect, her slick walls gripping me like a velvet fist.
”Are you alright? Do you need a minute?”
She rolls her hips into mine. The movement sends sparks of pleasure shooting up my spine, making me groan.
”I”m okay. I feel... full. But it”s good. You feel good.”
I have to kiss her for that, my tongue delving into her mouth in an electrifying slide as I begin to move. I start slow, easing out and then gliding back in with shallow strokes as she grows accustomed to the feel of me inside her. But soon she”s arching into me, her hips rising to meet my every thrust, and I know she”s ready for more.
I pick up the pace gradually, rolling my hips into hers harder, deeper, our flesh coming together in a slap that mingles with our ragged breathing and the distant crash of the waves.
Harper clings to me as I claim her body over and over, her head thrown back, the elegant line of her throat bared to my hungry mouth. I can”t resist the temptation, fastening my lips to her racing pulse as my thrusts grow faster, more urgent.
I can feel the tension coiling tighter at the base of my spine, my release barreling down on me. However, I clench my jaw and hold it at bay through sheer force of will, determined to bring Harper over with me. I want to feel her come apart in my arms, to hear her cry out my name in ecstasy as I fill her with my seed.
I wedge a hand between our writhing bodies, finding her clit. I stroke it with firm, purposeful circles, keeping tempo with the relentless pistoning of my hips.
Harper keens, her fingers scrabbling over my sweat-slicked back, her breath coming in high, thin pants as I drive her towards the edge. ”Gabriel, I... I”m close. I”m so close.”
”Let go, baby,” I urge her, my voice guttural and wrecked, barely recognizable to my own ears. ”I”ve got you. Let go for me.”
I grind against her, hitting a spot deep inside that has her body locking up, taut as a tripwire. Her mouth falls open on a soundless cry and then she”s shattering in my arms, clenching down on me rhythmically as wave after wave of sensation crashes over her.
The feel of her coming undone around me is too much to withstand. With a hoarse shout, I follow her over, my release slamming into me with the force of a tidal wave. I bury my face in the sweat-damp curve of her throat as I empty myself inside her, my hips churning mindlessly as the most intense pleasure I”ve ever known burns through my veins.
It seems to go on forever; the world narrowing down to this single perfect moment, our bodies joined so intimately, moving as one. I”ve never felt so connected to another person, so completely in sync.
Long moments later, I collapse against her, taking care to keep the bulk of my weight braced on my elbows. We”re both panting, our skin flushed and damp.
Harper runs soothing hands up and down my back, her touch grounding me even as aftershocks continue to roll through me.
When I finally find the strength to lift my head, it”s to find Harper watching me with a soft, wondering expression on her beautiful face. Her chocolate eyes are liquid and luminous, filled with a tender emotion that makes my throat tighten and my chest ache.
”That was...” she trails off, shaking her head as if at a loss for words.
”Incredible,” I finish for her, my voice raw and raspy. ”Earth-shattering. The best damn thing I”ve ever felt in my life.”
A shy smile tugs at her kiss-swollen lips. ”For me too. I didn”t know it could be like that. So intense.”
I brush a thumb over the apple of her cheek, marveling at the way she leans into my touch, as if craving the contact.
”It”s never been like that for me either, Harper. You”re special. This thing between us...it”s special. And I promise you, I”m going to spend every day showing you how good we can be together.”
Her breath hitches, her eyes going wide and shimmery with emotion. ”Gabriel...”
I silence her with a soft, lingering kiss. ”You don”t have to say anything. I just need you to know that I”m in this marriage for good. You”re it for me, Harper.”
She makes a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob, wrapping her arms around me and holding on tight. I gather her close, pressing my lips to her temple as I breathe in the warm honey scent of her skin.
In this moment, with Harper safe and sated in my embrace, the future stretching out before us ripe with promise; I feel a sense of peace, of rightness, I”ve never known before.
And it”s all because of the incredible woman in my arms.
My Harper.
Mine.