Take What You Need
WREN
Growing up, I used to feel self-conscious about the fact that I wasn’t as small as some of the other girls in my village.
I stood out, and it wasn’t just because of my Mark.
I’ve always been curvy, and stretch marks have decorated my skin for as long as I can remember.
Sometimes, I despised them because they set me apart as different.
But right now?
I don’t feel self-conscious, and I’m not worrying about the softness around my middle. How could I, with the way Gabriel is showering me with attention as though every part of me were precious?
He kisses the soft skin of my stomach, making his way to my breasts, where he rolls my nipples through his fingers. Everything is sensitive, and it isn’t long before I’m writhing beneath him once more.
He crawls further up, his cock hard against my stomach. The tip is damp, and it’s the only thing I can focus on as his mouth claims mine and I taste myself on his lips.
Gabriel murmurs above my lips, “Are you . . .” Kiss. “Having . . .” Kiss. “Fun . . .” Kiss. “Yet?”
This man.
If I’m being honest, I think we passed “fun” a long time ago.
I’ve never come as hard as I did just now, and my mind is blissfully quiet. All I can think about is Gabriel and the way he makes me feel. Like I am beautiful and precious and everything to him.
So, yes, I’m having fun . . .
But I’m also not particularly inclined to put a stop to this yet, so I settle on murmuring, “A bit.”
Gabriel arches a brow, supporting his weight on his elbows. Gods, this handsome man is built like a god, and he wants me. There is no denying that, not with the proof of his arousal hard and heavy against my stomach, pre-cum dripping from the tip and dampening my skin.
“Just a ‘bit’?” he asks.
“A tiny amount,” I tease, biting back a smile. “I think I could be having more fun.” I reach between us, wrapping my fingers around his hardened length and notching him at my entrance. “I want all of you, Gabe.”
Tired of the games—it feels like we’ve been playing them for months—I rock my hips. We both groan as his tip slides inside me, stretching me.
Fucking suns.
It was one thing to feel how big he was when I touched him, but now I’m realizing there’s a chance he might not be able to fit. My fingers scramble at the sheets, and I force myself to take deep, steady breaths. There’s no room for doubt here. No room for anything at all except for me and Gabriel.
He stills, his muscles taut as he gazes down at me, his face illuminated by my Mark. “Are you okay, Wren?” His words are strained.
Am I?
I’d better be. I haven’t survived as much as I have to meet my end like this.
Determined to take him, I wiggle. He slips in a bit further, the stretch dancing on the line between pain and pleasure.
He repeats my name, and I inhale shakily. “Yes. I just need a minute.” Maybe two. “It’s been a while.”
Gabriel nods, slowly kissing me. His tongue prods at the seam of my lips, and I open my mouth, welcoming his embrace. I can feel tension leaving my body.
“Okay,” I say after a short while. “Keep going.”
His mouth fuses with mine, and he pushes further into me before pausing, brow raised in question.
“More. Give me all of it, Gabe. I can take it.”
There’s a beat, and then with a thrust, he fills me to the hilt. I gasp at the force of his intrusion, and my head falls back. I draw several deep breaths, my body adjusting to all of him.
“Wren?” His voice is hoarse.
“I’m good,” I whisper, tracing the scars that decorate his abdomen.
He tenses. “Yeah?”
I roll my hips. “I’d be better if you started to move.”
“Is that a request or an order?” he asks, his voice tight. It’s admirable, the way he is holding on to control, but that’s not what I want right now.
I want all of him. If I’m honest, I’ve wanted him since our very first meeting.
“An order,” I say breathlessly. “Fuck me, Gabriel.”
He groans. “You’re going to be the death of me, little bird.”
And then he does as I commanded. Grasping the headboard with his right hand, he holds my hip with his left. He pulls out almost all the way before thrusting deep inside me. I tip over from the line of pain into pure pleasure, and his name leaves me on a cry.
He sets a fast pace, as if he has been as desperate for this as I am, and it’s everything I need.
“Gods, Gabe.” My breath comes in short bursts, and I grasp at his arms. “More. I need more.”
“Hold on,” he says, pulling out long enough to flip us.
One moment, I’m on my back. The next, I’m sitting astride him, sinking onto his cock.
I am so full—there isn’t an inch to spare as we are connected in the most ancient of ways. That thing inside me, the bond that’s been growing with each passing day, rejoices.
This is how we are meant to be, and where we are meant to be. Together, as one.
“Take what you need, Wren.” The Hunter’s voice is gravelly, and my core constricts. He takes hold of my hips, his fingers spanning across my stomach, his thumb resting over my clit. He rubs it slowly, each touch exactly what I am desperate for. “Ride me.”
He punctuates the last two words with his hips, lifting them and hitting a spot inside me that has me seeing stars.
I gasp, following his command. Taking what I need, chasing my release. My movements become more frantic. Hurried.
“Gabe,” I whimper.
“I know.”
He thrusts up into me, and that’s . . . It’s . . .
It’s so much. It’s exactly what I need, but it’s so fucking much.
Azure light washes over us as I careen towards that edge. We both do. The sounds of our bodies meeting are all I can hear, the feeling of him inside me consuming me from the inside out, his movements as desperate as I feel inside.
And when he hits that spot inside me once more, I scream his name as waves of intense pleasure crash through me. He follows a moment later, his release filling me.
My Mark flares, or maybe I momentarily lose the ability to see, because when the light has dimmed, I’m gasping for breath and lying on Gabriel’s chest. His heart is thundering beneath my ear, and his arms are banded around me. He kisses my forehead, lips lingering.
I lift my head. “Gabe?”
He arches a brow. “Yeah, Birdie?”
“That was fun.”
The next morning comes far too soon. Especially since Gabriel and I were up very late—not that I’m complaining. I’m pleasantly sore between my legs, a reminder of everything that happened after the suns set.
I blink my eyes open long enough to glance out the window. Dawn is here, casting our room in faint pastels. It’s too early to get up. I scan the room to check for Mist, who isn’t here, and settle my head back on the pillow. Gabriel must’ve let her out during the night.
Shutting my eyes, I let myself enjoy this quiet moment. Gabriel’s arm is wrapped around me, his hand cupping my breast even in his sleep, and I feel protected.
I always seem to feel that way with Gabriel around these days.
In truth, I’ve felt safe with him ever since he killed Hunter Erlet to save me.
He hasn’t talked about it much, but I know turning on his oath couldn’t have been easy.
And then he went a step further and brought me here, knowing what the rebels might do to him.
Suns, this man. Every time I think I’ve uncovered everything about him, he does something else that makes me look at him in a new light. He cares for me and puts my needs above his own.
No one else has ever done that for me. I never expected anyone to, not when I was going to be Given.
But Gabriel seems to know what I need even before I ask for it.
And I . . .
Burning suns save me, I think I love him. These feelings aren’t caused by our bond. I can feel the connection, stronger than it was before, but it’s not complete.
No, this love is entirely mine. My Mark is pleasantly warm as I bask in this newest truth.
I love Gabriel.
It’s not just because we shared an amazing night, although the sex was great. Nor do I love Gabriel because he’s ridiculously, stupidly handsome, although that truth is undeniable.
I love him because beneath his gruff exterior, he is strong and loyal and caring.
When he loves, he does so deeply. Anyone who sees him with Mist would know that instantly.
Not only that, but he’s remained by my side through all this.
Encouraged me while I learned about my magic.
Believed in me when I was frustrated and unsure, reeling from learning more truths about his world.
This man might’ve once been chasing me, eager to bring me to my death, but he’s also made it easy to fall in love with him.
With him by my side, I can handle whatever comes next.
The onward marching of time doesn’t seem as daunting with him here, and even the steadily approaching Giving Season doesn’t frighten me as much as it would have if I were on my own.
Eventually, I open my eyes once more, smiling as I turn towards Gabriel. He shifts but remains asleep, and my eyes wander over him, drinking him in. His amulet rests on his bare chest, both of us still naked from the night before, and it’s humming faintly.
I’m not sure what causes me to look at his shoulder. It might be a flicker of light from the window behind him or something else, but I glance up.
“What?” The word is a hushed whisper as it leaves my lips, and an alarm bell rings in my mind. I push myself onto my elbow, looking over his shoulder to his back where . . .
A strangled gasp rips from my lips, and I shove myself up, shaking off Gabriel’s hold. He grumbles something into the pillow, gathering it to him, but I don’t hear him. I don’t hear anything at all because there’s a roaring in my ears as I stare at Gabriel’s back.
His beautiful, muscular back is absolutely riddled in scars. There are so many, I can’t even count them.
A sob wrenches out of me. Someone hurt Gabriel.
A lot.
I’ve seen the scars on his chest, the ones that tell the tale of his life as a Hunter. All soldiers bear marks like that, maps of their training and the lives they’ve lived.
These are not like that.
Methodical and deliberate, long stripes run down Gabriel’s back, some far older than others. They’re layered on top of one another, as though his skin has been ripped apart hundreds of times.
My eyes sting as the reality of the immense pain Gabriel has endured sets in.
I’m not sure how much time passes before a tear slides down my cheek, a trail of pain. Another swiftly follows.
Gabriel was hurting tremendously, and he was hiding this from me. All those times when he slept with his tunic on, when he didn’t want me to touch his back when I was taking care of him . . .
He didn’t want me to see this.
I draw the sheet around myself, suddenly incredibly aware of my nakedness. I can’t look away from his back. Did he scream when these were inflicted upon him? Did he cry out? Or did he suffer in silence while his body was ripped apart?
My mind is far too quick to supply me with an image of Gabriel’s broken, bloody body on the ground, his back torn to shreds. The image is too excruciating to bear, and tears stream down my cheeks.
How could anyone try to break this man?
I shove my fist against my mouth and bite down on it, trying to stifle the scream crawling up my throat, but a whimper makes it past my lips. Gabriel stirs, lifting his head off the pillow, and he turns towards me.
The moment his eyes meet mine, he knows. I can see it in his gaze; in the way his green eyes widen with fear and . . . something else.
“Birdie . . .”
Blue light washes over us, and my Mark is an inferno as I shake my head. How long has it been burning? How long have my veins been brimming with magic, brought on by my shock?
I have no idea.
Gabriel sits up, the sheet pooling around his middle.
“Who . . .” My voice is raspy, and the word gets stuck in my throat. I swallow, then try again. “Who did this to you?”