Chapter Thirty-Four
Gemma would have offered the use of her costumery to Christian, but the thought of him sleeping next to her in nothing but his underwear was way too appealing. So, when he didn’t bring it up, she opted not to.
She, on the other hand, made sure to wear the longest top she could find to hide the wounds on her side and back. The last thing she needed was for him to spot the physical ramifications of her naiveté.
Within mere minutes of Gemma’s head touching the pillow, she was asleep.
Gemma stood holding a gold chalice, filled to the brim with red liquid, in a room made of stone. Rami stepped forward and took the cup from her, mouthing words that Gemma couldn’t hear.
He nodded past her, signaling at something behind her. Gemma turned around to find Nadine sitting on a stone altar, dressed in a long, black gown. She grinned at Gemma, her blue eyes bright with joy.
Rami stepped around Gemma and handed Nadine the cup. She took a sip, her gaze never leaving Gemma’s.
A second after the chalice left her lips, Nadine began to foam at the mouth, her blue eyes turning black.
Gemma jumped back, her heart pounding in its cage. What had she drunk?
Nadine clutched at her throat, a scream roaring from inside her, piercing the chamber so violently that the stone walls began to shake.
“Gemma, wake up!”
Rami laughed as he grabbed Gemma by the arms and flung her upside down over the scorching heat of a bright blue fire.
Gemma screamed, the dark brown strands of her hair catching on the flames. “No, please—I didn’t mean to!”
“Gemma!”
Fierce pain shot through her when Christian unknowingly touched the burn wound on her side, snapping her out of her nightmare. Gemma rolled over, almost smacking him in the face, and yelped as she grasped at the site of her injury.
“Blazes, Gemma,” Christian said. “Are you all right?”
“What does it look like?” she snapped before grimacing at the tone in her voice. “Sorry.”
He touched her arm, gently moving it away before sliding her shirt up her waist. “What is that?”
Gemma bristled. This conversation was exactly what she’d wanted to avoid. “It’s nothing.”
“I doubt that. Let me see.”
Gemma sighed, and Christian’s hand tightened ever so slightly as she peeled away the bandage she’d placed over the wound after her shower. Though her back was to him, the hiss that escaped between his teeth was all she needed to hear.
The burn site still looked horrendous.
Christian growled. “I’m going to kill her.”
Gemma spoke over her shoulder. “It really is nothing. Please don’t get yourself into trouble because of my mistake.”
“That is not nothing.”
She reapplied the bandage, the sting a minor annoyance compared to the shock wave of pain that ripped through her as she flopped onto her back.
Christian was propped on an elbow, a vein popping out on his forehead. Even in the dim light, Gemma could see the fury in his eyes.
She touched his cheek. “I’ll be okay. I know how to tend to something like this.”
His nostrils flared, but then he closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from that.”
Gemma snorted. “You would’ve marched all the way down there to face off against three well-trained soldiers just to keep me from one little wound?” She forced a smile.
Little did he know there’d also been waterboarding involved. And nudity.
But those details she’d keep to herself.
“You underestimate my skills, Proctor.” His goofy grin appeared momentarily before falling into a frown. “Are you sure you’re all right? You’ve had nightmares before, but not like that.”
So, she had made noises in her sleep when they were housed in the dormitory. Gemma blushed. Blast, that was embarrassing. How many other people had heard?
“It’s nothing I want to talk about,” she replied, rolling over, swinging her legs off the bed, and sitting on the edge.
Returning to sleep was definitely not going to happen. Besides, her top stuck to her body. She needed to change—and shower.
The mattress shifted as Christian maneuvered closer to her. She almost flinched when he ran his hand down her back. The pain from the stun electrodes she could handle, but it took so much willpower not to push him away.
She wasn’t worthy of his gentle touch. It didn’t matter that he understood or that he would’ve done the same to avenge his own sister. Gemma had wounded him deeply, and she couldn’t forgive herself for it.
“Why are you still here?” She spoke in a quiet voice. “How can you not hate me right now?”
Christian draped her hair over her shoulder as he contemplated. His hand now behind her ear, he stroked her jaw with his thumb. “You’re too ingrained in my soul now to hate you, Gemma. Was I angry? Obviously. But not for a moment did I stop loving you.”
Gemma looked at him at last, twisting to face him more. His eyes were bright and honest, full of the vulnerability he’d displayed since the moment she’d met him.
Imara’s warning beckoned her again—Christian just admitted he loved her.
She’d been a fool once already. She wouldn’t be an idiot again for pushing him away.
Gemma fully faced him, mirroring his position, and leaned toward him slowly to rest her forehead against his. “I really am sorry for what I did.”
He lifted her chin. “Stop apologizing.”
His kiss melted the nightmarish chill from Gemma’s heart. It was tender yet fervent, stealing her breath away. She placed a hand on his thigh, bracing herself as his hand slid behind her neck, drawing her mouth harder against his.
His supple lips opened and closed around hers in a dance as old as time, the world blurring into insignificance. Gemma leaned back onto the bed, her hand catching Christian’s arm, pulling him down with her.
Draped over her, Christian slid his body in between her knees. Only underwear separated them now, and already she could feel his want for her growing.
He dropped onto his elbows, weaving his fingers through her hair and kissing down her neck to that sensitive spot by her collarbone.
Every nerve in her body prickled with electricity, buzzing with longing.
With each flick of his tongue, a wave of tingling joy coursed from his mouth to deep within her.
Gemma wrapped her arms under his, her fingers holding onto his bare shoulders, while his lips moved back up her neck to find hers again.
“This won’t hurt your side, will it?” he asked breathlessly against her mouth.
“I don’t care.” She dug her nails into him. “I need you.”
The corners of his eyes creased as he smiled.
Shifting positions, Christian slid down Gemma’s body until his head was at her waist. He lifted the hem of her shirt and left a trail of kisses from below her sternum to the top of her panties.
Her breath caught, and she gripped the strands of his messy hair, a soft anchor as his lips moved across her abdomen. Fleshbumps rose on her skin despite the trail of fire burning where his lips moved, her breaths heavier—louder—with each tender touch.
“Do you trust me?” he asked in between kisses.
“With my life.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Christian pulled off her underwear, kissing down the inside of her legs until his head was in between her thighs. Unease worked its way into Gemma’s stomach—
His mouth closed over a spot that made her squirm.
A loud moan erupted from her core, her back arching as she gripped the bed sheets.
Her cheeks burned hot as a string of breathless gasps escaped, raw and uncontrolled.
Ripples of ecstasy streamed through her and sent her mind into another of the Systems’ galaxies.
Her hips moved of their own will, and she feared her entire body might explode.
Then a finger slipped inside, rubbing against her top wall, and the crescendo of pleasure that sang through her pushed her over the edge. She screamed his name as her entire body trembled, every hair rising on her skin.
Christian’s quiet growl vibrated against the inside of her calf as he reached back to rip off his own underwear. “Stars, you almost made me lose it.”
Gemma lifted up enough to tear off her top before reaching for Christian, drawing him back so they were face-to-face. She wanted him—needed to feel him—now.
“I love you so much,” she said, her hands on his waist.
His facial expression morphed into something unreadable, then his mouth was back on hers, kissing her like it was the last.
Christian slipped himself inside her and groaned, his face falling into her neck.
Gemma lost herself in the bliss of his soul connecting with hers again.
Her heartbeat galloped as he thrust himself into her again and again, and with each of Christian’s warm breaths tickling her skin, her pain, her nightmares—even her terrible memories—all surrendered willingly to the passionate fire igniting inside her.
He rose onto his hands, watching himself move inside her.
Seeing his face as he lost himself in pleasure intensified her own euphoria until she fell over the edge a second time, holding tight to his upper arms as she cried out.
Christian’s head dropped again as she throbbed against his member. He moaned, his own orgasm unleashing.
Falling onto his elbows, Christian panted against her shoulder. Gemma ran her fingers down his toned back as he kissed the side of her neck.
“You drive me crazy, Proctor.”
She chuckled. “Good.”
Christian looked her in the eye and smiled before pulling out and cuddling her into his arms.
Gemma didn’t have another nightmare that night.