Chapter 11 Natalie #2
His hands slide to my waist.
"Natalie," he murmurs. "Are you sure?"
I answer by kissing him again.
He laughs softly against my mouth.
"That seems like a yes," he says.
Daisy lifts her head from the rug.
Watches us for exactly three seconds.
Then flops back down with a dramatic sigh.
"Your dog has zero respect," Gabriel says.
"She approves," I reply.
The laughter melts into something warmer.
He kisses me again slowly at first, his mouth warm and deliberate, like he’s savoring the moment.
Then the kiss deepens. His hand slides into my hair and he tilts my head just enough that our mouths fit together perfectly, the slow brush of his tongue teasing mine until a quiet, breathless laugh escapes me against his lips.
I answer it by leaning in, my hand finding the front of his sweatshirt, fingers curling into the fabric. He tastes like the pasta we shared earlier, warm and familiar. His hand slides to the back of my neck and the kiss deepens and I forget, briefly, how to form a coherent thought.
I pull back just enough to look at him. His eyes are dark and searching.
"We don't have to—"
"Gabriel." I pull him back to my mouth before he can finish.
Something shifts between us. The slow, careful quality of it dissolves into something needier, more honest. His hands move to my waist, drawing me closer until I swing one leg over and I'm straddling him, the television casting soft flickering light across us both.
He makes a low sound against my lips that does absolutely nothing for my ability to think straight. His hands tighten across my back.
I work at the hem of his sweatshirt. He lifts his arms and I pull it over his head and toss it somewhere behind me. I spread my palms flat against his chest, feeling his warm skin and the slow steady thud of his heart. I feel him inhale sharply beneath my hands.
He looks at me like I'm something he's been trying not to want for a very long time.
"Natalie." My name in his mouth sounds different than it does anywhere else. Lower. More careful.
I reach up and push the hair back from his forehead. "I know," I say softly. "Me too."
He flips us gently so my back meets the cushions and his weight settles above me, braced on his forearms. I look up at him. His hair is now slightly disheveled, his chest bare, and his expression is open in a way I've never seen outside of this moment.
His hands find the hem of my pajama top. He pauses, eyes finding mine.
I lift my arms.
The soft fabric joins his sweatshirt somewhere on the floor. His breath changes and the way he looks at me makes my skin feel electric.
He lowers his mouth to my throat, my collarbone, the curve of my shoulder, and I stop cataloguing things entirely.
I just feel. His mouth is warm and unhurried and devastating.
I arch into him, fingers threading into his hair, and somewhere across the room Daisy lets out a sleepy sigh that neither of us acknowledges.
"You okay?" he murmurs against my skin.
"More than okay." My voice comes out breathless. "Don't stop."
His warm breath is at my nipple as I anticipate his tongue. With one hand, he caresses my breast as his tongue flicks and tastes my nipple until it's rock hard.
"Natalie, you are so sexy and perfect."
"OMG, Gabriel, you’re turning me on."
"I bet you’re soaking wet."
"I bet I am."
With a groan he kisses me again as he reaches down to my waistband.
The pajama bottoms go. His jeans follow. The television drones on, indifferent and low.
And then Gabriel reaches back and pulls the folded blanket from the top of the couch. He shakes it open and draws it over us both. This quiet, tender gesture in the middle of everything cracks me open more than any of the rest of it.
I pull him close beneath the warmth of it and stop thinking about emotional consequences.
I reach down and feel his hard length pushing against my thighs.
"You're happy to see me," I joke.
"You have no idea," he groans as his hand moves down toward my lower area. His fingers explore between my folds until he finds my hard clit.
"Baby, you are so wet and excited already for me," he whispers in my ear.
"That feels so good. Keep doing that."
His fingers play with my clit, circling around it, down to my entry with two fingers in and out, and then back up to my clit.
I can no longer be still. I start moving my hips with the rhythm of his hand alternating between my entry and my clit until I can't take it anymore.
"Gabriel, you'll need to stop or I'm going over the edge," I gasp.
"I want to feel you cum right on my fingers. Let yourself go, Natalie. I've got you."
I've got you.
That was hot. I close my eyes and just feel his fingers explore every inch of me there until I feel that wave crashing over me.
"Oh my God, Gabriel," I cry out as I shake and tremble beneath him.
"That's my girl," he says as he gently enters me, sliding into my wetness. He starts moving slowly and gently, until I join in his rhythm with my hips. We circle slowly and then pick up the pace until he is delirious with pleasure.
"Natalie, you feel so good."
"I love feeling you inside me."
Within a few minutes we both climax together, leaving us both sweaty and breathless under the blanket. We lay side by side and I start to giggle.
"What?"
"I was just thinking," I say, still breathless. "If this is what a strategic marriage is like, you just took me to several very convincing new places."
Gabriel huffs out a quiet laugh against my hair. "Good," he murmurs. "Because I can take you to a few more before the night is over."
I laugh softly and brush my fingers across his chest.
“You hockey players and your ridiculous stamina,” I murmur. “You’ve officially exhausted me for the night.”
He chuckles and pulls me into a tight hug.
The world narrows to the couch and the quiet house and the way his heartbeat feels against mine.
Gabriel's hand moves in slow, absentminded circles against my shoulder blade. Like he doesn't know he's doing it. Like I'm already something familiar to him. Something he's used to having close.
For the first time since this crazy plan started we stop pretending this marriage is just paperwork.
The TV is still playing but neither of us is watching.
My head rests against his chest.
His arm is wrapped around me.
The house is silent except for Daisy snoring again.
Reality slowly settles in.
Whatever this started as is not what it is anymore.