But he didn’t shift an inch.
Amazing as it was, Gabriel seemed willing to trust her.
She would not screw up this time. Kalesia placed the piece of torn scarf in his right hand. The ends dangling down and touched the pillow.
The unfathomable expression vanished and his gaze became molten.
Kalesia brushed her mouth over the hard lines of his. Just a quick touch before placing the second scarf across his palm. His hands closed about the heavy, carved spindles, the silk trapped between the wood and his callused flesh.
“Remember, you can’t move,” she whispered. They were so close, his breath became hers.
“Your bonds hold me.” Hot and clean, his breath flowed across her lips, heating her blood until it flowed thick and heavy and pooled down low.
She ached to ask if he referred to more than the thin strips of silk but bit back the question at the last moment. What if she was reading more into the moment than there was? Her track record wasn’t exactly something to brag about. Maybe if she had more relationships under her belt, she’d be better able to read between the lines.
Or maybe she was too chicken to ask because Gabriel had the power to do more than batter her heart. He could shatter it.
Kalesia refused to examine that too closely. She shut her mind to anything other than right here, right now. She planted both hands on his chest and slid from his chest to the hard, ridged stomach.
Walking her fingers over his chest to his triceps. Like a blind person just learning Braille, she traced a slow path up the under side of his arm. She found every intriguing swell of muscle, followed the tensile strength of tendons until she finally reached the thick ridge of scar tissue around each wrist. In a deliberate motion, making no attempt to hide what she was doing, she wrapped her hands around his wrists. Her fingers didn’t quite meet.
Then and there, Kalesia made a vow to herself.
Before the night was over, not one scar nor one inch of his body was going to be left untouched. From the lace of scars that marked his beautiful back to the tiny nick behind his left knee. She’d give him so much pleasure that the old pain wouldn’t stand a chance.
For this one night, she’d give him peace.
There was something so sexy about the patch of dark hair under his arms. She couldn’t explain it but it got to her on a purely visceral level. Her breasts tightened.
She sat back. Kalesia didn’t know where to start first. Problem was, she wanted to touch him everywhere at the same time. The man was positively beautiful. A tiny grin touched her lips as she pictured his reaction to her calling him beautiful. Well, it was true. Not in any pretty boy, Hollywood fashion but in a raw, masculine fashion that caught a woman’s attention and stayed with her long after the Hollywood pretty boys were consulting high-priced plastic surgeons.
She allowed herself a long, head to toe survey.
Nope. Not a pretty boy but definitely all man.
A shudder of anticipation caused her to slide on his stomach. The thin line of hair that bisected his abdomen rasped deliciously against her clit. She grabbed her bottom lip between her front teeth, stifling a moan. More moisture flowed from between her legs, drenching the hair of her pussy and coating the inside of her thighs, coating his stomach.
Gabriel sucked in a hard breath.
Even that small movement was almost more than she could bear. She bit down on her lip harder. Concentrate on Gabriel. On pleasing him. Her clit throbbed and burned. She ground her pussy against his slick flesh.
He arched beneath her.
A small moan wrenched free of her control. The small sound shocked Kalesia into awareness. A tremor went through her. Kalesia sucked in a deep breath. She dug the tips of her fingers into the hard muscles of his chest as she fought with the need to impale herself on his erection.
A pulse pounded at the base of the strong neck, his gaze was blazing and, with each breath, he lifted her. Sweat sheened on his face, made her hands slip on his chest. Whether it was from arousal or the restraint he was imposing on himself, Kalesia wasn’t sure.
One thing she was sure of, he wasn’t thinking of the past.
She leaned forward and kissed the swell of muscle on his inner arm. She drew a circle with the tip of her tongue.
He hissed.
Kalesia slid down, one slow inch at a time, dragging the length of her body over his cock. She could feel the trail of moisture from his cock on her belly, between her breasts and on her neck.
Gabriel shuddered.
She didn’t stop until his cock was level with her mouth. She knew he expected her to take his straining flesh between her lips. So she slid further south.
Kalesia sucked the tender flesh of his inner thigh between her teeth and bit down with delicate force.
His legs shifted apart and his hips lifted.
“Kalesia?”
The harsh groan sounded torn from his chest.
Nope, definitely wasn’t thinking of the past. Gabriel was right here, completely and totally with her.
The urge to mark Gabriel, to claim him for her own, was overwhelming. She bit down harder, just enough to add an erotic bite of pain to the pleasure and drew hard.
“Son of a bitch!” Gabriel’s hips came off the bed. Kalesia heard the wood of the thick spindles creak.
Kalesia propped herself up on her elbows. A primitive sense of feminine satisfaction filled her at the darkening mark of possession. Dang, this is what a prehistoric woman must have experienced when she let the caveman of her choice capture her. Oh, some sociologists insisted that the choice was the caveman’s and the woman had no say. Kalesia wasn’t buying that for one minute. The choice of a man to father your children was too important.
The import of her thoughts slammed the breath out of her body and left her dizzy.
She loved the man.
Dazed, she wondered how in the world had that happened?
Her elbows collapsed. She rested her cheek on his upper thigh. The scent of arousal and man surrounded her and filled her lungs. Kalesia inhaled again, drawing it deeper. Giving in to the urge, she raked her teeth over the hair-roughened flesh. The clean, salty tang of fresh sweat tantalized her taste buds.
Clearly, modern humans had not evolved that far from their ancestors. Humans still relied upon the most basic of senses.
Still, whatever the reason, Gabriel tasted right.
He tasted like hers.
From beneath her lashes, she shot a glance at his face.
A hard flush rode Gabriel’s cheekbones and his muscles were practically quivering with sexual tension. A muscle in his jaw jumped.
He didn’t look like a man caught in the throes of an epiphany.
That knocked some of the wind out of Kalesia’s sails.
Then again, he didn’t look like a man thinking of the past.
Or another woman.
His eyes met hers. The need there was unmistakable.
He wanted her, with a desperation he didn’t bother to hide.
Her.
Just her.
A slow smile filled her soul. She could work with that. Unlike the other men in her past, Gabriel was focused solely on her. Not on what she could do for his career. Not on what he thought wrong with her. He didn’t see her as sexually challenged. Frigid, one lover had called her.
Gabriel thought her sexy. Exciting.
Yeah, she could definitely work with that.
She brought her attention back down his body, to his erection. Thick and heavy, it rested against his taut stomach and reached toward his navel. She wrapped her hand around it. Sweet mercy. Talk about your works of nature. Kalesia ran her fingers along the vein on the underside. Gabriel groaned. His cock pulsed in her hand. Fascinated, she replaced her fingers with her tongue. She felt the thump of his heart in the heavy vein.
A whole-body shiver shook Gabriel.
She swiped a drop of pre-cum from the slit.
He drew his knees up and spread his legs wider. “God
, sugar. No more teasing.” A visible tremor swept his arms, the tendons on the backs of his hands stood out in bas-relief.
Watching him fight his instinct to retake command was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
Kalesia knew she was pushing Gabriel but she planned to push him a lot farther.
“Roll over and put your hands back on the posts.”
“Kalesia.” The low growl was a warning, plain and simple.
Her clit pulsed and throbbed in response. Her breasts tingled. It was an effort but she managed to infuse her order with the right amount of authority. “Over, Gabriel.”
He hesitated long enough to make Kalesia wonder if she’d pushed him too far. Her stomach muscles quivered when, at last, he turned over. He put his hands back on the posts, paused, then lifted his right hand. Gabriel shot her a dark, sideways glance as he reached beneath him and adjusted his cock.
It was a look filled with the promise of retribution.
Gabriel was tired of being teased.
It was, Kalesia mused, kinda like teasing a panther you thought safely caged. One wrong move and wham! the panther had you before you knew it.
A nervous flutter had her putting her hand to her stomach. The question was, could she make the panther purr before the urge to pounce overcame it?
When his hands were again locked around the wooden cylinders, Kalesia straddled Gabriel’s back. Starting at his neck, she massaged the tight muscles. One by one, she found the hard knots and massaged, working out the tension. Once his muscles were pliant, she leaned down and placed an open-mouthed kiss on the oddly vulnerable nape of his neck. Another on the point where neck and shoulder met.
Beneath her legs, the muscles in his back clenched, then relaxed. Power and need strummed just beneath the surface of his skin.
His neck, the breadth of his shoulders, the tiny patch of skin between his shoulder blades that had somehow escaped abuse, Kalesia ran her hands and mouth over them all. Never in the same spot twice, never where he expected.
Tasting, testing, healing.
Fine tremors coursed beneath her touch.
She blinked back tears, glad he couldn’t see her face. He might misunderstand.
These were not tears of pity. He was just so beautiful, like an archangel—bloody, bruised but victorious after battle. A little huff of laughter, altogether too close to a sob, escaped.
Gabriel would think her mad if he could read her mind.
She found that little triangle of skin right above where his powerful buttocks began to separate and scraped her teeth over it.
His hips jerked against the mattress, his legs parting between hers.
Moisture ran down her thigh. Her breath came faster and faster.
Sweet mercy, she loved the way he responded to her. The way he didn’t hold back.
It made her want to jump his bones.
She did it again. This time soothing the slight sting with the tip of her tongue.
Gabriel jerked again, harder. His right leg slid out from under hers, drawing up and opening him completely to her ministrations.
Kalesia took the end of her braid in her hand and drew it down the length of his spine. Goose bumps raced after the featherlight touch. The heavy muscles of his thighs flexed, the muscles rippling.
Thighs powerful enough to snap her in half if he felt so inclined.
She’d never felt safer.
One leg drawn up, Gabriel’s position gave Kalesia a clear view of the heavy testicles. It also gave her a clear view of his tight anal star.
Kalesia stared.
Never before had she paid much attention to that part of the male form. Heck, if anyone had asked, she would have told them without hesitation that it was the last place she considered irresistible on a man.
Kalesia couldn’t pull her gaze away.
A thrill shot through her. Not stopping to think, she spread the cheeks of his ass.
“Kalesia?” A hint of uncertainty laced the unspoken question.
“Trust me.” Was that her voice, so husky, so strained with excitement? Please, don’t let him stop me. Kalesia couldn’t believe how much she wanted this. Couldn’t believe she was even considering such a thing.
Her breath hitched in her chest. Her heart pounded in her ears. She waited.
Gabriel gave one short nod. The only sign of discomfort was the bottom lip he drew between strong, white teeth.
Her insides melted like chocolate left in the hot, Florida sun.
She nipped the swell of one cheek, causing Gabriel to jump.
“Witch,” he accused, thickly.
“That’s Miss Witch, to you,” she returned, nipping the other cheek. Unable to resist, she put a hickey dead center of his right cheek.
An odd sound broke from his throat, part moan and part laughter. He twisted so he could look over his shoulder. Silver eyes gleamed with a mixture of disbelief and heat.
“Tell me you didn’t just—”
“If you don’t want to explain that, you’d better keep your pants up around your waist, hadn’t you?” she asked, her tone a tad too sweet. The man was just so damned sexy that she couldn’t believe women weren’t swarming about him like gnats.
“I don’t think Sam, Wolf or Badger are interested in seeing my ass.”
“They don’t know what they’re missing. Trust me, your ass is a work of art.”
He snorted. “Yeah, right. You’ve seen one male ass, you’ve seen ’em all.” He put his head back down on the pillow.
“So,” she drawled, “in that case, you won’t mind if I peeked at Sam’s or Badger’s?” She paused a beat. “Or Wolf’s?”
His head shot off the pillow. “Do and yours will glow red!”
Kalesia couldn’t prevent a husky chuckle from escaping. “Ahah! Then one ass isn’t like another!”
A wicked grin caused her knees to go weak. “Sugar, feel free to look at mine all you want. All others are strictly off limits!” Gabriel buried his head back into the pillow as if that were that.
Kalesia didn’t mind. There was only one ass she was interested in and it was right in front of her. Better yet, she’d been given leave to explore it to her heart’s content.
She smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. Kalesia settled down to do just that.
She fitted both palms over his cheeks and gave a little squeeze. “Even here, you are so strong. The muscles defined and so firm.” She sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for a butt this firm.”
“Leave your butt alone. My heart couldn’t stand anything better.”
She grinned, absurdly pleased. “Ass man, huh?”
“When it comes to you, darlin’, I’m an ass man, a tit man. The whole fu— Damn package.”
Kalesia glowed. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if she could light the entire city of Ocala. “I like that. I like that a lot.”
“Let me let go of these damn wooden posts and I’ll make sure you ‘like’ it a helluva lot more than that.”
She gave a light smack to his bottom. “Uh-uh. Hush and let me play.”
“Now why does the sound of that make me flat-out nervous?”
Kalesia heard the wry amusement in his voice. On impulse, she decided to give Gabriel something to be nervous about.
Sweet mercy, she loved teasing this man. Loved lightening the shadows in his eyes until his gaze was pure, unadulterated, untarnished silver.
“Spread your legs.”
Gabriel could have given lessons to a statue. She very nearly checked to see if he was still breathing.
One tiny fraction at a time, he drew his right leg up higher.
Needing to make sure he was okay with this, Kalesia peered at his face. The aroused flush on his blunt cheekbones reassured her. Who knew if he’d ever let her have this much control again. She wasn’t about to waste a second. Kalesia went back to her slow perusal.
A man’s body was so beautiful. She’d had no idea. Even here—she pressed the tip of one finger to the strip of skin between th
e heavy sac and his anus.
Gabriel shuddered, the muscles in his buttocks and thighs clenched hard.
Oh, my.
Something else she hadn’t known.
She rubbed a little harder, amazed at how soft the skin there was. And sensitive. So very sensitive.
Would he be that sensitive between…
She had to find out.
Kalesia spread his firm cheeks apart once more and, before he had time to object, lashed the tip of her tongue around the small, puckered opening.
“Son of a bitch!” Gabriel nearly shot off the bed. “Kalesia, what are you— You can’t mean to—” She loved the way he couldn’t get a complete sentence out.
“Playing. And, yes, I do mean to.” Lordy, she never dreamed how much fun playing could be. In the past, sex was never fun. Without even trying, Gabriel had broadened her horizons. She grinned. It was only fair she returned the favor.
Kalesia had read of rimming before. In truth, she had not understood its appeal. To be completely honest, just the thought always had an ick factor off the Richter Scale.
Showed what difference a man could make. Now, the idea of pleasuring Gabriel that way, teasing him with her tongue until he couldn’t stand anymore, aroused her more than the act of intercourse had in the past.
She ran the flattened width of her tongue over his anus. He tasted clean. Slightly salty, faintly earthy but clean. Somehow, she hadn’t expected that. Kalesia stroked the delicate, crinkled skin, first in a circle, then by flitting the tip of her tongue across the opening.
Words poured out of Gabriel. Hot, desperate, pleading words. Each small movement, each tiny wriggle of her tongue, pulled more curses, more pleas from him.
Kalesia didn’t think he was even aware of what he was saying.
“Fuck, sugar, that feels so fucking good. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” He pushed back.
She nipped.
“Fucking, yes!” Gabriel drew his left leg up and spread his knees to balance his weight as he rocked back into her touch. The position lifted his hips several inches off the bed.
The heavy sac swung between the corded thighs. Kalesia caught it in one hand. Weighed it. Rolled the balls inside on her palm.
Harsh, rough breaths shuddered out of him.
Tapestry of the Past Page 13
