He grinned. “I said it was only a last resort.”
What kind of connections did he have? And if he had that kind of clout, what in the world was her father capable of?
What the hell was she getting into by even considering staying with this man?
“If keeping you safe meant locking you in a dungeon out in the middle of nowhere, then that’s exactly where you’d be right now. Mind you, I’d be there with you,” he tacked on.
Crackling flames entered his eyes, and her body started humming.
She had no clue where this thing between them could go, if anywhere. But her body wasn’t concerned with details. She wanted him. Was so aware of him. Anytime he’d gotten within ten feet of her, touching him was all she could think about. Tried not to. But failed mostly.
The danger. The intrigue. The chance that her mother’s situation would repeat with her. The whole new world she’d been introduced to. It was all wrapped up in Gabriel.
She could barely think straight when he was around.
Her heart rate tripped faster as she studied him. So unfairly beautiful. So engaging. Physically, he was damned near impossible to resist.
But she also felt something for him.
Her gaze dropped to his throat. She was coming to feel that she could trust him with her life, but could she trust him with her heart?
Don’t go there, Eva. Take what you can from the situation now and walk away when the time comes.
His fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt to stroke the bare skin of her lower back, sending a new round of shivers up her spine.
“Why the concern over Paynne?”
She shrugged. “I worry about Nika. With her brother and I both in New York these last few months . . . it must have been very hard for her.”
He stroked her quickly heating flesh. “I know they both would want you to stay safe.”
“True.” And it was. Had they known what was going on, there was no way Nika would have begrudged her Caleb’s presence in New York.
“You did great today,” Gabriel said out of the blue. “In fact, you’re handling all of this with remarkable courage. I’m very impressed. Must be genetic.”
She had to laugh at the inept praise, but it didn’t stop her pride from standing up and taking a bow. The last few days had been hard, but after surviving her mother’s death, she felt she could handle just about anything.
She still remembered Gabriel’s impassioned speech from breakfast that morning.
Reaching up to tunnel her fingers into his soft hair, she placed a lingering kiss on the underside of his jaw. God, she loved the fresh taste of his skin.
If she closed her eyes, she could almost forget everything that had happened. Could imagine it was still the first night they’d spent together. It felt like years ago. She missed it desperately.
She’d just lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck—to let this moment between them unfold, even if she ended up naked in his bed again—when his phone buzzed. She shifted back before he saw the action.
He withdrew it, scrolling as he read. “Markus,” he volunteered, referring to Mr. GQ, whom Eva had met at the office yesterday morning. Gabriel had told her he was TarMor’s only executive VP. God, that, too, felt like ages ago. “Thank God TarMor has him,” he added as he replied to the text.
“He in the family business too?” She quirked a brow, making small talk even though that’s the last thing she wanted to do with him.
Gabriel smiled. “Not my family. His own is a powerhouse in New York. His brother, Lucian, leads it like a motherfucker. But Markus is a hundred percent legit.” His cell buzzed again.
Swallowing her disappointment at yet another interruption, she withdrew and said, “You take care of work. I was going to shower anyway.” With the temperature set to cold. She glanced at Gabriel’s muscular frame and her pulse quickened. Ice-cold.
He hit “Send” and slipped his phone into his pocket. When he looked up at her, his eyes blazed. The air between them started to crackle.
“So, I guess I’ll go now,” she said lamely.
He snagged her hand and dragged her toward the bathroom. “A shower sounds perfect. Let’s go save on water.”
“Uh, wait,” she said, digging her heels in.
He stopped and looked back, grimacing. “Shit. I’m sorry.” He came to her, lowering his head, murmuring, “I didn’t even soften you up first with a kiss. Sorry, sweetheart.” His mouth covered hers and Eva almost screamed yes.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
She didn’t want to think about killers and gangsters and threats and family. Not her father, her mother, or her cousin. In fact, she didn’t want to think at all.
And Gabriel could give her that.
She moaned quietly as his tongue rolled around hers, taking, teasing, giving.
Somehow she found the strength to pull back.
“What is it?”
“I need something from my purse.” Something important, seeing as how she was about to have what she knew would be mind-blowing sex with a self-professed murdering criminal from a violent organized crime family.
She wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that still sounded to her.
But didn’t, because it wasn’t as ridiculous as the realization that they’d already had mind-blowing, unprotected sex the other night.
Giving a single nod, Gabriel brought her to the table in the entrance and scooped up her small leather purse. He placed it in her hand before gently pulling her into his bedroom and through to the en suite bathroom. She tried not to smile. He was so pushy. Or pully, she supposed, in this case.
Once they were in the beautifully decorated bathroom, he flicked on the lights and gave her a questioning look, dimming them when she flinched.
“Better?”
She nodded. “Was a little too bright. Thought for a second I was about to be interrogated.”
He laughed, the sound full and unchecked. It made him seem almost ten years younger.
“I like when you laugh,” she said as she reached up and stroked his jaw, letting her hand slide to rest against his neck. “You’re so serious.”
“Responsibilities. My head’s always full. A lot of people count on me.”
“Maybe you’ll get some peace once this thing with your brother is settled and I get out of your hair.”
He leaned forward and gently kissed her, possessiveness shining in his moss-green eyes. “You’re the only thing giving me peace,” he breathed into her mouth.
Her pulse tripped and pleasure bloomed in her heart. How in the hell was she going to keep her emotions safe from this man?
She dropped her purse on the quartz countertop and dug through the zippered pocket on the side.
“What’s that?” he asked as she pulled out a flattened roll of foil wrappers. “Ah. I see now.”
She held her breath, cheeks heating when she peeked up at his reflection in the beveled mirror to gauge his reaction.
“We should have been using them from the beginning. But . . .” She shrugged, not concerned so much about pregnancy as other things because she’d taken birth control pills to regulate her cycles for a couple of years now. Although . . . “With everything that’s been going on, my pill schedule has suffered lately.”
Vulnerability flashed across his face so quickly she thought she’d imagined it. And something else. But then his normal demeanor was back in place and he looked okay with it. His arms circled her, and he turned her to face him. “I understand.” He swiped her hair from her neck and dropped a kiss to that sensitive spot behind her ear as he pressed into her until her back was against the wall next to the double sinks. The dim light from the sconce cast half his face in shadows, lending him a mysterious air. “I apologize for not remembering that part the first time. I have never been so irresponsible,” he stated softly. “At the rate I’m going, I’ll never have your trust, will I?”
Eva’s insides twisted
. Hearing it spoken aloud confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wasn’t true. She did trust him. With her life and then some. Even though he’d lied to her. And how much of a sucker did that make her? How could she let him off the hook so easily? He’d lied to her, dammit!
But he’d come to her rescue, too. Put his life, and the lives of his friends, on the line for her. And she couldn’t ignore that either. God, she was so confused!
Really, the sex on her brain was doing something to her logical thought process.
“You do have some work to do,” she muttered. Trust was so fragile, though. Once broken, could it even be repaired to its full strength?
Then again, look how quickly she forgave Caleb.
But Caleb cares about you, a voice justified.
Maybe Gabriel does, too, another voice argued back.
“If I have work to do, then I should get started,” he whispered with a wicked smile as he pulled her to him.
Within moments his body was all over hers, melding her length to his, pressing into her so her skin burned. His tongue plundered her mouth, making her breath come in heated pants as desire pooled in her belly. Oh, and he was good. So freaking good that the foil packets fell from her fingers to land on the floor.
Good. Because she had other things she wanted to do with her fingers now that they were free.
She had to get them naked. Now.
Eva’s hands flew to the button of his pants, fumbling in her sudden haste. The action had Gabriel’s eyes closing as he struggled to breathe. He was going to lose it. Fuck. He’d wanted to take his time with her. Savor her sweet surrender . . .
At her impatient whimper, he swooped down and ravaged her mouth. He grasped two fistfuls of her hair and pinned her hard against the wall, groaning good and deep when she slid her tongue into his mouth and strained to get closer. He released her hair and smoothed his hands down her body to grip her tight ass, lifting her off her feet.
His cock throbbed, begging for release when her long legs twined around his waist.
“Eva . . .”
“Don’t stop,” she panted.
He put her down and whipped her leggings and panties off. The second she was naked from the waist down, he yanked his shirt over his head while she did the same. He kicked his boots off as she undid the rainbow-colored bra she wore. She slid the thing quickly down her slim arms to drop it on the floor next to them, completely oblivious to how erotic she looked doing it. He stared at her naked form as he finished making quick work of his pants.
She was beyond words.
“Hurry . . .”
Her raw tone almost sent him to his knees. He stepped out of the pool of clothing and backed her into the wall again, his hands going directly to her breasts, cupping the full weight of them before sliding his thumbs over her nipples. Dammit, he couldn’t decide what turned him on more, the feel of her so soft and responsive in his arms, or the way she looked as her head fell back in pleasure.
“So . . . fucking . . . beautiful . . .” he groaned, tamping down his impatience to be inside. He rolled both her nipples, pinching, loving the feel of her sharp nails sinking into his biceps.
She caught his gaze, and his body whacked out at the open and aroused look on her face. Then her fingers were gripping him tighter, pulling him in until he had to stop working her breasts. He grabbed her ass again, biting gently into her shoulder as he grasped the pliable flesh. Unable to resist, he slid one of his hands farther back and under, going between her legs.
“Oh . . . fuck.” She was soaked. He slipped in one finger, and then two, loving the sound of her desperate cries. “So ready. For me.”
Her back arched in a provocative slope, pushing her breasts into his chest. Her hips began gyrating in a circular motion around his fingers, and he wanted to grind her right through the fucking wall.
“God, yes,” she groaned in a throaty voice.
Slipping his fingers free, he bent down and picked up the condoms she’d dropped on the floor. Within seconds he’d ripped one open and slid it down over his length. Then he gripped her hips and lifted.
Her fingers grabbed at his sweat-slicked shoulders, and her legs wrapped around his waist once again. He shifted and entered her moist depths, making them both groan in bliss. He began to thrust slowly, savoring the feel of her tight body around him.
Man, his brain was still struggling to process the fact that she wanted this with him at all. Actually, he was thanking God she still wanted this with him. He wasn’t worthy of her tender heart. Or her generous, fiery spirit.
And he especially didn’t deserve the sweet forgiveness he could see her struggling with every time she looked at him.
He gave himself to the moment and sank into her over and over. Craning his neck, he took her nipple between his lips and tongued the tight peak. Her inner muscles clenched in response, almost sucking the orgasm right out of him.
“So . . . tight,” he rumbled against her breast.
“Maybe . . . oh, God . . . because you’re . . . so big . . .” she gasped, her nails digging into his shoulders.
She rolled her hips, and her face reflected an expression of such enjoyment, it made his throat ache. He gnashed his teeth when she did it again and fought even harder for control, needing to see that over and over.
Loving that she was uninhibited in her passion, Gabriel kissed his way up her throat and across her jaw, then covered her mouth with his, mimicking the motion of his cock with his tongue. He felt her body tighten, her pants heavier now. Her body arched up to meet his, thrust for thrust.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Take what you need. Take everything.” Her gasps cut off, and then her muscles were milking him, dragging him under with her as she cried out.
Eva’s orgasm exploded, nearly paralyzing her. Within moments, Gabriel groaned and his body shuddered with release. He turned and gently set her down on the counter, his arms still around her.
“Did I hurt you, baby?” He placed a soft kiss where her neck met her shoulder that set her skin sizzling.
She kissed his mouth. “Not at all. I’m fine.”
Fine was an understatement. She was almost drunk with satiation.
“Should we share that water now?”
Right. Their shower. She braced her shaky legs on the cool tile while he started the water. She took the opportunity to ogle his body while he wasn’t watching and almost gawked at the superb body on full display.
“Wow,” she whispered, gazing at the gorgeous tattoo on his back. The angel’s body was draped on an aged cross. Her spread wings touched the tops of his shoulders, the tips going down the back of his ribs to his waist.
He looked back. “What,” he demanded.
“Your back.”
“What about it?”
“The tattoo, Gabriel. It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe I didn’t see it the other night.”
“We were busy doing other things.”
True.
He twisted back to face her before she could shift her gaze and he caught her checking out his long muscular legs and very fine ass. A slow masculine smile lit his face as he pulled her forward into the water spray.
“Like what you see?” he asked.
He was so arrogant. “Maybe,” she taunted. But he wasn’t buying it. He just grinned. As the water sprayed over both their bodies, she turned him so she could see his back again, enjoying how his muscles rippled as she ran her fingertips over the expertly shaded lines of the angel’s wings. “Does it symbolize anything for you? It’s so beautiful.”
“Just an angel watching my back. Vincente calls her Sophia.”
“Who’s Sophia?”
“His sister. Sweet little thing was caught up in a prostitution ring with who knows how many other girls and kept there by a forced drug addiction. Vincente ID’d her body on one of his nightly rounds to the morgue almost a year later. She was only sixteen.”
Horror filled Eva, sympathy m
ixing with it at the pain and subdued anger in Gabriel’s voice. “Oh, my God. That’s terrible.”
“She was a treasure lost. She gave me this.” He lifted the black pendant that hung around his neck. “Vincente has one, too. The passage was her way of saying no matter what we did, she, and God, would forgive us.” He wound a lock of Eva’s wet hair to wrap it around his finger. “V was never the same after that tragic year. But then, who would be? In his eyes, he’d failed her. He’d taken care of her pretty much on his own from the time she was eight. Blames himself for . . . well, all of it, which is bullshit because he couldn’t have been with her every second of every day.” A ripple of tension passed through him. “He was with me when she was snatched, so I guess I should shut up because it’s damn hard not to feel some responsibility.”
Which helped explain his determination to keep her safe, no matter how much Eva fought against his methods. The more she learned about Gabriel, the more she understood what drove him. Why he did the things he did.
She reached forward and hugged him, pressing her cheek against his back as the water ran down their bodies. “I’m so sorry for all of you, Gabriel. Poor Vincente.” She pulled back and touched the angel’s sad face. “I like Sophia, and I’m glad she’s watching your back.”
She grabbed a washcloth from the shower hook and soaped it up. “And I’m going to wash your back.” Smiling at his deep chuckle, she smoothed the soapy cloth over his skin, imagining what it would be like to share this intimacy every day. To crawl into bed, satisfied and satiated, every night.
Did Gabriel wonder the same thing?
Oh, just stop it, Eva.
She closed the thoughts off immediately. She was so not going there. How masochistic would she be to set herself up by hoping he might return her feelings? Feelings she had but didn’t even know what to call.
It didn’t matter that his brother wanted her dead. It didn’t matter that he’d kept huge, life-altering secrets from her. It didn’t matter what he’d done in his past. None of it made any difference when it came to how she felt. If she was being completely honest, she’d felt something for him right from the first moment she’d seen him, and that something, despite everything that was against them, was growing.
A Love of Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 1) Page 26
