by Leah Kent
The narrowed fury and dominance in Gabriel's eyes fled, taken aback by her words. Although they had mated, and Gabriel had let Victoria know plainly that there would never be another woman he valued as much as he did her, they had never exchanged 'I love you's before. Warmth rushed through his heart at the subtle declaration, and the irritation of confrontation no longer plagued him as it had.
"So yeah, I'm a mortal. I'm not part of the plan. I'm probably not the Queen you deserve, or the one you need, but I'm the one that you're getting, and you have my word that I am going to do everything in my power to learn what you need from me, and what I need to know about all of you, to make sure I do the best damn job I can."
Silence. Victoria looked amongst them, her lips set with determination. Gabriel had never seen her look that way before, inspired, hardened, and every bit the Queen she needed to be. The warmth that had flooded his heart shot downward and changed from wholesome to carnal. This was the strong woman who would mother his cubs. This was the Queen who would lead his people at his side.
"And... And that's what I wanted to say," Victoria announced. Her blue eyes shot back to Gabriel for a moment, and he found he couldn't help but beam at her. For as awful as she'd been feeling over her dad, she'd pulled through and made him proud. "So thanks for being kind and treating me like a person, even if you can't treat me like one of you. That's all I ask."
When she sat again, those who had supported her before cheered. The others, eyes still skeptical, had the tact to applaud her efforts. Gabriel thought she was beautiful no matter what, but the confidence she'd exuded made her all the more beautiful. After she sat, so did he.
Tonight wasn't going to be an easy night, but if Victoria had the courage to stand before a group of shifters easily capable of ripping her to shreds had they the inclination and speak with such command, Gabriel knew that whatever waters he had to navigate were smooth in comparison. The Queen's speech had inspired him, and as she settled into the chair, unaware of how significant her seating was, he knew that his soul had found a worthy mate. Mortal or not, Victoria would make a great Queen. All she needed was time, and he was more than willing to invest as much of it as she needed.
Chapter Five
The whole ride back, Gabriel had been uncharacteristically silent. They sat in the back of Finn's town car, Victoria playing with the edge of her skirt, Gabriel gazing at her from where he sat. Finn played classical music at a low volume, but it did little to distract her from how awkward the moment felt.
A whole pride of lions had fought over her, like she was a cut of meat to be torn into pieces and divided between them. All of her life Victoria had struggled to blend in and be invisible, but at Gabriel's side all eyes were upon her and there was no hiding. The confrontation with Peter still weighing heavily upon her conscious, Victoria knew that she had to stand up for herself, and while at first she had been confident, as the speech progressed she'd lost her steam. By the end of it she wished the floor would eat her up, and it seemed like Gabriel thought the same. He hadn't spoken to her since she'd given the pride a piece of her mind, and she was sure he was furious.
Peter had always told her that what she had to say wasn't important, that his word was absolute and that it was best if she stayed quiet so she didn't embarrass herself. But she'd also learned that Peter had treated her badly. Very badly. After meeting Gabriel she’d come to think that the things he’d told her weren’t true, but in light of the pride’s meeting that night, it seemed like he was right.
They parted ways from Finneus in the driveway, the lawyer entering his house through the front door while Gabriel guided Victoria around to the back entrance of their basement apartment. In silence they descended the basement stairs, and Victoria stepped out of her heels at the very bottom step. The small relief was welcome after the headache of a meeting that had just happened.
"Gabriel, I'm--"
She'd turned to face him and apologize for her behavior, but before she had a chance he was upon her. One firm hand cupped the back of her head to cushion it as he pushed her up against the wall. Gabriel's hard lips met hers, crushing in their passion and intensity. Victoria had not expected this at all.
Gabriel's free hand grabbed at her hip and slipped between her body and the wall, squeezing her ass through the dress she wore. Since she'd come to live with him they had made love passionately plenty of times before, but never had Gabriel been so hungry for her straight away. Victoria melted, all of her cares evaporating beneath the scalding potency of his love. Peter and the pride slipped from her mind like soap from wet fingers. In that moment there was nothing but Gabriel and the toned, hard contours of his body. Being there, in his arms, was all that seemed to matter.
"The woman I saw tonight," he rumbled low against her lips, a sound Victoria vaguely recognized as a lusty purr, "is the woman fit to rule at my side as Queen. And tonight, this King intends to honor his Queen as only he is able.”
Heat struck, and Victoria was sure her cheeks were growing red. Already she'd begun to slick for him as he dominated her, and she couldn't resist pressing up against him as he pinned her.
"You mean it?" she asked, but Gabriel's lips were back upon her almost before she'd finished speaking. His hard kiss burned and left her longing for more, and Victoria moaned into it. The hand that cushioned her head clenched and grabbed her hair; Gabriel was asserting himself over her. Tonight he'd been silent not because he was angry, but because she'd woken the instinctual beast inside of him and any interaction might have degenerated to this irresistible passion. Gabriel’s lion longed to breed her.
The loose updo she'd agonized over met its match in Gabriel's hand. Hair once secured with bobby pins slipped out of place, and while some of it remained clenched in his hand as he secured her to the spot, other loose curls fell across her shoulders. Gabriel's lips parted hers and his tongue laid claims to her mouth. Victoria's rose to meet his, desire pulsing through her sex. When Gabriel got like this it was impossible to resist him, and now she found herself wanting him in the worst way.
"Mine," he rasped when their lips did part. Victoria struggled for breath, breathing hard and deep to try to fill her lungs. He squeezed her ass again, crushing her body against his possessively. As close as they were, she could feel the thick outline of his erection pressing between their bodies.
"All yours," she promised. In that moment, the lion and the man had become one, and it made Victoria's heart race with excitement. Her wild lion shifter lover promised a night of untold pleasure through his attitude alone.
The hand that had clutched so possessively at her hair loosened and fell to grip her wrist instead. Gabriel parted from her and drew her across the room and into the bedroom they shared. The lights were all off, but the light from the stars and the moon poured in through the small window overlooking the backyard to illuminate the bed. And it was in that light that Victoria fell as Gabriel pushed her down upon the mattress.
"I want to see you," he uttered. A dark silhouette, all Victoria could make out was his shape and the glint of his eyes. "Strip for me. I want to worship every inch of you."
There was fire in each word, red hot passion that could not be held back. The heat of it rose up Victoria's neck and left her thoughts hazy. Just a week ago she would have been too shy to expose herself to such a watchful pair of eyes, but Gabriel had bolstered her confidence and made her feel beautiful even within the short time she had known him.
Victoria undid the belt sitting beneath her bust and shifted upon the bed so she could draw upon the zipper at the back of her dress. As it clicked down tooth by tooth, Gabriel's eyes were on her, his anticipation building. As she slid the sleeves down her shoulders, exposing the creamy skin stretched across her clavicle and the nude strap of her bra, he stepped forward so that the moonlight fell upon him.
Her King — the leader of the Liston pride and the champion of her heart. The dress slipped further downward, exposing the covered mounds of her breasts and then the soft
, rounded curves of her stomach. Gabriel's eyes ate her up not with disgust, but with greed. Victoria had never felt so beautiful.
When the fabric of the dress passed over her navel to reveal the white thong she wore beneath, the front crossed up with ribbon like the back of a corset, Gabriel could keep his hands from her no longer. He descended upon the bed, each of his inhalations throaty and distinctively masculine. One needy hand rose along her side, savoring her soft skin, and then pulled the dress from her completely before he continued to stroke her thigh. He'd straddled one of her legs, one knee planted between her thighs and the other on the mattress beside her. The hand that did not caress her secured itself over her head, pinning both of her wrists at once to keep her restrained. As he drew closer, Victoria lifted her hips just a little, inviting him to touch and play. Gabriel's eyes bore down into hers, overwhelmed with desperate arousal that had to be sated, like the thirst of a man lost in the desert.
"I imagine the children you will bear me," he breathed. "I imagine how strong they will be. How beautiful. How well we will raise them together."
Maybe this was The Bond, Victoria thought to herself. They'd known each other for less than a month, but talk of having children with Gabriel didn't disturb her at all. It was what she wanted, too. A wild, primal impulse that needed to be met, Victoria wanted it as badly as he did. Since they'd met they hadn't used protection, and while a small part of her chided her each time he came deep inside of her, she never felt guilty or afraid. Gabriel would care for her no matter what. Feeling him lose control inside of her, seeding her womb, made her cum without fail every time.
"If they're half as wonderful as you I'd be blessed," she whispered back. Gabriel grinned down at her, the contours of his face illuminated by the moonlight. He was gorgeous.
"And I hope they will be as beautiful and fierce as their mother," he whispered back. The hand at her thigh dipped inward and Gabriel's fingers trailed across the patch of material that covered her sex. Victoria gasped, eyes closing. The slight pressure was all it took for her to feel just how wet she'd become; the fabric was soaking.
Gabriel's fingers stroked her, teasing her with the indirect content. Beneath him Victoria twisted and squirmed, pressing against him. When it felt like she could take no more, Gabriel stopped. The lack of sensation left her feeling vulnerable and needy, and Victoria opened her eyes only to find him staring down at her, a cocky smirk spread across his lips.
"Don't stop," she begged. "I need you."
"Then take what you want," Gabriel goaded her. "I want to see more of the passionate woman who spoke so firmly to the pride."
Mind clouded with arousal and need, Victoria did not stop to be timid. More than anything she wanted Gabriel, and she would have him. While he had caressed her, the hands at her wrists had loosened their grip. Now Victoria understood why. With a burst of will she wrenched her arms free and gripped him by the shoulders, pushing her strong lion soldier from above her and onto the mattress at her side. Victoria planted herself on his hips, her hands on his shoulders. With need she grinded against him, hips moving slowly to tease them both. He'd lit her on fire with need.
Gabriel was still fully dressed, but she would change that. As he groaned in appreciation, lifting his hips to press up against her sex, Victoria undid the buttons of his shirt one by one to expose the sturdy chest beneath. When the last button had been undone she left the shirt hanging from his shoulders; it would be removed in full later. Right now she needed what lay further north, and to get it her fingers moved down his chest to arrive at the fly yet to be opened. The rise and fall of Gabriel's chest told her he was flustered, and the thick bulge that rode up against her let her know just how much he wanted her.
"You're so—"
Victoria's hand clamped down over Gabriel's mouth before he could finish the sentence, and beneath the moonlight his eyes flashed with wild danger. She was not afraid.
"Did I ask you to speak?" she asked. Power in a relationship was not something she was used to, and the high she got from taking control over him was thrilling. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, heart pumping hard to spread it alongside the arousal that had already flooded her from head to foot. "Tonight I am taking what I want, Gabriel. Tonight I'm taking you."
The Queen Gabriel had stirred inside of her was strengthening. Victoria had always considered herself to be meek and agreeable, but Gabriel needed a leader from her. A woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind and who had the courage and wisdom to lead a pride of lions would not be afraid to dominate her lover, and with Gabriel's blessing she was going to rule over him, if only for the next encounter.
The glint in his eyes shifted from dangerous to aroused. Victoria kept her hand over Gabriel's mouth, pushing down just slightly to keep his head pinned, as her free hand worked the button of his slacks open and undid the zipper beneath. She lifted herself on her knees and tugged his pants down, leaving him in his briefs. The bulge of his erection waited, almost unclothed.
"Stay," she breathed, gazing down at him. Both of Victoria’s hands left his body so that her index fingers could hook into the sides of her thong. Bit by teasing bit she lowered the garment as Gabriel watched. When her sex was exposed, Victoria took a moment to pull the garment from her completely and toss it to the floor. Her bra remained, and she did not intend to remove it. Not yet. When she did what she planned to do, support would be nice.
"Tell me how much you want me," she prompted as she settled down atop him once more, rubbing herself against his crotch with a light touch. Gabriel moaned and squirmed beneath her, driven to a near insatiable state of arousal.
"I don't want you, I need you," he rasped. "I need to feel your heat around me, squeezing against me. I need to feel how wet you are. I need to feel you cum against me and lose yourself to me."
Like she had with her thong, bit by bit she lowered Gabriel's briefs. The tip of his cock peeped from beneath them, and then the head, and then the shaft, until his heavy balls had been exposed and the briefs had fallen to constricted his thighs. Once more she braced herself against his shoulders and moved with the same light touch, letting his cock slip between her wet lips but not letting him penetrate. It was torture for both of them, but the way his desire played across his face made it all worthwhile. Victoria had never felt so powerful. A soldier and a King amongst lions lay prone beneath her; there was no greater rush.
"I don't want you to move," she told him, warning edging each word. "If you move before I tell you you're allowed, I'll stop everything. Do you understand, Gabriel?"
"Yes," a greedy word.
"Good boy," she whispered back, feeling every inch the seductress she'd never been. The length of Gabriel's cock slipped deeper between her drenched lips and the head nudged against her clit as she moved back and forth. He'd yet to enter her, but the sensation was incredible as it was. Victoria rode him this way, letting his cock bring bright explosions of pleasure with each rock of her hips, until she felt as if she could take no more.
One hand left his shoulder to grasp and position the length of his cock, and she lifted herself up from his body to sink down upon it. The penetration was smooth and effortless; Gabriel glided into her and sank deep. The head of his cock met a place inside of her at this angle that sent shooting desire through her lower body and made her feel fuller than she'd ever been before. Without wasting a second, Victoria's hand returned to his shoulder and she began to ride him in full. Every time her hips crashed down against him he struck that spot, and delirious pressure shot through her.
"Victoria," he breathed, body shaking and twitching beneath her. She'd told him not to move, and so far he'd done a good job keeping still. This was her game now, and she would bring them both to orgasm. Oh, how her lion wanted to ravage her. How he wanted to overthrow her and buck wildly into her body. She could see it in the way his arms and shoulders were tensed, and from the way he gritted his teeth as he struggled with his impulses. That wasn't how it was going to happen tonight. No
t this time. Not now that she'd found this spark within herself.
"Your cock feels so good," she gasped as she rode. Breathing was difficult, and already her lungs burned from the exertion. But Victoria wouldn't trade the moment for anything. As it was she could feel every twitch of Gabriel's cock and see every moment he strained to hold himself back. Knowing that he wanted this from her, that he willingly had given herself to her, fluffed her confidence and left her craving him more than ever.
"You're so hot," he rumbled. Both of his hands clutched the bed sheets in an effort to keep from overthrowing her and laying claims to her body. "Fuck, V. Fuck!"
"Don't cum," she demanded, hips moving as quickly as ever. Again and again his length slammed into her, hitting that spot inside that left her addicted to him. "Don't cum, Gabriel. Not yet. I'm not done yet!"
