Page 35 of Angel Eyes

“Is this okay?”

“Yes.”

The rising notes beat a seductive throb in my chest, and my eyes fell to Gabriel’s throat, the strong cut of his jaw. The urge to trace the shape of it, to feel the bite of stubble beneath the pads of my fingers, hit me in a wave, toppling my restraint. I reached up, cupping his face, and he drew in a sharp inhale when I teased my fingers into his hair, his curls soft to the touch. I lifted my gaze to his, his eyes pure black except for a thin strip of blue.

“Juliet …” His voice was husky, setting my nerve endings on fire, and a sudden recklessness took possession of me. I rolled my hips against him, and he let out a low groan. Digging his fingers into my waist, he pulled me flush with his body, and my core turned molten when I felt the evidence of his desire against my hipbone. He dragged a hand up to my face, painting promises against my flesh. And when his thumb coasted over my bottom lip, I sucked the digit into my mouth, my body purring as his eyes darkened with a predatory look.

“You have no idea what you’re doing to me,” he rasped.

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Keep it up and you’ll find out.”

I lifted my thigh, resting it against his hip like the vixen I had become over the course of a single dance.

He closed a hand over it, his breath hitching. “Tell me what you want,” he whispered against my ear, grazing his teeth over my earlobe. “Because I’m about two seconds away from carrying you to the darkest corner I can find and doing some very indecent things to you.” My heart thrashed against my rib cage, my adrenaline spiking.

Tell me what you want.

Everything. I wanted everything. With him.

“Take me home, Gabriel.”

Thirteen

Gabriel

As soon as the taxi came to a stop in front of Juliet’s building, I shoved the door open, tossing the driver a handful of euros before making quick work of lifting her into my arms.

Inside, I took the stairs two at a time, climbing toward her apartment as she clung to me, her sweet vanilla and lavender scent caressing my senses. I pressed my nose to her hair, and my knees nearly buckled as all the blood in my body raced southward. Reaching her front door, I set her down gently, the gold of her dress shimmering in the hall light.

That fucking dress. I had known it would be my undoing the second I saw her in it.

She fumbled for her keys, her hands shaking, and I gripped the doorpost, fighting the urge to help her. When she finally extracted them from her purse, they slipped between her fingers, falling to the floor with a deafening clatter. She looked up at me, her bottom lip disappearing between her teeth as her eyes shone with desire and a hint of … fear?

My jaw ticked.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit nervous.” She leaned down to retrieve the keys, but I reached out, stopping her. She stared up at me, her eyes wild, her chest heaving, and I inhaled slowly, leaning forward to rest my forehead against hers.

“Juliet, listen to me. We don’t have to do anything. I didn’t come out tonight with any expectations.” Well, I had, but it had just been to spend time with her. I never imagined things would escalate so quickly. I swallowed hard. “I can leave right now. Nothing has to happen.”

She brushed a thumb over my cheek, and I exhaled, some of the tension draining from my muscles as I let my eyes drift shut. If she wanted me to leave, I would without question. But I couldn’t risk looking at her in that dress again.

It might give me a fucking stroke.

“I want you to stay,” she breathed, raking her fingers through my hair, and a low moan pushed past my lips as her nails scraped over my scalp.

Opening my eyes, I found her green-gold gaze, and I cupped her jaw in my palm, tugging on her bottom lip with a thumb as her eyes misted over with a heated look. My cock pulsed.

Easy, boy.

“All right, I’ll stay.” I scooped the keys off the floor. “But I meant what I said. We can take it slow.” I turned the key in the lock, sending up a silent prayer that I would be able to keep my word.

As soon as I entered Juliet’s apartment, I was met with an explosion of color in the form of dresses flung over every available surface. The kitchen counter, the coffee table, her desk lamp.

In the living room, I spotted a scrap of red lace hanging over the arm of a wingback chair, and I clenched my teeth. Thank God she hadn’t worn that tonight. If she had, I would have been forced to gouge out the eyes of any man who dared to look at her for half a beat too long.

“Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess.” Juliet scurried around the room, snatching up the discarded clothing. “Simone came over to help me get ready, and it was a marathon deciding what I should wear.”

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