Page 41 of Light

She lifted up on her toes, pressing her lips against his ear and whispered, “I need to feel you inside me once before you go.”

Chapter 28

Gabriel

Desire such as Gabriel had never known crashed through him, and he lunged forward, pressing her into the kitchen counter as he closed the distance between them.

Finding the long pin in her hair, he tore it free, letting her hair spill down her back as he slid both hands into her dark curls, tilting her head up to meet his.

He kissed her roughly, devouring her mouth and her yearning and let his illusory shirt fall away as he sucked the very air from her lungs, reveling in every inch of her lithe form pressed between him and the table.

His hips moved, grinding against her layers of skirts, and he wanted nothing more than to tear them from her body and feel their skin unite. A shudder rolled through him as her light fingers slid along the ridge of his wing, his lengthening arousal twitching against her stomach.

Their kiss broke as he bent, tearing buttons from her shirt with his teeth.

Something feral overtook him, and, like a mindless beast, he tore her shirt free and tossed it to the floor, sliding his tongue over the bare skin along her collarbone.

His head dipped further, finding her bare breast—no corset, again—and he sucked the soft pink bud of her nipple, flicking it with his tongue before he bit down, tasting blood.

She moaned, gripping the ridge of his wing.

The feel of her hand wrapped around the sensitive skin made him wild with desire. He released her breast, wholly focused on ripping her skirts free of her body.

He leaned back, finding the waistband and tearing every layer off her body in one fluid motion. He was struck speechless by the perfection of all her ivory skin bared for him—only him. Thin white scars running over her abdomen and under one breast only made her more beautiful.

She was a warrior wrapped in a delicate package.

He grabbed her hips, lifting her onto the counter and growled as she leaned back, spreading her legs wide for him.

The tug of the other half of his soul yanked him forward, and he gave her no warning before he buried himself inside her, letting out one contented sigh before her hips were moving. She slid across the marble counter, muscles spasming around his length, squeezing him tight.

He pressed into the counter, letting her ride him and take her pleasure as he found her hair again, wrapping her curls between his fisted hands and tugging her head to the side, giving him access to the soft skin at her neck.

The bruises he’d made with his mouth before were gone and he wasted no time marking her again.

Her soft, breathy moans turned to ragged panting as she stopped moving, the muscles wrapped around him quivering.

He took up her pace, sliding in and out of her slick wetness and groaned as he felt his own relief nearing.

She dropped her head on his shoulder, digging her teeth into his flesh, and a jolt of fresh desire speared through him, sending his hips rocking forward at a faster pace.

Her nails found his back and dug in, drawing blood.

He tipped his head back, nearly sliding to his knees as release washed through him.

When he had caught his breath, he leaned against the counter, his soul pulsing in answer to her own as their sweat-slicked bodies clung to one another. He opened his eyes and brushed a dark curl from her face.

“Adalaide.”

She blinked at him, her bright blue eyes twinkling.

I’m yours for eternity. Please never lose faith in that.

Her soft pink lips turned down. “My angel,” she said, touching his cheek. “I will always be yours.”

The words chipped away at some long-held fear. In this moment, he believed her. In this moment, he dared to imagine his own happy ending.

Chapter 29

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