Page 70 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 1

“Yeah, I guess,” I said, a little thrown. The moment had broken and turned into something awkward and strange.

We went upstairs in silence. I felt completely wrong-footed. Had I missed something?

I closed the door of my room and leaned against it, thumping my head back against the wood with a groan. My hair was still in an updo, so it was less of a thud and more of a thwomp, which wasn’t very satisfying. I kicked off my heels and sighed.

Actually, no. This was stupid. I wheeled around to face the door, straightening my shoulders like I was preparing for a fight, and I pressed my finger against the ring Gabriel had given me.

Come here, I thought at him, letting all of my desire for him flow through the connection.

Immediately, there was a knock on my door. I knew Gabriel could move fast, but not that fast. He must have been right outside already. I threw the door open, and there he was, staring down at me with dark, intense eyes. His hair was mussed like he’d been running his hands through it, and his tie was undone.

“May I come in?” he asked, his voice a low rasp.

“What, now you’re doing classic vampire stuff?” I teased, then grabbed him by the lapels and yanked him down into a kiss.

Gabriel froze against me for a moment, but then he let out a tortured noise low in his throat and pulled me closer. Our first kiss had been sweet, almost cautious. This was desperation and hunger, and as he licked into my mouth, I opened for him eagerly.

“Please,” Gabriel gasped against my lips. “Please.”

I didn’t know what he was asking for, and I didn’t care. “Anything,” I said nonsensically. “Anything you want.”

He groaned, ducking his head to mouth at my neck, and I felt the prickle of a fang against the underside of my jaw. He wrapped strong hands around my waist, and then I was landing on the bed with a thump. I let out a shocked laugh. The only part of my brain that wasn’t wildly horny let me know that being thrown onto the bed was surprisingly fun.

I fumbled for my zipper, yanking it down and shimmying out of the dress as quickly as I could. Gabriel made a sound like he’d been punched, and I grinned up at him. Lissa, bless her, had made me lingerie to match the dress. The top was a longline, strapless thing in soft purple lace, sheer enough that everything was on display, and the panties matched. In just my lingerie and the gloves, I felt luxurious, and surprisingly powerful. From Gabriel’s reaction, I knew I’d have to do something nice for Lissa.

Gabriel bent over me and kissed me deeply, tugging at my bottom lip with his fangs. I moaned into it, tangling a hand into his hair. I kind of expected him to go for his belt, but he began to kiss his way down my body, pausing at my chest to lap at the hard pink nubs of my nipples through the lace. He sucked one into his mouth, brushing his thumb teasingly over the other. I gasped, and he looked up at me, clearly pleased with himself. He didn’t linger, though, moving down until he was between my legs.

Gabriel went down on his knees by the side of the bed, leaning forward to press his face against the lace between my thighs. I was still wet from our dance, and it must’ve been enough to soak the delicate fabric. I shifted my hips restlessly, and he looked up the bed to meet my eyes.

“God, look at you,” I murmured. Gabriel looked completely wrecked, like he was already fucked-out before I’d even gotten to touch him properly. His pupils were blown dark and heavy-lidded as he parted his lips, pressing a kiss against me through the damp lace.

“Do you have any idea,” Gabriel said, quiet and intense, looking me dead in the eye, “how long I’ve wanted this?”

I shook my head.

“Since the library,” he told me. “I would have gone down on my knees for you right there.” With every word, his breath ghosted over me. I tried to keep myself from squirming as a fresh gush of liquid heat pooled between my thighs.

His nostrils flared.

“Better make up for lost time, then,” I said weakly. He gave me a wolfish grin, then licked a stripe up the length of my slit. I hissed out a curse and dug my fingers under the waistband of my panties, shoving them down. Gabriel fell on me like a starving man on a feast. Whatever restraint he’d had left was clearly gone, and he lapped at me desperately. My grip on his hair tightened, and my hips twitched upward. I’d imagined that the cooler body temperature would feel weird, but it was a glorious, contrasting coolness pressed against the burning core of me. I fisted a hand in the sheets tightly.

My hips rolled up against Gabriel’s mouth without my permission, and I gasped out something that might have sounded like an apology, but he groaned and tugged me closer. I felt raw and almost frantic.

Gabriel sucked at my clit gently, and I arched off the bed with a strangled moan. He pressed two fingers into me, and I clenched around them as he sucked again, again…

My legs were shaking. Suddenly, I felt the gentle presence of Gabriel in my mind, and a split second later, his feelings came through the connection. I felt his arousal, how much he wanted me, how having me stretched out like this for him made him fucking burn. At the same time that I could feel him eating me out, I could feel him touching himself through his suit paints like he was rubbing a hand against me instead. He curled his fingers inside in time with the next pulse of suction, and I could feel him grind into his own hand at the same moment.

It was too much in the best possible way, and I was gone, flying, completely lost in the pleasure he was giving me. The orgasm was like nothing I’d ever felt before, my peak and his hitting at the same time, creating a dizzying feedback loop that seemed like it stretched on forever. As the aftershocks faded, I slumped back against the bed, panting like I’d run a marathon. Gabriel let out a shattered sound, his mouth going slack against me for a moment before he started licking lazily at the spot where his fingers entered me.

“Did…” he said, sounding dazed. “Did you mean to activate your ring?”

“What?” I managed. Thinking seemed unnecessary right now.

He nodded at my hand, still clenched in the sheets. My thumb was pressed against the gold band.

“Oh,” I said. “No, but that was fucking incredible, so don’t you dare apologize.”

Gabriel shut his mouth. He would’ve done a better job looking chastened if he’d been able to shake off his smile. He curled his fingers inside me, just a little, and I squirmed, oversensitive.

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