Page 71 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 1

“C’mere,” I said, patting the bed next to me, and Gabriel obliged, climbing up with a level of grace that seemed frankly unnecessary. I tugged him down into a kiss, and I could feel his smile against my lips. Tasting myself on him would have been enough to get me going again even without the way he was kissing me. It was kind of a shame that he had already come, because now that his fingers were gone, I was feeling a little too empty, but it had been so goddamn hot that I couldn’t find it in myself to mind.

Gabriel pressed down against me, sliding a leg between my thighs, and I ground into him lazily. His suit would be ruined, but I couldn’t have given less of a shit. Something seemed odd, though, even to my afterglow-dazed mind.

I glanced down, then back up at him. “I thought you just…?”

“What?” He looked down, then back to me. “Oh. Yes. But I’m a vampire, so.”

I blinked at him. “Wait, so how many times do you usually…?”

He raised one shoulder in a little shrug. “Two or three, generally.”

“Huh.” I looked up at the ceiling, trying to process that. “Okay.” I nodded to myself. “Okay, cool.” I pulled off my gloves and undid my bra, tossing them both onto the foot of the bed. I made sure to save the ring, and left it on my bedside table. “You’re wearing way too many clothes.”

He huffed out a quiet chuckle and pressed a kiss to my neck before standing up and stripping out of his suit with the quick efficiency of someone totally aware of how hot they were and didn’t feel the need to turn undressing into a production. I ogled him unabashedly.

Gabriel’s body was trim and angular, packed with lean muscle. His olive skin was flawless, and I was surprised to see the edges of a tattoo curling over his shoulders. I had spotted them when we’d shared the tent, but I’d been so busy trying not to stare, I hadn’t gotten a good look. Now, I could ogle as much as I wanted.

The markings were beautiful, large flowing sigils that reached from his shoulders to the small of his back, fitted around his spine and ribs like they were a vital part of the pattern. I traced the line of a sigil from just below Gabriel’s shoulder blade to the curve of his lower back with a finger, and he shivered, looking over his shoulder at me with dark eyes. He shucked off his pants and turned to face me.

Gabriel’s cock was long and hard enough that it bumped up against the firm planes of his stomach. It wasn’t flushed the way I was used to, but precum beaded eagerly at the tip. I grinned, rolling over and sticking my ass up in the air. Gabriel sucked in a breath, which was gratifying.

The mattress dipped as Gabriel climbed onto the bed behind me on his knees. I felt the cool, solid weight of his chest against my back as he leaned forward to press a kiss to my spine. I needed his mouth on mine, and when I turned my head back, he kissed me eagerly, rubbing a firm touch over my clit.

I practically collapsed onto the bed when Gabriel pushed into me in one long, slow slide. I was always more sensitive after an orgasm, and just the press of him inside me was dizzying. His arm wrapped firmly around my chest, holding me up, and I grabbed onto it blindly, digging my nails in. The pace he set was slow at first, relentless, and when I let out an embarrassingly petulant whine, I felt him huff a quiet laugh against the back of my neck.

Gabriel began to move faster and faster until he was pounding into me. Even without him in my mind, I felt surrounded, filled to the brim. I reached down to rub my clit, setting a rough pace to match his thrusts. God, he was holding me up, I realized, supporting both our weights with one arm as he kept me close.

It didn’t take long. Between the perfect stretch of him inside me and my hand on my clit, I came hard, clenching tightly around Gabriel’s cock as he fucked me through it. His grip on me tightened, too, while I shook apart beneath him.

As I came back to myself, he slowed until he was just barely rocking his hips against me. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, voice rough.

“Fuck, no,” I managed. “Just… slow… for a minute?”

He hummed in agreement, grinding into me slowly. I sagged down against the bed, and he lowered me down gently, running a hand along my back with a touch that felt possessive. Even the slow, patient grinding was almost too much, but I didn’t want it to stop. I felt like I was a million fragments of myself, just on the edge of coming undone in the best possible way.

Soon, the need to come again was more important than the discomfort. “More,” I said. “I need more, Gabriel, please…”

He moaned, and his hips snapped forward, just the right side of too rough. The slow, teasing pace must have been just as wonderfully torturous for him as it had been for me, because he seemed wilder now, less restrained. As his thrusts began to get less steady, he reached beneath me, brushing my clit.

“Should I…?” he rasped, apparently unable to get the rest of the question out.

I shook my head. “In me, fuck, come in me, Gabriel.” I could feel him pulse inside me, and he let out a broken groan, his fingers working faster over my clit as he came. My third orgasm was softer, but it left me a shivering wreck with tears prickling in the corners of my eyes.

We collapsed onto the blankets, both floppy-limbed and sweaty, and I curled against Gabriel before he could ask if I wanted him to stay.

“Holy fuck,” I said.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Gabriel said, resting a hand on my hair.

We were quiet for a moment. My chest was still heaving, and my eyes felt heavy. “I know you don’t have to sleep,” I said softly, “But… can you sleep here tonight?”

I felt the rumble of assent through Gabriel’s chest, an echo of how it had been to have him in my mind.

“Of course,” he said.

If he said anything else, I was asleep before I could hear it.

23

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