Page 19 of Forbidden Passions

Then, he was picking me up in his arms and carrying me down the hallway. I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck, giggling a little. From nervousness, excitement. I didn’t know which. And I didn’t care because I wanted this. I wanted Gabriel Holt to love me. “I guess you’re okay with that?”

“I am more than okay with that.”

The way he said it—like itmeantsomething to him—made my heart pound. He wasn’t just okay with it. He said it like it mattered. Like I mattered.

Once in the bedroom, he stood me on my feet beside the bed, hands on hips, chest heaving. He looked like a man on a mission.

I licked my lips, excited about being the focus of all that intensity. “So where do we start?”

CHAPTER SIX

Gabriel

I stood there, every muscle in my body straining under the weight of her words.

She was a virgin.

That sweet, stubborn mouth had just told me no man had ever touched her like this. No one had ever made her fall apart. And now she wanted me to be the one to change that.

She had no fucking idea what she was asking for.

“You sure about this, Callie?” My voice was rough, scraped raw by how hard I was holding back. “Because if I start, I’m not going to be gentle. I’m not going to make it sweet.”

She licked her lips—nervous, but I could see that determination in her face. I almost called a stop to the madness. I didn’t want her determined. I wanted her melting. For me. She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled my head down until our mouths were touching. “I don’t want fucking sweet,” she whispered before she kissed me.

The kiss was wild and bold. But still tinged with innocence.

Innocence I was about to fucking break.

I let out a slow breath, like a man disarming a bomb, knowing my fate was already decided.

I smiled at the surprised little squeal she gave when I tossed her on the bed. I moved toward her like a storm breaking. Oneknee on the mattress, then the other. She watched every shift of my body, wide-eyed but not retreating. Not afraid.

I knelt over her, my big palms planted on either side of her body, caging her in. “You want me, baby?” I murmured, voice low and unsteady. “Want me to show you what it’s like to be taken by a man who knows exactly what you need?”

She nodded. Lips parted, breath uneven.

“Say it.”

She hesitated, but she knew what I wanted to hear—needed to her.

“Fuck me, Gabriel. Please fuck me.”

My cock swelled even more at her breathless words. The look I her eyes. “Good girl,” I whispered, nuzzling her throat. “I’ll make you feel so good, baby. Trust me.”

I kissed her hard for that—devoured that little gasp she made like it belonged to me. She whimpered into it, hips shifting under mine. That innocent need—it tore something open in me. Made everything inside me tighten like a fuse had been lit.

When I sat back on my heels, I took my time. I wanted her stripped slow. I wanted to watch her tremble and flush. I wanted her to feelevery secondof being unwrapped for me.

I slid my hands beneath the hem of my t-shirt and dragged the cotton up inch by inch. Her body was so fucking soft I nearly growled. She lifted her arms without a word, but her breathing turned shallow.

“You okay?” I asked.

She nodded—but her cheeks flushed, and her gaze skittered away from mine. “I’ve just...never had someone see me like this. Not all of me.”

I leaned down and caught her jaw between my fingers. “Look at me.”

She did.

---