Page 53 of Corrupted Queen

Once inside, I see that my knees and palms are stained brown. I’m looking forward to a long, hot shower when I get back to my room. I do my best thinking in the shower, too, so I’m hoping for a little clarity.

I make my way toward the foyer, slinking quietly through the hallway with the goal of not attracting any further suspicion. I am just passing the kitchen when a hand reaches out and seizes my arm. I squeak in fear and spin around.

Gabriel’s massive form looms above me in the doorway, eyes like embers trained on mine.

“What are you doing wandering around the house so late?” he asks in a low voice.

“I could ask the same of you.” I yank my arm back.

“You’re not the only one who likes snacks,” he answers. “Now, answer my question.”

His lips are pulled flat, jaw tight. His hair is a little messy, like he’s been running his hands through it in frustration. In light of his stressed appearance, I swallow the deflective wisecrack on my tongue.

I gesture to my workout clothes. “I was working out.”

He pulls my hand out, palm facing up, and cocks a brow. “Were you working out outside?”

“No. I went for a walk to cool down after.” I pull my hand back, shrugging. “I fell.”

As expected, this excuse does not sit well with Gabriel. His eyes narrow on mine, and I feel his gaze as keenly as if he were digging through my brain with a tiny shovel. I need to distract him. And I need to do it quickly.

“I, uh, wouldn’t mind getting warmed back up again,” I say, holding his gaze and trailing a finger down my cleavage. “If you know what I mean.”

I cringe internally at my lame sexy talk, but it has the desired effect. Gabriel’s eyes brighten, as though lit from the inside.

I step closer, reaching for his bulge and squeezing him through his pants. The bold move elicits a soft growl from deep in Gabriel’s throat. I slowly lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him, tangling my fingers in his hair while my other hand massages him, feeling him harden against my palm.

Gabriel kisses me back hard, pushing me roughly against the doorway. What was a tentative exploration a second ago is now a blazing inferno, as we fight each other with lips and teeth and tongue. He jams his pelvis against me. His hands come to the side of my face and hold me as his tongue pillages my mouth.

I give myself over to the passion that threatens to burst me open at the seams. It shoves away all thoughts of purple heroin, of betrayal, of the losses yet to come, and leaves only thoughts of heat and pleasure and Gabriel. He is my end and my beginning. My undoing and the only thing keeping me together.

Gabriel leans down and hikes my legs around his hips, holding me up with a hand on each of my ass cheeks as he walks us into the kitchen without breaking the kiss. I cling to the front of his shirt. His hardness strokes against my core and sends shivers of pleasure down my spine.

Gabriel sets me down on the cold stone island and leaves just enough room for his hand to come between us. He rubs over my mound, sending my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

“Are you wet, Tiger?” Gabriel asks in a low hum against my lips. “I bet you are. You always are for me.”

He bands an arm around my waist and lifts me, jerking the leggings and my panties over my hips. I think of the lockpicking tools in the small pocket and my chest clenches. I hope that he doesn’t feel them.

He tosses the leggings to the floor and I breathe a little sigh of relief. My thoughts are swiftly redirected a second later when Gabriel pushes me onto my back and slides a rough finger inside of me.

“Just like I thought,” he growls approvingly and bends over to press a bruising kiss to my lips.

My body aches to be filled. The need pulses through me like a low bass beat, and I kiss Gabriel hungrily to let him know just how badly I need him. I feel him work his pants open and a second later, his cock slides into me, stroking my inner walls and making me see stars.

Gabriel doesn’t hold out. He fucks me hard and fast, fingers digging into the flesh of my hips. I close my eyes. The sensations paint colorful swirls on the backs of my eyelids, and I feel a rubber band stretch slowly but surely inside of me. When I flick my eyes open, the glorious sight above me takes my breath away.

Gabriel is fully concentrated on the task at hand, his handsome face rippling with pleasure. Locks of black hair fall over his forehead, and his pupils spill out like ink, making his already dark eyes look black. He leans forward and nips at my earlobe, whispering huskily into my ear.

“I will never get tired of fucking you.”

This is what pushes me beyond the point of no return. Bliss cascades over me, and I sink into it like a warm bed of feathers. I shake and curse and float, and a second later, I feel Gabriel join me.

For one perfect second, we are the most honest with each other that we’ve ever been. The most connected.

But one second spills into the next, and I feel both of our shields begin to grind back into place. As perhaps they always will.

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