Page 109 of Pure Abandon

“I met this girl once. She had this long brown hair and gorgeous green eyes, and she had the most incredible smile I’ve ever seen. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.” He takes a step toward me. So close we’re almost touching. “Tonight, I saw her again, and I’ll be damned if I don’t take her home just like I did then.”

No sooner is he finished with his sentence than his body crashes into mine. Two warm hands grab me by each side of my face as his mouth lands on mine. My lips immediately part and welcome him in. His tongue is hot and burning with desire. We are all mouths and tongues and hands and body heat. His strong, lean body presses up against me.

I let out a moan as his mouth moves from my lips and finds the nape of my neck. His wet tongue French kisses my skin. My body quivers. He raises his head briefly, and I get a good look at his face. Navy blue turns midnight in carnal lust.

Gabriel spins me around, forcing my hands to brace myself against the mahogany post of the four-poster bed. He moves my hair off my back until it’s cascading off my shoulder and down my front. Long, strong fingers move the spaghetti straps of my dress so they slip down my arm. His lips find my skin once more and kiss and lavish every nerve ending, sending shivers down my body. My body instinctually falls back into Gabriel.

His fingers glide the zipper of my dress down and gravity pulls it slowly to the floor. I’m left in nothing but white panties and a matching strapless bra.

Gabriel steps back, forcing me to turn around. “I want to hate you,” he murmurs under his breath.

I bite my lip at the sight of tears. Slowly, I approach him, gazing into his eyes. They are downshifted and away. I catch their attention with my own and bring him back to the moment. Holding up my right hand, I gently place it on his cheek. His eyes furrow as if he’s trying to fight it. Instead, he lays his head into my palm and closes his eyes, relishing my touch.

I lean up and place my other hand on his other cheek and place a soft kiss on his forehead and whisper, “I love you.”

I do the same, kissing his eyes. “I love you.”

His nose. “I love you.”

His cheek. “I love you.”

His temple. “I love you.”

His lips. “I love you.”

I lean back, and he opens his eyes. His heart caving in, Gabriel leans forward and wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me into him, kissing me passionately, his animalistic need replaced with love and desire.

No words are said. Everything that needs to be told is done so through touches, glances, tickles, and kisses. We have a conversation without words. Mine are words of love and his are of acceptance. We make love three times before the sun comes up. He makes my ears burn red hot more times in one evening than I can count.

The rosy hues of the sun are coming up over the horizon when I finally curl on my side with my back against Gabriel’s chest. He drapes his arm around mine, playing with my hair before my eyes shut blissfully.

The sun is risen and cheerful. The heat pools through the window, yet I’m cold. I’m missing my very warm blanket. My Gabriel.

I roll over and place my hand onto the warm mattress. He must have just gotten up. I sit up in the bed and look around the room.

His clothes are missing from the floor, his wallet and watch nowhere to be seen. Did he leave? Would he leave after what transpired last night… and this morning?

Relief washes through me when the bathroom door opens and Gabriel exits, pulling a crewneck shirt over his chest. I blush thinking about the things I did to that chest last night. His chest, his thighs, his lips…

Gabriel sees me sitting in the middle of the bed and stops in his tracks. He looks hesitant, nervous even. What’s the matter with him? It feels like our first time all over again.

“Morning,” he states politely, moving to the chair in the corner of the room. He sits down and puts on a fresh pair of socks. He looks perplexed. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

He looks handsome in a white waffle-weave shirt and blue jeans. He steps into brown loafers and adjusts his watch. “I’m going to the house to get Jack. Thought maybe we’d go to the park for a few hours.” He glances out the window. “It looks like it’s going to rain, so I want to get out before the downpour begins.”

My heart nearly bounces out of my chest at the thought of Gabriel coming home. Wrapping the sheet around me, I start to make my way off the bed, surprised I have the need for modesty after ten years and last night’s extracurricular activities. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll just throw on…”

“No. You should stay,” he states, grabbing his wallet and keys off the dresser.

What’s going on here? For a man who just made love to me last night, he’s not acting like he should.

My feet stop moving. I turn around slowly. Gabriel is on the other side of the room, yet his soul feels like he’s miles away.

“Gabriel?” My voice is hesitant. Does he know what I’m asking? I look down at the sheet, afraid to see the answer in his eyes.

I hear him breathe and sense the resignation in his tone. “I don’t want you to go home with me, Kat.” His voice is steady and sure.

I bite my lower lip to keep it from trembling.