I look down at the floor, ashamed with myself. It doesn’t matter what he says, I put his life in danger tonight. I can’t believe how stupid I was.
“And I hate to break it to you, little one,” he teases, “but you’ve got no street smarts. If you hadn’t tried to attack them, they probably would have just let you go. I could have given them the money and saved us both a whole lot of heartache.”
I look up at him defiantly. “I would never leave you in that kind of situation to fend for yourself, Gabriel. They were hurting you.”
He smiles at my protectiveness and kisses me softly on the nose as he lifts me off the counter.
“C’mon Rocky, I want to wash this night off of you.”
In the shower, I lather my hands and gently clean the cut on Gabriel’s head. I massage his body as I wash him, stopping to kiss his chest and back during the process. When I’m done, he gives me the same treatment, careful not to hurt me. The bruises are much more visible now, and he grunts as he traces soft circles over them.
Once we’re both clean, he dries me off with a towel and carries me into my bedroom. There’s no question about him staying tonight, and I feel happy that I don’t even have to ask.
He pulls me close to him and kisses me without any roughness this time. My skin heats to his touch, the longing between my legs returning. I kiss him everywhere I can reach, the thought of almost losing him a powerful new aphrodisiac.
But he pulls away abruptly, shattering my lust induced haze.
“Victoria, you were just attacked,” he says sternly.
“I’m fine,” I whisper. “I want you… more than anything else in this world, I want you.” I know how desperate and breathy my words sound, but I don’t care.
He stares down into my eyes for a few moments and then leans in to kiss me again. His hands find my breasts, and I arch into him, silently begging for more. To my surprise, he picks me up and places me on top of him, straddling his massive erection. I don’t argue. I reach greedily for his cock, pushing him inside me as I moan with pleasure.
I want to tell him how I feel. The words are right there on the tip of my tongue. But I’m afraid, so I show him what I can’t say. I rock my hips back and forth while I place soft kisses along his chest, worshipping his body.
He thrusts into me slowly, gently. Nothing like the sex we had at the office today. It’s sweet and tender. He takes his time, making sure my needs are met before he finds his own release. And then he rolls me to my side, wrapping his arms around me as we both fall asleep.
Chapter Eight
Victoria
I wake to blazing heat, a thick cloud of smoke all around me. The temperature is overwhelming, and my skin feels as though it’s melting right off my body. I try to sit up, but my head protests and my vision blurs. I put my hand in my hair and feel blood. So much blood. I scream out for someone to rescue me. But there is nobody. I’m alone, more alone than I’ve ever felt, and I realize I have to get myself out. But as I crawl, my lungs fill with acidic smoke. I feel as if I’m suffocating….
“Victoria!”
Screams in the distance. Are they coming to rescue me? I still as the fire rages behind me, engulfing everything I’ve ever known along with it.
“Victoria, wake up dammit!” I kick in protest. Someone is dragging me back into the fire.
Shaking. My body is shaking. My eyes fly open and I gasp for air. Gabriel is standing above me, angry. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare...
“What the fuck was that?” he growls.
I shake my head. “Not now, Gabriel. Please.”
Anger flashes through his eyes, and he takes a calming breath before speaking again.
“Victoria, I’m worried about you… I’ve never seen anything like that. Please tell me what that was about. I can’t stand that you’re hiding all these secrets from me.”
I curl my head into my knees and take a breath. He’s right, it isn’t fair to him. But I’ve been doing it for so long, I don’t know how to stop. I don’t know how to pick and choose what to tell him. And I don’t really trust myself not to break down and confess everything like I almost did tonight. But I know that if we continue on like this, he will resent me for it.
“Sit down, please.” I pat the space on the bed next to me.
Gabriel does as I ask, rubbing his hand along my back for reassurance as I steady my breath. “When I was sixteen, I almost died in a house fire. My childhood home burned to the ground, and I barely made it out in time. I have nightmares about it sometimes, and I’m sorry that you had to see it.”
He takes a deep breath, watching me carefully. “Tell me what happened.”
“I don’t exactly know, I was unconscious when the fire started.”
It isn’t really a lie, I was actually unconscious. I still have no idea how Eleanore started the fire.