“Have you missed me touching you like this?” he asked, his voice a scorching whisper.
Julia’s affirmation escaped her mouth as a strangled groan. Gabriel’s chest swelled with pride.
It was a long journey from her face to her knees, and he seemed to enjoy it, pausing slowly at different parts, his touch light but heated. She felt warm beneath his gentle fingers, despite the coldness of the room. As soon as she thought of the cold, she flinched.
Gabriel stopped his explorations immediately, and moved aside to allow her to crawl into bed, closest to the wall. He pressed his chest to her back, pulling the purple duvet over their naked bodies.
“I’ve missed making love with you. It was as if one of my limbs was missing.”
“I missed you too.”
He smiled his relief. “I’m very glad to hear that. It was tortuous to go a week without being able to touch you like this.”
“It was tortuous to go a week without being able to feel you touching me.”
The stirrings of desire in her voice set fire to Gabriel’s blood. He tightened his hold on her, squeezing gently. “Cuddling is a very important component to making love.”
“I would never have pegged you as a cuddler, Professor Emerson.”
He drew some skin from her neck into his mouth, sucking it lightly. “I have become a great many things since you made me your lover.” He placed his face in her hair, inhaling her vanilla scent deeply. “Sometimes I wonder if you realize how much you’ve changed me. It’s no less than miraculous.”
“I’m no miracle worker. But I love you.”
“And I love you.” He was quiet for a moment or two, which surprised her. She had expected him to begin making love immediately.
“You never told me what happened at Kinfolks restaurant the day before Christmas.” Gabriel tried to sound relaxed, for he didn’t want her to think he was scolding her.
In the hope of ending the conversation quickly so they could move on to other activities, Julia described her altercation with Natalie. She left out the part where Natalie had mocked her sexual encounters with him in front of everyone. Gabriel rolled her onto her back so he could see her face.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was too late for you to do anything.”
“I love you, damn it! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Paulina was waiting for us when we returned to the house.”
He scowled. “Right. So you threatened your former roommate with a newspaper article?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think she believed you?”
“She wants out of Selinsgrove. She wants to be Simon’s official girlfriend and hang on his arm at political events in Washington. She isn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that.”
“Doesn’t she have all that now?”
“Natalie is Simon’s dirty little secret. Which is why it took me so long to figure out he was f**king her.”
Gabriel winced. Julia didn’t use profanity often, and when she did, it was jarring.
“Look at me.” He pressed his forearms into the mattress on either side of her shoulders.
She looked up into concerned blue eyes.
“I’m sorry he hurt you. I’m also sorry I didn’t do more damage to his face when I had the chance. But I can’t say I’m sorry he went after your roommate. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here with me.”
He kissed her, his hand tracing the curve of her neck until she sighed contentedly into his mouth.
“You are my sticky little leaf. My beautiful, sad, sticky little leaf, and I want to see you happy and whole. I’m sorry for every tear I’ve made you shed. I hope that someday you’ll be able to forgive me.”
She hid her face in the crook of his shoulder as she clutched him closer. Her hands explored his body until they were one. The silent air of her tiny studio was broken only by heavy breathing and muffled pants and her own voice moaning to a fevered pitch.
It was a subtle language—this shared language of lovers: the reciprocation of sigh and groan, anticipation growing and feeding until groans became cries and cries became sighs once more. Gabriel’s body covered hers completely, a delicious weight of man and sweat and naked skin upon naked skin.
This was the joy that the world sought—sacred and pagan all at once. A union between two dissimilars into a seamless one. A picture of love and deep satisfaction. An ecstatic glimpse of the beatific vision.
Before Gabriel withdrew from her, he pressed one more kiss to her cheek. “Will you?”
“Will I what?”
“Forgive me for deceiving you about Paulina. For taking advantage of her.”
“I can’t forgive you on her behalf. Only she can do that.” Julia chewed at her bottom lip. “Now, more than ever, you need to see that she gets help so she can move on with her life. You owe her that.”
He wanted to say something, but somehow the strength of her goodness silenced him.