Julia smiled against the sheets, and then ever so slowly, she lifted her hips and pressed back against him.
With a groan and a curse, he moved inside her, quickly and forcefully. Within minutes they were joining at a frantic pace, the air alive with the sounds of pleasure.
Julia lifted her hips one last time, and he felt her shudder around him.
He could contain himself no longer and rapidly followed.
When he’d caught his breath, he stretched over her like a banner, his lips smiling against her shoulder.
“This is transcendence,” he whispered. “I’ve never had better.”
Julia’s heart skipped a beat. “Never?”
“Never.”
His palm rested on her backside and he felt her body sink into the bed as a wide, joyous smile spread across her face.
Chapter Twenty-eight
The next morning Julia awoke to the sound of Gabriel snoring. He rarely snored, but when he did, it was a force of nature.
(Even Dante specialists snore, on occasion.)
She’d slept soundly all night. He’d given her a gift—the knowledge that she was the sexual pinnacle for him as he most gloriously was for her. A delicious feeling of anticipation and uncertainty filled her at the prospect of repeating the previous evening’s activities.
Gabriel loved her. That fact gave her confidence when it came to ceding control to him. But as C.S. Lewis had once written about Aslan, Gabriel was not tame. There was always a hint of danger and unpredictability surrounding him.
With caution in mind, she elected not to wake him and inform him that he was snoring. Instead, she decided to brave convention and skinny-dip in the hot tub.
The hot tub sat on the balcony just outside their bedroom. Since their closest neighbor was several miles away, Julia didn’t worry about dropping her bathrobe. She merely climbed into the tub and allowed the sun and gentle wind to caress her face, while the water soothed her tender spaces and sore muscles.
She’d almost fallen asleep when she heard the sound of Gabriel’s voice. She opened her eyes to find him clad only in his boxer shorts, talking on his iPhone.
She took a moment to admire the rugged beauty that was her untamed professor.
With her eyes, she traced the curves of his muscles, the lines and tendons that etched his arms. She watched the strands of hair that decorated his chest, and their cousins that led from his navel to the band of his underwear.
Julia glanced at their surroundings—at the hills and valleys surrounding their villa. No one could see them.
Without warning, Gabriel ended his conversation and put his phone on a table nearby.
“Can I join you? Or are you simply interested in a show?” He flexed his biceps theatrically.
Julia swallowed noisily. “Um, what’s included in the price of admission?”
He smiled slowly.
“Whatever you desire. I’m here to please, Mrs. Emerson.” He dropped his voice. “So name your pleasure.”
Julia indicated that he should approach, and he quickly divested himself of his shorts and joined her in the hot water. She straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around him. “All I want is the pleasure of your company.”
Gabriel hugged her and she rested her chin on his shoulder.
“Thank you for last night.”
“It is I who should be thanking you, Mrs. Emerson.”
“I’m a little dense sometimes. It only just occurred to me that you went to so much trouble last night because you were trying to cheer me up.” She toyed with his chest hair.
“That isn’t exactly true. We hadn’t made love for a few days, since you were on your cycle. That gave me time to think about how I wanted to go about reconnecting with you.” He lifted her hair off the back of her neck, and slid his fingers through it.
“I wanted you to know that I appreciate it. I appreciate the care you take in planning our times together and also that you knew I was feeling bad yesterday.” She placed her palm over his tattoo, near his heart. “And that you told me you’ve never had better.”
“It’s true. Sex is different with you. We have attraction, of course, and chemistry. But we also have affection and love. When all of those things are combined . . .” He trailed off.
“Thank you.” She brushed her lips against his. “Who were you talking to on the phone?”
“Scott.”
“Oh, really? What did he want?”
“He and Tammy would like to bring Quinn to Boston for a weekend in the fall. They’d like to stay with us.”
“That sounds fun.”
“I said I’d have to check with you, but we’d be glad to have them.”
“I’m happy you and your brother have patched things up.” She kissed his neck. “Sometimes I wish we were the same age. We could have gone to the prom together.”
Gabriel nuzzled her.
“It would have been an honor to take you to prom, but it’s a good thing I didn’t know you when I was a teenager.”
“Why not?”