Chapter 28

Chapter 28
Gabriel let out a guttural groan, his steps faltering for the third time as he struggled to navigate his way down the corridor. The action proved to be a challenge because Joslyn had resorted to teasing him by grinding her hips into his, bringing their private parts into a contact that was only hindered by the flimsy scraps of underwear still covering them both.

“Fuck, baby. Behave.” He muttered, though the low, shaky edge in his voice betrayed how close he truly was to losing it.

Yet Joslyn didn’t behave. Instead, she further tightened her legs around his waist and dragged her nails up the back of his neck, her fingers curling into the hairs on his nape as if to anchor herself to him. The action sent a violent shiver down Gabriel’s spine. Her breath ghosted over his ear right before she whispered, “Gabriel…” in a desperate, needy whimper—and then her lips closed around his earlobe, giving it a slow, deliberate lick that nearly sent him to his knees.

“Christ,” Gabriel hissed, his arm muscles flexing as he adjusted his hold to grip her more firmly. His footsteps grew rougher and more purposeful, like he was fighting the urge to pin her against the wall then and there. “I swear you’re trying to make me drop you,” he breathed, voice wrecked and throaty.

Joslyn’s reply was a mere smile against his skin, the wicked curve of her lips telling him she knew exactly what she was doing to him. And that was the final push Gabriel needed.

Finally reaching her bedroom, he kicked the door open without slowing down, the quiet thud of it hitting the wall barely registering over the thunder of Joslyn’s heartbeat echoing in her ears. This time, Gabriel didn’t bother setting her down gently on the bed like he had originally planned. Instead, he pressed her back into the nearest wall and kissed her like he wanted to bruise her mouth with every ounce of hunger he had kept caged these past couple of months.

Without preamble, his hands slid up her thighs to cup her ass, squeezing each cheek hard enough to draw a gasp from her. “Fuck, Jos,” he growled as he trailed his tongue along the heated skin of her neck, his voice a gravelly confession. “I swear you have no idea how excessively often I dreamt of this moment. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you, yearned for you like this— wrapped around me, pleading for my touch… your body, ever-so-soft and pliant against mine.”

Joslyn opened her mouth to reply but instead, a broken, breathless sound left her when Gabriel's teeth grazed the space between her shoulder and neck before sinking right into her sweet spot. He smirked smugly against her, loving every second of her bucking into him as she half whimpered, half begged.

“That needy already, baby?” he teased, his breath hot against her skin. “I haven’t even touched you properly yet.”

Then he pulled away just enough to gaze down at her writhing body, his own pupils blown wide in desire and something else that betrayed the last threads of his restraint.

The look in his eyes left Joslyn's mouth dry, even as anticipation swirled low in her belly.

Without another word, Gabriel lifted her off the wall, crossed the bedroom in a few quick strides, and eased her down on the mattress. Her thighs clinging around him shifted higher on his waist, pulling him closer as he hovered over her like a storm about to break—his dark, hooded eyes glinting with a promise to leave her pleasurably wrecked after he was done with her.

His fingers traced a slow, torturous line from her hip, and up to the center of her chest, feeling it rise and fall rhythmically. “You’re practically heaving,” he murmured, thumb brushing the underside of her breast. “You want me that bad, darling?”

Joslyn nodded, breathless. “Yes.”

Gabriel chuckled low and sinfully. “I don't think you want me enough yet, though. Plus, I haven't even gotten back at you for teasing me earlier.”

A groan escapes Joslyn at his words. “You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious, baby. You almost brought me to my knees and while, for you, I wouldn’t have minded that one bit,” he shot her a cheeky wink, “you almost made me drop you in the process. And that would’ve hurt you.”

The last of his words came out muffled as he nuzzled his face in her neck once more, humming in satisfaction before peppering open-mouthed kisses down to the swells of her breasts. Joslyn’s breath hitched in her throat, mouth ajar in anticipation, when Gabriel suddenly bit into the lacy fabric of her bra, pulling it down with his teeth to reveal her nipples.

A breath rushed out of Gabriel’s mouth, the warm air sending a shiver through Joslyn as it coasted over her slowly pebbling nipples. Her back arched off the mattress, presenting an involuntary offering, and Gabriel didn't hesitate to accept. His mouth closed over one sensitive peak, tongue swirling in slow, deliberate circles that had Joslyn's fingers fisting in his hair.

"Gabriel..." His name fell from her lips like a prayer, fractured and desperate.

He hummed against her skin, the vibration making her gasp, before he pulled back just enough to look up at her through his lashes. "I've thought about this so many times," he murmured, his thumb replacing his mouth to circle her erect bud with agonizing slowness. "Thought about all the ways I'd have you. All the sounds you'd make for me."

Joslyn's hips rolled upward instinctively, seeking friction, but Gabriel pressed his weight down, stilling her movements with a low chuckle.

"Ah-ah, sweetheart. Not yet." His free hand slid down her stomach, fingers hooking into the waistband of her panties. "I've waited months, years even, to taste every inch of you again. I'm not about to rush through it like some desperate schoolboy."

"You're absolutely insufferable," Joslyn breathed, though the words carried no real heat—only a breathless, aching want that made Gabriel's smirk widen.

"You love it," he countered, his voice dropping to something rougher, more primal. "You love how I make you wait. How I make you beg." His fingers slipped beneath the lace, finding her wet and ready, and he let out a groan that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest. "Fuck, Joslyn. You're soaked for me already."

Joslyn's cheeks flushed, but she didn't look away. "You do that to me," she admitted, her voice trembling with honesty. "You always have."

Something flickered in Gabriel's eyes—hunger, yes, but also something softer, more reverent. "Good," he said, his voice rough. "Because I plan to do a lot more to you tonight."

He tugged her panties down her legs, slow and deliberate, his knuckles brushing against her heated skin with every inch of fabric he peeled away. Joslyn lifted her hips to help him, her breath catching when he discarded the scrap of lace and settled between her thighs.

"Look at you," he murmured, his fingertips trailing up the inside of her thigh, featherlight and teasing. "So fucking beautiful, spread open for me like this." He dipped a finger into her wetness, just barely, and Joslyn whimpered at the teasing pressure. "And so damn eager. I can feel how much you want me."

"Gabriel, please…"

"Please what, baby?" He circled her clit with agonizing precision, watching her face contort with pleasure. "Use your words. Tell me exactly what you want me to do to you."

Joslyn's mind went blank, pleasure short-circuiting her ability to form coherent sentences. "I want—" she gasped as he pressed harder, "I want you to touch me. Really touch me."

Gabriel hummed thoughtfully, his finger sliding down to her entrance, just barely dipping inside once more before pulling away entirely. "That's not very specific, sweetheart. Try again."

"You're a menace," Joslyn groaned, but she was smiling despite herself, despite the desperate ache building low in her belly.

"I'm a man who knows exactly what he wants," He corrected, lowering his head to press an open-mouthed kiss to her inner thigh. "And what I want is to hear you say it, darling. To hear you beg for it." His tongue darted out, licking a hot stripe along her sensitive skin, and Joslyn's hips bucked involuntarily. "Tell me you want my mouth on you. Tell me you want me to taste every drop of you until you're screaming my name."

Joslyn's breath hitched, her fingers tightening in his hair. "I want that," she gasped. "I want your mouth on me. I want you to make me cum. Please, Gabriel. Please."

"That's my girl," he purred, and then his mouth was on her, and Joslyn instantly forgot how to breathe.

His tongue was relentless, exploring her with a hunger that bordered on worship. He licked and sucked and teased, alternating between broad strokes and precise flicks that had Joslyn arching off the bed, her moans filling the room. When he slid two fingers inside her, curling them just right, she cried out his name, her body trembling on the edge of release.

"Not yet," Gabriel murmured against her, his voice a dirty, muffled command. "Hold it for me, baby. I'm not done tasting you yet."

"Gabriel, I can't—I'm so close—"

"I know you are." He pumped his fingers faster, his mouth returning to her clit with renewed determination. "But you're going to wait until I tell you to come. And then you're going to fall apart on my tongue like the good girl I know you are."

Joslyn whimpered, her nails digging into his scalp as she tried to fight against the wave building inside her. The pleasure was almost too much, his fingers and tongue working in perfect, devastating tandem. She was teetering on the edge, suspended there by nothing but his command.

"Please," she gasped, her voice breaking. "Please, Gabriel, I can't hold it anymore. I need–I need to—"

"Look at me," he ordered, and she obeyed, her hazy gaze meeting his dark, intent one. He pulled his mouth away just long enough to say, "Come for me, sweetheart. Let me taste you. Let me feel you fall apart because of me."

The words shattered her.

Joslyn cried out, her body arching off the bed as pleasure crashed through her in relentless waves. Gabriel groaned against her, drinking her in, his fingers working her through every last tremor until she collapsed against the mattress, completely spent.

He slowly crawled up her body, his lips finding hers in a kiss that tasted like her own desire. "That's one," he murmured against her mouth, his voice smug and satisfied. "I think we can draw out a few more of those from you, yes?"

Joslyn laughed breathlessly, her hands sliding down his chest to the waistband of his boxers. "That better be a promise," she teased as her hand curled around him through the fabric, feeling the evidence and weight of his own desire straining against it.

Gabriel hissed at the contact, his forehead dropping to hers. "You're going to make me lose my fucking mind," he admitted, his voice rough with barely contained need.

"I hope so," Joslyn said, a wicked smile curving her lips. "I want to be the one who breaks you for once."

Gabriel laughed, low and dark, as he pushed up just enough to shed his boxers. His body settled over hers, the heat of him searing against her skin, and Joslyn wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

"Oh, sweetheart," he said, his voice a throaty whisper that sent shivers down her spine. "You already have.”