Gabriel’s weight, and I roll over to meet him. I feel like I have been asleep for hours, so it must be late. Gabriel has been working late most nights. He will be back at work early in the morning. I wonder how he bears the sleep deprivation.
“Hey,” I say softly, blinking my heavy eyelids.
He shifts and stretches out on the bed, but does not greet me, does not pull me to him. I run my fingers over his bare chest, feeling the swell of his muscles, the heat of his skin.
“What’s wrong?” I murmur.
“Go back to sleep.”
I hold so much anger and resentment toward Gabriel during the day, not to mention confusion. It always melts away by the time he comes to my bed. I wonder if it is the darkness. Perhaps it is easier to see each other with nothing to illuminate the fissures in our relationship.
Either way, the brush-off bothers me. Something is on his mind, and suddenly, soothing him is the most important thing in the world to me.
“Gabriel.” I cuddle up to his side, tipping his face toward mine. “What’s the matter?”
His breath fans across my lips. “It’s nothing. Just go to sleep.”
“No,” I reply. “You’re just going to sit here, stewing in the dark if I do.”
He chuckles humorlessly. “Sometimes I think you know me better than anyone in the world.”
I don’t know why, but that comment makes my chest puff with pride. Perhaps it is because getting beneath Gabriel’s hard-candy shell is what most would consider an impossible task.
I press a kiss to his chest, and he rubs a hand over my back.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he says, not unkindly. “Go back to sleep.”
I trail my fingers over his tight stomach, tracing the line of his boxers. “Let’s not talk then.”
My hand dips below the waistline and Gabriel’s breath catches. I take my time, tracing the muscular V to the top of his pubic bone, where I stroke his soft curls. Then it’s down further, until I reach the base of his cock, which is already swelling in response to my touch.
Gabriel’s hand tightens on my shoulder and he swears under his breath. I love having this power over him. He’s such a huge, imposing figure, but a few gentle caresses and he becomes putty in my hands. Just like that.
I glide my fingers over his shaft, down to the meaty head of his cock, then back up again. Teasing him. Testing him. Gabriel is always the one in control, but something about the shift in his breathing and the way he lies perfectly still tells me that tonight I get to be the one in charge. The thought excites me.
I wrap my fingers around his shaft one by one, squeezing my fist and making him gasp with pleasure. I start to pump him, but with agonizing slowness that I know is driving him wild. And we stay like this for some time. Me, stroking his shaft in lazy time. Him, vibrating with need, struggling against his own instincts, which no doubt are telling him to pin me to the mattress and fuck me until I can’t walk.
I hike my leg over him and twist my body until I am straddling his upper thighs. This allows me to peel back his boxers and free the beast within. He is thick and heavy in my hand. I continue pumping him as warmth gathers between my thighs. God, I want him. I always want him. Ours is the kind of lust that no amount of cold showers can dampen, not for long. I feel it now as keenly as I always do—like an itch under my skin that only the sensation of him filling me can scratch.
“Alexis,” Gabriel breathes. “Fuuuck.”
I move my hand faster, finding a rhythm that makes him groan with pleasure. I love seeing him undone like this. I love that I am the one doing it to him.
My sex aches for him, and I can’t wait any longer. Without warning, I pull my panties to the side and sink down on his cock. Gabriel moans and lets out another string of swear words. His hands come to my hips, fingers squeezing into my flesh as I start to ride him.
This. This is what I needed, what I’ve always needed. I set a toe-curling pace, feeling him hit all the right spots inside of me as I rock back and forth. My skin feels like it is on fire and