and I’m already broken enough as it is without carrying someone else’s pain around with me. It would open a window into things I’m not ready to say, not when there are still so many secrets.
Not when I promised him I wouldn’t lie.
Eli would be wonderful as a boyfriend, but I’ve already hurt him so deeply he’ll never heal. I may be the Ice Queen, but I’m not cold enough for that game.
But Gabriel… he doesn’t bring emotions to us – there’s no weight of a history only one of us recalls crushing us together. Gabe can make me feel without giving away a piece of himself. He does it night after night on stage, and judging by the pure sex that spills from his mouth every time he sings, he’ll be damn good at it.
“Everything’s messed up,” I murmur, stroking his arm, tracing the lines of the snake tattoo encircling his wrist. His skin feels so good. “But I don’t care. Right now, tonight, I want you. I want you to make me feel something. Just, you know… don’t expect one of your sex-crazed groupies.”
“How about this? We’ve got this room all night. We can go back downstairs if you want, or we can stay up here, and kiss, and touch…” Gabriel circles his thumb on my bare shoulder, playing with the edge of the strap. “And if you want to take things further, we can. Either way, we’ll have a fun night.”
A fun night. Part of me needs that, desperately, and part of me wants to be so much more to Gabriel. But the way he has my body purring like a kitten with just his thumb, I’m not saying no.
“Will this cause problems with the others?”
“Only if we let it.” And then he’s kissing me, slow and reassuring, and it feels so good, I don’t ever want him to stop.
Gabriel kisses like he sings, throwing his whole self into it. He reaches inside me and drags up my demons from their lockbox and dances with them under the stars. It’s in the dark places and the fae shadows that Gabriel Fallen rules with his crown of thorns. I groan as his lips part mine, so slow, so assuring. Our tongues touch, and I get my first taste of starlight, and I know I’ll never, ever have my fill.
I wind my arms around his neck and pull him closer, my body aching for more, more, more, as if I can somehow crawl inside his skin and wear that sexy ass of his. Which sounds totally crazy and serial killer-ish, but I’ve got Gabriel Fallen’s tongue in my mouth – coherent metaphors ain’t gonna happen.
His tongue-stud is this whole other sensation, and I can’t resist playing with it, holding it between my teeth and tugging on it lightly. Now it’s Gabriel’s turn to moan, his grip on me tightening, his body tense with need.
Gabriel breaks the kiss to trail his lips along my jaw. He nibbles on my earlobe, his fingertips stroking a tune along my neck. Who knew having someone touching your neck is so fucking hot? Gabriel presses his lips to the hollow of my throat. The coolness of his piercings hits the heat of my skin, and I’m a trembling mess. The urge to beg him for more, for something I don’t yet know, dances on my lips, but I resist. Even when she’s horny as fuck, Mackenzie Malloy doesn’t beg.
“Let me make you feel good.” Sometimes the shit Gabriel says is so cheesy, but with that British accent purring in my ear, I’m not going to complain. A tiny moan escapes my lips, and it’s all the signal Gabriel needs.
His fingers twine in my hair as he pulls me back to him, our lips meeting with a rush of fire. He lays me back against the sheets. His weight on mine feels so fucking perfect. I stare up into a blood-stained sky shot with glittering stars.
Gabriel’s hands are everywhere – touching my cheeks, cupping my chin, in my hair, skimming my hips the way he did back on the dance floor, leaving us both panting. My stomach aches with a hunger that isn’t for food, and I raise my hips to grind against him, my body desperate for more, more, more.
Gabriel chuckles darkly as he slides a hand underneath my red top, pushing the fabric over my skin. I raise my arms above my head as he drags it over my head.