Indebted - Piper Stone Page 0,37

he finally broke the kiss, he cupped my face, staring down at me in an entirely different manner than before.

He was going to devour me.

Ravage every inch of my body.

“I will teach you about passion and pain, agony and ecstasy. There will moments of sheer joy even through the act of punishment.”

His words were whispered yet said in such a way that they would never be forgotten.

He dragged his thumb back and forth across my lips, his chest rising and falling. The way he held me was more than possessive. I didn’t just belong to him. I was about to be consumed by him.

I wanted so badly to hold back, to be able to resist the feel of him, but I’d become a stranger to myself, an entirely different woman. Maybe I’d never known who I was, a little girl lost just waiting to be found. I tore at his shirt, a single moan slipping past my lips at the sound of buttons popping. As I placed my fingertips against his skin, the intense heat was magnified, white-hot as the sensations seared every nerve.

He wasted no time, ripping away the last shred of my humility, tossing the dress into the darkest corner of the room. The light of the moon created a dancing shimmer across his cheek, highlighting his magnificent bones, the ruggedness of his jaw. He stared down at me, his eyes forever penetrating as he rolled his fingertips over my shoulder.

There was something more enigmatic about him, the quiet sensitivity so unexpected. I knew it wouldn’t last long. He was a conflicted man, his soul tortured by some unknown reality. Confusion remained furrowing deep inside. I didn’t know him, and I didn’t want to.

Then I’d be forced to consider caring.

Although the draw to him was more explosive, my nipples aching for the simple sweep of his finger. I crawled my hand along his chest, moving ever so slowly to his shoulder. The part of him I was most attracted to was his scarred face, telling of whatever horrors he’d been through.

But discovery would never happen, his hand snapping once again around my wrist, the force used cutting off my blood supply.

“No,” he stated with clear authority as he swept me into his arms, taking two long strides until he was able to drop me onto the bed. “You wait.”

The order was given. His rules. His decisions.

I was forced to watch in the shadows as he peeled away his trousers, sliding them over hips. I craved seeing his naked body, the man who wore expensive clothes like a suit of armor. When he hovered over me, shivers ran down the core of my spine. He was gorgeous, even in the bare hint of a silhouette, his long arms and muscular legs a thing of beauty.

As he crawled onto the bed, one leg remaining on the floor, the heat of his aura swallowed me up, my skin melting as if ice cream on a hot summer’s day. I couldn’t explain my reaction, nor did I want to try. I closed my eyes, pretending this was a memory I’d want to keep safe, tucked away in the corner of my mind.

But I knew better.

The moment dawn approached, the cold reality would sneak back in, a reminder of my new status.

As his.

Gabriel shifted between my legs, lowering himself down onto his arms. A dark and ominous growl shifted up from his throat, penetrating the air, creating a wave of goosebumps. I became lost in whatever insane need I had for this brute of a man. He ran a single finger down the side of my face, further fueling the red-hot embers. I was surprised as he took his time, zigzagging the tip in a wide arc around one nipple then the other.

He was a man used to taking everything he wanted. A man I could barely understand, unless this was simply another part of his game, a shrewd way of breaking down my defenses.

His breathing remained irregular, the guttural sounds nothing short of animalistic. Very slowly he lifted my arms, pulling both over my head. I expected him to pull shackles from under the bed, tethering me as punishment. The hard squeeze of his hand was his direction to remain in position.

I did as I was told, mesmerized by the way he brushed his fingers down the length of my body, rolling his knuckles over the most sensitive parts. He split my legs open wide, pushing them against my chest as he