Gabriel angles my head upward, his honey-brown eyes locking with mine, holding me captive.
“Are you listening, baby?” he asks, his gaze intense as he watches my every move.
I wet my lips nervously, feeling his eyes follow the movement, sending heat pooling low in my belly.
“You don’t want a relationship, is that right?” His words are a whisper against my ear. His body presses firmly against mine, his hips pinning me to the wall.
“That’s right,” I manage to breathe out over the roaring sound in my ears.
“But you want to be physical with someone. You’re working up to eventually being kissed. Touched. To being fucked.” His words hang heavy in the air, and I can't help but shiver at the raw desire in his voice.
He doesn’t phrase it as a question and it’s obvious he isn’t expecting a response.
Instead, he continues, his tone growing more and more heated with each word. “What you did tonight was reckless,” he growls. “Irresponsible. If Felix hadn’t called me, if he hadn’t been there—” A shadow passes over his face.
“If you want to get physical, you want someone to touch this body—” He trails off, his hand sliding down from my breast and over my stomach. My breath hitches when he moves lower.
Lower still. Until it reaches the apex of my thighs beneath my dress.
He boldly cups my sex, his touch igniting a fire within me. “You come to me.”
My lips part on a gasp.
The thin lace of my panties is hardly any kind of barrier as he presses the heel of his palm into me.
It takes close to a minute for me to register his words.
“You want …”
“Yes.” His eyes bore into mine. “It’s not a relationship,” he continues, his eyes never leaving mine as he creates small circles against my core with the heel of his hand. “You don’t want one, so that’s not what I’m offering. There are no strings attached with this.”
"You want us to be—” My voice falters, uncertainty muddling my thoughts. What exactly is he proposing? “Friends with benefits?”
“Call it whatever you want. I’m going to look at it as an escape. A way to let off some steam.” Gabriel's voice is low, husky, sending shivers down my spine as he continues to toy with me, my body coiling tighter and tighter.
I suck in a breath, overwhelmed by the pleasure coursing through me. God, that feels good.
“But you want to push boundaries, don’t you, sweetheart? You want to get comfortable fucking and being fucked. So that’s what we’ll do.”
“We’ve already done that,” I manage to stutter, my words barely coherent as his touch sends electric pulses through me. His hand between my legs makes it impossible to think.
My hips jerk forward of their own accord, seeking more of his touch, more of that delicious friction.
Gabriel chuckles, the sound sending a wave of heat rushing through me. His breath ghosts over my lips, teasingly close.
If I lift up on my toes just a fraction of an inch, we’ll be kissing.
I want him to close that distance. To press his mouth against mine.
I shouldn’t want that. I know I shouldn’t. But?—
Oh god.His touch intensifies, sending waves of pleasure crashing over me.Yes. Fuck. Right there.
“No, baby girl. We’ve had sex. We most certainly haven’t fucked.” His voice is like gravel, rough and intoxicating.
Goosebumps break out over my skin.
“It’s a bad idea,” I protest weakly, my words breathless. “Things between us are … complicated.” But my body betrays me, craving his touch despite the turmoil in my mind.
