He was still on his knees, one on each side of my hips. His weight rested on the tops of my thighs as he leaned back. “Do you see? I could do anything to you here. Strike you, choke you. It is the worst position to be in.”
“I get it.” My pulse was pounding. “So, what do I do?”
“Bend your knees, get your feet flat on the floor,” he said. When I did, his weight rested more heavily on me. I was holding my breath again, and I forced myself to exhale.
“From here, you can… buck your hips,” he said. Was his breath coming faster, too? “And keep going until you get me off-balance. Try.”
I dug my heels into the ground and thrust my hips up. Gabriel lurched forward and fell to his hands, one on each side of my face. He was suddenly so close. “No, do not stop. Keep going.”
I continued to buck my hips until I felt his weight shift to one side. I instinctively rolled with him until I was kneeling between his legs. My head was light, my breath too fast. I froze, looking down at his heaving chest.
“Bene. Very good. This is where you would run away,” he said with a lopsided smile. “You could hit me in the groin first.”
I caught my breath. “Can we try again?”
“Si,” Gabriel said after a miniscule pause. “It is important to practice.”
We reversed positions, his weight solid and warm above me. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. “Ready?” I asked.
He nodded.
I bucked my hips, hard and fast, until I could roll him over again. This time, I let my weight fall forward until I pressed my body to his. I could feel his heart pounding beneath me. His pupils blew wide, and I realized my scent was probably going haywire, but I didn’t care.
“Again?” I asked.
“Certo.” He spun me back over, fast enough that I lost my breath. He was right above me, closer than before, his lips inches from mine before he pushed back up onto his haunches. I nearly moaned at the friction the motion caused.
My eyes flicked down. Was he hard? Surely not. If he was, it was just because of my scent. Right?
Without warning, I bucked my hips harder than ever. Gabriel grunted in surprise, and I pressed my advantage until he was beneath me again. I crawled until I straddled his hips. I sat back, feeling his length against me, unmistakably hard and hot.
“Carissima,” he said, almost a groan. “This is not good self-defense.”
“It’s not?” I asked with faux innocence.
“No,” he said. “I told you, you should run.” His eyes burned into mine, no longer full of humor. I needed to take a breath.
And then suddenly his hands were gripping my hips, and he was grinding me against him.
I cried out and let my hands drop to his shoulders. I rolled against him, mindlessly seeking friction, and his fingertips dug into my ass.
“Cazzo, carissima,” he groaned. “Your scent.”
I should have been ashamed to use my scent’s effect on him this way, but I seemed to have lost my shame along with my mind. I could feel myself getting wet, just as I had the other night, but I needed more.
I wanted to kiss Gabriel, wanted to taste him. Iwanted.
As if he could read my mind, he rolled us again, so he hovered above me, his eyes on my lips. He rocked against me, stoking my desire. “Stop me, mi fiore, if you do not want this.”
I surged up to kiss him. Our lips met, too hard, but I didn’t care. The relief that coursed through me felt like a revelation. He wrapped his hand firmly around the base of my skull and moved his lips against mine.
It wasn’t my first kiss. I had kissed a boy once before, when I was sixteen, at a party my fathers dragged me to. He’d been on the catering staff and had found me hiding in thegarden. He was kind and sat with me for an hour, joking about the other guests. When he’d leaned in, I’d seized the opportunity for anormalteen interaction. That kiss had been short and sweet, almost chaste.
This kiss was not.
Gabriel’s tongue teased against the seam of my lips, and I opened for him eagerly. He swept in, his tongue as hot and insistent as his length pressing between my thighs. I kissed him back eagerly, inexpertly, but my self-consciousness faded fast. I sucked on his tongue and was rewarded with another groan, another buck of his hips against mine.
“Cosí dolce, come il miele,” he murmured against my lips. “Mi hai fatto ardere il cuore.”
