He lowers me onto the mattress with care, crawling up over me before I can mourn the lack of his lips on mine. He cages me in with his arms, eyes smoldering as he looks at me.
This Hunter is rugged and rough, and he ismine.
I say the last part out loud, and a low growl rumbles through him. “You’re right, I am yours.”
His name leaves me on a whimper, and he groans, pressing his forehead against mine. “Fucking gods, Wren. I will never get enough of hearing you say my name while you’re in my bed, flushed because of me.”
His hand crawls down my side, moving towards that spot between my legs where I need him most. He trails a finger over my waistband, my skin pebbling in his wake. “I want to taste you, Wren.”
My breath catches. “You mean . . .”
“I want to feel you come apart on my tongue.” His mouth brushes mine. “To hear you scream my name.” He kisses my jaw. “To feel you break apart for me.” A kiss to my neck as he slowly moves down, his thumb slipping beneath my waistband and brushing my skin. “Can I take off your clothes?”
I lick my lips, staring at this Hunter who has changed my world, and I nod.
“Out loud, little bird,” he says.
Part of me can’t believe this is happening, that we’re here together, and yet my agreement comes easily to my lips. “Yes.”
He flashes me a crooked smile before sitting up, his legs straddling me as he relieves me of my tunic. It lands somewhere on the floor, leaving my top half exposed to him, save for the band holding my breasts in place. His appreciative gaze roams over me.
“Suns save me, Wren.” He undoes the fabric, and cool air rushes across my chest.
Except for my necklace and bracelet, I am bare from the waist up. I should feel nervous about him seeing me like this, right? If anyone else saw me like this, I’d hasten to cover myself up. But when Gabriel is looking at me like I’m the most beautiful being he’s ever seen, all I can do is bask in the heat of his attention.
And then Gabriel chases any lingering fears I might’ve had by whispering, “You’re fucking stunning.”
He draws my nipple into his mouth, and I cry out as a flurry of sensations runs through me. He looks up and smirks as if he knows I’ve never felt anything like this before moving to my other breast, repeating his actions.
I can’t contain my moans as he continues, paying attention to my breasts until I am a desperate, needy mess beneath him.
Blessed, burning suns. I may not survive this version of the Hunter.
After another few minutes of delicious torture, Gabriel rests his chin on my stomach, his eyes burning into mine.
“You never answered my question, Wren. Can I taste you?”
I inhale sharply, my pulse racing. It’s not that I ignored his request earlier, but I wasn’t sure how to answer him.
I’m still not.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I squirm. “Gabe, you don’t have to... I... No one has ever...” My cheeks burn, and suns save me, this would be a great moment to disappear into the mattress. “I’ve had sex before,” I blurt. “But no one has ever... Oh, suns take me.”
This is, without a doubt, the most awkward moment of my entire life. If I still believed in the gods, I’d pray for them to come and strike me dead. That would surely be better than this. Is it possible to die from embarrassment? I don’t know, but from theway my heart is racing, it seems possible. After everything I’ve survived, wouldn’t that be something?
I’m not sure how much time passes before Gabriel’s lips ghost over mine. The kiss is brief, but it draws me out of the panicked spiral I was falling into. He shifts, resting his weight on his hips and brushing a hand down the side of my face.
“Look at me, Wren.”
It takes me a moment to do as he asks. I’m not sure what I expected to find in his gaze, but it wasn’t a look of pure hunger.
“There you are.” His eyes shimmer with deep emotion as he trails his hand down my chest towards my core. I’m frozen, ensnared by him, and I don’t move as he cups me over my pants.
“Are you telling me no one has ever kissed you here?” He brushes his thumb over my clit, and my hips jerk into his touch.
My cheeks burn. “No,” I whisper.
A smile, satisfied and purely male, spreads across his face. “Good.”
