Chapter 26

Ican’t believe what just came out of my mouth, but as soon as I say it, I know I’m right. Forget the scene, forget the dirt and the sweat and the fake blood. Forget all of that.

Gabe needs this.

I need this.

I kiss him hard, taking away any chance he has to protest, and he pulls me on top of him as he lies back on the rock, his hands grabbing my ass and squeezing me through my jeans as our bodies press together.

Like that first time in the woods, there are just too many damn clothes in the way. But as he kneads my ass, his thigh pressing between my knees and up against the zipper of my jeans, I moan into his mouth.

But I want more than a grinding orgasm this time. I want all of him.

I realize that’s truer than it should be. I had fallen for him, but when I saw him attack Russell, my heart had shriveled up and retreated in confused fear. And though it’s only been a short time, my heart has opened back up to him as we’ve talked and bared our souls—the good, bad, and ugly. Though his is certainly tipping more toward the bad and ugly than mine.

But I understand what he was doing and who he is. He is going to such lengths to help me and keep me safe, including the whole thing with Russell. Gabe really does mean that he’ll do anything for me. Truly . . . anything.

The weight of that settles me down, emotionally grounding me in him and this moment.

I slide down his body until I reach his waist. He watches, his eyes dark with hunger as I unzip his pants and free his thick cock.

I run my tongue up the underside of his throbbing shaft, and he moans, grabbing a handful of my hair to guide me back where he wants me.

“That’s it, Bella... fuck, your mouth feels so good on me,” he moans, his words disappearing as I inhale him. I can’t get enough. The taste, the velvety steel texture, the way he stretches my jaw as I take more and more of him inside me... the power I feel.

Here I am with this sexy, powerful, deadly man at my mercy. He’s not perfect, that’s for sure. No, he’s every bit the dangerous hunter, but he’s mine. Poor Izzy Turner, the girl everyone made fun of and pitied, who never had a single thing go her way and struggled just to eke by. But that’s not who I am with Gabe, and maybe he doesn’t have to be the Fallen Angel with me. We can just be Gabe and Bella, ourselves.

I suck him, hollowing my cheeks and bobbing up and down over every inch of his manhood, devoting myself to him. Even as I pleasure him, I can feel the heat building between my own legs.

I look up to him through my lashes, and he thrusts deep into my throat before pulling me off. “Hey, I wasn’t done,” I protest.

But he pulls at my shirt, signaling me to take it off. I step back, making quick work of the tee and my bra. My nipples tighten in the fresh air, standing at attention and begging for Gabe’s tongue, hands.

I glance down to my jeans to work the button and shimmy them off, kicking my shoes off in a mess I’ll straighten out later. When I look back up, Gabe is stroking himself as he watches me strip. If I’d realized, I would’ve done it more gracefully or sexily, but judging by the red, angry color of the head of his cock, he liked my fast stripping just fine.

“Hands and knees, Princess,” he commands. It’s the first time he’s called me that since our painful conversation in my living room, and it feels symbolic that we’re back on course, on the same team. Even if the team is Hell’s Angels. If that’s what it takes to be with him, I’ll gladly trade a bit of my soul, darken my spirit to match his intensity.

Dropping to my hands and knees in the soft pine needles, I toss my hair over my shoulder so I can see his approach. Gabe’s eyes are on me at first, but as he lowers to his knees behind me, his gaze sinks to my ass and I can see his hand twitch. I arch my back, inviting him, and moan when he slaps my ass, loving it.

“Say it again,” he begs, sliding my panties to the side. My wet lips clench as the cool air hits them, and Gabe spreads me open with his thumbs. “Whose are you?”

“Yours.”

In a heartbeat, all my breath leaves me in a whoosh as Gabe shoves his thick cock deep inside me in one smooth stroke.

He’s huge, and each time we’re together it’s like being split open, but the initial pain electrifies my body. I feel alive while he pounds me, hammering my pussy as my fingers claw at the rich, moist earth underneath me and I’m pushing back into him, crying out with every slap of his balls on my clit.

I don’t need the roughness... but I love it and trust him to not go too far. He takes me, completely and fully, and when I clench around him, crying out my orgasm, he grinds deep inside me, letting me ride it out before he starts again.

I can feel each plunging stroke, the throb of his cock and the pulse of his heart as his fingers dig into my waist. He smacks my ass again, and I yelp, loving it and throwing my hair back.

“Gabe . . . please!”

I need him. He needs me.

I am his. He is mine.

Both flawed and scarred, damaged beyond repair, but somehow perfectly matched.

Gabe swells and thrusts hard as he cries out, warmth filling me as he finds his ecstasy. He groans my name, triggering my own shattering. I spasm around him, my eyes rolling up in my head and the shakes coming over me again as I keep him inside me until it passes. I feel Gabe gather me in his arms, holding me close and safe off the forest floor.

Fuck, Princess.” His voice is ragged. “I feel like I’m damning you to hell with me.”

I cup his face. “I feel like I’m pulling you out of hell to be with me.”

The walkback to the house feels different. Our plan is already in action, and it makes me nervous. I trust Gabe, but even he says this is a risky gamble and the stakes are high. Our lives.

I’d hoped our return would feel more triumphant, like we’re taking life by the horns. Instead, I feel like I’ve grabbed on to the tail of a bull and am just holding on for dear life as I slingshot around.

Gabe kisses my forehead, more sweet than sultry. “Go rinse off and we’ll head back. You’re sure Mia won’t mind our dropping in?”

I give a small smile, laughing softly. “Mia won’t mind us stopping in with a moment’s notice, but she’s gonna flip when I tell her what’s going on. But she’ll get on board. Probably have a statistical analysis of every angle in five-point-three minutes and a half-dozen suggestions on ways we can proceed from here. It’s who she is.”

He nods, letting me go clean up while he packs up the house and removes any trace we were ever here.

Alone, I pick up the burner phone Gabe told me to use for the call. It rings and goes to voicemail the first time I call, which I’d expected. Mia isn’t the type to answer to random phone numbers. So I hang up and dial again immediately, and she picks up.

“What? I ain’t buying whatever you’re selling,” she says in her fake Russian accent.

“Mia? It’s Izzy,” I say, and the floodgates of her fury open.

“Where the actual fuck have you been, girl? I called Martha to check on you because I haven’t heard anything in a couple of days and she tells me that you went on vacation. Vacation?!” she says incredulously. “Do you even know what that word means? And with some guy we haven’t even met, much less vetted? Charlotte is having a fucking cow about this. And not the cute black-and-white dairy ones, but like a big ass, horned monster of a cow. W. T. F. Iz!” She says the actual letters, like double-u, tee, eff, and then finally takes a breath so I can get a word in edgewise.

“I know, I’m sorry. But I’ve got reasons. Can I come by in a bit? We need to talk.”

I hear her inhale, and I’m sure she’s got her hand on her chest in worry. “What’s wrong? What did he do? I’ll fucking kill this Gabe character, string him up by his ball sack, slice and dice him open, and make him choke on his own stomach contents.”

“Whoa, no. That is rather . . . descriptive and disgusting. He’s fine. He’s helping me, actually. But I need to talk to you. And Thomas,” I say solemnly.

“Tommy?” she asks leerily.

“I know you have a lot of questions,” I interrupt quickly before she can go off on another question-filled rant. “I have even more than you do, probably, but we’ll figure it all out soon. We’ll be there soon, so be home, okay?”

“Got it,” she says, but I can hear the worry in her voice.