Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

Willow

Oh my God. The air around us crackles for a split second, and then my back hits the window.

Of our room.

He carried us here in an instant. And now he's doing things to my mouth that are probably illegal in a dozen states.

I don't know what came over me. One moment I was mad at the entire world, and the next…I propositioned an angel. I'm going to Hell.

Gabriel tears his lips from mine with a growl. "Be sure, Willow. Be very sure."

His tone should scare me, but I've never been more sure of something in my life. "I want this," I manage. My body is on fire. "I want you."

He spins me around, pressing me to the door with another searing kiss. "Do. Not. Move."

Like I could. I'm so turned on, I can't think straight. My nipples ache against the lace of my bra.

Gabriel slams the bench seats down flat, grabs the mattress from the top shelf, and tosses it onto the platform in a flutter of sheets, blankets, and pillows before turning back to me.

His amber eyes melt into liquid gold. A muscle in his jaw ticks as he stares at me with an intensity bordering on feral.

My gaze travels down his body to the bulge straining against his zipper. We slept in the same bed last night, but I was so exhausted, I don't even know if he wears boxers or briefs.

"Willow—"

I bristle at the edge to his tone. "Don't you dare ask me if I'm sure again."

He's on me in a heartbeat. His fingers sift through my hair, while his body pins me to the door. Rational thought runs for the hills. He kisses my neck, and his lips, tongue, and teeth—oh God, his teeth—set every nerve ending ablaze.

Down to my collarbone. Across my throat. Up to my other ear.

"You taste like the sun," he whispers. "My sun. My light. My world."

His beard scrapes over my skin, leaving the most delicious burn everywhere he kisses.

"More," I beg. My fingers are trembling so badly, I can't work the button on his pants. "Gabriel. Please…"

" Deliciae. Cor. Vita . Mine." He grabs my wrists, pinning them over my head with one hand, while the other palms my breast through my sweater.

I struggle against his hold, desperate to touch him, but he's too strong. How can I feel so much when we're still fully clothed? My core is dripping.

"I am going to savor you, Willow. All of you." His lips feather along my ear. "What will it take to make you come?"

"Not…much," I gasp. "But…you have…to get my shirt off…first."

"Do I?" He wedges his thigh between my legs. "That sounds like a challenge."

"Oh, God." Jeans have never been a religious experience. Until now. The thick seam scrapes against my clit. Gabriel pinches my nipple through my sweater, so hard I yelp. But the pain turns to pleasure in an instant. Stars explode in front of my eyes.

I can't move. Pinned by his hand above and his leg below, I'm helpless to do anything but feel. His teeth scrape along the pulse point at my neck. He finds the other nipple, rolling it between two fingers, and I fly apart.

Gabriel seals his mouth to mine, swallowing my scream. My core pulses in endless waves. His scent wraps around me. My fingers tangle in his hair. When did he let go of my wrists? I force my eyes open, shocked to find my sweater gone and his hungry gaze pinned to the lace covering my breasts.

"You are exquisite when you come." His tongue flicks over his lips. "I could pleasure you endlessly—for the rest of my existence—and never get enough of you."

I open my mouth, but can't find my words. Any words. Aftershocks roll through my core, and it's a good thing he still has me pinned in place. I don't trust my legs to hold me.

"Talk to me, deliciae." Concern knits his brows together. Tightening my fingers in his dark locks, I pour all I wish I could say into my kiss. This moment is everything I wanted and more.

Gabriel tucks his hands under my thighs, lifting me so I can wrap my legs around his waist. We don't come up for air until he lowers me onto the bed.

He cages me with his arms, rolling his hips so his hard length rocks against my core. "I could make you come again like this. Or…I could taste you."

"Please…" I don't know what I'm asking for. Just… him . In every way.

Slowly, like he's an animal on the prowl, he inches toward the foot of the bed. His hands stroke along my thighs, to my knees, my calves. I'm whimpering now. Even through my jeans, I can feel the heat of him.

He tugs off my boots, then his, before he finally, blessedly, slides my jeans down my hips. They land on the floor next to my sweater, followed closely by his shirt.

The muscles of his arms cord as he positions himself between my thighs and runs his nose over the lace covering my mound. A growl rumbles in his throat.

One finger traces the edge of my panties. It's too much and not enough at the same time. "You are dripping for me." He brings his finger to his lips, and—holy God—sucks it into his mouth.

His eyes darken. "I knew you would be delicious." Dipping his head, he kisses from my knee almost to my mound, but stops just short. "These have to go."

I agree, but the sound that escapes my lips isn't a word so much as a desperate whimper. Gabriel works the lace over my ass and down my legs. My bra is next, and he sits back on his heels, drinking me in. No man has ever made me feel this sexy. This wanted .

He parts my thighs wider, leans down, and runs his tongue through my folds. The feather-light touch threatens to undo me. I moan, and he rears up and kisses me so hard, I feel it all the way down to my clit. My taste lingers on his tongue.

"Fuck me, Gabriel." I'm not above begging. "Please."

His low chuckle holds the promise of more, but he shakes his head. "I am not done with you yet, Willow. Not by a long shot."

Gabriel

The naked woman in front of me is my sun. My moon. My stars and my sky. Now that I have tasted her, I do not know how I will ever go back to the celestial realm and leave her alone.

You will not have a choice.

I push those dark thoughts away. For this moment, we belong only to each other.

Her sex weeps for me. Positioning myself between her creamy thighs, I savor every little moan. Each time her breath catches in her throat. The tremble of her muscles. The look in her eyes.

My second taste is better than the first. She's so wet, her arousal glistens over her thighs. I kiss each of her lower lips in turn, then slide a finger into her channel. "You are so tight, deliciae ."

"Been…a long time," she pants.

I find her clit with my tongue, tracing patterns over the hard nub. She starts to writhe. "No. Not yet." I press one arm over her thighs, pinning her in place. A second finger joins the first, working her channel as I continue to suck on her clit.

Her stomach trembles, her heels dig into the thin mattress. She grabs for my shoulders, my hair.

"Hold onto me," I say, letting my words vibrate against her sex.

A cry spills from her lips. Arching her back, she thrusts her hips up to meet my tongue. I add a third finger, stretching her, curling them until I find her G-spot. At the same time, I score my teeth along her hard nub.

"Come for me, Willow. I need…all of you."

Her entire body stills a second before she shatters into pieces. Another scream—my sun and star is far from quiet when she comes—and I gather her into my arms.

Sweat beads between her breasts. I kiss a path from her navel to her throat, savoring the way each part of her body has its own unique flavor. Her nipple is sweet. The underside of her breast salty. Her sex are like the ocean after a storm. Her shoulder tastes of my soap. Her neck, my shampoo. Her lips…for now, her own arousal. Soon…maybe more.

I pull the blanket over us, holding Willow close. I love how she turns to me. How she tangles our legs together. Smoothing my hand over her hair, I breathe in her scent. I could live in it.

One taste, and I will never be the same again. Going back to the celestial realm after this and surviving? Impossible.

Willow's hand trails up my chest to toy with my nipple. "Careful, deliciae . Do not start something you are not ready to finish."

"I'm ready." She pushes onto an elbow to peer down at me. "It's my turn now."

"That sounds like another challenge." My lips curve, and I arch a brow. "I very much enjoyed the last one."

She shivers, despite the heat building between us. "So did I."

I roll her on top of me, savoring the scrape of her nipples against my chest. The luscious curves of her ass under my hands. Her scent. It's the sea after a storm, a hint of spice touched by the sun, and so much more.

Her first kiss is hesitant. Gentle. Slowly, she teases the seam of my lips with her tongue. I give her time to explore my mouth. To run her hands up and down my arms, over my lats, along the hard planes of my chest.

"I've never kissed a man with a beard before," she says, brushing two fingers to her mouth as she pulls away.

The idea of her with another man— any other man—is enough to wrench a growl from my throat.

"Easy, tiger." Willow braces herself on her hands, studying me. "You're not…jealous?"

"You are mine, Willow. No other man will ever—" Fuck. How can I stake my claim to her when I know we can never be more than this? When I know one day soon, I will have to leave her?

I run my thumb over one of her nipples. The dusky nub hardens under my touch. A fresh wave of her delicious scent fills my nose.

My gaze pins to her swollen lips. The tip of her tongue darts between them. What would it feel like to have her lick my cock? To see her gorgeous mouth full of me?

"Take my pants off," I command. They are too tight, and I curse the invention of zippers with every foul word I know. Also, underwear. Robes are so much easier.

Willow loosens the button, moving with agonizing slowness.

I narrow my eyes at her. "You are teasing me. And enjoying it."

"Maybe. Payback is a bitch, Gabriel."

With all of my angelic speed and strength, I flip her onto her back, my hand cupping her head so I do not slam her into the mattress. "Yes. Yes, it is."

I slide two fingers into her channel.

"Oh, God," she moans. Her hips buck against me.

"Not God. Just your angel." I could make her come with my fingers alone, but I ache to be inside her. Two thrusts, and I suck my fingers into my mouth. Fuuuuuuck.

She shoves my pants halfway down my thighs. "A little help?" Her frustration spills over, her mouth bowing into a pout.

"With pleasure." The trousers land on the floor next to the rest of our clothing, followed by my boxer briefs.

Willow's breath catches in her throat. My cock stands at attention, precum beading from the tip.

"Touch me."

She hesitates for only a moment before her fingers stroke along my shaft. A drop of my essence coats her palm. Her eyelids flutter. My slit is leaking now, weeping only for her.

Willow brings her fingers to her lips. Nothing in all my millennia of existence has ever been sexier than watching her taste me. Her low moan. The heady mix of arousal filling the air.

"Come here," she says softly and grabs my hips, pulling me closer. But uncertainty churns in her gaze. "I've never done this before."

"Fuck, Willow. You do not need?—"

Her lips still glisten, and she fists me down to the root. "Yes. I do. I want this, Gabriel. With all that I am. Help me."

I can refuse her nothing. Gently, I cup the back of her head with one hand and brace the other on the wall. "Take me in your mouth, love. Slowly."

Fuck me. Her wet heat is the most delicious reward. Brows lifted in question, she hollows her cheeks once, pulling me deeper.

"Yes, fuck yes. You are perfection, Willow. Let your body tell you what to do. What it needs."

The first stroke of her tongue along my thick vein threatens to send me over the edge. Gritting my teeth, I fight for control. My hips thrust. Willow gags and chokes, but quickly recovers. Light dances in her blue eyes.

Her short nails rake over my ass. The slight burn shoots straight to my balls. "If you do not wish me to come down your throat, you will release me. Right now."

Her lips curve into a smile—as much as they can while wrapped around my cock. Another thrust, this one deeper. She flattens her tongue, working to take more of me.

For a moment, I think I can hold on. But she hums as I hit the back of her throat, and I lose myself to my own pleasure.