37. Thirty-Seven

I spent last night at Gabriel's place, wrapped tightly in his arms in his nearly empty house.

Sleep never hit me so hard before. I woke up this morning sore and aching from my head to my toes. I snuggle into the larger sleeping man next to me, taking in his warmth and addicting masculine scent. The sunlight is blocked from the curtains and I almost want to bury my face into his shoulder and trick my body into believing it's still nighttime. I'm not ready to leave his bed or his arms. He buries his nose into my hair. "If you are trying to pretend to be asleep, you're doing a horrible job at it."

I laugh. "I want to stay like this forever. We've never spent the night together like this before. The one time we did, you were gone before I woke. It's nice to wake up in your arms."

He holds me tighter. "Yeah, well, you better get used to it because I plan on keeping you hostage here for as long as you let me."

I hum in content when he kisses my shoulder. "You won't get a single fight out of me."

"How's your neck?" His voice is soft with concern laced in it.

"Sore and achy. I could sure use something hot for my throat. Something other than your cum. Then again, maybe we could try that too in case it has healing abilities we aren't aware of." Now that I remember I've never sucked Gabriel's cock before because he never let me touch him, it's all I want to do, but sadly, I'm in no shape to curb my craving at the moment.

He laughs, ruffling my hair. "It's too early for your random rambling and bad jokes."

I turn around to face him, pressing a kiss to his lips. "You know you love it."

He releases a soft sigh. "I do love you, but I don't have to always like your jokes."

"Oh, don't be such a grumpy asshole."

He rolls his eyes in annoyance. "Never call me that again."

I laugh, throwing my body on top of his. I rub the tip of his nose with mine. "But you"re my grumpy asshole."

He growls, flipping me onto my back. "I warned you."

I laugh, trying to escape his tickling advances. "That"s not fair, I"m ticklish everywhere. I"ll just have to find your weakness. What is it, huh?"

He kisses my nose. "You."

My stomach flutters and I slide my fingers through the coarse hair on his face, moving it up his cheek. "And you"re my strength. When you"re near, there is nothing that scares me and I feel capable of anything."

Gabriel is usually the most terrifying man in the room and he never allows anything or anyone to ever harm the ones he cares for. There"s more to him than his hard outer shell and I can hear it cracking more each day.

He kisses me and I melt against him, still having a hard time believing this is real. My stomach grumbles and he pulls his lips from mine. "Someone"s hungry. How about we go see if there"s anything edible in the fridge."

I follow him into the kitchen driven by curiosity. "How do you not know what"s in your own fridge?"

He pulls out a carton of eggs and other ingredients you would need to make an omelet. "Because my brother sometimes comes by to stock my kitchen. He worries about me way too much."

"That's sweet and kinda adorable."

"Don"t ever say that to his face."

I laugh, taking the cup of coffee from his hands. The hot, smooth liquid relaxes my throat and eases the soreness. Gabriel hands me a pack of frozen vegetables. "Here, for your neck. It will help with the bruising and swelling."

My eyes drift from his to the empty kitchen with not so much as a table sitting in it. "Why don't you have any furniture?" I ask, wrapping my fingers around the package of peas. He flips the food in the pan with a green spatula. I"m surprised the man owns cookware. Pouring the food onto a paper plate, he ignores me. I huff in frustration. "You ignoring my question?"

He shakes his head, handing me my omelet. "No, I was thinking."

Since when does a man have to think about why he doesn"t own furniture? "About what exactly?"

"My answer."

"It"s not a trick question, Gabriel. There"s no right or wrong answer."

"It's not that." He pauses, scratching his chin. "I was too angry to live my life before. I never cared about things like getting furniture or filling the fridge. All I cared about was revenge. Now, that's all gone, and I have you. Fuck, that was cheesy. What are you even doing to me?" He slides his hand up my bare thigh, slipping beneath my underwear. His touch warms my skin, sending tingles dancing along it.

"All the right things, apparently." I waggle my eyebrows and set my plate on the nearby marble counter. I'm no longer hungry for food. My body is starved for something else. It didn't matter how sore I was. I need him inside me again and soon. We kiss; his tongue is warm and tastes like vanilla and coffee. His tongue on mine heightens my taste buds, making me want more. Maybe I can get my caffeine fix straight from Gabriel's mouth from now on.

His hand slides under the waistband of my underwear, sliding over my hardening cock. I rock my hips forward and he strokes my slit with his thumb. My hole twitches needily when his fingers slide between the cleft of my ass. The soreness becomes more apparent when his fingers graze my hole. I flinch. "Someone is still way too sore. Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

I lick my lips. "Sí. Then when you"re done being gentle, make me hurt so bad I scream loud enough for the world to hear."

"Always, princesa."