Chapter 19

Audrey pulled her dress over her head. He wasn’t the only one going commando under his clothes, and his gaze latched onto her naked breasts. He moistened his lips as if he wanted to bend over and taste her, so she threaded her fingers into his hair and urged his head down.

Oh, yes.

He used his teeth to tug her nipple to a point and groaned in a half-desperate sound. Shocks of pleasure zinged from her breasts to the spot she really wanted him to kiss, the place between her legs that was already soaked for him.

“Gabe,” she breathed, her fingers digging into his shoulders as he lavished attention on one breast and then the other. His touch was exquisite and torturously slow. She wanted more. She wanted him.

He must have sensed her increasing need because he caught her mouth again in a hot, hungry kiss and stood, his fingers digging into her ass as she wrapped her legs tight around his middle. He had such big, masculine hands. They felt delicious on her flesh. She wanted them touching her everywhere.

He turned and dumped her on the mattress. She bounced and laughed until?—

God, that expression on his face. He stood beside the bed, breathing hard, his lips swollen from their kiss, his hooded eyes drinking her in like he wanted to devour every inch of her.

Yes, yes, yes, she wanted to shout, but her breath stalled in her lungs. She shifted on the bed, letting her knees drop apart, allowing him to look his fill. And he did, studying her with a hot intensity that she’d never seen on another man’s face before. If she were a match, his gaze alone would have set her aflame.

His breath hitched as his gaze dropped to the apex of her thighs. A low growl sounded from his throat as he unfastened his jeans, letting them slide down his muscular legs. She bit her lip at the beautiful sight he made, all hard muscle and raw masculinity.

“Gabe,” she whispered. His golden eyes flicked up to meet hers. She held out her arms. “Please. I want you.”

Something stirred behind his eyes as he stepped out of his jeans and sank into a crouch at her feet. Reverence. Desire.Maybe a little fear.

She still wore her sandals, and he kissed her toes as he unbuckled each and tossed them aside. Then he kissed his way up her body until he’d explored every exposed inch of her. Every whisper of his lips against her skin was a sweet promise.

Her fingers curled into his shoulders, the anticipation building with each teasing touch. When he finally hovered over her, his body heat searing into her skin, she hooked a leg around his hip, pulling him closer. The tip of his cock brushed against her sensitive folds, eliciting a low moan from both of them. Desire coiled tight in her belly, demanding release.

“Gabe…”

There. He was right there at her entrance and still resisting, damn him. She dug her heels into his butt and lifted herself so that he had no choice but to fill her. Hard.

He growled, a deep, guttural sound that sent shivers down her spine. There was a delicious moment of resistance before he slid home, filling her with an intensity that left her gasping. His grip on her hips was tight, holding her in place as he stilled, buried deep inside her.

The quiet was almost deafening as they caught their breaths, eyes locked in a connection that went beyond the physical. She found herself getting lost in his golden gaze, seeing the raw passion and barely restrained control that was so quintessentially Gabe. The sensation of him inside her, so close yet still holding back, was an exquisite torture she hadn’t anticipated.

“God, Audrey,” he murmured, his voice strained with desire. He pulled back slightly, then thrust forward again in a slow, deliberate rhythm.

Gabe was all control, each movement calculated to draw the utmost pleasure from her. She met him thrust for thrust, letting the building crescendo of desire wash over her in pulsing waves. She ran her hands down his back, feeling the play of muscles under his skin, the unyielding strength of him.

His mouth found hers again, swallowing her gasps and moans as he drove into her relentlessly. His tongue mirrored the rhythm of his hips, sending her spiraling into a state of sensory overload as passion and pleasure mingled together in an intoxicating blend.

She dug her nails into his back, urging him on, every thrust sending a shockwave of pure ecstasy through her.

“Yes,” she hissed out between clenched teeth, tunneling her fingers through his cropped hair. “Harder.”

He responded with a low growl, and all pretense of control vanished as he pounded into her with abandon. The room echoed with their labored breaths, the slap of skin on skin punctuating each thrust. His fingers knotted in her hair, tilting her head back to expose her neck. He peppered hot, demanding kisses down her throat, leaving her panting and writhing beneath him.

“Look at me, Audrey,” he demanded, his voice hoarse, and tugged hard on her hair.

She swallowed hard and forced her eyes open, locking her gaze with his. There was a fierce intensity there, a raw desperation that matched her own. The sight of him so lost in the throes of passion, muscles straining as he drove into her, was a potent aphrodisiac that sent her spiraling over the edge.

“Touch yourself.”

She obeyed, her fingers sliding down between them to find her swollen clit. She rubbed it in frenzied circles that matched Gabe’s relentless pace.

A strangled groan tore from his throat as he watched her. His hands, rough against her smooth skin, moved with a desperate urgency, exploring every curve and dip of her body. He was not gentle now, but she didn’t want gentle. She wanted the raw intensity that he was offering her.

The world narrowed to him and the dizzying pleasure that was building within her. He drove deeper, harder, scraping against all her sensitive places and drawing sounds from her she didn’t know she could make.

“Audrey,” he breathed and gripped her hips in a bruising hold, lifting her into his thrusts. “You’re so hot. You’re—fuck, are you already coming for me?”

She was. Her head bumped the headboard with each powerful thrust, and she was flying apart underneath him. She had to clamp her teeth onto his shoulder to keep from screaming and letting everyone in the estate know exactly how incredible he felt inside of her.

“Christ.” Gabe stopped moving to stare at her. “You’re like nitro. One touch and boom.”

She let go of his shoulder, soothing the bite with her tongue before grinning up into his eyes. “Yeah, I’m a two-pump chump.”

He laughed. A real laugh, loud and rolling, the first she’d ever heard from him. “I love it,” he said and kissed her hard. The feel of his mouth on hers was addictive, his scruffy jaw scratching against her sensitive skin.

Then he moved again. Started slow, a long glide in and a delicious slide out, until she was panting, so close on the verge of another orgasm that her fingers and toes tingled, and she begged for harder, faster…

Then the world tilted, the room spinning around her as Gabe flipped them over. Audrey gasped, suddenly finding herself straddling him, his hands steady on her waist. He stared up at her, a fierce challenge in his eyes that sent heat spiraling through her.

She took up his silent demand, slowly rolling her hips against him. Her fingers danced over his chest, tracing the hard muscles and the smattering of hair that led down to where they were joined. Dark lashes framed those penetrating golden eyes as they watched her every move with heated intensity. His hands moved to cup her breasts, thumbs brushing over her nipples in a tantalizing rhythm syncopated with his upward thrusts.

Audrey’s head fell back as a moan tore from her throat, her fingers tightening around his shoulders. He was so deep inside her now, his body a pillar of solid heat that filled her completely, leaving no room for thoughts, no room for uncertainty. This was all she wanted, all she needed. The rise and fall of their breath, the rhythm of their bodies moving as one. The pleasure was so sharp it was nearly pain.

“Yeah,” Gabe gritted out between clenched teeth, his voice raw and strained. “Give it to me.”

She was soaked, their mingling slickness easing his way and heightening the sensation. She could feel him swelling inside her, the head of his cock brushing against that spot that made her see stars every time he found it.

His hands kneaded her ass, encouraging her to ride him harder. She moved faster, the sound of their bodies colliding filling the otherwise silent room. His gaze never left hers. There was something primitive about it all, something raw and unfiltered that left her breathless and desperate for more.

Her world contracted to the man beneath her and the molten heat coursing through every nerve ending. She wanted to surrender herself to him completely, to this man who frustrated and infuriated her, who made her feel more alive than anyone else ever had. A man who, despite all odds, had managed to seize her heart with his calloused hands.

Suddenly, he sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her hard against him. His mouth covered hers in a kiss that was as passionate as it was demanding, teeth clashing and tongues tangling.

“Gabe,” she whispered against his lips when they broke for air, her fingers combing through his dark, cropped hair. “I need...”

She felt him smile against her neck before he began trailing hot kisses down to her collarbone.

“I know what you need,” he growled and shifted their positions so that she was tucked under him again, her legs wrapped tightly around his hips.

And he delivered, driving into her with a force that had her clawing at his back, her body tightening around him. His control was slipping, and his movements were less calculated and more desperate. There was a wildness in his eyes as he looked at her, a feral intensity that sent pleasure streaking through her like lightning.

With a quick, rough jerk of his hips, he hit that spot again, and Audrey cried out, her voice echoing off the walls around them. She sank her nails into his strong shoulders as she surrendered to the orgasm.

Her world exploded in a burst of light, pleasure ricocheting through her in a shockwave of sensation that left her gasping and trembling. The walls of her sex contracted around him, milking his heated length and pulling deep groans from his throat.

Oh God, the man had to be an angel because she was in heaven. Every touch, every kiss, every movement was pure bliss.

When she floated back to herself a moment later, she openedher eyes, and there he was, her angel warrior, still surging over her. Sweat rolled down his temple, and his jaw clenched. With one final deep thrust, his head fell back, and his mouth opened on a ragged moan as he shuddered with his orgasm. Just as she’d once mused, he was beautiful when he let go and lost control like that.

Gabe collapsed on top of her, but only for a second. She didn’t mind his weight, but protective man that he was, he was probably afraid of squishing her. He rolled to his back, switching their positions. His eyes closed, and his breathing settled into an even rhythm, but Audrey knew he wasn’t asleep. His fingers stroked up and down her arm in the lightest of caresses.

Silence descended, but it wasn’t at all uncomfortable. Amazing that she didn’t feel the need to fill it with cooed oh-it-was-so-goods and other inane ego stroking. Gabe was a man comfortable with his body, comfortable with a woman’s body, and comfortable with sex, and he knew all too well he’d done it right.

Boy, had he ever done it right.

Audrey smiled to herself and propped her weight on one elbow to study him. His body fascinated her now more than ever. Wide, heavy arms and shoulders, and an honest-to-goodness eight-pack with ridges between each muscle group that arrowed into a sharp V at his hips. His nipples were like copper pennies, his navel such a shallow innie that it was almost an outie. And how adorable was that?

With a smattering of dark hair, his chest was the most defined she’d ever seen, but he still wasn’t bodybuilder bulky. Maybe he wore all that muscle so well because of his height.

A set of dog tags rested on a ball chain between his pecs. Audrey had felt them, cool against her skin, when he was on top, had seen them swinging when he propped himself up on his big arms to thrust deeper. Now, she picked them up to read the engraving.

brISTOW, GAbrIEL M

938867004USN A NEG

NORELPREF

“These look new,” she said. No scuffs or dings, still shiny. She didn’t doubt that Gabe, meticulous man that he was, would keep them in mint condition. Still, it seemed like they’d be a little beat up if he’d had them since he was seventeen. “Are these new?”

“Hm?” Gabe looked up, spotted the dog tags dangling between her fingers, dropped his head back to the pillow, and shut his eyes again. “No. I just didn’t start wearing them until last year.”

“Why not?”

“Wearing them on ops was more of a risk than not. Last thing I wanted was to let the enemy know I was a SEAL. And now…” He opened his eyes again and took the tags from her, rubbing his thumb over his name. “I can’t seem to take them off.”

She smiled at the pensive note in his voice and thought about the tattoo on his shoulder—a trident with the sea swirling around it. Across the bottom stretched a banner with the famous SEAL motto: The only easy day was yesterday.

She bet he got that tattoo around the time he started wearing his dog tags. “You miss the Navy, huh?”

He stayed silent for so long, she didn’t expect an answer. Then he surprised her with, “I really do, Audrey. It’s where I belong. Not here, working as a private contractor.”

She didn’t agree but decided to keep her protests to herself. For now. “What does the M stand for?” she asked instead, rubbing her thumb over his name.

“Matthew.”

“Named for an archangel and a saint. Oh, my mama would have loved that. The only reason I didn’t end up Mary Something-or-Other is because she was a huge Audrey Hepburn fan. Are your parents very religious people?”

He grunted. “They like to appear that way. Truth is, we never went to church.”

Audrey nodded and pointed to the last line on the tag. “Hence your lack of religious preference?”

“Yup.”

“My mother was extremely religious,” she said and weaved the chain between her fingers. “She raised me to be, too, but… well, I’ve never really fit into the mold my parents cast for me.”

“I don’t think any children do,” Gabe said, again surprising her. Who’d have thought him such an insightful man? His voice softened. “Parents need to be able to accept their children for who they are or not become parents at all.”

Ah, she got it now. He was thinking of his brother. Knowing what she knew of his father, Raffi’s coming out of the closet must have been a hellish event in the Bristow household. She imagined young Gabe torn between the love he had for his baby brother and the loyalty he felt toward his tyrant of a father—and fell hopelessly in love with him because he’d chosen Raffi.

Not that she’d had very far to fall.

She replaced the dog tags and soothed a hand down his chest. “You’d make an excellent father, you know.” When every muscle in his body went tight underneath her, she laughed. “Just an observation, sailor.”

“Jesus Christ, Aud. That’s not great post-sex conversation.” He groaned and slapped his forehead with thepalm of his hand. “And we didn’t use a condom. Fuck!”

“Yes, that’s what we did.”

He shifted to face her, his gaze a little bit wild. “I didn’t… I never… Are you…?”

Stuttering. The big bad SEAL was stuttering! Audrey thought about goading him on, but he looked so genuinely distressed that she didn’t have the heart.

“Relax, Gabe.” She patted his cheek. “We’re safe. I’m on birth control.”

“You haven’t been able to take any?—”

“Since I’m too forgetful to take a pill every day,” she interrupted, “I switched to the shot, which is good for three months, and my next isn’t due until July. So relax before you hyperventilate.”

“Okay.” He ran a hand over his eyes, heaved out a breath. “Okay. You should know I was clean last time I got tested. And I haven’t slept with anyone since before the car accident.”

That long ago? Wow. He was practically a monk. A very sexy, very talented monk. And, yeah, the dirty little fantasy that just popped into her head of dressing him up in a Franciscan robe while she wore a schoolgirl outfit probably just secured her seat in Hell. Mama would be so ashamed.

Gabe was watching her, waiting for a reply to… Um, what were they talking about? It definitely wasn’t Franciscan monks.

Oh, right. Him being disease-free. “I had no doubts about that,Mr. Responsible.”

He lifted his head to scowl at her.

She rolled her eyes and added, “I’m clean, too. I don’t take those kinds of chances. I don’t sleep around.”

“Good.”

Was that possessiveness she heard in his voice? Oh, a girl could only hope. She snuggled into his side and savored the feel of his heavy arm around her.

His lips brushed her temple. “Get some sleep, Aud. We’re going to need it.”

She tried. She truly did, but as soon as she shut her eyes, she saw her brother’s face.

Was he still alive? If he was alive, was he in one piece? Had his captors beaten him or starved him… or worse? And even if they get him back, would he still be lost to her? She wasn’t a dummy. She knew what a traumatic experience like this could do to a man.

Did Mena really know anything about Bryson? Gabe didn’t think so, but she felt like they were out of options. No telling when the FBI would try to exchange money for Brys, and although Gabe never said so, she knew he thought paying the ransom was an all-around bad idea. The captors would have no reason to keep Bryson alive after that. And sixty-five million reasons to kill him so he couldn’t identify them.

“Audrey,” Gabe whispered in her ear, then moved over her. His mouth found hers in a sweet, gentle kiss that was more about comfort than sex. “I can hear your mind churning from over here. Shut down, honey.”

“I can’t,” she confessed. “I’m scared.”

“I told you I’d let nothing happen to you.”

Cocky man. But she believed him. He was more than capableof keeping her safe. “I’m not scared for us.” He raised a brow, his expression patient but dubious, and she sighed. “Well, okay, I am. But I’m more worried about Bryson. What if?—”

“No, no. Never play the ‘what if’ game. You’ll drive yourself nuts.”

She bit her lip. “But what if we don’t get to him in time? They’ll kill him, won’t they?”

Gabe rolled over onto his back again and stared up at the ceiling. “If we can’t get to him in time, my team will find him,” he said after a moment and squeezed her against his side. “Don’t worry. Quinn knows what he’s doing.”