Chapter Seven

Lily

Gabriel trails light kisses up my shoulder blade to my neck, then captures my mouth in a sizzling kiss. His hands are everywhere: my back, my ass, my breasts… Squeezing . Kneading . Teasing me senseless.

We've somehow managed to get rid of our clothes in a frenzy, and now he's determined to drive me crazy with his mouth and hands. Not that I'm complaining.

I love the taste of him. I love the way he kisses me like he can't get enough of me… I love how his hands leave trails of fire behind on my body…

I've come to love all the sinful things he does to me. It makes me wonder if I can make him feel even half of the pleasure he gives me.

Mustering all of my strength, I flip him so I'm lying on top of him.

Gabriel lets out a surprised laugh. "Ooh, honey, that's hot," he teases, his eyes twinkling with humor and an unsheathed hunger that ignites my own lust. "I never knew you were so strong."

I chuckle despite the heat crawling up my neck. "I was wondering…" I murmur, trailing a finger down the ripped muscles of his chest. "What do you taste like?"

He smiles, watching me for a second with an unreadable expression. "Why don't you find out for yourself, honey?"

"Can I?"

"Sure, love. I'm all yours."

Something about the lightness of his tone and the unabashed eagerness in his eyes serves to bolster my courage. I suddenly feel… empowered.

I lean forward to kiss his shoulder down to his chest, loving the smooth, yet rugged feeling of his body beneath my lips. I hover hesitantly over his nipple for a second, then swirl my tongue over one hardened bud. He hums, his eyes darkening in that way that always steals my breath away. I kiss his other nipple, loving as it instantly pebbles under my ministrations. Then I move to his rib bones, scooting backward in a way that brings my ass in contact with his growing hardness.

"Oh, fuck," Gabriel mutters, twitching lightly. "What're you doing, love?"

Instead of replying, I continue to trail butterfly kisses down his abdomen, lower… until my lips are hovering above his throbbing length. I run my fingers lightly over him, thrilled by the sheer magnificence of his size.

He tenses beneath my touch, his muscles jumping in a way that sends chills down my spine. I love to see him like this… intentionally vulnerable. Laid bare – for me .

I take him fully into my hands, watching as his eyes darken almost dangerously. "Oh damn," he hisses through his teeth. "Who taught you things like that, honey?"

"You," I reply, imitating his lopsided smile.

"Oh fuck," he mutters, his voice laced with amusement.

I wrap my lips around his tip, watching as his expression morphs into a tortured grimace. Then I swirl my tongue around him, loving the salty taste on my tongue.

"Oh, Lily," Gabriel moans, closing his eyes. "You're killing me."

I take him fully into my mouth and freeze, momentarily overwhelmed by his fullness. He must have sensed my hesitation, because he weaves his hands into my hair to pull my face to his.

"You don't have to, angel," he says with a soft, reassuring smile.

I shake my head, pressing my lips together as a feeling of shame crawls up my chest.

"I want to," I say when I finally find my voice. "You taste – feel – so good… I-I just don't know what to do now that I'm here."

I try to duck my head but his hand on my skull holds me steady. "It's nothing to feel ashamed of, honey. I love teaching you these things."

And I love the way he calls me honey…

"Want me to help you?"

I bop my head even as my face grows hotter. I don't care that I'm embarrassed, though, I just want to pleasure him as much as he does me.

He moves my mouth over him again. "Slowly, hun," he mutters, his hands guiding my head as I take his length into my mouth. He seems to grow bigger the more I take him in until I can't anymore. He bobs my head up and down again until we establish a steady rhythm.

"Use your hands, love," he says, his voice unusually hoarse.

I wrap my palm around the lower part of his shaft and start to pump in rhythm with my mouth, slowly getting used to the feel of him on my tongue… the soft, velvety feeling of his flesh… the taut rigidity of his muscle… the overwhelming fullness and the delicious saltiness…

I love it all.

"More tongue, less teeth, honey," Gabriel instructs. His voice has become so husky it's barely audible. "Yeah, just like that…. Oh, fuck me. Oh, Lily…"

I take him in deeper until my throat tightens around his tip and he lets out a long string of mumbled curse words, his hands tightening painfully in my hair. He jerks my head upwards, almost as if he's in pain, but I immediately go down on him again, taking him even deeper this time.

I don't care that my throat is burning like crazy or that I'm choking so bad it feels like I might drop dead at any second… None of that matters as long as Gabriel is enjoying it. His uninhibited moans sound like music to my ears.

I continue to suck him harder. Faster. I hollow my cheeks to tighten the friction while caressing his balls in my palm.

Suddenly, he starts to shudder beneath me, his fingers biting into my scalp as he lets out a tortured grunt. "Oh, fuck! I'm going to come in…"

A wetness shoots up my throat, hot and thick. I jerk backward in time for the rest to land on my face. I run my tongue over my lips, tasting him. He watches me, his eyes clouding up with a dark passion as he jerks me up roughly.

"Oh, come here," he grunts before smashing his mouth to mine. The kiss is hot, aggressive, and, at the same time, toe-curling.

Then, without warning, he flips me over and drives into me with a ferocity that shakes me to the bones.

"Gabriel!"

He buries his head in my neck and continues to plunge into me in long, deep strokes until I become a shivering mess beneath him.

And just when I think I'll die of pleasure, he sits up on the bed and swings me onto his lap, setting me down on his hard length in one brutal thrust. I let out a tortured cry and my muscles contract to accommodate him.

"Oh, you're in for it, love," he mumbles, nibbling on my earlobe as he continues to plunge into me, his hand on my waist guiding my movements. "You shouldn't have teased me like that."

"Oh, but I wanted to," I gasp in between jerky moans as his thrusts grow deeper. Faster. "I – like – to please – youuuu… Oh, God!"

"Do you like when I fuck you like this too?" he asks, kneading and spanking my ass.

"Yeah…" I whisper, forcing the word past my clogged throat.

His hands roam down my back and settle on my bottom, and then he lifts me and slams me down again.

I scream his name, burying my head in the crook of his neck as an insurmountable pressure starts to build in my core. His hands remain on my bottom, guiding my hip movement as I ride him relentlessly. I close my eyes and throw my head backward as pleasure courses through me in powerful waves. At that moment, it feels like gravity has ceased to exist and I'm flying, spinning down a bottomless pit full of sinful pleasure.

It doesn't matter that I've climaxed three times in the last hour since he accepted my invitation to stay. Each time feels like the first, yet better than the last. Every touch, every thrust, sets my body on fire anew.

I can't seem to get enough of him. Not tonight. Not ever.

Suddenly, his hold on my waist tightens and I feel him rippling inside of me, filling me up even more as we climax together. I grab onto his shoulder to steady myself as the orgasm goes on and on.

"Look at me, Lily!" he commands, his tone urgent. "Now."

Mustering the last of my energy, I hoist myself upright to look at him. His eyes lock on mine, and at that moment, I glimpse a vulnerability that shakes me to the core. Something passes between us then, something magical that defies logic.

It's a long time before we both come back down to earth. Only to go again. And again.

Hours later, I lay in the safe cocoon of his arms, spent and sated. I'm almost drifting asleep when his voice breaks the silence.

"I'm glad I found you, angel," he whispers in my ear and pulls me even closer against his chest.

I snuggle deeper into his embrace, feeling safer than I have in a long time. "Me too," I mutter as I give in to the insistent pull of sleep.

The next morning, I wake up surrounded by Gabriel's intoxicating, yet reassuring scent. He wasn't beside me but he'd left a note on his pillow:

Hey, sleeping beauty.

You looked so relaxed that I didn't have the heart to disrupt your sleep.

Out on my morning run. Be back soon.

Love, Gabe.

PS: Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?

I trail my finger over the confident, sprawling handwriting. How can everything about him be so uniquely beautiful?

"Of course I'll go to dinners with you," I mutter, a silly giggle escaping my lips as I hold the letter to my chest.

Just then, my phone rings, jolting me out of my reverie. I glance at the screen to see an unknown number. I pick the phone up, taking a deep breath before placing it over my ear.

"Am I speaking with Miss Lilian Thompson?" asks a firm, feminine voice as soon as the call connects.

"Yes. How may I help you, ma'am?"

"This is Kate Sawyer from Hopeville Hospital in Havenbrook. I'm calling about Miss Ella Thompson. We were unable to locate her guardian, and you were listed as her next of kin. I'm sorry to inform you that the patient passed.

"What?" I ask blankly. The words don't register. That can't be right. I gave Mom the money. She had her surgery. She's fine.

"Miss. Ella Thompson. You're her sister, aren't you?"

"Y-yes. But Ella can't be dead. There must be a mistake. She had her transplant just a week ago."

"Transplant?" she repeats, response voice resounding with confusion. "There was no surgery scheduled for Miss Ella. Her condition worsened last month, but she lost the fight a few days ago. Since then, we've tried to contact her guardian to no avail."

"That's not possible," I say, my head reeling as fast as my pounding heart. "I wired two hundred thousand dollars to Mom for the transplant just two weeks ago. How can there be no surgery?"

"I'm sorry, but we have no knowledge of that transaction," Ms. Sawyer says. A contemplative silence passes, and then she sighs softly. "If your mom is Ella's guardian, then she hasn't come around since she left after Ella was rushed down here. That was two months ago."

"W-what?" I mutter. My head suddenly feels like lead as I try to make sense of my churning thoughts.

This had better be a dream, because it doesn't make any sense.

"That doesn't make any sense," I repeat out loud. "I spoke to Mom after the money was deposited and she confirmed the payment. I- I can't believe…"

"Did you speak to your sister?" The nurse cuts in gently. Her voice holds no accusation but a heavy weight instantly settles on my chest. Guilt burns brightly in my throat as it dawned on me how lackadaisical I was about my sister.

"I was busy…" I let my words trail off as they sound lame, even to me.

Busy? Too busy fucking Gabriel Foster to check in on my sister? Sure, that'd be an acceptable excuse.

I would have justified my carelessness with the fact that I had to earn the money for her medical bills, but that isn't true. The money's been sent. The truth is I've gotten so lost in this magical bubble that's Gabriel Foster's world, so lost that I've forgotten my reality.

Now Ella is dead and it's all my fault!

"I'm sorry about your loss, Miss Thompson," Ms. Sawyer says, her voice softening with genuine sympathy. "However, you'll need to come down to the hospital at your earliest convenience to claim the body and make arrangements for a burial. Goodbye."

The line goes dead.

"No… No…" I mutter, springing out of bed and running towards the door like the devil was on my heels.

Ella can't be dead.