Wraith(81)

‘I can’t help it,’ he murmured against my ear. ‘The poison is clearly still acting in some very strange ways.’ He planted several small kisses along my jawline. ‘Perhaps the taste of your skin will counteract the effects.’ His tongue darted out, licking me.

I yelped and sprang backwards. ‘Stop that! I’m not a lollipop!’

‘But you’re so sweet.’ He moved towards me again.

I held up my hands to ward him off. ‘You know that’s a terrible line, right?’

Gabriel took my right hand and caressed each finger in turn. Then he placed my palm flat against his chest. ‘You can feel how fast my heart is beating. I told you already, Saiya, our heartbeats are in unison. So if mine feels like it’s hammering against my ribcage then yours will too.’

‘My pulse is perfectly normal.’

His smile took on a wicked tinge. ‘Really?’ He bent his ear towards my chest, hovering less than an inch away. ‘If that’s normal,’ he whispered, ‘then you need to see a doctor. It just so happens that I’m a fully trained first aider.’

‘Pah!’ I scoffed. I moved my hands down to my sides. They were shaking – and the last thing I wanted was for Gabriel to see how scared I was.

He stood back and pulled off his shirt. Under the dim, magical light, his skin glowed. My eyes involuntarily tracked down from his hard pecs and erect nipples to the trail of dark, curly hair leading to the waistband of his trousers.

‘Do you like what you see?’ he asked.

Embarrassed, I looked away. ‘Get some sleep,’ I said, although my insistence was growing weaker by the second.

‘Tell me to stop.’ He took my hand again, turning it over and tracing my heart line with his index finger.

I shivered. Gabriel placed it over his heart. The skin-to-skin contact sent another delicious shudder rippling through me.

‘Tell me to stop.’

My body felt as if it were suddenly on fire. With the gentlest of touches, Gabriel nudged my hand down. And down. And down. I gasped. Then he stepped back, the smile disappearing from his face. ‘Tell me to stop, Saiya.’

My mouth was dry. My hands were still shaking and speaking was beyond me. Was this normal? No wonder poets waxed lyrical about love.

‘Saiya?’ Gabriel prodded.

I shook my head, mute. The consequences of this might be too great to handle. He still hated my kind – and by extension me. I was still lying to him. Right now, however, denying either of us was beyond me. I wanted more of him. Fuck it. I wanted all of him.

A low growl emitted from Gabriel’s throat and he pulled me into him. Then his lips were on mine, gentle at first, then hot and bruising as if he tried to control himself and couldn’t. I pressed into him, my arms round his body and my hands against his back. I marvelled at the smoothness of his skin and the hard nubs of his spine. I didn’t feel revulsion when I touched Gabriel; I felt joy.

‘I haven’t told you,’ he breathed shakily, ‘how sexy you look in my shirt.’

My stomach flipped. Doing my best to hide my thoughts, I made a weak attempt at a joke. ‘Maybe I should keep it on then.’

He gave a low laugh. ‘Not a chance.’ His fingers reached for the buttons and began to undo them. He was halfway down before he stopped. ‘I will stop if you want me to. At any point. Just say the word.’ His voice was tense, anxious.

My turbulent emotions were written on my face. With my heart in my mouth, I responded to him the only way I could think of; it was the only way that made any sense. I undid the next button. And the next. And the next. I shrugged off the shirt and discarded it. Wearing only my old underwear, I was standing in a cave with Gabriel de Florinville. I swallowed. What if I wasn’t good enough?

He groaned. ‘You’re so beautiful. And so damn skinny. When we get out of here, I’m going to feed you up until you burst.’

My heart was hammering so hard so that I felt as if I were going to burst right now. Awkwardness and embarrassment surged through me. He was right; I was nothing more than skin and bones. What was desirable about that? I raised my arms as if to conceal my body but he shook his head.

Suddenly understanding seemed to light through him. ‘You’ve never done this before,’ he said, as if in wonder.

‘I don’t like being touched,’ I muttered. ‘Normally.’

He bent down and picked up the shirt, handing it to me. Without thinking, I took it. ‘I didn’t realise.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I … wow.’ He stepped away, still looking flummoxed.

I stared at him. ‘So that’s it?’

He glanced at me. ‘Pardon?’

‘I’m a virgin who’s never allowed herself to be kissed before so I’m weird and you no longer want me? Or have you changed your mind because I’m too thin?’ The accusation in my voice made him flinch.

‘No. God, Saiya, no.’ He drew me into his arms. ‘I want it to be special for you. If this is your first time then…’

‘Then there should be a four-poster bed with rose petals and candlelight?’ I snorted. ‘We might be dead before we see another bed, Gabriel. You can’t spend all this time convincing me and then change your mind.’ I set my jaw. ‘This is happening.’ I threw the shirt back onto the ground, reached down and started unbuckling his belt but I couldn’t unfasten the buckle and my fingers kept snagging against the leather.