Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno #1)(196)

He unzipped her dress slowly, staring deeply into her eyes. Then he gently pushed the green silk off her shoulders. It made a sighing sound as it floated to the floor, as if it too, had been seduced by him.

Julia stood in an ivory satin slip, whose hem ghosted the top of her gartered black stockings. Gabriel gasped at the sight of her, for she looked like an angel. A brown-eyed angel with dark upswept hair against creamy white skin, wearing an ivory slip over black lace under things. A juxtaposition of virtue and the possibility of eros.

He reached out an explorative finger to touch one of the garters. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

Julia blushed. “I know you didn’t want black, but truthfully, I wasn’t expecting you to see me in these. I thought I was going to change.”

“Hey.” He gently lifted her chin and caressed her colored cheek.  “You are stunning. And I never said I didn’t like black. But if you want to change, I’ll wait.”

He gazed down at her expectantly, but she shook her head. She’d waited long enough. She ran her hands up and down his powerful chest before pulling him toward her by his tie. She kissed him deeply and slowly unknotted it, trying to be as sinuous as possible, sliding it around the back of his neck and dropping it unceremoniously to the floor. She attended to the buttons on his shirt, making short work of them and placing it and his t-shirt on top of his tie. While he stood before her, half-naked, she pressed her mouth to his chest, wrapping both arms around his upper back so she could feel the muscles in his shoulders and lower down.

“I can feel your heart beating,” she whispered.

“For you,” he said, with a smoldering expression.

She smiled as she touched his abdominals and waist. His skin was warm, much warmer than hers, and oh, so inviting. Unbuckling his belt and unfastening his trousers was slightly nerve wracking, but he placed a steadying hand over hers and helped her when they refused to cooperate.

When he stood in front of her in his boxer briefs, having already kicked off his shoes and socks, she took a deep breath, waited for his nod, and pushed his underwear over his hips.

She took a step backward to admire him. She licked her lips and grinned. Widely. Gabriel was gorgeous.

It was probably genetic, or maybe it was a gift from the gods, or a combination of both, enhanced by his diet and exercise. But as her eyes wandered over his muscular body and well-defined abdominal muscles, something inside her warmed and melted. She felt heat rushing to her womb and farther down, especially as she noticed the V that extended from his hips. He was a modern version of Michelangelo’s David, but with far finer proportions and unspeakably beautiful hands. Perhaps it was in poor taste, but she was more than a little smug when she realized how much larger he was than him.

Karma… her conscience cheered. She fought back a giggle, biting her lip roughly so that she didn’t behave like a schoolgirl in reaction to her momentous discovery.

Gabriel noticed her strange reaction but said nothing. He suppressed a smirk, telling himself that it was probably not the right time to joke with her about his size. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, and he knew damn well how good he looked, particularly now as he strained at attention.

All because of her.

“May I?” He came closer and ghosted his fingers over her hair, pausing for permission.

She assented, and he began to remove the pins, one by one, spilling her curls onto her shoulders. Julia closed her eyes and drank in the feeling of Gabriel’s fingers running through her hair. It reminded her of the day back at Richard’s house when he played hairdresser.

He untangled each curl lovingly, crown to end, until her tresses hung about her face like a dark curtain. He grazed the curve of her neck before his fingers found the straps of her slip. He pushed them over her shoulders.

Julia stood in a black lace bra, black lace boy shorts with attached garters, and black sheer stockings.

Erotic perfection paired with the blush of innocence.

She was truly lovely. But she was nervous under his watchful gaze. She didn’t like being stared at for long periods of time; it made her self-conscious.

So he gathered her to him and kissed her until he felt her shoulders soften.

“Julia, I would like to see all of you,” he whispered.

She nodded, and he took his time removing her stockings, releasing the catches and slowly rolling them down her legs, pausing briefly to fondle the backs of her knees again. Her labored breathing in his ear assured him that he was doing it correctly. Then he stood behind her and pressed kiss upon kiss across her shoulders before gently unfastening her bra. She pulled it forward and dropped it at their feet, thinking to herself how sexy their clothes looked together on the floor.

He took a moment to cup her br**sts from behind, bringing his body flush with hers. He caressed her lightly, brushing her ni**les with his thumbs as he opened his mouth to pay homage to the skin beneath her ear. Then he slid his hands to her ribs, pausing to rub them up and down before hooking his fingers in the material at her hips. He continued teasing the skin beneath her ear with his tongue as he removed her panties.

Julia was finally, gloriously, nude.

He hugged her around the waist and moved her to face him, noting the way her eyes were bent to the floor, her plump lower lip worried between her teeth. She started to fidget with her hands, and Gabriel knew she was only a moment away from covering herself.

“You are a goddess.” He freed her lip, pushing his thumb softly to the curve of her mouth before he lifted her chin. His eyes swept across her deliberately from head to toe and back up again so that she could see his admiration.