“Would you like him to fuck you?”
I frown, trying to imagine Michael in Gabriel’s position. The idea of any other man touching me fills me with distaste. “No.”
“You can be honest. I won’t punish you for the truth.”
I clench my inner muscles, trying to take his finger deeper, and grind my sex against his palm. “Don’t you understand what you’ve done to me? I want you, Gabriel.”
The pain in his eyes doesn’t ease. There’s relief, but grief still sets his face into hard angles that emphasize his harsh features. The shadows of the room hide the scar tissue on his cheek, but not the somber light of his ice blue eyes as he stares at me. To me, he’s perfect. I love the stark lines that define his unusual masculine beauty and even the sorrow that’s permanently etched on his face. Needing to touch him, I pull on his grip, but he tightens his hold.
“Please, Gabriel.” I beg him with my eyes, my voice, and my hips.
He groans as I rotate my lower body, trapping his hand between us. Slowly, the squeeze of his fingers on my wrists relaxes, allowing me to lift my hand to his face. I cup his cheek and brush my thumb over the devastating map of scars. It’s frightening to look at him, but when you find the courage to look, to really look, the power of the beauty that lies underneath the physical destruction is blinding. I’ve seen the beauty inside of him, too. He’s a good father to Carly, and he gives me much more than he takes, even if I’m nothing but property to him.
“I only want you,” I whisper.
For a moment, he leans into my touch, brushing his scarred cheek over my palm, but then he turns his head away, angling his face to the darkness.
“Gabriel.” I moan in protest.
He pushes my legs open wider, positioning his cock at my entrance.
“Gabriel.”
I say his name, trying to bring him back to me, to catch the moment we’ve lost, but he braces himself on his arms, putting more distance between us. The only connection between us is his cock that slams violently into my body. An ache spreads inside of me. He pulls back and does it again, stretching and burning me with that dull pain that tells me he’s too rough. He fucks me so hard my body shifts up to the headboard. Over and over he pounds into me, and all I can do is wrap my legs and arms around him, holding on while I give him everything I’ve got. With every thrust he growls, keeping his face turned away from me. He’s never taken me this brutally before, and even as it hurts, my soul revels in his possession. For now, I don’t care that I’m property. I don’t care that I’m a price tag and an empty body. I just want to be his.
“Only you,” I say.
He lances into me harder, his grunts louder, punishing me for something I don’t understand. The rougher he treats me, the softer I mold my body around him.
“Only yours.”
He snarls, driving into me with such force I’m scared he’ll break me.
“Damn you, Valentina. Don’t you dare lie. Not about this.”
“I want to be yours.”
He grabs my face between his palms and jerks his head toward me, putting our noses inches apart without slowing the hard pace of his hips. “Look at this face. Look at me!”
“I am looking.”
Angers pulls his features into a fearful mask. His nostrils flare, and moisture brims in his eyes. “Stop it.”
“Yours.”
He utters a raw cry and grinds his groin against mine. Throwing back his head, he clenches his teeth and bites off the sounds as liquid hotness fills my body. He shakes with his release, his body slick with perspiration. I need him. He made a hole in my heart, and only he can mend it. Snaking my arms around his neck, I pull him down for a kiss, but he untangles my wrists and arranges my arms next to my body. He only rests his forehead against mine for the briefest of moments before he lifts up on one elbow to look at me. Our eyes remain locked as he lets his cock slip free to fill the empty space with his fingers. Using his release, he lubricates my clit and brings me to a quick orgasm, all the while watching me.
When the aftershocks subside, he takes me to the shower and washes me. Too weak to stand on my feet, he sits on the bench with me straddling him, my head resting on his chest. The water stings my private parts, and I flinch when he soaps me down there. He towels us dry, carries me back to his bed, and then he disappears into the bathroom again. When he returns, he hands me a glass of water and a tablet.