She pressed her palm onto his chest and stopped him. “Gabriel, we all have a past. You haven’t been with anyone since you and I … since we …” Now she was the one who couldn’t say the words.
“Made love?” he helped and placed his palm over her hand.
Maya locked eyes with him. “Yes. I know that now. That there was nothing going on with the witch. I’m sorry I couldn’t trust you before.” She rose. “Now you can get dressed. Unless …” She paused. “…you don’t want to.”
She needed to affirm life, to forget the things she’d seen tonight. Life was so short, and sometimes the only thing one could do was grab onto what was right in front. Take what was there while it was there. What would happen in a few hours, a few days? She realized that nothing should ever be postponed, because there might never be another chance.
Gabriel looked at her and touched her cheek with his palm. “As much as I would love for both of us to get naked right now, it wouldn’t be right. You’re kind not to have run away screaming, but no woman wants to be fucked by me, not while I have this.”
Maya clamped her hand onto the back of his neck and pulled him closer until their lips were only a fraction of an inch from each other. “You listen to me now, Gabriel. I will decide who fucks me, and I won’t let your misplaced sense of shame get in the way of that. Whatever this is, we’ll deal with it.”
“You don’t understand. It can’t be removed. I’ve tried surgery. It grows back.”
She brushed her lips against his and felt his erection poke her stomach. “Do you want me?”
“Of course I want you.”
“Then we’ll figure it out. If you want to wait, that’s fine, but watch your back, because one day you’ll find yourself in a prone position and I’ll be right there taking what I want. I figure as a vampire I’m strong enough to rip your clothes off and ride you until you come. And frankly, I won’t care if you sprouted a tail as long as you have a hard-on to impale me with.”
Her last words were just a whisper against his lips. She felt his breath rush out of him before he took her mouth and kissed her. A moment later, she found herself without ground under her feet, suspended in Gabriel’s strong arms, pressed flush against his still half-naked body. She could only hope that nobody would enter the living room or they would get an eyeful of Gabriel’s naked backside.
Maya slid her hands down toward said backside. When she dug her fingers into his firm flesh, he moaned into her mouth and intensified his kiss. She’d never seen him this passionate, not even when he’d satisfied her after she’d been in heat. It was almost as if some restraint in him had burst and he was finally allowing himself to do what he wanted.
She tore her mouth away from his to breathe. “I want you now. I don’t want to wait.”
His eyes were dark, staring back at her with disbelief. “Maya, please don’t toy with me.”
She freed herself, but only to open her own pants and pull them down. “I’m not toying with you.” As soon as she’d stepped out of her jeans—and it was fast, given her vampire speed—she pulled him close again. “Fuck me, now.” She knew if she waited any longer she’d burn up. She needed him inside her now, and she didn’t care about anything else.
“Baby,” Gabriel whispered against her lips and shifted them. A moment later, he pressed her against the wall. “Next time, we’ll do it like civilized people. But right now—” His hand went to her panties and with one swift move, he ripped them off her. “—right now, I want you fast and hard.”
***
Gabriel gave her no time to let his words sink in, but pinned her with his body and spread her legs apart. For a second, he held himself completely still and looked at Maya’s expressive eyes where he saw desire glow back at him. Even after what she’d seen, she still wanted him. She hadn’t rejected him, she hadn’t run, and most of all, she trusted him.
How this was possible, he didn’t know. He recognized her need to forget the pain she felt, but that couldn’t be everything. It couldn’t be the reason she allowed him to take her. No, when he looked into her eyes he saw more than just desire and passion. He saw affection.
“I love you,” he confessed, laying his heart bare just like he’d bared his body. Then the beast in him took over, and he thrust into her with a ferocity he’d never known. And at that moment he was thankful for the fact that she was a vampire, for the passion he unleashed on her would have torn a human apart. But Maya met his thrusts with as much power and determination as he dealt them.