Dangerous Lovers (220 page)

“I wanted you to know that I will leave with you. If that is what you want,” I whispered, looking at my plate, afraid of what he would say.

When I felt the softness of his hand, my stomach tightened. I knew this would be it, he would tell me that he was done with me. I pulled my lip into my mouth biting down hard. How could I ever be allowed to keep a beautiful creature such as him?

“What I want is to be with you.”

My heart hammered in my chest at his words, and I couldn’t breathe right.

I looked up at him, seeing his eyes flash that light pink color that I had longed to see. It wasn’t very long, but it was there. My stomach tightened for a different reason. He was towering over me, him standing, me sitting. I wished I could find the strength to speak. Instead his hand moved to touch the scarred side of my face, tucking the hair that was loose behind my ear. I leaned into his warm hand, loving his touch more than anything.

“I wish you wouldn’t hide.”

I hadn’t realized I had closed my eyes until I had to pry them open to look into his. He watched me steadily and unmoving. I searched desperately looking for something. I didn’t know what until I saw it. His eyes were a dark purple maroon. Desire mixed with something entirely different. He leaned his head a little closer, placing a small kiss on my lips.

“I want you more than I have ever wanted anything else in my life.” Stone whispered.

I don’t know what had possessed me to, but my arms moved. They pulled him down so hard that I was sure I bruised our lips. The kiss, while frantic, was passionate; it was more telling than his words. More telling than his hands, which had moved to my legs. He wrapped his huge hands under my thighs and lifted me up. This wasn’t like before when he pushed his hips almost immediately. He was cradling me against his body, making me feel cherished.

“Gods help me, Audrey. I have fallen in love with you.”

I didn’t even know how, but we were moving. We made it back to my room with no problems, still embracing each other. Giving each other small feather light kisses here and there. This wasn’t about an uncontrollable desire. Closing off the door, closed us off to the world. Nothing could disrupt us.

He set me down gently, he was always so gentle with me, on the bed. His hands were going for my shirt, pulling it off. Before I was scared, now I was excited. As his hands touched every exposed piece of skin that he could, his eyes took more of me in. I was glad for the protection of the bra I was wearing but I knew with the heat in his eyes, it wouldn’t remain on me for much longer.

His right hand ran up the cliffs and basins of my scars. He bent down and kissed me again. I took his shirt in my hands and pulled it off of him. It seemed wholly unfair; such a beautiful creature would ever want to lay with me. My hands moved up the ridges of his body, wonderfully sculpted, it brought tears to my eyes that I couldn’t be as unblemished as he.

Pulling away from my neck, he looked me right in the eye.

“Is this too much too fast?” His voice was breathless, gruff.

I wanted to bite my lip at the reaction it was causing through my body. I shook my head.

“What? What is it?” He brushed his lips against mine as he spoke.

“I am so…damaged.” I whispered.

“But repairable. Always repairable,” he whispered, pushing a stronger kiss on my lips. I felt his body move. “You are so much more than that first girl I met. You wouldn’t even look me in the eyes then. You would shudder in fear when someone got too close. You are so much more than you could ever realize.”

My arms went around his wide shoulders needing to feel his skin against mine. I took in a shaky breath.

“But you are perfect.” I whispered. It took all my courage and he laughed at me. It wasn’t a full out belly laugh, but a snickering.

“No one is perfect, especially not me.” This time he was nibbling on my ear lobe.

My eyes shut half way as the sensations of his teeth on my ear forced my body to react. I didn’t speak thinking on my own thoughts. His lips made a trail back to my lips, and while I kissed him back, and while my body tingled with his heat mixed with mine, my mind wasn’t quite in the moment.

He noticed. “What if I told you, that even though your skin is marred, even if it had been branded by another, violently, you were the most exquisite being I have ever laid my eyes on?”

I didn’t think. I reacted once more pulling his body fully on top of mine. My hands moved down to his dark, black jeans. I fumbled with the button at the top, while he continued to caress my skin with his lips and tongue.

“Gabriel…I think,” I paused, the words getting caught in my throat. I knew that he told me he was falling in love with me, but how could I be sure? He looked up at me now, completely ignoring the bra cup he was slowly, torturously, removing with his teeth. When he looked up at me, his eyes were an even lighter maroon color, it was more of a light red color.

“I think that I am in love with you.” The color in his eyes changed dramatically. Before they were a light red, now they were a shining shade of pink. He watched me closely.

“I love you, Audrey.” I started to smile when he placed his forehead between my breasts.

“Can we have a moment to savor this?” I made it sound light, airy but I was scared that he was lying about what he said, that his eye color had changed without his knowledge. That he was controlling it. But he told me at the cabin he never did that, never around me unless absolutely necessary.

“There is something I need to show you.” He looked up at me, while mostly his eye color was pink it was mixed with deep blue of sadness.

I bit the inside of my cheek, worried at what he would show me.

“I can’t believe I am going to do this.” He took a deep breath. Suddenly his form changed. It didn’t shrink too much in size, maybe a little less full in the shoulders, a little less height than before. His dark black hair was a lighter black, borderline brown. But his eyes remained the same.

The biggest change was his skin. Once tan and smooth, it was now riddled with all types of scars. Small, cut like ones, bullet shaped ones, longer deadlier looking ones like claw marks. Like mine. I touched the skin in front of me, a scar that looked so much like my own, but mine were unique to my father’s claws. He flinched slightly.

“Does it hurt?” I whispered. I knew from experience that sometimes even though the pain was long gone, the memories of the pain were still fresh, still right there in your mind.

“Not anymore.” His voice was a little rawer in this form. I looked up at him, hoping he wasn’t putting on a fake skin in order to make me feel comfortable with him. “I know what you are thinking, but this…this,” He looked down at his maimed skin, “This is the real me. Completely and utterly. Shifters, animal, human, shape, we all have one solid form, the real us. This is where we show how we age, the wounds that we heal.

“Shifters have the power to control the cells in our bodies to reform new ones, to heal faster, or heal at a normal rate, but it will always leave a scar on our real skin if severe enough. That is how we change forms. Never do shifters show their true form to another person. You are the only person that I know of that even knows about this outside the shape-shifting community. Even the families don’t know. Sometimes there are just secrets that aren’t meant to be shared.” He looked up at me then, his eyes were a steel grey color.

“You must think…”

“You are gorgeous,” I whispered before he could finish his statement.

The scars on his skin showed an intricate map of his life. I couldn’t stop staring at it. His hand touched my face and I leaned into it, loving the raised skin of calluses. I looked into his eyes, and so many emotions were in them, I had to turn away. His lips touched mine and we fell back into our original positions.

Finally, I managed to get the button undone. He kissed my breasts, and I couldn’t stop the sounds escaping my throat. My body tightened in anticipation. His hands moved to my jeans and he slid them down. At this point, I was more than ready for anything. I swallowed hard when his skin touched the sides of my bare hips.

I bit my lip, holding in the sounds of pleasure that wanted out. That needed out. His hands moved all the way down my legs, from hips to the tips of my toes and back up again, but this time going for the inside. He didn’t waste time with the panties I wore. He ripped the seams and threw them. I wiggled, but I wasn’t sure what my body wanted. It just started to react on its own.

I had never done this before. I had never made love with someone. I had been forced to sleep with people, violent acts of deep rage. Nothing like this. It never felt like this.

He touched me gently and I shivered, my head going back. My whole body tingled with a strange sensation. My stomach ached with the need to fill it with something…not with anything, but for him. I needed him.

We didn’t speak as he moved back up my body, placing kisses everywhere. I was completely open to him. And he to me. I touched where I could reach, wanting more of his skin on my tongue. I wanted to taste him as he got to taste me. Finally his eyes were locked on mine, his lips right above.

“I promise…” he started.

I nodded and waited. It had been many years since I was abused; my muscles hadn’t forgotten the pain of it. And I clenched without meaning too. Gabriel looked down at me again. “I would never hurt you.”

My body relaxed. He moved. I closed my eyes feeling full, feeling right. I whispered something, I wasn’t even sure I was saying words at this point. He moved, I moved with him.

I didn’t know who was who, and who was doing what. All I knew was that he held me close and kissed my shoulders, my neck, my lips. I did as much as I could between gasps and pants. Then it happened, a whole new sensation that had been building in my lower abdomen exploded. I came apart in his arms and he held me close as I screamed his name. He followed right after and turned us over holding me close. He told me how he would never let me break again.

• • •

In the morning, I woke up to feather light kisses all across my face, down my neck and exposed shoulders. I didn’t want to open my eyes. I didn’t want the kisses to stop.

The night was scorned into my mind, forever. I would see it as my first time. He was my first, and I was afraid for me, my only love. I knew it deep in my soul that I loved him with all my heart. I didn’t know if I would be able to keep him. I pushed away those thoughts hoping they would never come to be. When I opened my eyes, Gabriel was still feathering my skin with light kisses.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He pulled himself up and kissed me on the lips. Our bodies were still entwined. I didn’t want to ever leave his arms, but I knew that we had to get moving so that my father wouldn’t come looking for me.

I still hadn’t been able to talk to Nixie alone about the situation, but I hoped that I could soon. I decided I would talk to her after my father was finished trying to train me to shift again.

His eyes never left me as we got ready. I felt self-conscious, but I made no moved to hide from him. I met his deep purple eyes and smiled tentatively. I pulled on the dress that I’d picked out from the clothes Xavier had provided. For once in my life I felt … sexy. I bit my lip and looked down.

He walked around me and I felt his still callused hand touching my scar on my back. I shivered, loving the touch of his real skin on mine. He brushed his lips across my skin. I moved my neck letting him nuzzle me, loving the feeling of his scarred skin against my own. I closed my eyes.

“Gods, I love you, Audrey. I don’t think I could ever get enough of you.” His hands slid over the fabric of the dress. I moved my body into his. “You might have been broken once before, but I promise I will never let you break again.”

“Gabriel…”

“I love when you say my name.” he moaned.

I turned around and ran my fingers through his hair, slipping my arms around his shoulders.

“Say it again.” It was a demand.

“Gabriel…” I whispered.

“Again,” he growled, moving his hand under the hem of my dress to touch my thigh.

I shivered moving closer. I needed his touch.

“Gabriel…” He touched me again his hand moving up my thigh and back down again in the lightest of caresses. I licked my lips and waited for him to move again.

“You know what I want, and I won’t do anything without it.” He taunted.

I smiled slightly.

“Gabr-”

It was cut off when there was a knock at the door. Nixie walked in still looking down at something in her hands.

“Hey little guppy, I was wondering if…” Nixie looked up at Stone and I standing there. Thankfully, his hand was on my hip, over my clothes this time. His hair was ruffled from where I had been running my fingers through it.

“I had no idea you had company. Hello there, Stone.”

I looked at him. His skin was back to normal-flawless. I already mourned the loss of Gabriel, of the man who made love to me last night, who had completely opened himself to me.

“Why is it that I am always finding you two together? You two aren’t doing the dirty deedy-deed are you?” Her eyes narrowed, and then she laughed. “Of course not cause if you were, Audrey would have told me!”