Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I don’t understand…” I pant. My brain is soup. “I've never been able to…” I trail off, not willing to finish the sentence, but Gabriel has caught on.
“Tell me.”
I lick my lips. I’ve never come like this with anyone. My previous sexual encounters were so forgettable it’s laughable. If the guy could fumble around and even find my clit, he wouldn’t know what to do with it. Gabriel works my body like he knows every inch, like he’s designed it, studied every angle and curve. He could pull me apart and put me back together. “I've never been with someone where I’ve shared such explosive chemistry,” I hedge. “Especially not someone who is someone my mother would approve of.”
“Your mother would approve of me?” He lets me turn to face him.
“Oh yes.” I tick off on my fingers, “Well-dressed, handsome, obviously ultra-wealthy, owns a castle. She would nag me to make sure I stay on your good side. She’d book me waxing appointments and buy me racy lingerie, so I could keep you happy.”
“I see.” His eyes narrow. “But what about you, Tabitha? Am I your type?”
“Well.” I kind of like that he's not asking about my mother anymore, but he’s trying to get me to open up when he won’t even answer my questions. “No, not really.” Except in looks and in the sack. “I tend to run away from guys like you. Rich, powerful, overbearing. I had too much of men like that growing up. It’s my mom’s type.”
“What sort of man would you prefer?”
“Does it matter? Would you change for me?”
“I am capable of change.”
I wrinkle my nose. Do I want Gabriel to be more like the men I’ve dated? Those guys were all free spirits, like me. Vagabonds with no jobs or roots. In Taos, they're the Trustafarians who’ve given themselves new names and smoke a lot of pot and talk about “finding themselves.” I felt comfortable with them. But we were like jellyfish, drifting through life.
Gabriel isn’t a jellyfish. He’s a dragon. An intense, powerful, obnoxiously controlling, and obsessive dragon. There’s no comparison.
Compared to Gabriel, sex with the guys I dated is like drinking dirty brackish water versus rich fine wine. Which is probably why I've only had a handful of hookups. I thought I just wasn't into long-term relationships, but maybe I wasn't choosing guys I wanted to be with. I was scratching an itch and moving on.
Gabriel...he could consume my world. I could become obsessed with him. And that’s exactly what he wants. A shiver runs through me.
I hope he won't notice, but he's completely in tune with me, as I'm in tune with him.
“I can’t compare you with those guys. Being with you is so much more satisfying,” I admit. “On another level.”
“And that is why you are so eager to leave me?”
My insides churn, and I give him a desperate look.
“Ah yes,” he caresses my face. “You are afraid of what we share.”
“Love is control.”
“Ah, but, Tabitha, control sets you free.”
I lift my wrists. “Take these trackers off, and we can have a conversation about control.”
He presses his lips together.
“That’s what I thought.” I plant a hand on his chest and push him out of my way, wanting a cloth to clean myself with. I’m naked and Gabriel is still fully clothed. Again.
I grab the robe and yank it on. “I’m going to keep trying to escape.”
“You cannot run from me. I will not allow it.” He grips my wrist just above the golden cuff. His fist tightens. “I cannot allow you to be hurt again.”
Again? For a moment, I have a clear vision of the tapestry I stumbled upon in the dusty area of the castle. The one with the woman with long brown hair. She looks a little like me.
“In the interest of change,” he spits it like a dirty word, “and making you happy, I propose a compromise.”
“What?” This is new.
Gabriel’s dark brows knot together. “Don’t misunderstand. My preference is to keep you in a cage. To keep you on your back or pregnant for the next ten years.”
My pussy clenches even as my mind rebels.
His lips curl. He moves me in front of him, sliding his hand around me, pressing his palm to my belly as he rasps in my ear, “I still could. Put you in the cage while I work, let you out only at night. Carry you to my bed, feed you…” Smoke rolls down my cheek. His hard cock probes my bottom. “You’d like it, Tabitha. A part of you would thrive.”
I push away and face him. “And a part of me would die.”
“Yes.” He sounds sad. “So I propose a compromise. Forty days and forty nights as my bride. You remain at my side and obey my commands. After that, if you wish to leave, I will let you go.”