Carpathian 08 - Dark Legend

heart pounding and sent tiny tongues of fire flicking over her skin. Her palms itched to feel the hard muscles of his body, to run her hands over his chest, his belly. She glanced lower at the material stretched so tight. She ached to stroke and caress, to slide her mouth over him just to see his reaction. To hear his groan.
    She could think of nothing else. Her breasts ached and between her legs liquid heat gathered in invitation. Her clothes felt cumbersome, far too tight. She wondered what he would do if she suddenly yanked her blouse off and offered him her breasts right there on the street. All she could think about was Gabriel. His hard body, his hands as they moved over her skin. The way he said the most beautiful things to her.
    The way he wanted to help a young stranger who didn't know what love was supposed to be. The way he had stepped in front of her body, shielding her before a brute of a man could strike her. Everything about him was extraordinary and she was consumed by a sudden need to hold him, touch him, kiss every inch of him.
    A store appeared in front of them, deserted now, long after business hours. "My friend owns this store. She's given me a key and the code for the alarm. I just leave the inventory slip for her and she charges it to my account." Her voice was husky, sexy, a blatant invitation. "We can go in and find a few necessary things for Skyler." Her hand was shaking as she turned the key in the lock.
    Gabriel watched her intently with his black velvet eyes as she punched in the code for the alarm system. The store was dark, deserted. The silence was broken only by their ragged breathing. She turned to him, her hand brushing his face. Her hand found his hair unerringly, fingers tunneling in the thick strands.
    A soft sound escaped his throat. "Francesca, you have to stop before there is no going back for us. I am no angel as you often persist in thinking me. I can read every thought in your mind and what you are doing to my body is nothing less than a sin." His thumbs stroked caresses over her jaw, traced the outline of her lips.
    "Really?" Her hands tugged at his shirt until it was free from his trousers. Immediately her palms slid over his bare chest, her fingers splayed wide to take in as much of his skin as she could. She traced every defined muscle, aching for him. "I've always thought sinning might be an interesting experience." There was invitation in her voice. Blatant seduction.
    His hands bunched in her hair, drew her head back so that his glittering eyes raked her face. "I hunger for you, Francesca, hunger. You cannot touch me with your mind and your body and not expect me to react. It is like a raw craving in my bloodstream and I know it is there for all time. Do you know how many times I dreamed of you? How many times I woke in the night alone without you?"
    "I did the same," she said softly, her eyes meeting his steadily. She did not flinch away from the concentration of sheer passion gathered in his gaze. "Gabriel—" She whispered his name, leaning forward to press her lips against his chest. Her mouth swirled heat over his pulse.
    "You talk too much when I need action." She lifted her head so that her dark eyes laughed at him. "You do action, don't you? My clothes are heavy and troublesome," she added as she leaned forward to flick his flat nipple with her tongue. She stood on her toes to press her swelling breasts tightly against his chest.
    Gabriel couldn't bear even the thinnest of materials separating their bodies. He pushed her blouse from her shoulders, tossing it aside in the heat of the moment. His palms slid gently over her bare flesh, tracing the delicate line of her bones, the curve of her breasts. His breath escaped his lungs in a long rush as he cupped the soft weight in his hands, his thumbs stroking her nipples.
    The store was silent, mannequins staring blankly through the racks of clothes. Gabriel drew her deeper into the interior of the room, away from the windows, into the shadows where they would have privacy from anyone walking along the street. The heat and hunger of the Carpathian mating ritual was upon him, brought on by his lifemate's erotic thoughts. She was beautiful, inside and out. It was exciting and arousing to know that she wanted him so badly, that she knew exactly what she wanted and would demand it of him.
    Her lifemate. Francesca reveled in her right to touch his body, to be able to bring him to a firestorm of need so that he burned for