I lay there for a good minute or more after he left, trying to catch my breath and get my heart rate back down to normal. This was different, I’m not sure why I was so certain of that, but I felt it. It was as if we’d turned a corner in our relationship, the point of no return, and I was excited and worried all at the same timeExcited because it was finally sinking in that I was really having a relationship with Gabriel, and I worried because if I was this flustered by a kiss, I had no idea what else was in store for me. He’d left me breathless and needy, and although he’d said we’d go at my pace, that he’d let me decide when I was ready for my sake, I wasn’t sure that I’d be brave enough to take the lead.His words, the promises he’d made, played over and over again in my head, and there was a huge grin on my face as I wrapped my arms around myself and rolled around on the bed. This was turning out to be the best day ever. First, our little private outing with just the two of us, the

“Sometimes, I think these men are from a whole other universe. They’re certainly nothing like the boys we grew up with or any of the men around here, that’s for sure.” Chantal was on another one of her spiels. Ever since she’d reminded me that she had to leave soon, it’s as if she was doing her best to convince me, or herself, that she was leaving me in capable hands. “Speaking of which, did you know Gabriel has a kickass bike? It arrived when you two were gone.”“Really?” Now, why did that set my little heart to racing? Her little switch in conversation completely out of left field had my mind changing track to keep up. She’d been jumping from one topic to the next for the last ten minutes or so since I came into the room.Now instead of worrying about what I was going to do once she left, my mind was filled with visuals of Gabriel riding. Tattoos, a bike, and that amazing face and body. Add that to all the other things I’m coming to know about Gabriel, and I’m in a whole lot of tro

I brushed the hair back from her face before turning away to head for the shower. This is where I do my best thinking when there’re no distractions, and the water helps clear my head. Lyon had given me a lot to think about, yes, but I had other things on my mind. First was finding out if Sam had ever harmed her in the way that I was dreading and figuring out how to go about doing that without causing her any trauma. I even thought of asking Chantal just to spare Silla, but that didn’t seem right to me. Besides, for some reason, I’m pretty sure if Chantal had that kind of information, Wolf would’ve drawn it out of her already.That made me feel less restless as I stripped down to get into the shower. It was then I remembered the little jewelry box that I’d all but forgotten in my pants pocket. I thought about just slipping the earrings in while she was asleep; that way, I’d have to answer fewer questions from her, and my mind went to all the ways I might surprise her in the future, and

If anyone had told me that I’d get such pleasure from just holding a sleeping woman in my arms, maybe I would’ve done it sooner. Then again, no, I doubt that seriously, only because there was no her in my life before. I’ve never wanted this with anyone else; in fact, quite the opposite; I preferred sleeping alone, even when I was seeing someone, though I’ve had many an argument over it in the past.I never understood why women made such a big deal about spending the night, or maybe I did and subconsciously shied away from the intimacy because this was something that should be experienced with the right one. I for damn sure hadn’t been thinking along those lines all the times I’d denied a lover the opportunity, but like a schoolboy in his first blushes of love, I find myself being happy that I did, that she was the first.I’d always had a different excuse, though, at least in my mind. For me, being able to let my guard down around anyone, trusting anyone enough to do so, had never been

The heart is a strange thing, with a hundred different avenues leading in and out with each breath, each steady pump, and so many chambers. I didn’t really understand that until this very moment. That there were so many different little pockets to this one organ that, up until a few seconds ago, was just the thing that made me live.I didn’t believe in the heart’s ability to talk to you, to tell you things that even your head was afraid to say or couldn’t say. I didn’t know that your life’s blood could be tied up in someone else until I felt the evidence of her innocence at my fingertip just as her eyes opened on mine, and for a split second, I saw into her soul.I don’t know if I’ll remember this moment forever or if I’ll recall that very feeling that pierced my chest and made its way into the very fabric of my being ever again, but at that moment as it happened, I knew that it was the most precious thing I’d ever experienced in my entire life. And I’d shared it with her.I instinctiv