“I will remember your scent and your touch and how it felt to love you. But most of all, I will remember how it felt to gaze at true beauty, both inside and out. For you are fair, my beloved, in soul and in body, generous of spirit and generous of heart. And I will never see anything this side of heaven more beautiful than you.”
He enveloped her in his arms, kissing her repeatedly with light kisses, trying to communicate with his lips how much he loved her. He fingered the diamonds in her ears and placed his mouth to her earlobe. “Having seen you naked, I should demand that the only thing you wear in my presence from now on are these earrings. Anything else is superfluous.”
Julia pressed a quick kiss to his lips before moving to recline on the bed, peeking over at him shyly. Gabriel had to take a deep breath and release it in order to get his bearings, for the sight of Julia naked and inviting was almost his undoing.
“Why don’t you lie on your stomach, darling? I’d like to admire your beautiful back.”
She smiled and rolled over, folding her arms and resting her head on them so she could continue to stare. He hovered above her, a pleased look on his face as he pressed a kiss to each shoulder blade.
Just like my favorite black-and-white photograph, she thought.
“You’re breathtaking, Julia, from all angles. A true work of art.” He traced a finger down her spine, pausing as she shivered under his touch, then he smoothed a hand over one of her lower cheeks.
“You changed the music,” she mused, recognizing Matthew Barber’s romantic song And You Give.
“You inspired me.”
He picked up a small bottle of sandalwood and satsuma scented massage oil and placed some of it in his hand, warming it, and began to rub her shoulders. Julia closed her eyes and sighed.
“Just feel.” Gabriel kissed her cheek and continued his gentle movements, traveling down her back unhurriedly until he was exploring the two dimples above the curve of her peerless derrière.
“These are lovely.” He pressed his lips to each dimple.
Julia flinched, so Gabriel paused. When he continued, she began to relax. After what seemed like an hour, he was whispering in her ear, coaxing her to roll over. She felt as if she was floating on a cloud. She blinked up at him, a lazy smile spreading across her face.
He reached down to nuzzle her nose with his as he moved over her, one leg between hers and one leg to the side, his elbows resting near hers.
“You’re gorgeous,” he whispered, lowering himself until their bodies whispered against one another. Then he slowly began to press angel-soft kisses up and down her neck and across her collarbone while he continued his massage of the front of her body with one hand.
Julia loved the way her breasts brushed up against his hard chest and the feel of his taut abdomen against her softness—the way his strong hand slid beneath her bottom, pulling her against his hips.
“You don’t know how much I desire you,” he murmured against her neck. “How sexy you are.” He nuzzled the dip at the base of her throat, pausing to trace it with his tongue.
Without warning, Julia arched off the bed and cried out in pleasure. Her hands found his back, and she began tracing the muscles, coming to rest on his hips, pushing down on them.
“Not yet, love.”
He worshipped her with his mouth, with lips, with the gentle nip of teeth, unhurriedly adoring his beloved’s body. She tensed when he kissed her hip bone, tasting the skin with his tongue before drawing it into his mouth.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured, as he nuzzled across her lower abdomen from one hip to the other.
“No one has ever…” She stopped, embarrassed.
He grinned wickedly against her hip, plying it with kisses and working her flesh with his tongue. Of course he never did this for you. In addition to being a motherfucker, he was also a fool.
“Sweetheart, spread your legs for me.”
Her eyes were dark and slightly cautious, but she complied. She watched as he gazed at her appreciatively, his eyes darting up to meet hers. He smiled and gently began to pet her with his fingers. Julia moaned.
He touched her lightly at first, testing her with one finger, moving carefully. Then he stretched her with two fingers, curling them upward as his thumb began to rub tiny circles. He never took his eyes away from her face, watching for any sign of discomfort, listening to her breathing speed as his curled fingers found her spot inside. He bowed his head in admiration, bringing his lips to the top of her inner thigh, teasing her before taking the flesh into his mouth and sucking with abandon, while continuing the movements of his hand. It was an extraordinary combination.
Julia’s body bowed off the bed as she came with a cry so loud it approximated a scream. He continued touching her, but lessened his suction until she thrashed and tried to close her legs. He brought his mouth up to hers and kissed her tenderly.
“Thank you,” she whispered, feeling feather-light. It should be a crime to have such gifted fingers…and what a mouth…
“Did that please you?”
She nodded, breathing heavily, her eyes a little wild.
He doubted that the senator’s son had ever found her spot, and the thought made his chest swell with pride. He was looking forward to introducing her to all of the places on her body that he could bring pleasure to, one by one. He dragged his finger from her neck, circling a breast, and down to the place on her thigh where there was now a fresh mark. He pressed the newly colored skin lightly.
“Does it hurt?”
“No. But how—?”
“This part of your thigh is very sensitive. Someone who is selfish or rushed would ignore it and touch here first.” He moved his finger to pet her lightly between her legs.
She was still sensitive from her orgasm, and so she jumped. He withdrew his hand and traced her thigh again.
“Julia, the only thing that redeems my previous experiences is that I can place what I’ve learned at your service. The only woman I’m interesting in pleasing from now on is you.”
She reached up to touch his face, and he leaned his cheek against her hand, closing his eyes. She pressed her thumb against his mouth, feeling his full lower lip, and tugged him forward into a passionate kiss. He responded by placing his body over hers, and her heart quickened, thinking the moment of their union was imminent.
Once again, she grasped his beautiful behind, urging him closer. He smiled patiently and pushed back on one arm. “This isn’t a good position. I need to move you.”
“I thought—me underneath you, isn’t that right?”
“It’s the worst position to lose your virginity in,” he explained, planting baby kisses across her shoulder.
“I think I’ll like it.”
Gabriel pulled back. “Not for your first time; it would be too easy for me to hurt you without realizing it.”
Hurt? she thought.
His heart stuttered at the worry that flitted across her eyes. He placed his hands on either side of her face. “I am not going to hurt you, Julianne. I am not a teenage boy. I’m not him. I’m going to be very, very gentle. That’s why we can’t do it like this.”
“Why?”
“The angles. My weight on top of you, even if I’m distributing it to my knees. Gravity. If you’re on top, you can control the movements, the depth of penetration. I’m giving the control to you. Trust me,” he breathed, kissing her ear.
He continued to caress her, murmuring adorations against her smooth, almost translucent skin. Then he wrapped his arms around her back, lifting her from the bed and switching positions so that he was flat on his back and she lay on top of him.
As she rested on his chest, he whispered Dante’s words to her in Italian:
“Color di perle ha quasi in forma, quale
convene a donna aver, non for misura;
ella è quanto de ben pò far natura;
per esemplo di lei bieltà si prova.
De li occhi suoi, come ch’ella li mova,
&n
bsp; escono spirti d’amore inflammati,
che fèron li occhi a qual che allor la guati,
e passan sì che ‘l cor ciascun retrova:
voi le vedete Amor pinto nel viso,
là ‘ve non pote alcun mirarla fiso.”
Gabriel praised her beauty and her goodness, comparing her to a pearl and declaring that Love, itself, was featured in her visage. Julia whispered her thanks for his beautiful words, stilling so that she could hear his heart beat under her ear. She was overwhelmed to think that she held this person, this man she had loved for so long, in her arms. She couldn’t stop touching him, tracing every muscle, every sinew of taut perfection. She traced his eyebrows, the indentation above the center of his sensuous upper lip, his sideburns, his ears…
He reached up to kiss her, tracing her lips with his tongue and drawing her plump lower lip into his mouth. For a few moments there was skin on skin, two naked bodies flush and prone. Julia’s hands continued to explore Gabriel’s form, his face, his chest, his hips. She began to stroke his erection softly, hesitantly, pressing kiss after kiss to his neck and throat as she worked him with her hand.
He growled in her ear, signaling his pleasure. A surge of confidence propelled her to stroke him more surely, quickening her pace as she brought her lips to his chest, kissing his pectorals and his tattoo. He was panting now.
“Let me worship you with my body, Julia,” he rasped, not wanting his impending satisfaction to take place in her hand.
She released him as he grasped her thighs, gently coaxing them apart so that they rested on either side of his narrow hips. She felt him beneath her, lifting of his own accord between her legs. She shifted slightly, and a worried look shadowed her lovely face.
Gabriel placed his hand on her heart. The little beating thing inside her spluttered frenetically at his touch and sped up. “Are you all right?”
She leaned forward, allowing her hair to hang about her face like a screen.
He reached up to push her hair behind her shoulders so that he could see her better. “Please don’t hide. I want to watch you.”
Julia bit her lower lip and looked away.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Sweetheart, now is not the time to be shy. Tell me.”
She stared at his chest, trying very hard not to look at the dragon as it mocked her with its permanence. “This isn’t how I imagined it,” she whispered, so low he had to strain to hear her.
“Then tell me how.”
“I thought you’d be…over me.” His banner over me is love.
“I like being on top, I won’t deny it, but you’re very small, sweetheart, and very delicate. I’m worried that—”
“I know I made you wait a long time, Gabriel.” Her voice was just above a whisper. “It will be all right if you can’t be careful with me. If you need to be…aggressive.”
Her remark disturbed him deeply, for behind the words he recognized not her voice but Simon’s. Of course that’s what she thinks—that’s how he treated her. Men are dogs with no self-control, and she’s just a plaything for their sexual release. The idea sickened him, but he fought to keep revulsion from showing on his face. He placed his hand on her cheek and gently stroked her.
“Julia, I love you. If I were the kind of man who would be aggressive with you because you made me wait, then you shouldn’t be going to bed with me. You’re a person, not a toy.
“I don’t want to use you. I want to please you. So much.” At this he gazed up at her with large, dark eyes, dropping his voice to the merest whisper. “I want you forever, not just for tonight. So please, let me do this my way.”
He begged her with his eyes to take him at his word. He didn’t want to have to explain why he was concerned and what kind of outcome he was studiously avoiding. There would be time enough for that in the morning.
“All I ever wanted was for someone to love me,” she said, quietly.
“You have that now.”
He moved his mouth to her breasts, holding one gently in his hand while he nuzzled the other. They were perfect. Perfect in weight and size, natural and pretty. Rosebuds and cream. He thought back to the night he’d first seen one, peeking out from behind her purple robe in their hotel room in Philadelphia. How he’d longed to take her into his mouth. He flicked her with his tongue, licking softly, and gently drew on her nipple, feeling it peak still further in his mouth.
Julia threw her head back, making inarticulate noises. Gabriel measured her reaction carefully. He wanted her to be aroused, and if she orgasmed by this alone, so be it. It would make what followed much, much easier.
“Let go, love. You don’t have to fight it,” he spoke to her other breast, as he offered it his attention.
Julia shuddered at his words and began rocking against him, eyes closed, sliding back and forth. Within a few minutes he felt her tighten and release, her posture sagging as she finished. She opened her eyes, blinked, then smiled down at him almost languidly.
And thank you very much for orgasm number two…
She took the initiative to kiss him, murmuring her affection through swollen lips. When she retreated, he reached over to grab something from the nightstand. She watched as he freed himself from under her, squirting a clear substance into his right hand and rubbing it somewhat roughly up and down on himself.
He noticed the expression on her face and hastened to explain. “It will make things easier for you.”
Julia flushed deeply. She knew about such things, although she had never had reason to use them before. She felt embarrassed that she hadn’t thought to purchase it for herself. She had come to Florence unprepared.
“You’re very kind.”
His mouth curved up into his cocky half-smile. “I told you I’d anticipate your every need.” He kissed her and reclined back on the pillow. “I can use a condom, if you’ve changed your mind.”
“With all the tests you’ve had, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“It’s still your choice.”
“I trust that you told me the truth about everything.”
“I’m glad I’m your first.”
She smiled widely at his declaration. “I want you to be my last, Gabriel.” She kissed him passionately, her heart quick and full because of his words. Because of his actions. “But I want something from you now.”
“Anything.”
“I want you to be on top.”
When his brow crinkled and he looked perilously close to a frown, she leaned over him in earnest. “You have already shown yourself to be a generous lover. But it isn’t a good idea to put me in control when I don’t know what I’m doing. It makes me nervous. I won’t be able to relax and concentrate on how it feels. Please…” She added the last word as a half-hearted addendum, for she didn’t want to have to plead with him. He’d asked her to voice her desires, and she was doing so.
He realized at that moment how stressful it would be for her to sit above him naked and exposed, responsible for what was to happen. Later on, perhaps, but not the first time. Despite his worries, he could not deny her. Gabriel nodded, a slight tension visible in his jaw, and in one fluid movement she was on her back and he was kneeling between her legs.
Her smile was like the rising sun. For this was how she had always imagined it.
“Thank you,” she murmured against his mouth as he kissed her tenderly.
“It takes so little to make you happy.”
“I wouldn’t say little,” she giggled as she rubbed her thigh against him.
He smirked at her, reveling in a moment of levity.
The music changed then, and Julia looked up at him with interest. “What’s the name of this song?”
“Lying in the Hands of God by the Dave Matthews Band.”
“I like it.”
“Me too.”
She regarded him curiously. “Why did you choose it?”
“The words, the music…” His smile widened a
s his eyes sparkled. “The rhythm.”
“Oh, really?”
“Feel it. Focus on the rhythm. It’s perfect for making love.” He gripped her hips and pressed himself up against her, sliding up and down in time to the music, knowing that she would enjoy the contact as much as he.
She moaned, all laughter gone, and began to push herself toward him.
“Take a deep breath, love,” he whispered.
As she inhaled, he pressed inside her just a little. She closed her eyes and drank in the feeling.
Now that Gabriel had the merest hint of how she would feel around him, his body was tempting him to push in hard and fast. But he knew that any thrusting on his part would tear her. He wanted her. He wanted to be inside her. But he cast his desires aside for the moment and remained perfectly still, distributing his weight to his elbows on either side of her shoulders, lapping and sucking her breasts.
Now that she had an inkling of what it would be like to be connected to him, to be filled by him, she wanted more. Much, much more. She wanted all of him.
“Careful,” he warned, as she lifted her hips, eager to entice him further. “The next part will be uncomfortable.”
When she didn’t open her eyes, he placed a hand to her face, running his thumb along her cheek.
“Look at me. Look into my eyes.” His eyes fixed on hers as they fluttered open.
“I’ll give you anything. My body, my soul, take them. Take everything.”
They stared at one another as he pushed in a little deeper, nudging slowly, slowly…
Her eyes widened, and she inhaled roughly as he entered her.
Gabriel immediately froze, steadying her with a hand to her hip, ensuring that neither of them moved.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he crooned. He moved his hand to her face and began stroking her. “That’s the worst of it, I promise. Are you all right?” He scanned her face eagerly for any signs of tears.
But there weren’t any. It wasn’t as painful as she thought it might be. It wasn’t completely comfortable, either, but the sensation of having him inside her, the emotions she saw on his face, in his eyes, distracted her from the twinges inside…it was almost too much.