Touching Silver (22 page)

As soon as she felt Isaac’s tongue on her skin, she forgot entirely about getting her own taste. He leisurely licked a path over the top of her breast, as though he planned to savor every single bit of the cheesecake, every cookie crumb. He looked up at her through his lashes with a glint in his brown eyes, and her breath caught. She cupped his cheek, her fingers stroking his skin as his tongue found her nipple. Olivia expected him to pass over her nipple the way he had passed over her breast, but he pulled it between his teeth, sucking the confection from her skin.

Her chest tightened. She barely had time to take another burning breath before Isaac slid to the other nipple, and when he sucked it hard against the roof of his mouth, a jolt went straight to her clit.

Then so did his fingers. Circling. Pinching. The same pulse he kept at her breast. By the time he abandoned it to trace her opening, it was all she could do not to beg for more.

Isaac slid his mouth down her body, and goose bumps spread over her arms and down her back when he circled her belly button with his tongue. She pushed against his hand, lifting her hips from the bed, but he kept teasing her, running the pad of his thumb over her clit in deliberate, rhythmic strokes.

Once her skin glistened, clean of dessert, she buried her hands in his hair and pulled him to her mouth. His lips were sticky and hot, his tongue sweet.

“I think I might have missed some.” He nipped at her lower lip. “Are you really going to deny me?”

Olivia shook her head quickly. “No…no,” she breathed, her fingers curling reflexively in his hair. “I can’t.”

Gently, Isaac guided her back onto the bed with long, leisurely kisses, waiting until he was stretched over her to divert his mouth elsewhere. He scalded a trail down her body, avoiding any spot he had already sensitized, and only stopped when he reached the top of her mound. The tip of his tongue followed the line joining hip to thigh, while his hands pushed her knees apart.

“I was right.” His palms smoothed up her inner thighs, making the muscles quiver. “There’s all sorts of delicious for me down here.”

She tried to brace herself for the soft heat of his tongue against her clit, but it never came. Instead he dragged the tip of his tongue down her lips. She moaned, hooking her knees over his shoulders to pull him closer. She knew she could be happy in that position for hours—maybe even all night—as he gently pulled her lips apart to expose her clit to his mouth. His tongue slid up and down her flesh, lapping at, tasting every bit of her until the ceiling began to spin above her head.

When the heat of his mouth disappeared, she almost cried out in disappointment.

“Olivia…” Isaac waited until she lifted her head and gazed down her body at him, her limbs languid from the overload of sensation. The soft gleam in his eye matched his tone, and there was a fleck of cheesecake caught in the growing stubble along his chin, just large enough to make her want to sit up and lick it off. “Thanks for doing this. Giving me a second chance. The quiet night in. With you. I don’t deserve…just…thank you.”

“Isaac…” She reached for him, her hand closing over his on her thigh. She tugged him gently, pulling him until he was covering her body with his. His silk shirt felt rich and smooth against her bare skin, and she felt his erection through the stiff material of his jeans. Olivia wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him tight against her, but he still wasn’t close enough. She lifted her head, seeking his mouth for a long, thorough kiss.

He made no move to stop, no move to break away. The hands that had held her legs apart now molded around her waist, and he devoured her mouth with fresh desperation. Like he didn’t want to stop. That suited her just fine. She’d hold him like this all night if he let her.

“This is really starting to get in my way,” Olivia murmured between kisses, tugging at his shirt.

Isaac peeled away just enough to allow room for their hands to slip between their bodies. Fingers fumbled with the buttons, revealing his bare torso in excruciating slowness, but once the fabric separated he pressed her back into the bed, his skin hot where it melded to hers. Olivia slipped the garment from his shoulders, while he lifted first one arm and then the other in order for her to pull it from his body.

It fluttered to the floor. In the next second, Isaac wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his back, leaving her lying atop him.

She didn’t have the cheesecake, but she didn’t need it to have an excuse to use her mouth on him the way he’d used his on her. She moved down his smooth body, licking and nibbling on every appealing patch of skin. Her teeth scraped across the base of his throat, the spot just below his nipples, the trail of hair that disappeared into his pants. She settled between his legs on her stomach, immediately tugging at his zipper.

Isaac lifted his ass from the bed to help her as she stripped the denim from his legs. She took his boxers, too, unwilling to waste time when all she wanted was to taste his cock. It rested long and heavy against his lower stomach, and the coarse hairs along his thighs tickled against her palm as she stroked back upward to his hips.

“Forget something?” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye. “Or just as greedy as me?”

“Greedy.” She slid her tongue along the bottom of his shaft, starting at the base and moving up to the tip. He sighed, the air rushing from his lungs. She cupped his balls, massaging him gently as she ran her tongue over him again and again. She nuzzled him, using her lips, her tongue, her cheek and her free hand to caress him.

His muscles tensed when she gripped his cock. The first touch of the velvety head against her tongue made both of them moan, and he laced his fingers through her hair as she sucked away the pre-come collecting in the slit. The sounds he made shifted into words, but Olivia didn’t wait to decipher them. She held his length away from his stomach and slid her mouth down over the smooth skin.

The tip of his cock brushing the back of her tongue made everything inside her clench. She exhaled through her nose slowly as she pulled him deeper, her tongue winding around his shaft. She wanted to hold herself back, mimicking his earlier pace, prolonging it for both of them. She dug her nails into the tops of his thighs, her body as tense as her mouth was gentle on him.

When his fingers tightened, Olivia glanced up to see him propped up on his elbow, eyes black as they devoured hers.

“Come here,” he rasped. “Need you.”

Thank God. She crawled up his body, her breasts gliding along his stomach and torso, his coarse hair scraping across her nipples. As soon as her mouth touched his, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled her to the mattress, pressing her against the bed. His cock brushed against her swollen lips, and she was ready for him. Her fingers and toes curled with anticipation, her muscles quivered and a plea hovered on her lips. Isaac reached between them, dragging his cock down her pussy, wetting the head with her juices. She shifted her hips, but rather than taking advantage of the not-so-subtle invitation, Isaac pulled away, leaning across the bed to pull the nightstand drawer open.

She took the packet from him as soon as he’d pulled it out, ripping away the foil and tossing it to the side. Their eyes locked as she slid her hands between their bodies, and Isaac pulled away just enough to allow her the room to roll the condom down his length, groaning when she deliberately let her fingers graze across his heavy balls.

“No more waiting.” He angled his hips. She barely had time to pull her hands away before he was pushing inside, stretching and filling her until she felt his hair grind across her clit. As he began to move, he added, “Last night was too long without you. I don’t want another one like that.”

She nodded in wordless agreement. It wasn’t the night alone that had bothered her—it was the night spent alone with the knowledge she couldn’t call him, couldn’t reach him. But now, inside her, above her, holding her, he was finally close enough.

He rained kisses over her face, savoring every bit of skin he could reach. The rhythm of their bodies was sure and steady, her hands mapping muscles that stretched and flexed with his thrusts. Isaac touched her as well, seemingly not content with the contact he was already maintaining. She was drowning, everything swelling up and around her.

His chest hitched against hers, his breath stilling. When he lifted his head, Olivia caught his eyes, watching the interplay of pleasure and relief on his face as his cock jerked deep inside of her. A scream gathered in her throat, released as soon as his lips touched hers. She surged against his body, everything erupting around her.

“You make it so easy,” he whispered against her mouth. His tongue swept inside, and she thought she heard him repeat himself, but it was lost in the seal of their lips.

She wasn’t sure if they had one long, sweet kiss, or a thousand tiny ones. Either way, she still didn’t have her fill when he finally lifted his head again. She might have been able to bite back everything threatening to burst from her lips, but then he smiled at her. Not a full smile. Just the corner of his mouth, and it went all the way to his soft brown eyes.

“I love you,” she murmured.

Everything about him stilled. The smile faded, though the light in his eyes seemed to grow even brighter. A flash of panic seared through her. How many times had she warned herself to keep her mouth shut, that it was too soon? Enough to know better, at the very least.

His hand came up to cup her face, his broad thumb skimming over her mouth. “You can’t.”

She gripped his arm—she wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t just bolt. “Why not?”

“Because you’re a smart woman. And my record so far with you hasn’t exactly been stellar.”

“So it’s not so much that I
can’t
as you don’t want to let me.”

The smile returned. “Say it like that and I sound bossy again.”

“Yes, you do.” She couldn’t resist the urge to kiss his smile, even though she thought the chance of him bolting was still good. “I think I’m still smart, despite loving you. And your record doesn’t scare me.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about scaring.” This time he initiated the kiss, lingering for long seconds. “I don’t want to hurt you, Olivia. You have no idea how badly I need to not hurt you.”

“I don’t want you to hurt me, either. Now we have a common goal to work toward.” She took a deep breath. Maybe they should have this conversation when he wasn’t on top of her. “I know it’s really, really soon. My timing is usually better. And my self-control. I’m not going to take it back but it doesn’t have to…change anything.”

“I like your timing.” He kissed the end of her nose. “And your lack of self-control works hugely in my favor.” Another kiss across her brow. “But I would never in a million years ask you to take it back.”

Now that the words were out of her mouth, and he had relaxed once again, her heart began to hammer. She wouldn’t be surprised if he heard it. In a second, her palms would be clammy.

“So we both agree that I can love you?”

“I can’t deny you anything.” Rolling off and onto his back, he pulled her with him until she was stretched out along his length. “I want you happy. I
need
you to be happy. And I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such an amazing woman like you.”

Olivia rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. They hadn’t spent many nights together, but laying there with him felt comfortable, familiar. It felt good. “I am happy. That’s why you deserve an amazing woman like me.”

His chuckle wrapped around both of them.

Gabriel didn’t like funerals, but Ali’s was one of the better ones. It managed to celebrate everything Gabriel liked about the young man without being too maudlin. He hadn’t even intended to go, but he knew Ali’s mother, and Ali’s brother, Ben, had been in the organization for over a decade, and dammit, Ali was a good kid.

The party lasted well into the night, not winding down until nearly dawn. Gabriel couldn’t help but wonder where all the food and beer came from. There seemed to be an endless supply of both, and he was glad he’d given everybody a few nights off. As the drinking progressed, he realized the party wasn’t so much about their fallen friend as it was about blowing off steam.

Perhaps the added pressure of the last six months was getting to his men too.

Gabriel didn’t have a single drop to drink. He wasn’t so obsessed with his private goals to forget his role in the community. He arrived. He paid his respects. He mingled with the boy’s family and his own associates. He felt raw. This wasn’t the first funeral for one of his boys, and it wouldn’t be the last, but it hurt. Ali wasn’t supposed to go. Not like this. He wished he could tell the boy’s mother
something
. He wished he knew how to explain it to Ali’s younger brother.

A young woman touched Gabriel’s arm as pulled on his jacket, prepared to return to the Silver Maiden.

“Somebody dropped this off for you.”

He took the envelope with a frown, turning it over to break the seal. He found a single sheet of paper with a simple message typed across the front. His blood turned icy, his flesh brittle. He didn’t doubt the message, even though he didn’t know who sent it. It felt true. He felt it in his bones, behind his eyes, in the palm of his hand.

“Is Cameron Parker here?” he asked the girl still standing near his arm.

She nodded. “I saw him outside by the keg.”

“Tell him to get in here. Now.”

He had pocketed the note by the time the door opened again. Parker stood just inside the room, his pale gray gaze fixed on Gabriel. That was one of the things he had liked about the man in the beginning. He had nerve. He wasn’t afraid of looking Gabriel in the eye. At the time, it had seemed like the kind of ballsy bravado he needed in his organization. Now, it looked far more calculating.

“You wanted something?”

“Yes, I do. I want to know where you found the nerve to show your face at this funeral.”

The slightest of lines appeared between Parker’s pale blond brows. “Ali was my friend.”

“Clearly we have different meanings of the word.” Gabriel waved his hands. “I’m not really interested in what you think you were doing. I don’t even really care why you thought you wouldn’t get caught. This interview is more about our future together.”