Page 150 of Gabriel

I chuckled. “I’m just saying that from now on, you’re stuck with me. Blood, death, taxes, and this ring.”

He grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Well, since we’re exchanging gifts, I did pick up something for you while I was out today.”

I reached into my pocket and handed him the cold metal.

His brow arched. “You bought me a watch?”

“Well, I didn’t want you to lose your whole sexy-mob-boss aesthetic. It’s a vintage Braille Citizen Shine. You can feel the time instead of seeing it.”

He chuckled, running his fingers over the curved metal. “Describe it.”

“Very sleek. Silver face. Black leather band. Minimalist design. Also waterproof. You can open the outer layer and feel the handles. It’s sexy as hell, just like you.”

He turned the watch over in his hand, studying it with his fingertips. “You think I’m sexy?”

“You’re blind, not deaf, Gabriel,” I said playfully. “Stop fishing for compliments.”

“Just needed confirmation.” He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a low whisper near my ear. “I love you, Amara.”

My breath caught. I turned to face him, suddenly very aware of the potent heat rising between us. It was the kind that was impossible to ignore. My heart fluttered with the deep ache of a woman who knew what it meant to almost lose everything.

“I love you too,” I whispered.

His hand found my cheek, his thumb tracing the curve of my jaw, lingering like he was mapping every dip and curve.

“Even if my eyes permanently stay like this?”

“I didn’t fall in love with your eyes,” I said as I shifted, straddling him with slow purpose. My hands rested on his chest, feeling the steady thrum of the heartbeat I now knew like a rhythm under my skin.

“I fell in love with your heart,” I continued, eyes locked with his, “and your terrible yet suave charm that’s like a Bond villain trying to flirt his way out of any situation.”

He smirked, but it faltered when I leaned in closer, my words brushing against his mouth.

“I love the way you make me feel. Vulnerable, but also strong. I don’t feel like I have to hide any part of me from you. You’re the only man that loves both sides of me and doesn’t make me choose between soft and unbreakable.”

His hands gripped my waist reverently.

“I don’t just love you,” I whispered. “I recognize myself in you.”

He kissed me then with the kind of focus that made everything else vanish. It wasn’t desperate. It wasn’t hurried. It was grounding, because we had nowhere to be.

Because the world had finally gone quiet in the right way.

Amara

Gabriel deepened the kiss, his tongue turning demanding. He slid his hand from my cheek into my hair, fingers tangling gently in the strands as his lips moved with a patience that was almost maddening. He kissed me like he had all the time in the world. Like he wasn’t in a rush to conquer anything, because I was already his.

I ground myself against his hard length and he stilled for a breath, his hands hovering at my hips.

“Tell me what you’re wearing,” he grunted against my lips.

“One of your shirts,” I murmured, pressing soft kisses along his jaw and neck. “And nothing else.”

A low groan rumbled in his chest. “I wish I could see you.”

I found his hands in the dark and guided them beneath the fabric, pressing his palms to my skin. “You can. Your hands see me better than anyone ever has.”