“Easy, baby,” he whispered. “You’ll get what you want. But first …” His arm reached out to the side of the bed and pulled a silver packet out of the drawer.
“Oh, thank goodness.” She wouldn’t have thought of that. While she knew she wanted children, she wasn’t quite ready yet. Even if the thought of having Gabriel’s baby did make her feel giddy.
Quickly, he ripped open the package and slipped it over his shaft. The blunt tip nudged at her core, and Gabriel grit his teeth as he pushed in slowly.
“Temperance … so good,” he groaned when he was finally fully seated in her. “God …”
“You too.”
Gabriel pulled back, slowly and surely, then slammed back inside. There was no time to be surprised as his smooth movements began to even out, bucking into her in a steady pace that had pressure building up inside her. “Gabriel!” She arched her body up, begging for more, needing more from him.
His pace was punishing, relentless as he continued to rut into her until she was squeezing around him, her orgasm ripping through her like a lightning strike. All of a sudden, she found herself on top, straddling him, Gabriel grinning up at her. “You’re so beautiful, my mate.”
She gasped as he thrust up at her, his cock hitting a different part of her that made her shiver. Bracing herself on his chest, she began to move, rocking her hips back and forth, feeling her clit rub against his pubic bone in a delicious way.
“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged. “Do it. Make yourself come on my cock.”
“Gah!” Throwing her head back, she increased her pace. It was incredible, this feeling, looking down and watching his face twist in pleasure, knowing she was the cause of it. It made her move faster, gyrating her hips until he was biting his lip.
“Temperance, I—” He groaned as he grabbed at her hips, ramming her down as his pelvis piston up into her. “Fuck, I’m coming!” His eyes closed, head slamming back on the pillow as she felt his cock pulse with his orgasm. She raked her fingers down his chest as her own pleasure washed over her like a wave, making her body shudder over and over again until she felt drained.
“Oh, Gabriel,” she said in a breathless voice as she collapsed against him. “That was …”
“Phenomenal,” he finished. “Mind-blowing. Let’s do it again.”
She giggled when he rolled her over. “Again?”
“Mm-hmm.” He licked at her neck, making her moan against him. “Do you need to get up early?” he asked. “To get to work?”
“I stayed and … oh, Gabriel … did some prep work,” she panted. “I can be an hour or two late.”
“Good. I don’t need much sleep, but I can let you crash for a couple of hours.”
She could feel his cock getting hard again. “Then you’ll be done with me?” she teased, running her nails down his back.
“Oh no, baby,” he murmured against her skin. “I’ll never be done.”
For the first time ever in her life, Temperance was late to work, much later than she’d anticipated, actually. It was nearly eight o’clock by the time she arrived at Rosie’s, but much to her surprise, the kitchen was already humming with activity, and the smell of fresh pastry filled the air.
“I’m so sorry,” she said to Rosie, who was taking a pie out of the oven. “I was, uh, delayed.”
“I had a feeling you might be late,” Rosie’s lips curled into a smile.
“You did?”
She cocked her head behind her, where Ginny was sitting on top of the counter, digging into a slice of apple pie with a fork. “Hey, Temperance,” she greeted after swallowing a mouthful. “Glad to see you’re okay.”
Gabriel had explained why he came back from Vegas and how he had heard about Tony harassing her. “Oh, hey, Ginny.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you did all that prep work,” Rosie said. “All I had to do was put everything in the oven. Did you have a good evening?”
Temperance felt her blush from head to toe. “It was nice.”
“Just nice?”
“I—”
The door crashed open behind her as Gabriel rushed in. “Jesus, babe, I’m so sorry I made you late. Don’t worry, I’ll charm—Rosie,” he greeted the fox shifter with a sheepish grin. “Good morning.”
She returned it with a knowing smile of her own. “Gabriel. Do you want some breakfast?”
“Uh, yeah. We didn’t have time to eat before coming here.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” she said with a chuckle. “Go ahead and help yourself.” She nodded her chin at the half-eaten pie next to Ginny. “You too, Temperance. You have some time. Sit and eat up. I’m sure you’ll need the energy.”
She glared at Gabriel and whispered, “I told you we didn’t have time for that quickie.”
“Hey, I never said it would be a quickie.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “C’mon, I’m starving.”
As they grabbed some plates, Temperance couldn’t help but wonder if Rosie and Ginny knew about her and Gabriel being mates. They probably did. Part of her was self-conscious about it, but at the same time, she found herself not minding.
Gabriel’s confession to her had been a shock, but somehow, she’d always known. She may not be a shifter, but something inside her told her that it was true. It was hard to describe that feeling, but it was something akin to her gut instinct about baking and which ingredients would go well together. Somehow, despite not making sense, she and Gabriel just worked.
After she finished eating, she shooed Rosie off into the dining room because it was starting to fill up. Weekends were their busiest time, so she knew she had to get to work as they would soon run out of pies. As she worked, the Russel siblings stayed but mostly kept out of her way. When she took short breaks, she
