Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) (20 page)

“That’s not true, because even after I saw you, I still want you.”

Gabriel grinned. “Not nearly as much as I want you.”

He would not pretend to be submissive, even now.  He was going to take Valeriya, make her his tonight in every way and leave his mark on her for as long as she lived.  He could not explain his determination, but it was something that he simply had to do.  He had to have her for his own.  He had to complete this conquest, not for his ego, but for his soul, because it was crying out for a soulmate, just like hers. He could feel the strain on his heart and a drain on his spirit after fighting with Briggy.  But without even leaving Valeriya’s presence, he already missed her.  And without speaking a word, he knew that he needed her. 

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she felt his lips on her burning skin. 
Why did that have to feel so good?
  “I don’t like complicated relationships.”

“You’ve never had a truly complicated relationship, but I’m going to give you one,” he whispered as he pulled her shirt up over her head.  Throwing it on the floor across from him, he looked at her firm breasts propped up in an inviting black lace bra, her long torso of supple muscle and lush brown skin and felt hunger rising in him. 

“Do you like what you see, rich boy?”

“Yes,” he said sternly.

“Good.  You next,” Valeriya said, wanting to see his sexy muscular form completely naked.  It had been too long since she made someone undressed for her. 

Gabriel grinned, eyes flashing with promise.  Pulling his shirt off slowly, he stood in only his jeans and boots. 

Exited by his confidence, she placed a hand on his wide rock of a chest, feeling his heart beat against her palm.  Slowly, she moved it down to his ripped six-pack abdomen and then to the belt of his jeans.  Her fingers gripped the top of the buckle. “You’re dangerously beautiful,” she whispered. “But are you skilled?” 

“There is only one way to find out,” Gabriel said, picking her up.

Valeriya was not a small woman, both tall and muscular, she was continually amazed by how he handled her without effort.  She felt like a feather in his embrace, light and dainty, vulnerable and breakable. 

Cupping his face in her hands, she leaned in and kissed his wide mouth, savoring the taste.  His lips were as soft as silk and his velvety tongue rich with mint flavor.  His breath was warm and his intoxicating cologne cast a spell on her. 

Gabriel kissed Valeriya back so deeply until she felt dizzy.  He moaned as he went deeper and deeper searching her mouth and finding the same passion in her that he carried within himself. 

He had fantasized of her thick lips and what she felt like, but nothing had prepared him for her particularly inebriating taste.  Surprisingly, her lips tasted like cherries and her mouth like grape vodka.  He hadn’t seen it before in her eyes, but she must have had some liquid courage before coming to his room.  He sucked the taste right out of her mouth and vowed to give her as much of him as she could take. 

Holding her tight, he stood in the middle of the floor, against the candlelight, their reflection bouncing against the wall, and kissed her like he had never kissed a woman before.

Her abandoned response scared her again. This man brought something out of her that she didn’t even know existed.  She could not get enough of his mouth.  Rubbing through his jet black curls, she took all of him into her as they breathed for each other.  The sound of their kiss, creating a heavenly melody of ache and need.

But Gabriel wanted more and he wanted more now. 

Carrying her over to the bed, he threw her down on the mattress and pulled her bra from her body in a single motion.  Kissing one breast and grasping the other in his hand, he sucked her rigid nipple into his mouth and speared the center of it with his hungry tongue. 

Valeriya whined, rolling her shoulders and arching into him as her nails trailed over his wing-like back.  Her eyes closed and her mouth opened as his kiss left a trail over her breast and slowly moved down her abdomen. 

Yanking at the clasp of her belt, he opened it and her jeans.  Gripping the sides of her pants, he pulled them from her body as she kicked off her shoes.  In only a black thong, she laid before him.  Her strong, rounded thighs were wide set on the bed, waiting for him to return to her.  Placing his hands on her hips, he looked into her eyes as he pulled her jeans down her legs and threw them on the floor. 

With her legs open wide, he kissed the inside of her thighs, inhaling her scent, moving upward, breath burning her skin as he hovered over the mound of her needy sex. 

She looked down at him curiously, refusing to close her eyes.  She wanted to watch what he would do.  Would he kiss her where she longed to be kissed?  Would she quench the insatiable thirst that she carried for him?

He did not disappoint.  Lapping his tongue over the lips of her sex, he speared his tongue inside of her and flicked his tongue against her clitoris.  Licking the folds of her body, he slipped his tongue inside of her womb and curved into her body. 

“Yes,” she whimpered, heart racing. “Please, do it again,” she begs, forgetting all sense of self. 

This time, he gave her a full on kiss.  Sucking her shaved vagina into his mouth, he buried his head in between her thighs and savored the taste of her wetness.  His brown locks were all that she could see until he looked at her. 

“Fuck, you taste so good,” he whispered.  “I could eat you all night.”

God, he was enjoying this!
she thought to herself.  Gripping the comforter, she felt her mouth involuntarily twitch. 

Gabriel was enjoying it, more than he had ever enjoyed it with any other woman.   His strong hands held her in place.  His back muscles flexed as he sucked and kissed her over and over again until the room began to spin. 

Slipping a large, thick digit into her body, he moved it in and out, stimulating her body beyond control.  Concentrating, he sucked her again, finger still inside of her.  The sound of her wet sex echoed throughout the room.

She wanted to last, wanted to make the moment longer, but the sound of his eager slurps and the feeling of his mouth and finger sent her into a rage and the muscles of her sex tightened and then pulsed as she released onto his lips. 

“Gabriel,” she cried out. 
What the hell was that?
  She breathed fast and hard, throat dry from her quiet moans. 

Throwing her head back on the bed, she convulsed while she listened to the clink of his belt and pants hit the floor.  Round two.  She prayed it was as good as the previous one. 

Gabriel was so hard until he felt his cock throbbing to be inside of her.  Grabbing her by her waist, he picked her up and pulled her further up in the bed. 

She grabbed him by the back of his neck and kissed him, tasting herself and the mint of his mouth as he fumbled with the condom.  Fisting his shaft, he slipped the condom over himself and grabbed her by her thigh. His fingers dug into her skin as he pushed through the warm, wet, luscious folds of her body. 

His tempered strength waned as he nearly pulled completely out of her and pushed back inside of her again.  He wanted her to feel each and every inch of him…all 10 fucking inches.  Still kissing her mouth, he breathed into her as she wrapped her legs around him.  With his arms over her shoulders, he arched his back and thrust into her again, sending her body into the mattress. Over and over, he thrust like he would never make love to a woman again. 

Crying out, she held on to the sides of his wide back. 

He was so big, so long, so fucking thick.  Trying to adjust to his size, she cried out in ecstasy. 

Gabriel kissed her mouth and then her neck as he rolled his hips.  The heat of his body transferred to hers and the sweat of their work began to form between them.  Nipples pressed against his skin, she felt his hands as they reached down and cupped her ample bottom.  Clenching it, he growled. 

“Give it to me,” he ordered.  “Stop fighting…”  He breathed heavy. “Give.  It. To. Me.” 

Valeriya did as he said and unclenching her sex, allowing him to fully enter her without fighting. 

Sitting up on his knees, he pulled her body forward onto his lap and moved her hips back and forward as he worked her on his shaft.  He savored the sight of her, splayed out on him, impaled on him, bending to his will. 

Valeriya held on for dear life.  As strong as her muscular legs and abdomen were, he still overpowered her by leaps and bounds.  His biceps were ripped with tortured muscle, his thick pecs bulged and protruded out.  Biting his bottom lip, he zoned out.

Muscles taut and covered in sweat, he bucked against her.  The slap of his balls against the inner folds of her body audible as he gritted his teeth. 

Valeriya felt herself tensing again.  “I’m…” she panted. “I’m…”

Gabriel picked her up and planted her squarely on his lap.  In a sitting position atop of him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved against him. 

“Come for me,” he whispered as he kissed her lips.

Slapping her ass, he pushed down her shoulders and made her take him in.  He could tell by the look on her face, she had never been with a man as endowed as he was and it only added to the excitement exploding inside of him. 

Lip quivering, she bounced up and down until finally she screamed out.  Her pleasure vibrated against the walls and carried down the hall.  Coming hard, she scared herself with the screams that erupted from deep inside of her. 

Grabbing her face, he kissed her as he felt himself give in to his desires. “I love you,” he said as he released.  A low growl filled the hard baritone base of this throat and he screamed out in infinite pleasure.  He emptied himself fully into her, pleased to know that fact. 

Valeriya looked him in his eyes and felt hot tears streaming down her face. “I love you,” she said, drifting somewhere between this world and another. 

Gently, Gabriel laid her down on the bed, kissed her bruised lips and stood up.  “Can I use your restroom?”  he asked, looking back at her sexy nude body lying limp.  He was just getting started tonight. 

“Of course,” she said, eyes heavy.

He went into the bathroom to find it much cleaner than his own.  Going to the toilet, he lifted the lid and pulled the condom off his less than hard shaft.  As he did, he noticed a very peculiar thing.  The tip of his head peeked out the top of the condom and the semen was no longer inside. 

Frantically, he looked back at the door, trying to make sure that she wasn’t in view. 

Shit!  It must have broken, but when? 

“Are you alright in there?” Valeriya asked, rolling over on her back to look at the ceiling.

Gabriel hesitated.  Snatching the condom off, he dropped it in the toilet and flushed. “Yeah, fine.” 

“Good, because I want more,” she said, sounding blissfully happy.

Gabriel shook his head.  “So do I, baby.”  He thought about saying something to her, thought about warning her, but then tonight would turn into one big disaster.  Besides, it was not very likely that she was ovulating, right?  Rubbing a hand through his hair, he cursed silently.

Walking back into the bedroom after he regained his fleeting composure, he tried to hide the worry in his face. Tonight would only be as special as he allowed it to be, and he didn’t want to ruin it with an amber alert. 
Warning, loss children inside of you.

Slinking behind her body in the bed, he kissed her shoulder.  “I meant what I said, you know.”

“Hmm?” she asked, turning toward him.  He looked even better naked than dressed. 

“I love you,” he said honestly. “I know it’s hard to believe.”

Valeriya cut him off before he said something stupid.  “Love isn’t something that is planned and rarely explainable.”  Her eyes were wide with hope.  “Don’t question it.  Things happen for a reason.  Sometimes, you just have to accept it and move on.  We only have a day left.  Let’s not analyze ourselves to death.”

“You believe that?” he asked, rubbing a hand over her stomach.  “Even though we’ve only known each other a day and a half?”

“With all of my heart,” she said, kissing his lips. 

Fuck it
, Gabriel thought to himself, refusing to say anything more.  If he had just impregnated her, at least this time, he’d be proud of it.

Chapter Fourteen

The Morning After…

As a rainy dawn emerged, Valeriya and Gabriel lay on the floor of her bedroom wrapped in each other’s embrace, naked and drained from attempting to cram a lifetime of love making into one single evening.  It had been an exhausting pursuit, one that included multiple orgasms, bites, licks and slaps that would have rivaled any sex film ever created.  Exploring each other had only been one part of the evening; the rest was filled with conversation, getting to know each other on a level that neither of them had ever experienced before, mostly because they knew that in just a short while, they would never see each other again. 

With her head resting snugly on his warm, stubbly chest against his beating heart and her body atop of his angled to feel every muscle, Valeriya slept comfortably and dreamless in his arms, but Gabriel lay awake. 

His eyes were affixed on the ceiling, but his mind raced with indecision.  He did not want to leave Valeriya, and now the only thing on his mind was figuring out how to keep that from happening. However, that would not be easy, even if it were plausible.  He had obligations back home waiting on him and a vow that he had taken to the brotherhood.  Just walking away from all of that for a woman would not be something he expected the Medlov Crime Family would allow, especially with a pregnant ex-girlfriend presently at his family’s home. 

His bad decisions had caught up with him.  If Briggy were not a part of his life, then Valeriya could easily be.  If he had taken more control over his own affairs and insisted on more leadership, then maybe his decision to stay here might not have been contested.  It was clear that all the money in the world couldn’t fix certain things, but he was also certain that if there was any way to turn this around he would. 

Love wasn’t fair.  It had reared its head at the most inconvenient of times in his life and with the most unexpected woman, but he could not ignore it or her. 

Rubbing a hand down the slopes of her long, lean back, he rested it on her firm chocolate bottom admiring the contrast in the color of their skin. 
This was nice.
  Lying here on a bed of their making in a dilapidated hotel in a war torn country wasn’t so bad as long as she was the one he was with. 

Last night had been the best night of his life – truly and without contest.  No woman had ever pleased him so, and no woman had ever made a connection with him the way that she had managed to do.  It wasn’t something that he expected to ever find in his life – real love.  And it wasn’t something that he wanted to give up so easily.  Still, this was only his side of the story, for all he knew Valeriya could wake up in a little while with the full intention of sticking to their previously agreed upon plan of moving on with one hell of a memory.  That was the thing about Valeriya.  She was anything but predictable as she had proven last night. 

Kissing the top of her head, he noticed that her rhythmic breathing had changed.  Moving her hair from her face, he looked down and saw her eyes open.

“Good morning,” he said, instantly stirring awake in other places.  Just the sight of her bright brown eyes glancing up at him made him want more of her. 

Valeriya bit her lip.  “
Dobroho ranku
,” she whispered, hoarse from hours of moaning his name. 

“I hope that’s Ukrainian for good morning and not get out,” he joked.

“It’s definitely good morning,” she said, crawling up his body to kiss his lips.  The scent of her was still on his mouth.   She looked into his eyes and smiled.  “Did you get any sleep?”

His hand still rested on her back.  “Yes,” Gabriel lied.  He’d sleep later, when he was dead, if nothing else.  But he refused to spend a moment away from her. 

Her body trembled as she stretched over him like a cat.  “Good, because we need to get up and move the rest of our munitions this morning.  I don’t like them to be here for too long, because anything could happen and then we’d be back at square one.” Rolling over off him, she stood up and grabbed his shirt off the bed.  Without asking him, she slipped it over her nude body.

He liked the way that she looked in his clothes, but he liked her better in nothing at all. 

Gabriel watched her every graceful move.  “I’m going to take a shower in your bathroom before I go and get dressed. It’s much cleaner than mine.”  His was a real hell hole; this place was actually still quite nice. 

Valeriya smiled mischievously. “I know.  I gave you the worst room that we had on purpose.” 

Sitting up, he yawned. 
Figures.
  “Well, I’ll be staying in here tonight then.” 

Valeriya maintained her straight face.  “And what if I have other plans,” she asked, popping her back.  Everything on her was sore. 

Gabriel stood up and pulled her to him.  Kissing her neck, he cupped her bottom in his hands and pulled it into his morning wood. “If you have any plans for tonight, I suggest that you cancel them, because I want more of you, and I won’t settle for rejection.”

Her eyes fluttered as she hid in his embrace.
Heaven knew that she could spend her whole life in his arms.
“What happened to our agreement for one night only?” she asked. 

Gabriel sucked his bottom lip and stepped back.  That wasn’t the response he was hoping for.  He shrugged.  “It’s on you.  Do you still want it to be a one-time thing?”

Valeriya looked away.  This was why she didn’t want to discuss
it
the morning after.  It would just lead to discomfort and awkwardness.  Her voice was low and solemn.  “What choice do I have in the matter?  You’re leaving in 36 hours.”

It wasn’t a direct admission to her feelings, but close and Gabriel knew that for her, that was more than she’d ever offer anyone else.  Now it was his job to reassure her.  “You have a choice,” Gabriel said, grabbing her hand.  He kissed it and made her look at him.  “What we have doesn’t have to end like this.  Believe me, I don’t want it to.” 

He didn’t?
  Valeriya opened her mouth to respond, but a sudden hard knock on the door interrupted her.  They both looked toward the door. 

Almost grateful for the interruption, she stepped away from him with her heart in her throat. What was she supposed to say to that?  Was he saying what she thought he was saying?  Was he admitting his feelings for her being deeper now?  Good God! 

Cracking the bedroom door open, she stuck her head out, hair wild atop her head, and saw a red-eyed Olek standing there fully dressed.  She looked down at her watch to see what time it was but realized it wasn’t on her wrist. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, closing the door as tightly as she could. 

Everything was wrong in Olek’s life.  He had stayed up all night contemplating if he was really going to follow through on plans to help the men move Valeriya out of her position.  He had reminisced about all of the good times and victories that they had shared between them.  He had recounted the many times her brother had come to his aide and somewhere between the break of dawn, he decided against turning against her.  All they needed was a real opportunity to talk without everyone around and maybe he would be able to reach her instead of harming her. 

There was too much to risk entrusting someone to just “wound” her.  The wrong angle might permanently disable her or worse kill her and he didn’t want that hanging over his head.  So he had decided against it completely and intended to talk to her about simply giving up her position to him for a while until things calmed down. 

“Sorry to wake you so early, but I wanted to talk to you before we made our stops today,” Olek apologized. He knew that it was a lot earlier than normal to stop by her room.   Leaning against the door, he smiled at her. “Can I come in?”

Valeriya clenched her jaw and grasped the knob of the door.  “Now is not a good time, Olek.”

“I know, but trust me, it’s important,” he said, looking down at the shirt she was wearing.  It wasn’t hers.  It was Gabriel’s.  In fact, it was the same shirt that the bastard had worn the day before.  Just then, he saw in the background, Gabriel walk into the bathroom naked and shut the door. 
So while he was up last night trying to figure out a way to protect her, she was here fucking the Russian? 
How poetic.

“I’ll come down and talk to you in just a little bit,” Valeriya said, trying to send him away before a fight broke out.  Even though she wasn’t with Olek anymore, it was apparent in all of his actions since Gabriel arrived that he wouldn’t take the idea of her being with someone else very well. 

“I’ll be quick,” Olek insisted.  He swallowed down his melancholy and stood straight up.  “I thought about what you said last night, and I agree.  We need to do more organizing and get new people involved. While I was out yesterday, I did meet a small group interested in helping us.  They are staying across the city while they are visiting from Bochum and want to meet tomorrow afternoon with you before they leave.  I know it is last minute, but the more people who want to help the cause, the better.  Don’t you agree?”

“Yes.”  Valeriya was surprised by the turnaround in him since last night, but pleased that he had changed his mind.  She was also happy to know that this wasn’t about them but about the cause.  “Do you trust them?  Have they been vetted?”

“Yes, they can be trusted,” he lied.  “After the Medlov men leave tomorrow, we can head over there and meet.  It won’t take long, but I promised them that we would have a conversation.  I want to follow up before they lose interest.” 
And before I lose my nerve
, he thought to himself with a clever smile.

“Good.  This is very good news,” Valeriya smiled.  “We need new blood.” 

“I thought the same,” Olek said, ducking his head. “I’ll see you downstairs in just a little while to load up.”

Valeriya closed the door and let out a sigh of relief.  Maybe Olek was turning a corner and they could finally get back to the business of helping their people, instead of constant infighting.  Not to mention there was the little order of business approaching next week to make an attack on the Russian separatists in one particular area of importance, and they’d need every single person they could recruit to push them out of the targeted raion. 

Hearing the shower running, she put her work on hold for the moment and went into the bathroom to find Gabriel crouching near the showerhead.  She laughed at his discomfort. The water barely hit the top of his chest and his face was nestled by the ceiling. 

Gabriel looked over at her and grinned as he struggled to get water on his body. “These things weren’t built for big men.” Cupping a small bar of soap in his hand, he wiped it over his chest. 

“Is there room in there for me?” she asked, taking his shirt off. Besides, it wasn’t often that she found a beautiful giant waiting for her naked in her shower. 

Gabriel licked his lips seductively, thinking of what he wanted to do to her before the day truly began. He hit the back of the shower wall.  “I will kick out this fucking wall right now to make room for you woman.  Get in here.”  Reaching out, he snatched her by her small wrist into the stream of water in front of him.  Pulling the curtain around the shower, he pulled her up against his erection. 

The water was not exactly warm but it was refreshing and the space was tight, but it did not matter as long as they were together. 

Valeriya dipped her head under the water and closed her eyes.  Life had its moments, even during war, that were calm and nice.  This moment would always be in her mind.  Biting her lip, she pushed into his body and let the water flow between them.  She could not lie; she could get used to this and him.  Still, it was too much a fantasy to dwell on.  Shakespeare had been right about at least one thing, violent delights had violent ends. 

Gabriel kissed her forehead and cleared his throat. “So as I was saying earlier…”

Valeriya’s eyes flashed open. “Tell me whatever you have to say tonight,” she said almost apologetically.   

He frowned, making the crease in between his eyes became more pronounced. “Why tonight?”

She ran a hand over his chest, amazed that he had no tattoos.  Most of
them
did.  “Because the day has already started and we have much work to do.  It’s not that what we have to talk about is not important; it’s that it’s too important.  I want to stay focused.  I must.” 

Gabriel could respect that.  Many of the places that they had been over the last day were riddled with bullets, destroyed by shelling and filled with utter devastation. In order to concentrate and prevent injury or even death, your head had to be screwed on straight, especially if you were a Black woman in a white country with a target on your back.    

“Tonight, we will talk,” he insisted.

“I look forward to it,” Valeriya said with a smile, but her eyes were sad. 

Gabriel picked up on it instantly. “You don’t have to pretend for me.  I’m not that type of guy.” 

“Who’s pretending?” Valeriya asked, knowing that he could see straight through her.  She had spent more time talking to him the previous night than she had spoken to anyone at one time in her adult life. 

He lifted her dainty chin with his index finger.  “You are.”

Her eyes rolled at the thought of being so incredibly transparent.  “And what am I pretending about?”  She asked the question although she already knew.