Page 106 of Raine
“Go home, Rainey, we can talk later. Get some rest because something tells me Avernus isn’t finished with us just yet.”
And something tells me he’s right.
Chapter35
Raine
Before heading back to Gabe, I decide to take a walk down the beach that lines the front of our homes. After punching in the code and placing my finger down on the pad, the gate clicks open and I close it behind me.
Slipping my shoes off, I leave them at the top of the stairs and start the walk down and toward the beach. The waves slam along the shore, the sound comforting and welcoming, although something pulls at my heart when I turn back and look at our four monstrosities behind me and not the little beach bungalow I purchased.
My toes dig into the warm sand, and I bend down to pull up my yoga pants, then walk the rest of the way. I plop down in the sand and wonder how my life could get any messier than it already is.
I thought I thrived on chaos, taking drugs and drinking until I was falling over so I could keep my demons at bay. However, as I sit here in silence and allow the waves to mollify me some, I know I was only surviving and not living.
Invigoration shoots through my body, and I stand up abruptly, my feet moving before I have time to think. I walk toward the ocean with determination set deep inside of me — a hunger I’ve been chasing since I can remember flourishing in the pit of my stomach.
The water laps at my feet, and I glance down to watch it before walking the rest of the way into the water. When I’m waist deep, I peer over my shoulder, my eyes locking on my bedroom window, and I swear I see a shadow watching down on me.Gabe.
Turning away, a smile tickles the corners of my mouth, and I know I probably look crazy to some standing here fully clothed. When I place my hands in front of my head and dive in, the frigid water washes over me, and I feel like it’s taken away some of my sins and replaced them withlife.My head pops up, and I heave in a breath, and it feels like a baptism of my soul.
I wade around for a few seconds but my impatience and need run first, and I rush out of the water. Running through the sand and up the stairs, I band an arm across my white tank because I’m not wearing a bra underneath.
Sand coats my feet, and adrenaline fuels my body. I reach the top of the stairs panting, smash in the code, and press my finger on the pad. When the gate clicks open, I quickly grab my shoes and run the rest of the way to my house.
I stop abruptly, my feet skidding, when I see Gabe resting against the doorjamb and a smirk on his handsome face, which causes my heart to stutter.
He crooks his finger and beckons me to come to him. My breath shudders and I know it’s more from the promise in that one motion than from exertion.
Forcing myself to walk, I lift my chin and strut the rest of the way with my hands by my sides. My hips sway, and so do my braless tits, and I don’t miss the way Gabe’s gaze snags on them.
I reach him, and we stand a couple feet apart, his eyes raking up and down my body and my chest heaving with the intention I see reeling in his eyes.
Before he can say anything, I move the last couple of feet, and we stand flush together. Peering up from his hard chest, I find him gazing down at me. I know I must look a hot mess with water dripping off me and sand coating my feet, but I don’t give a fuck.
Standing on my tiptoes, I place a tentative kiss at the corner of his mouth and slide my tongue along his bottom lip until I reach the other side and kiss the corner. He growls low and deep but makes no movement to stop me.
Our eyes stay locked, and I know after I utter this one word that everything will change from the world I once knew into a new one. I’ll be staggering along into territory I’ve never walked before, and although it’s scary, it feels right.
“Yes…” I whisper and watch Gabe’s eyes blow wide.
His lips slam onto mine and he picks me up, swinging me around and walking me through the door, then kicking it closed behind him.
I giggle through the kiss and pull back, looking up at him. “You’re in so much trouble now, Sweet Girl. I’m going to make this body sing like it’s never been able to hold a note before. You’re mine, and I’m not letting you fucking go.”
I shiver in his hold, and it’s not from the cold. There’s a promise written in his eyes, one I’m all too ready to sign on the dotted line along with him.
He doesn’t ask me where to go; instead, he walks straight to my bedroom, and I notice the window open overlooking the water.
“Were you watching me in the water?”
“I was,” he admits, and I smile.
I don’t ask any more questions because I see the answer in his steps as he walks toward the bathroom. “Let’s have a shower, baby; I’ve got so much to show you.”
My belly dips, and my body heats with need. He places me down in front of the shower door, opens it and turns the hot faucet on first.
I watch with anticipation, wondering what being with Gabriel Marx is going to look like for me. The thoughts alone have my insides turning to lava and pooling between my thighs because I know what being with this man entails. But beinghisthat is something different entirely.
