JOANNA

The moment Gabe pulled me into an embrace and leaned in, I felt my stomach tighten with anticipation. But when his lips touched mine, I nearly combusted. 

Seeing that Lydia girl bluntly flirting with him brought me a wave of jealousy I was not ready for.

I wanted to claim him.

To tell her to back off.

But I had no right to. Because Gabe and I are just friends, right?

But friends don't stick their tongues in your mouth. Friends don't make you so hot. All you want is to kiss them until you forget the world around you.

Friends don't kiss you like Gabe is kissing me right now.

A small whimper leaves me when his hand cradles the back of my head and his fingers twist into my hair. He's kissing me deeply and thoroughly, giving me no chance to escape him.

Not that I want to.

My chest is pressed tightly against his and my hands clutching his shoulders to anchor myself. I'm throbbing with need, my breasts aching for relief.

Lust rushes through me fast and my knees literally go weak. Kissing Gabe feels like a dream, so I hold tight onto his shoulders, afraid I'm about to wake up anytime.

Gabe's chest heaves on a deep breath as his mouth opens wider and he devours me. His hand cup my butt, hauling me impossibly closer to him.

I groan a soft sound inside my throat when I see how hard he is. My body is combusting with need. I've never been kissed like this.

"Fuck..." He murmurs over my lips as his hands slide up my back to cup my nape.

"Gabe..." I moan, too lost in him.

He fists my hair in his hand, giving it a tug and holding me away a little. "Jo..." he whispers, his eyes full of lust and something I can't quite figure out.

It feels like I've been waiting my whole life for this moment and now the words are lost deep inside me. I don't know what it means for us and I'm so scared to ask that I blurt the first thing that comes to my mind. "We should get inside."

Gabe blinks. "What?"

"I don't want the others to see us..." I look down, detangling myself from his hold.

"Jo, wait." He tries, but I'm already running inside.

He doesn't follow me.

When I enter the living room, the boys and Maria are laughing, their conversation blending with the sound of the TV. Putting on a mask of normalcy is a struggle for me. My body is still humming, and my lips still tingling.

"Hey, where is Gabe?" Maria asks, and I clear my throat. My cheeks are on fire, and I'm sure my hair is all over the place.

"He'll be here in a minute." I force a smile on my lips. "I really need to use the bathroom. I think I ate something that didn't sit well with me."

"Oh..." She searches my eyes.

"I'm fine, really. I'll be right back." I nod, walking straight to the en-suite bathroom in my room.

In a hurry, I hastily remove my clothes and step beneath the refreshing sprays of the shower. My body is boiling and goosebumps race against my skin when the water hits my back. I can still feel Gabe's lips on mine, and I can't help the burst of desire that shoots down my core.

One taste was enough to show me I'll never be able to see him again just as Maria's older brother.

One taste was all that I needed to know I want him. Bad.

Damn, I'm so screwed.

The soft knock on the door makes me gasp. Gabe wouldn't dare to follow me in here, right? Not with the entire group in the living room.

"Hello?" I say, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Say no if you don't want me to come in." Gabe's voice is husky and low, and my nipples bead tight at the command in his tone.

I take a minute to process what he has just said, but I say nothing. Too curious to see if he'll really get inside the bathroom, knowing I'm fully naked in here.

"Jo." He opens the door, but stands behind it, giving me the opportunity to back out if I want.

"Where's everyone?" I whisper. "Jesus, we're completely out of our minds."

"They went out to grab something to eat," he rasps. "I told them we had just eaten and that I'd keep you company."

"Oh..."

"I'm dying to kiss you again..." he breathes the words. "But if you want me to leave, all you have to do is say so."

Gasping, I bite my lower lip. My mind is screaming at me that this is a bad idea, but my body is having none of it. My heart is pounding and my skin is tingling as a fluttery sensation rushes down my lower belly.

"I'm going to take it as a yes, then." Gabe opens the door wider, and soon his full frame is getting inside the bathroom.

Pressing my palms against the tiles behind me, I watch his eyes narrow and his jaw ticks as he watches me through the glass shower door.

My nipples grow impossibly hard when he slowly takes me in. I'm still unable to utter a word, but I'm sure my body is talking for me.

My breath has hitched, my lower belly is tightening, and my eyes are now focused on the way he pulls his t-shirt over his head.

In a fluid motion, his clothes are off, apart from the black boxers that barely contain his erection inside.

"My eyes are up here," he says and I look up, only to find him smirking.

His presence fills the relatively spacious bathroom and a small whimper leaves my lips when he joins me in the stall, turning off the shower.

He presses both hands against the wall over my head, caging me in. I close my eyes at the intensity of his gaze.

"No." His fingertips touch my chin. "Look at me."

"Gabe..." I moan softly when he grabs my waist, pulling me to him.

Pressing his lips to my ear, I shiver when he speaks. "Tell me to stop. Tell me you don't want this and I'm making this all up in my mind."

I remain silent, my gaze locked with his. This is it. I feel the anticipation of his touch swell within me. My body aches with the need for him. I can't lie to myself and pretend I don't want this.

With my eyes on his, my hands search for the hem of his boxers and I feel the warmth of his body beneath my fingertips as I pull them down.

The low groan that leaves his lips is too much for me, and soon I'm grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a kiss.

With a growl, Gabe hauls me to him and kisses me hard, almost bruising my lips. One of his hands slides up my hair, fisting it enough to keep me in place.

And then he kisses me.

He kisses me as if he's starved. As if he'll die if he doesn't get a taste. I've never had this before. This perfectness against somebody's body. The feeling is heady and so good I feel like melting off my feet.

Attuned to my body, he presses my back against the tile wall behind me. His hands find the curves of my butt, and I moan when he squeezes me right before wrenching my hips to his. He's big and so hard that my sex trembles with need as a hot trickle of arousal gathers in my core.

"Tell me you want this," he breathes gruffly.

"Gabe," I moan when he nuzzles his cheek against mine.

"I need to hear you say it." His lips glide down my neck, stroking over the sweet spot where my neck meets my shoulder.

Then, he bites my shoulder playfully, but enough to get the reaction that he wants from me.

"Oh, yes! God, yes!" My head thuds against the wall, heat pulsing through my veins to the point I can't wait any longer. "Now. I want you now."

The little smirk that leaves his lips when he meets my eyes will be my undoing, I swear.

Picking me up and pressing my back against the wall behind me, he never takes his eyes off me. My legs circle his waist and I run my hands down his chest until I'm holding his erection.

He trembles and his eyes close as he works on a hard swallow. His face is harsh with lust, which matches my desire.

Our gazes lock the moment he opens his eyes. In the back of my mind, I register we should get a condom, but I want nothing between us.

He easily realizes where my mind is going. "I'm clean," he whispers, his eyes open and searching. "I got tested when the tour ended and got the results after a few days..."

"I have an IUD." I feel my core tightening when he grows impossibly harder in my hand.

"Are you sure?" He leans in, our foreheads touching. "I don't want anything between us, but you're the one in charge."

The trust and commitment of our actions often come to those who've been together for a while. But it's the open truth and vulnerability I see in his eyes that are enough to show me this is as important to him as it is to me.

Nodding, I slide my hands up his shoulder as anticipation builds deep inside me.

"Jo..." He murmurs, pressing the tip of his erection to my entrance. "Fuck..." He rams into me, sinking balls-deep in one fierce drive.

"Ah," I gasp, adjusting to him. He's so damn deep that he's all I can feel right now. The connection is too intense. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

"God..." He rasps, his body shivering. "You feel... Jesus... You feel so good."

Clenching around him, I feel intoxicated with him and the way he feels inside me. "Gabe," I press my lips to his. "Fuck me."

Groaning, he buries his face in my neck as his hands hold me tightly in place.

And then he's pulling out to the tip and slamming forward. Hard.

I cry out as pleasure ripples through me. "Gabe... Yes."

Tightening his hold, he starts fucking me for good. And just the way I need it. I make a small helpless sound in my throat and his mouth slants over mine. His thrusts are long and hard, making me so hot all I can do is take him.

I feel my orgasm brewing as our chest heaves for air. Everything inside me is tightening. My hands are grabbing every piece of him I can touch, but it's not enough. I need him deeper, I need...

As if sensing my desperation, Gabe cups my butt harder, lifting me up just right so that the head of his cock is stroking over and over the spot where I need him the most.

"I'm going to come," I murmur, feeling my orgasm building.

"Fuck, yeah." He groans, as lost in this desire as me. "Come for me."

"Ah!" My orgasm hits me like a lightning bolt, jolting me from my core to my nipples — searing and destroying me for any other man.

Throwing his back, Gabe lets out a shuddering breath.

His hips are hammering into me so good I can still feel the aftershocks of my orgasm as he comes long and hard inside me.

_____

A/N: Okay! But did that slow burn pay off or what? LOL 

All I can tell you is that there's still a lot to happen to their story. <3

XOXO

Celeste