Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) (8 page)

“Well then you’re going to have to make room for one more thing,
Zhenya.” He crowed closer, invading her space.

“And what’s that? You have some more bad news for me? Threats?”

“No, no bad news, no threats, just a promise.” He lifted her
chin and looked into her eyes. “Before this night is over you’ll promise to
never, ever pull a stunt like this again.”

Chapter
Eight

Zhenya’s eyes widened in surprise. Her anger dying a sudden
death as desire crashed over her. It was all she could do to stand her ground as
she tried not to imagine how he’d accomplish said task. The tension in the
gazebo rose as their breaths mingled in the cold air. She hadn’t lied about the
length of time since she’d been touched, and her traitorous body welcomed the
idea of the man hovering over her breaking her dry spell. She shouldn’t, her
life was in too much
 
upheaval at the
moment, she had a brand new baby, her body was still healing from the birth.
She was in no position to be wanting what she did. She had to remember that.

“No. I didn’t agree to be under your protection, Gabriel.” She
looked directly into his eyes, keeping her voice steady despite the flutters in
her stomach. “I only agreed to
Caelan’s
because I was
new to America, still reeling from the death of my husband, and he and
Nisey
offered a safe port in the storm. Once they knew I
was in the scene, it was logical.” She tried to smile but failed miserably. “So
you’re out of luck. He’s the only one I gave permission to discipline me in
matters of my own safety. We both know as a Dom you can’t do anything without
his permission.” She drew a deep breath and tried to shoulder past him. “Now,
if you excuse me, I think it’s time I go inside—”

“Which he did.” Gabriel’s claim sent a shiver of dread down her
spine as he refused to budge.

“He did?” The squeak left her throat. “He wouldn’t have!”

Gabriel slowly nodded. “Oh yes, he did. Do you want me to haul
your defiant little ass downstairs? You might get an eyeful though. Your little
stunt landed
Nisey
in hot water, but you’re not
getting off scot-free, and since
Caelan
is only one
man, he asked me to deal with you. He even told me your
safeword
was starfish.” Gabriel reached under her arms and lifted her, with an ease that
shocked her, until she was at eye level. “It may have been a while, I
definitely remember how to deal with bratty little subs who don’t know how to
take the measures to ensure their safety seriously.”

Her eyes widened as what he was saying sank in. She was going to
find herself over his knee before the night was over. “Shit…”

His expression drew dark. “Language,
louloúdi mou.
Unless you really want to add onto your punishment.”

She shook her head.

“The correct answer is ‘No Sir.”

“No, Sir.” she repeated obediently, uncertain. She knew what to
expect if
Caelan
were the one disciplining her, but
Gabriel, the man - the Dom she’d lusted after since she’d first met him sent
anxiety through her. Would he be like
Caelan
and use
pain for punishment? Or would he be like Ossie and use verbal abuse? If she had
the choice, she hoped it was the former and not the latter. The pain from a
spanking would fade with time while cruel words had a way of lingering.

“Now, we’re going inside before you catch your death of cold and
I freeze my balls off. Then after you check on Sophia, I’ll see to your
punishment. Do you understand?”

She bit her lower lip, but nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” Then he swung her around until she was cradled against
his chest. She wanted to protest she could walk, but the expression on his face
warned her not to.

* * * *

Once she checked on Sophia, who was sleeping soundly with her
little diapered bottom in the air, Zhenya rejoined Gabriel in her living room.
He’d removed his coat and was standing at the window overlooking the backyard
with his thumbs hooked in the back pockets of his jeans. Just as she was
opening her mouth to alert him of her presence, a loud moan drifted up from
below. Her face flushed. She’d forgotten about
Kalinda’s
warning that the upstairs apartment shared a vent shaft with the one running up
from the playroom.

“Amazing acoustics you got here, Zhenya,” Gabriel said without
turning. “Makes me curious if you listen each and every time…or if
Caelan
is aware you can hear everything that goes on in his
playroom.”

“I don’t…” She shook her head vehemently, as he turned to face
her, his expression almost tortured. She could only imagine how hearing
Caelan
and
Nisey
was effecting
him.

“No, you don’t what? Listen or know if
Caelan
is aware of it?”

“Both. I don’t believe he’s aware of it, but I certainly don’t
listen to what he and
Nisey
do. It would be an
invasion of their privacy.”

A particularly tortured scream rang through the vent and Zhenya
flinched. “I…use ear plugs. Dear Lord, what’s he doing to her?”

“I suspect paddling the truth out of her.” Gabriel approached
her. “Which is what I should be doing to you, but I’m not going to.”

Her hopes rose. “So we’re going to forgo the punishment?”

He shook his head. “No. You’ll be punished tonight, Zhenya, but
since you just had a baby, I can’t in good conscious drape you over my legs and
warm your bottom. You’re more than likely too sore to tolerate more than a few
swats and that just won’t do for your infraction. I could take you downstairs
since
Caelan
has a whipping post in the basement, but
I don’t want to interrupt him and
Nisey
to ask to use
it.”

Dread coursed through her. “Then what are you going to do to
me?”

He sighed, moving to the futon. Sinking down on to it, he met
her eyes. “Something I found works better than any mere spanking. Something
which I normally reserve for only my
submissives
because of its intimacy.”

Before she could open her mouth to ask what it was, he pulled
her down into his lap, cradled her against one arm before covering her parted
lips with his. Shock rolled through her. He was going to kiss her as a
punishment? Then the sensations hit her. The firm press of his lips, the
slightly bitter taste of the beer he consumed earlier, and the rough texture of
his tongue against hers. He swallowed her soft moan and pressed even deeper, as
one hand came up to gently cup the curve of her breast. Pleasure shimmered
through her even as her brain tried to protest, to shout a warning against
giving into the building feeling.

“Hmmm, you taste as good as I thought.” He whispered his praise
against her lips as his thumb flicked over the tight bud of her nipple through
the thin cotton of her t-shirt. A whimper escaped her as long forgotten
sensations washed over her. It’d been months since she’d experienced a man’s
touch. How this was punishment she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to stop
him.

After pressing another kiss to her lips, his lips trailed kisses
to the shell of her ear. Nuzzling the lobe, he sighed softly into it before
tugging on it with his teeth. “So unbearably tempting, even to a man like me.”
His tongue traced over crevices of her ear before plunging inside. She cried
out in surprise as he found an erogenous zone she didn’t know she’d had. Ossie
had never done such a thing to her. Goose bumps rose on her arms and her
breathing grew ragged as sparks flew from her ear to her extremities. Her
nipples tightened further, and the flesh between her thighs ached, and not from
the birth of Sophia. No, this time it was desire causing the sensitive flesh to
pulse.

Gabriel growled and shifted under her, his erection pressing
against her bottom. “So damned responsive.” He lightly pinched her nipple
through her shirt while his other hand, the one attached to the arm holding her
close, stroked over her lower stomach.

“Oh,
theé
mou,
parakaló
̱…”
As she babbled in Greek,
pleading with him, or to God, he dipped his fingers under the waistband of her
jeans, toying with the softly rounded flesh of her belly. Pleasure of not only
having another person touch her, but also it being this particular man was like
a fine wine going straight to her head.

“Shhh, I’m right here.” He continued to nuzzle her ear, stroking
the fire hotter inside her until she was squirming against his erection in
efforts to give him the same pleasure he was giving her with his touch. His
resulting hiss in her ear sent another wave of pleasure through her until she
was panting, her body readying itself for the orgasm sure to come. She’d never
been this responsive before, had never trembled on the cusp of release as the result
of some light petting. He hadn’t thrust his hand into her jeans to cup her
mound, he hadn’t sucked on her nipples, or even undressed her. In fact, he
hadn’t done anything more than kiss her within an inch of her life.

Or at least until his hand slipped between her jeans and
panties. She gasped and wanted to protest as he pressed firmly, forcing the
material between her nether lips. She whimpered and tried to squirm away. He
shouldn’t be touching her there, not when she was still bleeding… “You can’t…”

“It’s normal, and a little thing like a bit of blood isn’t going
to stop me from enjoying you, Zhenya.” He nipped her ear and pressed harder
against the material. “Tell me it hurts and I’ll stop, but if you can’t, I’m
going to continue,” he promised, his fingers rubbing in tight circles above her
clit. She moaned softly.

“I can’t…”

He lifted his head to stare down at her, his blue eyes smoky
with desire. “Of course not. If you could, I wouldn’t be doing this right.” He
licked her lower lip, his gaze locked to hers. It was incredibly intimate,
almost more intimate than anything her husband had ever done with her. It
intensified every sensation. She couldn’t look away, she found. Seeing the mix
of lust and determination, she skated along the edge. Her breath came out in
soft pants as she rocked up to meet his hand.

“Right there?” he growled, rubbing faster. “Is that where you
need it?”

“Yes….please…” She tipped her head back, her thighs trembling as
release beckoned. She needed just one more stroke and she’d fly apart. Just as
her body readied for it, he withdrew his touch. Her hands grasped his arm,
trying to urge him into resuming. “No!”

“Stop it, Zhenya.”

The firm order in his Dom voice had her freezing, her hands
still wrapped around his forearm. She met his determined gaze. “Please don’t
stop!” She could hear the plea in her own voice. She’d beg if she had to. Her
pussy was on fire, and she was so close to coming she could taste it.

“Promise me you won’t do something this foolish again and I’ll
give you the release you crave.”

Anger hit her broadside. The bastard had worked her up only to
prove his point by denying her! Her eyes narrowed in frustration. It would be a
cold day in hell before she begged the power hungry ass for anything. “No.”

He stared down at her. “Then I guess we’ll do this as many times
as it takes.”

“It won’t matter! I’m not going to let you use my body against
me, Gabriel Poulanos! You can tease me ‘til the cows come home and I still
won’t…”

A purely evil light entered his eyes as he sighed. “So be it.”

* * * *

“Sweet mother of God! Let me come.” Zhenya tossed her head back
and forth against the couch cushion, she was nearly beyond herself with her
need to climax, and Gabriel was beginning to doubt his own tactics. They’d been
at this for nearly an hour as he let her ease back from the edge, before
driving her right up to the precipice and stopping. He was aching nearly as
much as she was, but each time he demanded her promise, she stubbornly pursed
her lips and said no. They were having a battle of wills he wasn’t sure he
could win as he took in her bare breasts, their tips shiny from his mouth. He
could feel the dampness of her sex through her underwear, but still she hung
on.

“You know what I want, Zhenya. Give me the words and it stops.”
His voice was hoarse, from desire or his own strain, he couldn’t say, but he
was going to get that promise. He eased his fingers away from her aching pussy.

She immediately cried out. Her grey eyes were wide and her
frustration was evident as she smacked the couch. “Dammit!”

“The words,
louloúdi mou.”
he reminded her. “You either tell me what I want to hear, or I’m going to
walk away right now. There’ll be no more teasing, just you alone with an ache
you might be able to satisfy, but I doubt…”

“I can please myself better than you can.” She glared at him
before trying to push his arm aside. It would leave her free to pleasure
herself, but he wouldn’t allow it. He held her firm.

“You’re nothing but a conceited ass!”

He smiled softly.
If she only
knew.
“And I have a reason to be.” He licked her parted lips, savoring her
taste. “Because unlike the single orgasm you’ll give yourself, I won’t let it
stop at just one. You’ll come over and over again…” A growl crept into his
voice as he cupped her mound and squeezed just enough so she could feel it, but
not enough so she’d climax. “...until I’m satisfied you have nothing more to
give.”

“Okay! Okay! I promise!” Tears leaked out of the corners of her
eyes. He brushed them away with his free hand.