Bad Boy Prince: A British Royal Stepbrother Romance (42 page)

“I will what?!” Gabriel barked.

But the Oracle’s light was already draining from Cassie’s eyes and mouth, receding until Cassie blinked and frowned.

“What happened?” she asked, then her expression turned fearful. “Oh, no. She took over, didn’t she?”

“Apparently,” Gabriel said, trying to absorb it all.

“I’m afraid to ask what she said,” Cassie said, nibbling on her lower lip. “She didn’t tell you when you’re going to die, did she?”

Gabriel shook his head.

“Not today, at least,” he sighed.

“So what did she say?” Cassie persisted.

“I— It’s private,” Gabriel said, unsure how to tell her. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what the prophecy meant. Cassie had described them to him once as being ‘cryptic and arcane’, telling him that the Oracle’s pronouncements often weren’t meant to be taken at face value.

Then again, the Oracle had been clear and specific. Her words were no riddle, though one could interpret them a few different ways…

“Oh, she said something personal. Fuuuuuuck,” Cassie groaned. “Gabe, I’m so sorry.”

Gabriel paused for a moment, taken back by her shortening his name to Gabe. He hadn’t heard that since he was kid, but it sounded sweet coming from Cassie’s lips.

“Hey,” Cassie said, reaching out and taking his hand. “Remember what I said. You can’t always know what the prophecies mean. Some are straightforward, but a lot of them barely make sense.”

You will give the Vessel a child.
Not a lot of other ways to interpret that. The idea of having a mate to protect was already rousing Gabriel’s deepest fears; adding a child to that picture was frankly terrifying.

And yet…

He allowed himself to imagine, for a moment, how it might feel. He pictured Cassie giving him a beaming smile as she rubbed her rounded belly, imagined her cradling a swaddled baby, comforting the child they’d made together. The thought of it dredged up some instinct in him. Having a family, a real family, something he’d never had in his own pathetic childhood.

The concept of it moved Gabriel, even as it stoked his bear’s desire for Cassie. Suddenly the need to claim her was overwhelming, and Gabriel was drowning in his own silent contemplation.

“Gabe,” Cassie said, patting his thigh. “It’s okay, I promise. The Oracle probably just said a bunch of stuff…”

“She protected you,” Gabriel said, wrenching himself from his thoughts. “You annihilated one of the Kallu demons without even trying.”

“I told you I could take care of myself,” Cassie said, a coy smile playing over her lips.

“I’m starting to see that,” Gabriel admitted, then he grinned. “I guess I’ll have to learn to trust you more, listen when you tell me things.”

Cassie gave him a rueful smile as Gabriel offered his hand and pulled her to her feet.

“I feel like I’ve been telling you that for a while,” she said, but Gabriel was far too irresistible for her to truly feel any anger.

“Perhaps you have,” he said. “In any event, I think we’ve had our share of adventures in the French Quarter for tonight. Are you ready to go home?”

“Home,” Cassie repeated, the word feeling strange as she said it. Could the Manor truly become her home, fulfilling her in a way that the Birdcage never had? It was worth a try, wasn’t it?

Glancing up at Gabriel with a soft smile, Cassie nodded. “Home sounds just perfect.”

C
assie laughed
when Gabriel insisted on scooping her up and carrying her up the Manor’s stairs, ‘like a proper gentleman’. His English accent thickened, the polished notes making her shiver as she slid her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Added to the fact that he was likely the most handsome man on the planet, his smooth, low voice and posh accent were practically unfair to mankind.

“A gentleman, huh?” she teased as they reached Gabriel’s rooms. Cassie admired the light beard he sported today, the gentle curl in his chestnut hair, the hard line of his jaw. And those eyes, those eyes the color of the deepest ocean, devouring her with such carnal interest…

Gabriel paused at the door to his bedroom to look down at Cassie, his eyes blazing with hunger.

“I suppose a gentleman would ask you whether you want to come inside.” He paused, lips quirking upward. “Cassandra Chase, would you let me take you to bed? You should know that I intend to ravish you.”

Cassie flushed and laughed, nodding.

“Yes, Mr. Thorne. Carry on,” she said.

Gabriel swept inside, giving Cassie her first glimpse into his bedroom. The room was a perfect contrast with his study and library; the walls were a smooth, dark charcoal, and there were only a few pieces of teak furniture: a bed, a massive armoire, a modest bookshelf, and a small desk without an ounce of clutter. There was a navy rug on the floor, matching the navy linens on the bed, and it was all perfectly orderly.

“What?” Gabriel said as he deposited her on the bed.

“Nothing, I just… This room surprises me. I guess I thought you’d have books stacked on books instead of furniture,” she said with a smirk.

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s what the library is for,” Gabriel said, wagging his brows. “I like that you’ve been daydreaming about my bed chamber, though.”

“I—” Cassie began to protest, but Gabriel stopped her with a deadly grin, showcasing a dimple in his left cheek. He shrugged off his dark suit jacket and toed off his shoes, then pinned Cassie with his fierce sapphire gaze. Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and pushed them up and took off his tie, casting it aside.

“Stand up,” Gabriel said, offering his hands to help her off the bed. “Let me help you out of that dress, darling. It’s lovely, but I very much want to see you without it.”

Gabriel turned Cassie around gently, giving her goosebumps when he stroked a fingertip up the bare skin exposed by her backless dress. He deftly unhooked the clasp at her nape, then slid the whole dress down her body in one smooth motion, leaving her in nothing but black lace panties and sky-high black heels.

“Stay right here,” he ordered, helping her step out the puddle of silk at her feet. He moved away, presumably laying out her dress somewhere, and then returned to stand behind her once more. Cassie trembled when he gathered the thick gossamer curtain of her hair and flipped it over her shoulder to expose her neck, shoulders, and back to his view. He skimmed his hands up her sides, teasing her bare flesh and stirring sensation low in her body. He stopped, then caressed a path from her shoulders down her arms.

“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Gabriel murmured, moving closer until his chest and thighs brushed against her body.

Cassie let out a shaky breath as Gabriel’s hands slid around to cup her breasts, his fingertips rolling her nipples to taut points. Gabriel’s lips traced a path up her neck, his teeth teasing her earlobe. He gathered her hair in one hand, tugging her head to the side until the column of her neck was at his mercy.

He bit her nape, a sharp moment of pain that he soothed away in the next instant with a kiss. It felt like a precursor to claiming, or a promise.

“Gabriel…” Cassie whispered, uncertain.

“Don’t worry, darling,” Gabriel mumbled, lips still on her neck. His free hand slid down over her belly to cup her sex through her panties. “I promise to sate you before I mark you.”

Gabriel released her hair and pushed her forward onto the bed until she lay on her belly, then he stepped between her knees. Cassie turned her head to watch him, and he gave her a knowing wink as he stripped off his clothes.

He took his time unbuttoning and removing his shirt, then he shed his pants and kicked both garments aside. Standing in nothing but a pair of the tightest imaginable gray boxer briefs, Gabriel was nothing short of glorious. Six foot five inches of thick, carved muscle. A body made for sin, enough to make the most pious fall from grace, coupled with the face of an archangel.

Gabriel drew her attention down from his face by stroking his erection, and Cassie couldn’t help but notice that his boxer briefs could barely contain his thick, heavy cock.

“See something you like?” Gabriel asked, flashing her a panty-wetting smirk.

“You’re awful,” Cassie shot back, squirming. She tried to pull away and turn over, but Gabriel’s hands clamped onto the backs of her thighs, blocking her movement.

“You’re about to find out, darling,” he promised.

Gabriel leaned forward and rucked her panties down, pulling them off roughly. Cassie gasped and tried to draw her legs together, but again Gabriel held her in place. Already his fingers were squeezing her bare ass, and the look of male satisfaction on his face was unbearable. Cassie pressed her face into the bed, cheeks burning.

“I want you on your knees.” Gabriel’s hands lifted her hips, shifting Cassie until she rested on her knees and elbows. He inched her knees back until they were nearly on the edge of the bed, running his hands up her outer thighs and cupping her ass cheeks. “Fuck, Cass. You make me so bloody hard.”

He pulled back for the barest second, then Cassie cried out with surprise when he rubbed the thick, bare head of his cock against her inner thigh, oh so close to her aching entrance.

“Ohhhh,” Cassie moaned, leaning back, curiosity burning her alive. Would he skip the foreplay and fuck her right now? She was wet enough, to be certain.

Instead, Gabriel drew things out. He teased her for several long moments, brushing the silky crown of his cock against her lower lips.

“You’re so wet for me already, Cass,” he uttered.

He positioned himself at her entrance and pushed in the barest fraction, and Cassie gave a shout of pleasure, her fingers digging into the sheets. When he pulled back with a chuckle, she growled, disapproving.

She looked back at him, giving him a nasty glare, and he smirked.

Smack
. His open palm landed on her right ass cheek, making her release a surprised gasp.

“I’m not going to make it that easy, Cass, I assure you. No matter how deep I want to bury my cock in your body, you’re not ready yet. Not until you’re burning for me, darling.”

Gabriel’s hand moved between her thighs, teasing her slick lower lips. Two fingertips swirled around her throbbing clit, giving her what she wanted most while making her need burn all the hotter.

“Yes,” Cassie moaned, throwing her head back. Her body bowed as she leaned into Gabriel’s touch, seeking more, more. “Gabriel, yes!”

“You like how I touch you, don’t you darling? I love giving my mate pleasure,” Gabriel said.

A tiny part of Cassie caught on his sudden, fervent use of the word mate, but the rest of her was too engulfed in sensation to listen or care. As Gabriel’s touch drove her higher, a new ache emerged deep within, the desire to be completely and wholly filled by him. She wanted Gabriel to possess her body, to permeate her senses. She wanted him to
need
her, need the bond growing between them.

Cassie wanted Gabriel to claim her. Mark her. Make her
his
.

Somehow, she couldn’t say any of that. Not in the heat of the moment, maybe not ever.

“Fuck me, Gabe. Please, please fuck me,” escaped her lips instead.

Gabriel gave her a little taste of what she so desperately desired, roughly pressing two thick fingers deep into her tight, wet core. His touch was not gentle, but it matched the urgency Cassie felt to her bones.

“Tell me I can have you bare, mate,” Gabriel growled, giving her ass another resounding
smack
.

“I’m on the pill,” Cassie managed, turning to glance at him, entranced by the intensity of his expression. Gabriel’s eyes were nearly black with unbridled lust, and his chest and shoulders gleamed with a light sheen of perspiration.

“What a good girl you are, Cass.”

He worked her channel with his fingers until she bucked against him, then withdrew. There was no tease this time, no further warning. Gabriel positioned himself at her entrance and thrust deep, gripping her hips as he stretched and filled her body, giving her everything she needed.

“Ah!” Cassie cried, but Gabriel didn’t let up for a moment. He set an insistent rhythm, bringing one of his hands around to her belly, raising her hips a fraction. Then his hand slipped to her outer thigh, pressing her legs closer together.

Suddenly he was so much deeper inside, his magnificent cock hitting every sensitive spot, making Cassie’s legs shake with the force of the newfound sensation. Her innermost muscles began to tense, and she could feel Gabriel’s appreciative response, letting out a deep growl of satisfaction as his fingers dug into her hips. He fucked her relentlessly as her body tightened impossibly, her breasts tingling and clit throbbing and… and…

Gabe shifted and pulled her upright, not missing a beat as he sunk his teeth deep into the tender joint of her neck and shoulder. The sharp pain blended with her overwhelming pleasure until it all overran some barrier deep inside her.

Cassie exploded with a shout, hips rocking into Gabriel as she peaked. His grip on her body grew almost painful as he hammered her, not slowing as Cassie rode crest after crest of pleasure.

“Fuck, Cass. Fuck!” Just as she began to slide back toward reality, Gabriel cursed and came, jerking against her as he jetted his release in long pulses.

Cassie shuddered as he withdrew, but to her surprise Gabriel didn’t collapse onto the bed as she did, practically melting into the mattress. Gabriel vanished for several long moments, but Cassie couldn’t bring herself to look for him, overcome as she was with post-coital bliss. She let her eyelids droop, and might have just gone straight to sleep if Gabriel hadn’t returned.

“Here, darling, let me take care of you.”

“Mmm?” Cassie mumbled, opening a single eye to contemplate him.

Gabriel arched a brow as he held up a hand towel.

“Mmmf,” Cassie replied, unwilling to move.

Gabriel cleaned her with the gentlest touch possible, first the bite on her neck and then between her legs. He padded off again, leaving Cassie adrift for a long string of moments. When he came back he flipped back the comforter on one side of the bed and lifted Cassie in his arms. Cassie giggled at his indulgence as he tucked her in and then crawled under the blanket beside her.

“That’s better,” Gabriel said, turning Cassie onto her side and pulling her close. He wrapped himself around her, his embrace tender and possessive and satisfying. Cassie’s exhausted brain went in circles, trying to figure out what the hell was happening and what she should be feeling.

“What now?” was all she could manage.

“For now? Just sleep,” Gabriel murmured, snaking an arm around her waist and burying his nose in her hair, just at her nape. He was all warmth and comfort, and Cassie could do nothing but fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

C
assie awoke
to bright sunlight streaming in through windows. She winced, touching the mating mark at her neck. It was a little sore, but so was the rest of her body. Her lips turned up at the deliciousness of the sensation, having earned her aches and pains in the best way possible. She glanced over at Gabriel, refusing to let herself think of their new status just yet. She’d only pick it apart and trip herself up, and she wanted to just relax and feel good about it for a while yet.

Stretching, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and started to get up. She yelped when a muscular arm snared her by the waist, dragging her backward.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Gabriel asked, nuzzling her neck, his lips and teeth and stubble sending fissions of pleasure down her spine.

“I was thinking of brushing my teeth,” Cassie said with a laugh.

“You have precisely six minutes before I come in there after you,” Gabriel informed her. “I promise leniency if you don’t make me get out of bed to hunt you down.”

“Is that right?” Cassie asked, pushing up on her elbows and pursing her lips.

“That’s bloody well right. You’re not leaving my bed again until you’re so well-fucked you can’t think straight,” Gabriel warned her. “I’m going to have you every way possible, as many times as possible. I’m thinking… two weeks? Three? How long do you think it’ll take for you to forget that anyone existed before me?”

Cassie gave a startled, bemused huff. As if she had eyes for anyone but Gabriel after last night!

“I— I don’t know what to say to that,” she admitted, blushing.

Gabriel let her off easy, releasing her and shooing her off the bed.

“You’ve only got five minutes now, so you’d better get a move on if your teeth truly need attending to.”

Cassie laughed and hurried to comply, certain that she’d be well rewarded on her return.

“
I
thought
you weren’t going to leave me until I forgot that the rest of the world existed,” Cassie protested when Gabriel rose and dressed.

He arched a brow.

“I believe I said I was going to make you forget other men,” he clarified. “And if the last six days haven’t satisfied your appetites… Well, I’ll make it up to you at sunrise. I really do have to patrol tonight, though. Rhys and Aeric are tired of covering for me while I fawn over my new mate.”

Cassie stretched and climbed out of the bed, sauntering over to Gabriel’s armoire and finding a soft cotton t-shirt to pull on. They’d already established that Gabriel loved seeing Cassie in his clothes, loved his scent on her skin. Even now, he was giving her a speculative glance as he laced up a pair of black leather combat boots.