never seen Gilly so distraught before, even after all they’d been through so far. He imagined, however, with the Triad being triplets, when one got lost and alone, all of them felt it. He’d heard twins and triplets often felt what their other siblings felt, and he assumed this was no different. Even during their occasional squabbles, it was easy to see how much the sisters adored one another.
By the time Gilly made it back to the cemetery gates, her cheeks were streaked with tears. As soon as she closed and locked the gates, she began to sob. “She’s not there. Hasn’t been anywhere near here, according to Patrick, her head Chenille. He came up to the gates to find out what I wanted. I hated to tell him because I didn’t want him worrying, but I had no choice.”
Then, out of nowhere, Gilly’s sobs grew louder, and she suddenly pressed a hand to Gavril’s chest. He stood fast, placing a hand over hers. Simply by touch he could feel the anger roiling through her. Not anger toward him, but the situation, for the loss of her sister.
Gavril didn’t budge when Gilly released her hand from his chest, turned and punched a light post. He knew all too well how she was feeling, since he’d just recently lost his Ronan, who’d been as close to him as a brother.
As Gilly sobbed, Gavril all but carried her to a side alley off Rampart Street so she could have the privacy he knew she needed to let go completely.
Once there, he pulled Gilly close, attempting to comfort her. She struggled against the gesture, evidently not wanting to give in to the over-the-top emotions she felt.
It didn’t take long for her to lose that battle, however. Before Gavril knew it, Gilly finally pressed herself against him and laid her head on his chest. He gently rubbed her back with a hand, whispering comforting words in her ear. “We’ll find her, I promise.”
Gavril had no idea who moved first, but suddenly his lips were locked with Gilly’s, and she was kissing him with the same fierceness she felt regarding Viv’s disappearance.
Gavril struggled to maintain control over the kiss, not wanting their intimacy to go further than it already had. He didn’t want her to hold regrets for something she did out of sheer emotional upheaval. But her kiss kept his head spinning, his body humming with a hunger he’d never felt before.
Obviously frustrated, and still in tears, Gilly took Gavril’s hands and brought them to her breasts. In that moment, it seemed she could have cared less whether the alley was dark or brightly lit. He felt she needed the pain inside of her to go somewhere else, and without question, he knew that the somewhere else was having Gavril deep inside her. He carried the same need for her.
As Gavril tried to hold her back, soothe her with his words, Gilly all but threw him down on a grass mound in the alley. She ripped his shirt open, and then her own. She pressed her breasts against his chest and Gavril groaned, quickly losing resolve.
He felt himself hard against her. She’d obviously felt it, too, because it seemed to make something in her mind click into overdrive. Gilly pressed a hand to his chest, yanked open his belt and unzipped his pants. Gavril opened his mouth to protest, but his body defied all he meant to say. He needed her as desperately as she needed him.
Meanwhile, Gilly worked her slacks and panties off with one hand and, without preamble, settled her wet, swollen self over his hardness.
With a groan, Gavril pulled her toward him, yet Gilly kept her hand on his chest and rode him like her life depended on it.
Gavril felt pain in his groin as he fought to maintain control, but the second Gilly flooded him with her hot, soaking juices, he exploded inside of her like a non-stop geyser that dared defy the laws of physics.
With both of them satiated for now, Gilly lay her head on his chest, and he cupped her head and pressed her closer. The fact that they were out in a public place crept into the edges of his mind, but for now he shoved the thought back. He needed to feel her this way. Needing him, satiated.
Finally, Gilly lifted her head and whispered, “We have to find her, Gavril. She’s part of me. If something happens to Viv, part of me will die, too. We have to find her.”
Aside from an ultra-explosive orgasm, there was nothing that could make a man go as flaccid as the words she’d just spoken.
Gilly rolled off Gavril, her cheeks suddenly red with embarrassment. She quickly pulled her shirt over her breasts and scurried back into her pants. “I—I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Gavril asked, although he suspected the reason.
“For...for acting like this. My sister’s missing, we have dead Originals with two sectors completely missing, and all I can think about is having sex with you.” She scrambled to her feet, her cheeks still bright pink.
Gavril zipped up his pants and closed his shirt over his chest. He couldn’t button it because Gilly had ripped every button from its hole when she’d wanted to get to his bare chest. This brought a gentle smile to his face. He got to his feet and reached for her. She took a step back from him, and the movement pierced his heart.
“Listen to me,” Gavril said. “You’re a wounded woman who needed something real and alive to keep your world in balance. Sex does that and quite well. Believe me, if I’d have thought there was any other intention, you wouldn’t have reached first base. I may be a guy, but I do have control over my senses and anything below my belt.”
“Oh, that you do,” Gilly said shyly.
“I wanted you, Gilly, from the first moment I saw you. Not just to have sex with you, but the whole of you. Your spitfire attitude, your willingness to say what’s on your mind, even if it involves an expletive or two. Your loyalty to your Originals and to your sisters. Even the way you carry yourself and the way you look. Your pixie cut, beautiful eyes, your tiny nose. It’s all of you, Gilly. All of you.”
Gilly stood staring at him silently, and for a moment, Gavril feared he had revealed too much too fast. There was no question in his mind that he’d fallen hard for this woman, but she’d yet to voice how she felt about him. Sex was one thing. Feeling another. Matters of the heart went much further, much deeper than sex. He resented the fact that the Elders had lit into the Triad about having relations with the Benders, but he understood. Every group had their rules. Even Benders. While on a mission they were to keep one head in their pants and the other on the task they’d been assigned. So far they’d blown that one out of the water big-time. The last thing he felt about that, however, was regret.
Letting out a deep breath, Gilly said, “We need to head out. It’s a decent hike back to the Elders. We’ll probably wind up back at the hotel a bit early, but if Evee shows up first, I don’t want her worrying about where I am, as well.”
Feeling a stabbing pain in his heart that Gilly hadn’t even acknowledged all he’d shared with her, Gavril simply nodded, and both of them headed back to the Monteleone.
By now the trolleys were running, and it would have been easier to hop one and take it down to Canal Street, which crossed Royal, where the hotel was located. But Gavril hoped the walk might give Gilly time to absorb all he’d said and respond in some way.
They’d just crossed Iberville and took a right on Royal, when out of the blue, Gilly reached for Gavril’s hand and held it tightly. His heart soared. Her palms were sweaty, so he knew that she was nervous. She probably had no idea how to respond. Although she might not have had the words to respond to him, her taking his hand said more to Gavril than a thousand words would have. Even better, seconds after taking
