Unfaithful (39 page)

Those moments of panic had taught me one thing I would never forget: even if it’s raining outside, the sun is always behind the clouds, even if you can’t see it. You can never tell exactly when it will come out and shine again, but no storm can eclipse the sun forever. Not even the ones that rage in our hearts. You just need to wait for a gust of wind to blow away the clouds and allow the sun to shine again, even inside yourself. And that was what Evan was for me: my gust of wind.

I was staring at the flames in front of me when I felt his lips touch my shoulder, sending a tingle all the way down my spine. He delicately swept my hair back and his touch made me quiver again. His lips brushed my skin tenderly, moving from my shoulder to my neck. Tiny hot shivers spread through my body with each kiss. I closed my eyes as the emotion trembled all the way to my heart.

“You know . . .” The words were barely audible but I was sure Evan could hear them. I turned to look him in the eye. “Despite everything, this has been the most romantic afternoon I’ve ever spent.” He pushed a lock of hair off my forehead and, without leaving my gaze, gently tucked it behind my ear, caressing my cheek. I half closed my eyes, letting the feelings wash over me. “I wish it would never end,” I whispered even more softly.

His eyes half closed too, Evan leaned forward and brushed my cheek with his. “It doesn’t have to,” he whispered, his lips on my ear. The warmth of his voice tickled my skin, sending an uncontrollable tingle surging through my body. God, I was so happy. I wished I could stop time and stay there with him in our little hideaway, our little world where I would be safe forever.

I inhaled deeply, his scent enveloping me as if for the first time. His mouth slowly reached my face, touching my cheek and moving on to my lips with incredible sweetness. I closed my eyes and followed his movements as my body melted like warm honey and his mouth burned against mine. He gazed at me and I lost myself in those intense eyes that were as dark as night while inside me the sun rose, a sun that would never set. I was at war with the world outside, but I didn’t care. As long as I was with Evan, I knew nothing could hurt me.

He kissed me with incredible tenderness. As if it had a life of its own, my hand stroked his skin. I trembled at every movement of his lips on mine, every breath, every heartbeat, as the two of us melted together into one.

I watched Evan’s hand slowly caress my shoulder and gently move the strap of my camisole aside, leaving it dangling against my arm. I held my breath as his mouth moved to where his hand had just been, burning my skin. When he slowly pressed his lips to my neck, I closed my eyes and tilted my head, surrendering to him, savoring his sweet  fruity taste that lingered on my lips.

I knew what was about to happen. We both did.

My skin knew it from how it quivered at his touch. My eyes knew it from the moment they’d met his in the brief silence full of meaning that had left me dazed. And so did my heart, which longed more than anything to melt into his. Every inch of me longed for this moment and I could sense that Evan wanted it just as intensely.

“This, above all else, flouts every rule,” I whispered slowly.

“There’s no rule that isn’t worth breaking for you. I don’t care about the rules.” His tone was gentle and his gaze burned into mine as his hand sank into my hair and his mouth sought mine again, this time more fervently.

I rested my palms on the rug that was as soft as down to the touch. Our lips brushed playfully as I slowly slid backwards, almost unconsciously, guided by Evan’s body as it pressed ever closer to mine. Once I was lying on the rug Evan looked into my eyes, accelerating my breathing. He was suspended over me, his hands resting on either side of my head and his dog tag hanging down between us. I stared at his body and the full, firm muscles lining his arms and torso. Stroking his chest, I felt my gaze return to his as if drawn by an irresistible summons. His velvety voice filled my brain. “There’s something in your eyes that drives me out of my mind,” he whispered with infinite sweetness.

I knew perfectly well what he meant because I felt the exact same thing. There was something in the special way he looked into my eyes, his hard gaze that softened only for me—it drove me wild. Against all logic, it made me lose myself.

Evan continued to kiss me as he delicately unbuttoned my jeans. I longed only for him. The clothes gently slid off our bodies and at last his bare skin was against mine. He swept my hair back and I felt safe.

His voice whispered inside my head, sweeter than ever before:
“If only you could see inside me, you’d know what I feel right now.”
The thought echoed intensely in my mind, his voice tinged with torment, his gaze chained to mine.

“I feel the same,” I whispered onto his mouth. It felt like I’d just told him a secret. My love for him was uncontainable; I was afraid my heart would swell so much my chest wouldn’t be able to hold it any more.

I put my hands over my head, abandoning them on the rug. Evan’s powerful arm reached up and clasped them in his right hand with boundless tenderness as his left caressed my body, barely brushing my neck and then my breasts, slowly. He stroked my belly and his hand slipped under my back.

An invisible cord bound my heart to his. Sensation overwhelmed me. His smell, the feel of his skin against my body, the delicate touch of his lips on mine. My skin burned beneath Evan’s hand, consumed by a fire that could never be extinguished.

He pressed his lips against my neck and clasped my hands against the rug more firmly as a soft breath of air blew out the fire next to us and an overwhelming emotion swept me with unexpected intensity, an internal explosion that filled my heart and shattered every tiny fragment of my being only to reunite it with Evan’s in a single, inseparable entity.

Evan was inside me.

I closed my eyes and let the sensations spread through me. Fire, earth, heaven, hell whirled inside me in a tumult of emotions. The universe had swallowed me up in its infinitude and I wandered within it together with him, entwined in our forbidden love. Hidden from everyone, sheltered in our own little corner of paradise where no one could reach us. Forever connected, softly crying out our love for each other.

No one could take me away from Evan. My flesh was his flesh and my spirit had merged with his like two metals forged by the flames of love into a single indissoluble element. I was his and would be forever.

Evan, Gemma, me, him: tonight all of that had been wiped away, becoming
us
, just us. Two worlds that had combined to become one reality, all our own, where no one could hunt down our love. Two perfectly fitting halves that formed an indivisible whole, so closely united it was seamless, so deep we could forget where one ended and the other began.

Evan moved above me with infinite tenderness, treating me like a delicate piece of crystal. My lips followed his and his mine, brushing together gently at one moment, locking together ardently at another. I’d never known my heart could withstand the intensity of such powerful emotions.

I felt the delicate touch of his hand beneath my back. Never before had he been so tender. His gaze lingered on mine as he swept a stray lock of hair from my face. He spoke, and the tenderness of his voice as it issued from his lips was entirely new. “If my heart could beat, right now it would be out of control,” he whispered.

The soft curve of his full lips mesmerized me as they came closer. Tilting my head to offer him my neck, I realized that the pale light that barely illuminated the room was coming from the sparkling spheres, which were no longer fixed points of light below the ceiling. Now they were swirling, moved by the energy that united us, gliding slowly around our bodies like fireflies in the darkness.

I no longer felt like a single particle in the universe; the entire universe was inside me, locked in my heart that had swelled large enough to contain it. I felt a river of emotion flowing from me to him and back, connecting us eternally. It was as if we’d waited forever for this moment.

Making love with Evan was so intense, so incredible. He was so confident in everything he did, yet every movement, every caress was so gentle. Now, like never before, I felt I could see inside him. It was as if we had each walked a separate path that had brought our souls together and now the two paths had merged into a single one.

The more time passed, the more intense the feeling inside me grew, plucking strings I didn’t even know I had as Evan ran his lips over my breasts, burning my skin with every touch. His mouth stroked my ear and his voice was a warm, velvety whisper that tickled my skin, making me tremble: “I love you to death.”

I half closed my eyes and allowed the emotion to sweep me away.

I’d never experienced such intense emotion in my whole life and I knew nothing could ever match it. My heart was ready to burst. Evan was lying at my side, contemplating me. The fire in the hearth had returned to warm us. The dancing firelight played over our bodies.

“It was then that the Angel saw heaven for the first time,” he whispered, stroking my neck.

I looked into his eyes and bit my lip to conceal a smile. “A reckless Angel.”

“I would die for you,” he said, his eyes probing mine.

“Don’t even try it,” I warned, and he smiled at me, the sexy little creases that drove me wild appearing under his eyes.

“My God, your eyes are so enchanting.” He sighed. “When I look at you all my defenses fall away. I feel like you could ask anything of me and I would grant it.”

My gaze had strayed to his mouth but I returned it to his eyes, resisting the urge to kiss him. “I thought there were certain transgressions forbidden to Angels,” I teased, whispering against his lips, my gaze chained to his. “Shouldn’t your moral code keep you from giving in to this particular kind of temptation?”

Evan stifled a laugh. “I thought a lot of things before I met you, but you turned my whole world upside down. When you’re near me I don’t even know who I am any longer.” He leaned closer and whispered the words onto my lips: “I lost my mind and nothing makes sense any more.” He kissed my bare shoulder and his soft voice caressed my neck under my ear. “My moral code tells me I shouldn’t feel what I feel and that I should resist certain urges, but my instinct tells me I might die if I don’t give in to them.” I rested my forehead on his, his velvety voice putting me into a trance. “If all I had was you, I would still have everything.”

I closed my eyes and swallowed, lost in the spell of his warm, penetrating gaze. Making love with Evan had been an otherworldly experience, not because he was an Angel but because of the boundless love that united us. The energy was still flowing through my body. I was in heaven. Suddenly I remembered when Evan had explained that his body perceived emotions more powerfully than a mortal’s. I couldn’t imagine how it was possible to experience a sensation more intense than the one still stirring in my bones. My body wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

Evan sank his hand into my hair, demanding my attention, as I struggled to find my way back from the dimension I was in. I turned my head so my face was close to his and gazed at him as he continued to stroke my hair.

“Before, you said you loved me.” My eyes locked onto his.

Evan smiled. “What, hadn’t you figured that out already?” he whispered, playfully brushing a lock of my hair back and forth on my face.

“Of course.” I smiled. “It’s just—you once told me you weren’t going to use that word. You thought it was—how did you describe it? Superficial,” I teased. Instantly, though, the memory of the intensity with which he’d said those words banished all the mockery from my face, making my heart skip another beat.

“There’s nothing superficial about us or what I feel for you, Gemma.” His mouth moved to my ear. “We were made to be together,” he whispered, “and no one can ever separate us. Not even Death.” He gently slid his hand down my belly, his eyes following the lines traced by his fingers, back and forth, reaching the edge of my panties. Unable to tear my eyes from his face, I studied its outline, observing the way his wavy hair hung over his forehead, grazing his eyebrows that were as dark as his eyes, as deep as night.

“How did you get this scar?” he asked, pushing aside the edge of the fabric and stroking the silvery streaks on my lower belly.

“It’s not a scar, it’s a birthmark. Huh—” I took a closer look. “It usually looks paler.” It was strange to see how it glowed in the warm firelight. “I could have your name tattooed there to cover it.” I shot Evan a challenging look. “But then you’d have to do the same for me,” I teased, trying hard to sound serious.

“Your name is already branded on my heart,” he whispered tenderly. He stroked my palm with his thumb and I returned the gesture. I loved it when he did that. The simple touch drove me wild.

My fingers slid to his wrist and began a slow exploration of his forearm as I studied his tattoo. I’d never seen anything so fascinating and frightening at the same time. The letters were so small one could barely be distinguished from the next. They seemed to form a single design. Actually, there were different lines consisting of strange symbols that wound up to the inside of his upper arm. From a distance they looked like scratches made by sharp claws or roots that branched out as if to imprison his arm.