He closes his eyes and presses his forehead to mine. I inhale the familiar comforting scents of Bergamot and Sandalwood that I’ve come to love. And then he pulls away from me, running his finger along the cut on my neck. As he leans closer, I see the bloody knot on the back of his head.

“Are you ok?” he asks, concern marring his brow.

“Gabriel!” I admonish. “I’m not the one bleeding from the head. We need to get you to a hospital!”

He shakes his head, his eyes still blazing. “No, I’m taking you home.” And before I can protest further, he bends to scoop me up in his arms. As volatile as he is right now I decide not to argue. He carries me all the way back to my apartment, not even bothering to call the cops.

Once we’re inside, he carries me to the bathroom. Without saying a word, he sets me down on the counter and turns on the shower. He undresses me first, inspecting my body with careful precision, cringing at the bruises on my arms. But it’s the blood on my neck that really sets him off.

“Dammit, Victoria, when I tell you to do something, you fucking do it!”

I cross my arms and shoot back an angry glare.

“I’m not a kid, Gabriel. You don’t get to talk to me like that.”

And then, to my surprise, he leans in and closes his arms around me tightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers in my ear. “I wanted to fucking kill them. Seeing his hands all over you like that, hurting you, it nearly sent me over the edge.”

I relax into him and my anger disappears. “I’m sorry too, Gabriel. I was so scared for you, I couldn’t think straight.”

I choke up at the memory, and the tears come unbidden down my cheeks as I continue.

“I took you there. It was my idea to walk, and if we hadn’t done that, this never would have happened. I just wanted to protect you.”

He pulls back and cups my face in his hands, wiping away my tears in the process. “It’s my job to protect you, sweetheart. And it’s not your fault, I should have known better than to walk in this neighborhood at night.” He pauses for a moment to search my eyes. “That’s why I don’t fucking like you living here.”

I look down at the floor, ashamed with myself. It doesn’t matter what he says, I put his life in danger tonight. I can’t believe how stupid I was.

“And I hate to break it to you, little one,” he teases, “but you’ve got no street smarts. If you hadn’t tried to attack them, they probably would have just let you go. I could have given them the money and saved us both a whole lot of heartache.”

I look up at him defiantly. “I would never leave you in that kind of situation to fend for yourself, Gabriel. They were hurting you.”

He smiles at my protectiveness and kisses me softly on the nose as he lifts me off the counter.

“C’mon Rocky, I want to wash this night off of you.”

In the shower, I lather my hands and gently clean the cut on Gabriel’s head. I massage his body as I wash him, stopping to kiss his chest and back during the process. When I’m done, he gives me the same treatment, careful not to hurt me. The bruises are much more visible now, and he grunts as he traces soft circles over them.

Once we’re both clean, he dries me off with a towel and carries me into my bedroom. There’s no question about him staying tonight, and I feel happy that I don’t even have to ask.

He pulls me close to him and kisses me without any roughness this time. My skin heats to his touch, the longing between my legs returning. I kiss him everywhere I can reach, the thought of almost losing him a powerful new aphrodisiac.

But he pulls away abruptly, shattering my lust induced haze.

“Victoria, you were just attacked,” he says sternly.

“I’m fine,” I whisper. “I want you… more than anything else in this world, I want you.” I know how desperate and breathy my words sound, but I don’t care.

He stares down into my eyes for a few moments and then leans in to kiss me again. His hands find my breasts, and I arch into him, silently begging for more. To my surprise, he picks me up and places me on top of him, straddling his massive erection. I don’t argue. I reach greedily for his cock, pushing him inside me as I moan with pleasure.

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