CHAPTER 196: CHAPTER 191: THE QUIET BEFORE THE STORM (3)

Gabriel was still shaking when Damian kissed him again, not to soothe, but to stoke the fire that was still burning low and steady beneath his skin. Their bodies stayed joined, Damian’s knot keeping them locked together with every subtle pulse. It wasn’t over. Not for either of them.

"Still mine," Damian growled against his lips, voice ragged, all husk and hunger.

Gabriel could barely breathe around it—around him. His fingers were still tangled in Damian’s hair, now damp with sweat, and his thighs trembled from where they wrapped around his mate’s waist.

"Always," Gabriel whispered back, wrecked and smiling.

Damian drew back just enough to take a good look at him. The faintest golden shimmer clung to his irises, threaded through the black like molten fire. His jaw was tight, his body taut with the need that hadn’t fully ebbed. His hand found Gabriel’s chest again, palm splayed over his heart as if anchoring him there.

"I want this night," Damian said. "I want you—just you—before I go back to being Emperor in the morning."

Gabriel’s smile faded into something softer. He knew that look in Damian’s eyes. The way the fire in him burned brighter when it was just the two of them—how he let himself be a man instead of a monarch, if only for a few stolen hours.

"I knew you had something planned when you offered another free day," Gabriel said, laughing. "You don’t need to ask."

Something shifted then.

Damian moved, shifting Gabriel with him, lifting him like weight meant nothing—like he’d always belonged in his arms. Still knotted, still inside him, Damian turned them both until Gabriel was straddling his lap. The movement forced a low gasp from Gabriel’s throat, sharp and breathless.

"I’m not finished with you," Damian murmured, his voice lower now, dragging each word like a vow. "Not until I’ve memorized how many times I can make you say my name before sunrise."

Gabriel’s head fell forward, forehead resting against Damian’s as a tremor ran through him. "You’re insatiable."

"You’re irresistible."

His hands slid down Gabriel’s back, guiding his hips into the smallest motion—and the reaction was instant. Gabriel’s body clenched again, overstimulated but hungry for more, for everything. Damian’s knot was still swollen, but the need between them didn’t slow. If anything, the bond only grew more demanding, more consuming with every beat of their hearts in sync.

Gabriel rolled his hips again, and Damian’s hands locked on his waist, grinding up into him, guiding the movement until both of them were breathless again, gasping into each other’s mouths.

"I want you like this," Damian said, fierce and reverent, "until you forget where you end and I begin."

"You’re a possessive bastard," Gabriel breathed, trembling as the next wave of heat rolled through him.

Damian kissed the words right off his lips.

And again.

And again.

Because the night belonged to them.

And Damian Lyon was not a man who took what was his only once.

—

The ether sconces were still burning slowly, casting dancing shadows on the bed and the walls. The chamber was quiet, thick with the hush that only came after deep, long hours of closeness.

Damian stirred first.

Barely.

He blinked slowly, eyelids heavy, lashes damp with sleep. The world was warm around him, with rumpled blankets and tangled sheets at their hips. The air still smelled like him. Like them. Faintly sweetened omega pheromones, darker alpha musk, and the combined scents of their bodies.

Gabriel lay curled over him, legs tangled around Damian’s waist, cheek pressed against the line of his shoulder, breathing slow and deep. His skin was flushed from sleep, a slight sheen to his brow where the heat of the night hadn’t yet faded. His body was still wrapped around Damian—still sealed, the knot having softened but not yet gone.

Damian took a slow, quiet breath, attempting to relax and take his member out. He almost laughed, picturing Gabriel being sore again and probably furious, even if he partakes in all of this.

Damian let out a quiet, slow breath, almost a sigh, as his body began to relax. The knot had softened, easing the stretch and tension that held them joined so intimately. He shifted gently, cautious not to wake Gabriel just yet, bracing his hand behind Gabriel’s thigh as he began to slide free.

Gabriel stirred at the movement.

Not fully—just a shift of breath, a faint wince that pulled at his brow. His hips flexed instinctively, a low sound caught somewhere in his throat before it faded into sleep again. Damian froze, watching, waiting... until Gabriel settled once more against him with a half-conscious grumble, his leg tightening around Damian’s waist.

Still asleep.

Still clinging.

Damian’s mouth twitched with the ghost of a laugh—equal parts fond and wicked. He could already picture it: Gabriel stumbling out of bed sometime later, sore, groggy, and spitting insults in a voice too hoarse to carry them properly. He’d glare. He’d pace. He’d mutter about imperial overachievers and insatiable alphas and bedframes with political motives.

He’d act like it wasn’t worth it.

And then he’d do it all over again.

Damian dipped his head slightly, brushing his lips against Gabriel’s temple, the gesture lingering longer than expected. He stayed there a moment, breathing him in—sweat, pheromones, sleep, and something sweeter underneath it all. Something only his.

He eased himself out at last, slow and careful, the shift met with a quiet breath from Gabriel. Not pain, but fatigue. Exhaustion wrapped in afterglow. Damian smoothed a hand along Gabriel’s thigh once more, grounding him, before pulling the blanket higher over them both.

Gabriel’s brow twitched again.

This time, his lashes fluttered, and his breathing shifted, deeper, slower, edging toward wakefulness. A moment later, he groaned softly and shifted on the mattress, stretching one leg and then freezing as his body registered everything.

"...you absolute menace," he muttered into Damian’s shoulder, his voice raspy with sleep and wear.

Damian smiled without opening his eyes. "Good morning."

"Is it?" Gabriel whispered, peeling himself back just enough to look down between them. The ache was immediate. So was the sensation of slick warmth trailing down his inner thigh, slow and unrelenting.

He let out another groan and flopped back onto the pillows. "You couldn’t have at least warned me before turning me into a reservoir?"

Damian reached lazily for him, pulling Gabriel back into his chest. "You didn’t complain last night."

"I was delirious," Gabriel deadpanned, though he didn’t resist the way Damian’s arms wrapped around him again. "You knoted me twice."

"Three times," Damian corrected, lips brushing the curve of Gabriel’s ear. "You passed out the third time."

Gabriel smacked his chest. "You are not allowed to sound proud about that."

"Too late."

"Arrogant tyrant."

"Delicious consort."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and tried not to smile, though the corner of his mouth betrayed him. He sighed, resting back into the warmth of Damian’s arms for a long, lingering moment. His body ached everywhere, in that way that wasn’t unpleasant—just undeniable. Claimed. Every breath still smelled like them.

"Gods, I have to shower," he muttered, shifting slightly.

"There’s time," Damian said, brushing a kiss behind his ear. "Go to sleep."

Gabriel didn’t argue this time.

The room was warm. Their bond pulsed steadily between them. Damian’s fingers traced lazy circles on his skin, grounding him.

Within minutes, Gabriel’s breath slowed, soft and even.

Damian stayed awake just a little longer, holding him.