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“Wow” She breathed

“I thought about trying it in the bedrooet messy”

He crouched in front of her, his face level with her navel, and opened the jar He dipped the paintbrush in the chocolate, spreading the confection liberally over the delicate strands of the brush, before winking up at her

“Shall we begin?”

She nodded, her eyes half closed

Slowly, he began to draw a heart around her navel

The feel of the chocolate and the brush gliding across her waret And of course, despite the fact that it almost tickled, Gabriel would not be rushed

“There” He put the jar and brush aside and licked his lips “Now comes the fun part Ready?”

“Yes” The word came out as more of a squeak than a statement

She reached out a shaking hand to grasp a railing when Gabriel’s tongue h the chocolate and dipping into her navel

He steadied her by splaying one of his hands across her backside

“It tastes better than I expected” He nibbled at her “Then again, that’s probably because I like how you taste”

His tongue blazed a trail to her hip bone, where he began placing openmouthed kisses

“I think we need more chocolate What do you think?”

“Yes, please” Julia nodded furiously “Definitely, more”

Gabriel picked up the chocolate and the brush

“Then you’d better hold on tight, darling, because I’ his chin

“As aressed, Diane and Tom continued to receive positive reports about their baby’s health Surgery would still be necessary, but the baby was developing and Diane was also healthy

Julia received the reports about her brother with a combination of relief and cautious optimism

She hadn’t told her family about her fibroids or about Gabriel’s vasectomy reversal His family didn’t know that he’d had the procedure in the first place And she didn’t want to worry anyone about her own health issues, especially since Dr Rubio assured her that fibroids were common and, at least at this point, not serious

The E only some of the information with Rebecca But Julia seeraduate career alone

(Or so she thought)

Late one Nove, Gabriel aith a start He was instantly alert, straining his ears for the slightest sound In the distance, he heard a wo

He reached for Julia in the darkness, but she was gone

Without even bothering to switch on the light or to grab his bathrobe, he sprang to his feet, naked, and exited the bedrooht shone from underneath the study door