He nodded against her neck, kissing along her collarbone.She could feel the mad pounding of his heart against her own chest, and it soothed her, knowing she had the same effect on him.She released the hold on his shoulders.When had her hands even moved there?And reached up to tug on his hair, her fingers losing themselves in the chestnut curls.His breath hitched just slightly, enough to encourage her to tug a little harder, angling his head so she could claim his mouth with her own.
His kiss was insistent, restrained but only barely as his hands mapped her back.A moment later, he gently lowered her fingers from his hair and stepped back, and before she could register why he’d given space, she felt her dress slip from her shoulders and arms, pooling at her feet.He deepened the kiss and walked her backward, her fingers reaching up again to find his neck and pull him close.Dress forgotten, she simply needed him closer, impossibly closer with a desperation that overwhelmed all other thoughts.He spun her around, his lips immediately finding her neck as he nipped and teased the curve along her shoulder as he worked her stays.Her breath came in gasps as each swirl of his tongue brought a new sensation of need.Rather than fear the removal of her under things, she found she was desperate for him to accomplish the task faster.As the stays shifted and slipped off, she turned back around, only to be captured by his lips as he made quick work of his shirt, his cravat long gone.
Soon her hands were warmed by the sensation of his bare shoulders under her fingertips, and his lips having never left her own.His body shuddered under her touch, and she pressed in closer, her body warmed by his.
“Pere,” he groaned against her lips.“We can go slower—”
His words were cut off as she kissed him fiercely.“No,” she whispered the word softly between kisses.
“As you wish.”
She could taste his grin as he lifted her into his arms, breaking the kiss for only a moment to speak the words.He gently guided her backward, step by step till her legs touched the bed.Slowly he ended the kiss, and tenderly laid her on the bed, her skin flaring with gooseflesh at the cool temperature of the sheets.His gaze raked over her lovingly, possessively, and unexpectedly, she didn’t feel apprehension at her lack of clothing, rather the opposite.It was a heady feeling, the sensation of being laid bare and adored for it.Gabriel took a step back and removed the rest of his clothing, never once looking away from her, vulnerability meeting vulnerability.
Pere boldly appreciated the view of her husband, in his glory.She shivered, her body desperate for the heat in his body and gaze.As if reading her mind, Gabriel knelt on the bed with her, and leaned down beside her, pulling her into his arms as he met her lips.
“I adore you.There’s never been anything so beautiful as you,” he whispered between kisses.
He moved against her; instinctively she followed, needing his words to be made into action.
“I love you,” she whispered against his shoulder, reaching over and pulling him closer, sighing with delight when his weight settled on her.
She gasped when his most intimate part met hers, waiting, requesting, yet deliciously enticing.She leaned into his warmth, and as Gabriel’s heartbeat pounded an excited rhythm against her own, she found the completion that can only be found in love’s consummation.
Epilogue
“And to think,the season is almost half over, and I’ve already been married a few weeks.I accomplished my goals rather quickly,” Pere stated to Anna, but her gaze was on her husband, watching as Gabriel’s posture stiffened, and he turned from his conversation with Henley and gave her a wry grin.
“Is that so?Ah, how the mighty have fallen, will be your next statement I suppose?”Gabriel’s voice was like honey and silk, her body responding with a greedy need as he walked toward her, his broad shoulders drawing her attention as she recollected just how powerful they were under her fingertips.
“Pere, I believe it’s your turn to not scandalize the rest of us,” Anna teased.“It’s no wonder the ton can’t stop buzzing about the love match between you two.”
“It is rather obvious.”Gabriel’s words poured over her like warm rain.
“Indeed,” she murmured the word and bit her lip as her husband took the seat beside her, his expression caressing her features.
“Why did you even leave your house if you’re going to be like this?”Henley grumbled.
“You were worse.”
“Are worse,” Anna added, giving her husband a playful grin.
“Is it so terrible to be madly in love with one’s wife?”Gabriel’s words were directed to everyone, but Pere felt like they were confessed to her alone, a constant reminder of his love for her.
“Not so terrible,” Pere replied, basking in the glow of his gaze.
“Not to interrupt this tender moment…” Henley replied with dry sarcasm.
“Lies,” Pere called him out, and gave him a quick grin.
“Very well, yes, I completely mean to interrupt.Hawthorne, you were saying that Eliza had arrived in London?”Henley asked.
Pere watched as her husband gave her one final warm smile and then turned his attention to her brother.However, he reached over and grasped her hand, pulling it into his lap.She smiled at the tender gesture.She couldn’t imagine loving him more, yet every day, it seemed she woke up with a new capacity to adore her husband, and it was a mutual adoration.
“Yes, Eliza arrived a few days ago, and I was asked to make introductions to several members of society, as I assumed.I don’t foresee any issues, but if you would like to meet her…”
“I’m sure we will see her in society, regardless.I just was concerned in case there were any new developments.”
“Nothing new,” Gabriel assured her, and then Pere smiled as he turned his attention back to her.“I do believe we have a pressing engagement, if there’s nothing else?”Gabriel shifted his attention back to Henley, then stood, offering his hand to Pere.
