AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Anastasia did not move for a moment, but after a stifled breath, she turned, found one of the dozens of mirrors, and looked while Gabriel clasped his hands behind himself and watched. Her slender fingers touched the principal gem while her face was deathly pale.
“Gabriel—” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“It’s perfect for you,” he stopped her, “and I want you to have it.”
She was white with shock, but the way the necklace made her alabaster skin glow and matched her eyes to the exact hue, Gabriel found he could not match her beauty to anything else.
She shook her head, “I c-cannot have this. Surely, it’s a fortune.”
“A King’s Ransom really,” Gabriel replied dryly, “but it’s yours, and please do not impugn my honor by refusing me. It’s perfect for you. You might as well look like my duchess in the meantime.”
Life had restarted around them in stifled movements and stops, but Gabriel knew they were still the center of attention. The assistants were hovering at the edge of the room like agitated bees, ready to dive forward if the necklace managed to slip from her neck. From the corner of his eyes, he saw David looking at him, one brow so high, it merged with his hairline.
The Earl’s expression was heavily ironic.
Again, Gabriel didn’t care that he was being a hypocrite and that he had broken another of his rules—perhaps the rules were more like guidelines anyway.
Finally, Anastasia turned, her eyes glowing with awe. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head, “Please, wear it at the ball in two days. And on the prior matter, you were right...” He swallowed as the truth of divulging his deepest secret felt as if he were regurgitating broken glass. “It is unbearable at times.”
She smiled, but it was sad. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”
“Very much so,” he replied quietly.
“May I…” she paused, “…visit you on the morrow?”
Another rule shot through his head, but Gabriel decided it did not matter as he doubted he would break that one. Honestly, he didn’t mind spending time with her.
“I’d like that,” he replied, taking her hand and bowing over it. “I truly would.”
Anastasia reached over and touched his arm. “Please trust me. Trust me.” He tipped up her chin to look into her eyes. “Promise me. No, swear it to me.”
For once, Gabriel decided to gamble on his heart. “I give you my word.”
CHAPTER7
Rule Seven: Never spend the day with her
When you want to dally with a woman, it’s always best to never meet her during the day, for it gives it a sense of importance. Always meet at night.
—Gabriel Williams
A Rake’s Rules
That night, while getting ready for bed, Anastasia went to her balcony and leaned on the stone balustrade. She tilted her head back, squinting up at the moon which was fat and bright tonight. Thin threads of clouds lingered here and there, hardly obscuring the glimmering stars.
Letting out a breath through her lips, she reentered her bedroom and peeled the sheets apart while doing her best to look at the jewel box on her dressing table. Five hours ago, she had walked out of the jewelers with the most expensive jewel in London, and she still couldn’t believe it was true. She rested on the pillow and gazed at the flickering shadows dancing around the room.
Anastasia was honest enough to admit that naughty thoughts and desires were not exactly uncommon for her, especially after she read some saucy passages from forbidden books.
In the past year, certain impulses had her gasping awake at the dead of night, her body flush with heat and desire while memories of wicked dreams flittered through her mind… and they had grown with increasing frequency and intensity. The more she tried to ignore the sensations, the worse things got.
Now, I know what its like to be kissed…but to be touched—there?
She stared up into the canopy of the bed, wondering what it would be to be held by Gabriel, be touched by him, to have that wicked, unspeakable kiss between her legs she had read about. It was not right to want a rendezvous with a rake, to want him; it was neither sensible nor appropriate to be feeling that way, but Anastasia wanted every overwhelming, hazily remembered sensation again.
Her body had never felt asrightas it did pressed against him, and the feel of the hard planes of his chest had pressed against her pebbled breast had melted her resolve. Perhaps she only wanted the emotions he evoked in her… or did she want more than just emotions? She cravedsensations.
