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Quinn looked from Cole to Charles before she added, "I think Maude just might have the rest of the answers."
Gabriel sat in his Aston Marten and waited for Quinn. Nicholas had called to inform him of the meeting that Quinn had requested. The others were already inside but he needed a minute alone with her to apologize.
He'd been acting like a high schooler and he really couldn't even begin to explain why. Never in his life had he lost his temper, prided himself on his control, but all it had taken was one hell of a kiss by this sleeping woman who thought she was kissing someone else.
He knew he was slipping into madness but her kiss, well, it had undone him and not just because he wanted her but because she was his. Why the hell her kiss made him think of Mozart'sSonata in G, he had no bloody clue. But he was so shaken from what he was beginning to believe was true that he hid.
Yes, he wasn't proud to admit that a slip of woman, with one kiss, was able to turn him into a caveman whose only instinct was a primal urge to claim her. His need for her though was about more than sex. Sex he could handle. No, he was drawn to her on every single level and always had been.
He'd given himself a few weeks to think it all through but more to pull himself together so he could once again be in her company and not resort to his baser needs. He needed to keep his emotions and his temper in check; the rest would work itself out.
The sound of a loud engine drew his attention and when he turned he watched a sleek black and chrome Harley make its way toward the castle. It was a wicked ride and he wondered who could be riding it since the place was now closed to tourists. It wasn't until the bike stopped and the driver threw her leg over the machine that recognition slammed into him and with that recognition came a mind-numbing fury.
What the hell was she thinking riding that all the way from the Cotswolds? Did she have a death wish? He was so incensed at her stupidity that he climbed from his car and stalked toward her just as she removed her helmet, her chestnut-brown curls cascaded down her back.
Sudden desire was like a knife ripping through him which only further enraged him. By the time he reached her, he was half-mad with anger. He wrapped his strong hand around her upper arm just as she softly spoke his name.
"Gabriel?"
Quinn had forgotten how much she loved riding her Harley. There wasn't anything like it. Well, no, a fast gallop on a horse like Loki or Satan came pretty damn close. At first she wondered if riding the bike all the way from the Cotswolds was wise but it was only an hour and the roads were mostly deserted this time of year. After that ride, she was glad she hadn't talked herself out of it.
She smiled as the castle came into view and she wondered what Archer and the others' reactions would have been if they saw her on this metal steed. She could all but imagine Archer fuming in rage at her presumed carelessness but she knew if he rode her Harley, just once, he would be hooked.
She parked the bike, climbed off and was just removing her helmet when she felt the prickle and knew that Gabriel was near. It was joy she felt at seeing him but one look into those green eyes, darkened with anger, and her smile faded as confusion replaced her happiness.
"Gabriel?"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a patch of trees, his stride so long she had to practically run to keep up with him. Once they reached a small clearing, tucked within the woods, he stopped and turned to her.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Quinn couldn't help glancing behind her to see if that question was aimed at someone standing just behind her but, no, it was for her.
"Excuse me?"
That question seemed to make him angrier and it was then that she saw the slight twitch under his left eye.
"Riding that death machine! Are you insane?"
He was pissed but she couldn't help feeling a bit giddy because his anger was fueled by his worry over her safety.
"I take it you've never ridden a motorcycle?"
"I have three," he admitted feebly. "That's not the point."
Quinn cocked her hip as she took the measure of the enraged and sexy-as-hell man standing before her.
"Then what is the point, exactly?"
"You could have been killed. Or have you forgotten the accident you were in not that long ago?"
Anger flashed over her face as she bit out. "I wasn't driving in that one. Believe me if I had been, there wouldn't have been an accident." She turned to leave but his hand on her arm stopped her and before she could object he was pulling her up against the hard length of him and lowering his mouth onto hers.
There was no anger in him now and his kiss had effectively melted all of her bones. When his strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her tightly against him, there was no where else in the world that she would've rather been. Her hands framed his face as she returned his kiss with equal vigor. And then he pulled away from her so abruptly that she almost lost her balance. She looked up into his face, one that had gone ghostly white, and took a step towards him which immediately had him lifting his hands to ward her off.
"Gabriel, what's wrong?"
"We did this before and it ended with..." he swallowed with some difficulty before he continued "...us making love in these woods. How the hell is that possible?" He grabbed her arms in his hands and shook her. "What have you done to me?"
