A Curse of the Heart (14 page)

While her mind moved frantically from one chaotic thought to another, she heard his steps recede, heard him open the door to his bedchamber and gently close it again.

Rebecca closed her eyes and remembered to breathe, the pain of loneliness crippling.

When she’d asked Gabriel if she could stay, her plea had been genuine — it was not seduction she had in mind. She thought of him as her friend, as the only person in the world she could trust. If they crossed the line of propriety and became lovers, what would happen then?

Would he be her salvation or the cause of her ruination?

If George Wellford had his way, she would be married to a wealthy merchant by the end of the month, forced to spend the rest of her days in a cold, lifeless bed. Then the thought of what could have happened to her had she not fled the museum, sent a terrifying shiver right through her.

Her thoughts drifted back to Gabriel. A burning need for him flooded her body with a heavenly feeling and she imagined a place where utter bliss was a certainty. A place where she could pander to her heart’s desire, regardless of the consequences.

Pushing away from the door, she straightened her wrapper, moistened her lips and shook out her hair, so it hung in waves about her shoulders.

She was strong-willed and fiercely independent. And she would have the man of her choosing, the only man she had ever wanted.

With her chin held high, she opened her door and walked with purposeful strides to stand outside his. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to knock. But before she knew what was happening, Gabriel yanked open the door, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her inside.

Kicking the door shut with his boot, his gaze swept over her with a level of hunger that forced her to swallow. “Good God, Rebecca, you are going to be the death of me,” he said as his mouth claimed hers in a passionate frenzy.

Chapter 14

It felt
as though he had waited a lifetime to kiss her again, had spent years wandering the dry, dusty desert searching for sustenance before finally stumbling upon a glittering oasis. The first taste of her lips sent ripples of pleasure flowing all the way down to his toes. And he drank in the intoxicating feeling in a bid to sate his thirst.

Out of desperation, he cradled her face and tilted her head, the angle making it easier to plunge his tongue deeper into her mouth, as he searched for a way to ease his torment. Her hot mouth welcomed his wild attack, and he dropped his hands, pulled her into an embrace in the hope of easing his throbbing cock.

Her trembling fingers edged up over his shoulders, and she sank them into his hair to pull him closer. The need to have her grew so fierce he wanted to throw his head back and howl. He wanted to rip and tear at her clothes and ravage her heavenly body.

“
Gabriel
,” she breathed, tilting her head to the side so he could kiss along the line of her jaw and down the perfect column of her neck.

That one word sang to him: save me, show me, take me, and he knew if he did not rein in his rampant desire the memory of this night would be lost in a drunken blur.

Against the demands of his body, he broke contact and tried to calm his ragged breathing. “I do not have the strength to turn you away,” he whispered, a little surprised his conscience had found a voice.

She put her hand on his cheek, and he leaned into it. “I do not have the strength to run from it anymore, Gabriel. I cannot control what is happening to me. All I know is I need to be close to you.” She glanced at the floor as a blush flooded her cheeks and when she looked up, her gaze appeared more purposeful. “I want to experience the physical bond between a man and a woman and I … I want to experience it with you.”

Her words were like a potent aphrodisiac, yet he could not define the feeling that swamped his mind and body: pure carnal lust fused with something else, something less tangible, but equally as powerful.

With his gaze locked on hers, he pulled off his boots and then undid the ties on her wrapper, pushing it back off her shoulders until it fell to the floor. “Don’t be afraid,” he said, believing it was the right thing to say to a virgin.

Rebecca gave a little chuckle. “I am not afraid, Gabriel. Strangely, I have never felt more in control of anything my entire life.”

Well, he would do everything he could to make her lose control.

“Good,” he said, working on the knot in his cravat, “because I intend to worship your body, Rebecca. I intend to show you exactly how much I want you.”

She stood there, in what he presumed was one of Mrs. Hudson’s nightgowns, her generous breasts pushing against the confines of the fabric. Her wide eyes followed his movements with eager anticipation, the tip of her tongue touching her top lip as he yanked his shirt from his breeches and pulled it over his head.

Her gaze held a look of fascination as her hands came up to rest on his chest. The tips of her fingers traced the dusting of dark hair before wandering up over his shoulders and back down over the bulge of muscle in his upper arms.

He should have known she would not be shy and timid. He should have known her passionate nature would drive her to explore his body. It heightened his own pleasure to know he had the power to do this to her, that she wanted him and no other.

He unbuttoned his breeches, so they hung loosely around his hips. “I seem to be at a disadvantage,” he said as his gaze dropped to her white nightgown. “Here, allow me to rectify the problem.”

Without protest, she lifted her arms in the air. He could tell from the glazed look in her eyes that she was already heady with desire, and as he bunched the material up around her waist his fingers brushed against her soft thighs, the movement inducing a tiny gasp of pleasure.

Gabriel thought he was a man of the world. He thought he had seen every beautiful sight there was to see.

He was wrong.

The sight of Rebecca standing before him, in all her naked glory, stole his breath away. Waves of rich copper curls hung wildly about milky-white skin. His palms itched at the sight of her full round breasts, of her perky pink nipples, of her narrow waist flaring into curvaceous hips.

Bloody hell
.

His mouth felt so dry he could hardly move his lips.

When he eventually found the energy to step out of his breeches and drawers, his hard cock sprang free.

She glanced down and then her shocked gaze flew back to his face. He took her hand and pulled her into an embrace, sucking in a breath at the feel of her pliant body rubbing against him.

Brushing a tendril of hair from her face, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with a slow, languorous grace that quickly became more passionate — more urgent.

It hit him then: the thought that he had never wanted anything as much as he wanted her. Once would not be enough, as he feared he would never be able to sate this delicious craving.

Kissing Gabriel felt so good Rebecca thought she might lose her mind.

It was the way his tongue danced with hers. The wild erotic dance made her feel breathless and dizzy — the deep thrusts forcing little gasps and moans.

She had no idea what to expect next. Yet she knew she was drowning in the depths of her own desire, carried along on wave after pleasurable wave that promised to deliver her to an idyllic shore.

Her body ached and throbbed but still she wanted more.

As though hearing her thoughts, Gabriel swung her up into his arms and carried her to the large four-poster, easing her down gently onto her back. He stood there for a moment, his greedy gaze devouring her body, lingering in the most intimate of places.

She should have felt embarrassed and self-conscious, but she didn’t. She felt wicked, desirable and needed. When his fingers trailed up over her thighs and across her stomach, she arched her back. The sensual movement made her breasts swell, made her nipples peak as a fiery heat pooled between her legs.

“I d-don’t know what to do, Gabriel,” she said, nerves pushing to the fore.

He moistened his lips. “You’re doing perfectly well so far,” he said his voice a rich and heavy drawl. “Rest assured. If I die tonight, I shall die a happy man.”

She had the power to do this to him, to make him swell with need, which despite her lack of experience gave her confidence in her ability as a woman.

“Make me happy, Gabriel,” she said offering her hand to him.

Make me forget all the lonely days and nights.

Gabriel took her hand and came down beside her onto the bed. The sheer size of him, coupled with the heat radiating from his skin, caused a throbbing between her legs that cried out for his touch.

He took her mouth more gently this time, his tongue tracing the line of her lips as though relishing the taste. When their tongues met, she heard a pleasurable hum resonate from the back of his throat. It was a sound she wanted to hear again and it spurred her on to be a little bolder.

As she pressed her body to his, he moaned as his hard length rubbed against her stomach. He kissed her neck, her breasts, teasing her nipple with his tongue and she felt a pulsating deep in her core. He trailed kisses down to her stomach, kissing and nipping at her inner thigh, between her legs. Before she could catch her breath, his wicked tongue sucked and licked the tiny bud there, until she felt the coil inside wind tighter and tighter, until her world exploded in a dazzling ray of glittering lights.

Pleasure burst forth in powerful waves. The tremors carrying a rush of pure emotion for the man who was slowly working his way back up to her.

“You’re sure about this?” he panted positioning himself between her thighs, his devilish grin melting her heart. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

Change her mind?

“I’m sure,” she whispered, her head still floating in the clouds.

There was nothing she wanted more.

“Thank God, as I cannot wait a moment longer. There is no easy way to do this, but I promise you it will not be uncomfortable for long.”

She nodded as she caressed his back and shoulders, lifted her mouth to his to show she wanted him regardless. Despite the discomfort, she welcomed the intrusion as he entered her.

“
Rebecca
,” he whispered as he pushed deeper. And as she stretched to fit him, the look on his face suggested he adored the feel of her.

He kissed her then, their tongues tangling with a rampant need, the hair on his chest brushing against her sensitive nipples as he pushed through her maidenhead, swallowing down her tiny shriek, making her forget it should feel anything other than divine.

Together they found their rhythm, rocking in unison, driving closer and closer to the blissful peak of their passion.

She could feel him moving inside her. Filling her, completing her, chasing away every lonely thought she’d ever had, and she didn’t want it to end. Her frantic hands clawed at the muscles in his back, scrambled lower to dig into his buttocks, to spur him on. Every part of her was made to fit with him. She clung on, anchoring him to her body, to her soul, as his thrusts became more desperate, harder and more frantic.

The feeling was upon her again. It started in the pit of her stomach, pooling and pulsating between her thighs, the waves of pleasure shooting down to her toes as her body sang to his tune.

“
Oh, Gabriel, I … I
.”

“
Rebecca
.”

Her breathless pants mingled with his guttural groans. She felt the muscles in his legs stiffen, heard his roar of satisfaction as she soared through some imaginary heaven.

When their breathing slowed he looked down at her, his gaze warm and tender and he lowered his head and kissed her softly on the mouth before collapsing in an exhausted heap.

As he lay sprawled across her, his back damp from over-exertion, his eyes closed in sated slumber, she knew he had not only claimed her body. He had claimed her heart and soul, too. And as she closed her eyes to join him in sleep, she did so in the blissful knowledge that she had fallen in love with Gabriel Stone.

Chapter 15

Gabriel woke from the wild, passionate dream to find a warm, feminine body curled next to him.

He felt her slender thigh draped over his leg, her hand splayed over his chest covering his heart, her breasts squashed against his ribs. And in her slumber, her breath tickled the hair on his chest like a gentle breeze. He had never felt so sated, so content. Yet somewhere deep inside, the desperate ache for her still gnawed away, and he knew he would take her again.

He would take her now if the opportunity presented itself.

Gabriel could not remember another time in his life when he’d acted so recklessly. To take an unmarried lady as a lover was scandalous, to take the daughter of an old friend, sinful. Falling prey to the weakness of his own desire was an entirely new experience.

As his mind replayed a series of lascivious images, a recount of their amorous encounter that did little to ease the ache between his legs, reckless did not even begin to describe his conduct.

Lost in the dizzying heights of his own release, he had forgotten to withdraw.