Finding Gabriel (29 page)

He was saying goodbye.

When she at last spoke, her voice was a broken whisper. “I promise.”

•

Several mornings later, Ariah’s heart fairly stopped at the sound of approaching carriage wheels. She turned to Gabriel, Emmaline, and her sister – who were breaking their fast at the small wooden table – and paced toward the window. The puppy yammered on, jumping about and clinging to her heels at every step. “Shh. Quiet now, Gabriella. Stop your fussing.”

Holding her breath, Ariah swept the faded drape aside and glanced at the outside world. Sunlight speared between the buildings, setting the chipped walkways aglow. As expected, Marius made a charming picture propped in the box seat. But something was marginally different. His head was bowed forward, his features wrought with pain, and every movement was lethargic. Replacing his hat, he leaned forward and mumbled to the two mares before climbing down from the perch.

“Is s-someone here?” Miriam asked as she laid down a chunk of milk-soaked bread.

Ariah swallowed and stepped back, allowing the drape to slide from her fingertips. She inhaled a long breath, whispered a silent prayer, and summoned her courage. “Give me a moment.” Pulse racing in her ears, she feigned a smile and thrust the door open.

•

Ariah and Miriam silently cleared the table as nighttime fell upon the home. Three nights had lapsed since Marius’s appearance.

Emmaline was fast asleep with the puppy, drained from hours of crying, while Gabriel had set off to read inside the bedchamber. Though Ariah had been closest to Doctor Mongeau, his death was a significant loss for all of them. Even Gabriel. After receiving the initial news, Marius had taken Miriam for a long, calming walk. Miriam had returned revived and at ease – and she’d recounted their time together with a maiden blush.

As for Gabriel …

He’d embraced Ariah for countless hours, whispering words of comfort in her ear, massaging her back with reassuring strokes. A smile crept to her lips as she recalled the improper jokes he’d shared in an attempt to lift her spirit. With a feigned look of trauma, she’d playfully socked his shoulder before asking to hear another.

Gabriel had become a dear friend – her lifeline – and with each passing day, he was claiming her heart. Before meeting him, she’d merely survived. Now, with Gabriel at her side, she ached to
live.

A heavy silence descended as she and Miriam cleaned up. Mind racing, Ariah ran a broom across the scarred planks. She clasped onto the handle with one hand and held tight to a small military ornament with the other. Exhaling a stiff breath, she leaned the broom against the wall, unfolded her palm, and examined the decoration. Moonlight danced across its surface as it dangled, setting the military ornament aglow.

The letter had explained everything. Doctor Mongeau had earned the trinket many years ago during his service in the war. He’d attached it to a thin chain, transforming the emblem into a makeshift necklace. The military ornament, a heartfelt letter penned by Doctor Mongeau, and details for a different doctor had accompanied Marius’s tragic news.

Ariah’s eyes flooded with tears. She wept for Doctor Mongeau. She wept for Jacques. She wept for her daughter, who she couldn’t guard against the world forever.

The walls seemed to close in. She was suffocating. The desire for fresh air seized hold of her. She yearned to run free, to climb on top of the world, to lay beneath the stars’ intricate constellations, to fill her lungs with the approaching springtime and allow the crisp air to dry her tears.

“Miriam … would you mind keeping an eye on Emmaline?”

Miriam wrinkled her brow as she dusted the mantel with a threadbare rag. “Of course. But w-why?”

“There’s something I want Gabriel to see.” Ariah’s heart stirred in anticipation. Without another word, she smoothed down her coiffure and raced into the back chambers.

Silent calm filled Paris’s streets. Stars drenched a black velvet sky and set the cobblestones aglow. Everything was peaceful and still, save for the beat of Gabriel’s heart. Indeed, it pulsated against his rib cage at a maddening rate, as if threatening to shatter flesh and bone. His senses soared while he followed Ariah through the winding alleyways and towering stone buildings. Their hands remained clasped together, binding them as one.

Nothing escaped his notice. Everything seemed to resurrect from the darkness: the wind’s hushed breath as it whispered through the ancient stonework, the wavering shadows that ran up and down the walls like living creatures, the musky scent of swirling chimney smoke
 …

Never had he felt so alive, hopeful, and prepared for whatever the future might bring.

Ariah had come to him an hour earlier, as mysterious and charming as ever, offering little more than a few enticing words.
I want to share something with you, Gabriel. Something beautiful.

He’d no idea where she was leading him – and, hell, it didn’t matter. He would follow her anywhere.

He stole a glance at her, and his heart hammered with mounting anticipation. Moonlight bathed her delicate features and set her hair ablaze. Eyes swollen and cheeks tracked with tears, she’d spent the past three days in mourning. Her cloak’s hood was drawn up and securely in place; the dark material framed her face like a portrait.

“Are we quite there yet,
ma chérie
? I must say – the suspense is nearly killing me.”

Her gaze flickered with amusement at his wayward glance. Then Gabriel’s entire body grew taut at the mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Don’t you know?” she replied. “Anticipation is half the pleasure.”

Those words pumped through his veins and set him on fire. As if realizing the implications of her statement, she blushed and quickly averted her gaze. Desire mounted inside his chest and rushed to his groin. He ached to crush Ariah’s sweet body against his chest, drag her into the nearby shadows, and devour her like a starved man.

She continued to tread forward in silence. A blast of wind raked through the surrounding trees and monuments. The road ahead was doused in shadow yet alive with transient beams of light.

The narrow alleyway soon gave way to a boulevard. Smiling wide, Ariah hiked up her skirts and raced over to the side of a building. Her laughter echoed, swelling and brightening the dank atmosphere, while a girlish smile lit her face. Gabriel tucked both hands inside his greatcoat and returned her smile. A wooden ladder lined the building’s wall, its slim frame soaring into pure darkness.

“Come on now, Gabriel!” Grinning over her shoulder, Ariah grasped onto the ladder and ascended into the black lacquered sky.

•

The frail lights of Paris winked against an endless horizon. Ariah breathed in the crisp winter night and wandered over to the rooftop’s edge. A brief image of Geoffrey earning sous as a chimney sweep cut through her mind. She pushed away the thought and drank in her tranquil surroundings.

The view was as magnificent as she remembered it to be – even more so with Gabriel at her side. The moon floated high and proud, a white orb against blackness, illuminating everything beneath its protective aura. Down below, the lights of Paris sparkled like so many constellations.

This had been her sanctuary when she was a girl – lost, scared, and orphaned in the world. Countless nights had been spent here in the comfort of her imagination, only a scrap of parchment and chunk of coal to keep her company. Placed high from society’s reach, she’d been perfectly alone – yet far from lonely. Inhaling a deep breath, Ariah allowed her eyes to drift shut as her mind receded into an inner sanctuary.

This had been the light within her darkness. And now she would share it with Gabriel. Heart pounding, she turned to him and savored the serene expression that claimed his face.

Ariah tensed as he approached the stone railing. For such a large man, he was oddly quiet when he walked. He moved with the elegance of a phantom – suave, steady, and secretive. He possessed a hauntingly masculine beauty … one she’d never seen the likes of before. As always, his strong back was perfectly erect, his gaze alert and calculating, both shoulders firmly squared. She imagined him riding through a battlefield on horseback, yelling commands in that robust, mesmerizing baritone. She would have given anything to witness him in action, among his comrades, totally in his element …

Ariah shuffled closer to him, aware of the nervous smile that conquered her lips. His eyes glittered as they drank in her features. They moved up and down her face in a slow, leisurely perusal, missing nothing. Her skin grew unbearably hot, ignited by the naked, blunt passion in his gaze. It felt as though his eyes were hands – and they caressed everywhere they touched. A fierce blush swept across her cheeks. She glanced away, averting her attention to Paris’s bejeweled skyline. Hovering above the city’s sleeping streets, Orion drifted against an endless horizon, ready to ward off all evils, his bow drawn into a taut arch.

“Even in the midst of the city’s despair, Paris looks so beautiful from this angle.”

She felt the whisper of Gabriel’s body as he edged closer. She stiffened, then turned to him and devoured his broad, towering form. Only the handsome side of his face was in view. Moonlight kissed the dark strands of his hair and brightened his amber gaze.

“Yes,” he said in a suggestive tone that set her heart racing, “very beautiful.”

She gripped onto the stone railing, cleared her throat, and willed her pulse to resume a steady pace. “I used to come up here when I was a girl. Some nights, if I closed my eyes and concentrated hard enough, I felt as though I was on top of the entire world. This is where I found beauty during those times of loneliness. This was my light.”

“And you are mine.”

Ariah’s heart skipped a beat. The power of his words ignited an inferno deep inside her soul.

One of Gabriel’s massive ungloved hands cupped her cheek. She shuddered at the unexpected caress and nearly lost her breath. His fingers deftly coiled around her chin and turned her face toward his own. His hand wasn’t fully healed, and the uneven skin grated against her chin in a hypnotic caress.

“Gabriel. I – ”

“Shh,” he murmured, increasing the pressure of his fingers.

The gesture was strangely erotic. His thumb and forefinger drew invisible circles along her skin, igniting it with lines of fire. Her lashes fell shut at the tender ministrations while her breaths deepened. The heat of his body engulfed her as he stepped impossibly closer. Warm breaths fanned against her flushed cheeks and mingled with her own.

When he at last spoke, his voice was a decadent rumble – rich, provocative, and laced with tentative emotion. “Look at me, Ariah.”

She did as her colonel commanded. He stood intimately close, his chest almost brushing against her own. Her heart melted while those beguiling lips took the form of a crooked grin.

Then he shifted behind her body, engulfing her with impenetrable heat. Long, nimble fingertips whispered along the expanse of her shoulders – sliding from one side to the other. They kneaded the strain in her muscles, replacing the tension with pleasure, urging all of her fears far away. Those icicles, which had too long clung to her heart, deftly melted at his touch. His essence filled her spirit and strengthened her resolve, blanketing her senses in winter, sandalwood, and
Gabriel
.

“Just relax,
ma chérie
.”

Entirely under his command, Ariah exhaled a soul-deep groan and slowly relaxed. Weak at the knees, she leaned against the railing for support. An exhilarating combination of strength and gentleness surged from his fingertips. His strong hands formed a steeple at the base of her neck, slipping down, down, down – passing over each side of her body and then back up again. His breaths wafted across her nape in an airy tease. The hot brushes of air melted her resolve and took command of her senses.

His fingertips circled her neck and eased downward in soothing, calculated strokes. Her pulse leapt to life at the sensual feel of his hands. His breaths drew closer, closer, as he leaned forward, those masterful hands skirting across the high neckline of her dress. They stilled, intimately positioned over the swell of her breasts.

•

Laden with melting icicles and swirling chimney smoke, the air smelled like musky water. Shifting dark gray clouds scuttled across the horizon at a steady pace.

By bringing him here, she’d shared an intensely intimate part of herself. And the gesture touched him beyond reason. Sadness rose in his chest as he pictured a fifteen-year-old child gazing at the horizon, cold and alone, drawing inspiration from the majestic view of Paris.

There were so many things he needed to say. But all words lodged inside his throat. So he spoke through tentative caresses. Desire raced through every part of his body while he peeled back her hood and threaded his fingers through her long curls. They were sinfully soft, spun from an exquisite silk. The warm scent of roses weighed heavily in the crisp air.

Her lips parted as he traced a fingertip down the column of her throat. She was still frightened by the intimacy of his touch, he knew. The horrors of her past stood between them like a barrier, an impenetrable wall.

Tonight, he would break it down. Nothing could contain their passion.

“I … I am scared. I wish it was not so – but I cannot help it.” Her voice was a whisper, nearly lost to the surrounding night. Rotating her body, he drew invisible circles along her flesh, worshiping everything that was Ariah, tracing down the smooth bend of each cheek and back up again. A solitary tear streamed over the curve of her chin and vanished between her lips. She turned away and looked up at the majestic night sky. Her gaze scanned the horizon, as though the solution to her struggle might be written in the stars. Gabriel cupped her chin and aligned her face with his own. His eyes traced the liquid path of her tear and settled upon her lush mouth. Sparks of awareness coiled through his body. Still clasping her chin, he gently wiped away her tears.

Anger swarmed through Gabriel’s veins as he reflected on the torment she’d suffered. She had great reason to be wary of him. He wanted nothing more than to kill Geoffrey with his bare hands.

She glanced up at him, affliction cleanly etched into those breathtaking eyes. He brushed his knuckles over the curve of her cheek and reverently bowed his face. Then he steadied her chin with both palms, tilted her head, and spoke while looking into her eyes. “You’ve nothing to fear with me. Let me show you the pleasure of touch. Let me chase away your shadows …”

Her gaze widened at his words. Her eyes glowed like twin diamonds, shining within the dark abyss. Her lashes were long and dense as they lowered, shielding her eyes from view.
“Show me.”

It was all the encouragement he needed.

Gabriel inhaled a sharp breath and deftly grazed her cheek with the back of his hand. The opposite hand ran through her locks and sifted the precious satin. Against his roughened flesh, every bit of Ariah felt impossibly vulnerable. Indeed, he felt the conflict roaring through her very flesh; she was torn between the desire to flee and the desire to submit. He protectively wrapped both arms around her waist and secured her against him. Her heart raced against his torso, pounding with the force of a war drum. He massaged the elegant length of her back with both hands in slow, soothing strokes. With each caress, the tension seemed to fade from her skin. She returned his embrace, wrapping her slender arms about his body.

Pressing a kiss to her hairline, he whispered, “Just relax. Relax and lose yourself to my touch, my voice …”

She nodded against him, burying her face in the material of his greatcoat.

Pressed against his much larger form, she looked small and perfectly helpless. Safe, secure, and completely at home within the circle of his arms. A feeling of completeness swept through his body. It seemed he’d waited a lifetime for this moment.

Unable to contain himself a second longer, he clasped onto either side of Ariah’s face and drew her into a searing kiss. She returned it shyly at first. Then she gasped against his mouth before surrendering to a sweet, wildly feminine sigh. Latching onto his forearm, her nails dug into his muscles as she fought to anchor herself. He obliged with a satisfied grunt, slanted his face, and deepened their kiss to impossible limits. He drank in her very spirit. Passion unlike anything he’d known before consumed Gabriel’s mind, body, and soul. Indeed, never had he felt so consumed by another person … so consumed and prepared to sacrifice everything.

Gabriel had feared he’d only bring her pain and torment. His past had taught him as much – but now he realized that he had much to offer her. He could be good for her.

“We are not our pasts.
Neither
of us,” he said in a low rumble. “It is you who taught me that. And I shall
never
betray your trust again.”

Gabriel took great pains to ensure every touch was gentle, every word full of promise. With his body humming with desire, such a task was no easy feat. He yearned to thrust her against the column, strip away her cloak, and worship her curves with his mouth and hands.

Instead, he tentatively tracked his fingertips down the curve of her neck. She leaned into his touch as a breath of air fled her parted lips. Her golden mass of curls fell in heavy ringlets to the small of her waist, framing her body with the elegance of a queen’s robe.
Mon Dieu.
How would they look slathered across his chest, damp from the heat of their lovemaking, as he worshiped her like a devotee worships his goddess?

Gabriel positioned her in front of the railing. Another gasp fled her lips as he stepped behind her. Her body grew limp, sagging against the length of his torso for support. He ran his fingertips up the sides of her neck, brushed away her curls, and exposed her nape. She trembled as his lips ghosted across her porcelain skin. His blood reached a steady boil at the enticing taste of her. She was sweeter than nectar from the honeycomb. And he wanted more.