OnlyYou (14 page)

He chuckled lowly and took a step toward her, folding her
into his warm embrace. “Phillip will be happy to help.”

She could feel her throat closing up and she inhaled deeply
in an attempt to stop the sobs threatening to engulf her body. She felt his
lips graze against hers like a whisper and she reached up and wrapped her hand
around the back of his neck, drawing him closer. His mouth was warm, moist and
undemanding, leaving her quivering at the tenderness of his kiss.

Resigned, he sighed heavily against her lips and pulled
away, releasing her from his grasp. “You are a difficult woman to leave,
Katie.”

He turned and walked out of the open door, placing his hat
upon his head.

A young soldier stood ready with Gabriel’s horse just a few
feet from the house. Kaitlyn rushed to the doorway and watched as Gabriel
grabbed the saddle with one hand and effortlessly mounted the animal without
help from anyone. He turned in the saddle and lifted his hat to Kaitlyn,
flashing her a devilish smile before guiding his horse toward General
Washington who was making his way through the crowd of soldiers.

Kaitlyn stood watching for several minutes until Gabriel and
his horse disappeared into the crowd. She shook her head and brushed the tears
from her eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm her nerves.

“He is right, Kaitlyn,” a familiar voice came from behind
her. “You are a difficult woman to leave.”

Startled, she whirled around. Alexander Ross was leaning
casually against the doorframe of the dinning room and giving her one of his charming,
crooked smiles.

She couldn’t help but smile back, despite her surprise at
him calling her by her first name. “You are back to stay with us?”

He shook his head and walked toward her, stopping only about
a foot away. “Unfortunately, Clark and I are simply passing though on our way
to other business matters.”

She nodded and then froze as Alexander reached out to fondle
a strand of her hair that had fallen over her shoulder. She searched his eyes,
uncertain of his intentions.

“Of course I could stay the night, if you asked me to,” he
whispered, his eyes turning hazy.

Kaitlyn laughed nervously, amazed by just how smooth this
guy was. “You’re a married man, Mr. Ross,” she reminded him as she turned to
walk away.

He grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Pressing
himself up against her back, he pulled her hair away from her neck. “And you,
my dear, are in love with Captain O’Connor. I do not see why either fact should
impinge upon us finding comfort in one another this evening.”

“I thought you said you would not openly pursue me,” she
replied in a low voice, trying to ignore the feel of his erection pressing
intimately against her ass.

He chuckled lowly as he lowered his lips to the base of her
neck.

If she hadn’t felt so sexually frustrated, she might have
stepped away from him right then. However, her body responded to his skilled
touch and she leaned into him ever-so slightly. She closed her eyes for a
moment to regain her sanity, her heart feeling cold as he caressed her arms.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, feeling her
strength return. Yes, she needed physical release but she wanted it from only
one man. She pushed Alexander’s hands away and stepped out of his embrace just
as she heard someone shout from the doorway.

“Ross!”

Kaitlyn gasped and looked up, finding James Clark glaring
menacingly past her. He sprang forward and yanked her behind his back, staring
Alexander down.

Alexander held up his hands defensively. “Hold on, friend.”

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Clark hissed,
taking a step toward him.

Kaitlyn jumped in between them, keeping both men at arm’s
length. She looked at James. “I’m all right. No harm was done.”

James relaxed and he grabbed her hand, looking her up and
down. “Are you certain, madam?”

“Of course, she is fine,” Alexander replied with a dramatic
sigh. “I do not force myself on women.”

“You may not have harmed her person but you could have
damaged her honor had anyone else seen what you were up to,” James admonished,
taking his eyes from Kaitlyn for only a moment. “I will hold this moment in
utmost secrecy, madam. You have my word.”

“And mine as well, madam,” Alexander stated with a small
smirk as he bowed before her and excused himself.

James shook his head and released her hand, his cheeks
coloring slightly at having touched her. Normally she wouldn’t have cared but,
after having lived in this world for almost two weeks, she was becoming
sensitive to what was considered appropriate during this time period. And
handholding was definitely understood to be an intimacy.

She smiled shyly, determined to make James forget about his
impulsive touch. “You are passing through on business as well?”

He nodded as relief swept over his face, obviously grateful
for the change in topics. “I am, madam. Mr. Ross and I will be taking our leave
after the midday meal, if that is agreeable with Mrs. Washington.”

“I’m certain it will be.” She smiled at the funny but
adorable way he always pushed his spectacles up onto the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, I had nearly forgotten,” he mumbled, digging into the
front, inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and
handed it to her.

“What’s this?” she asked, unfolding the paper. Inside were
four gold coins and what appeared to be addresses carefully handwritten on the
paper.

“Those are the places where I mostly do business. The last
address is my home in Virginia,” he explained, his voice taking on a sudden shy
tone.

Kaitlyn lifted the coins from the paper and shook her head,
attempting to hand the money back to him. “I can’t accept these, Mr. Clark.”

He closed her fingers over the coins and nodded
emphatically. “I know that you have no family or means to support yourself.
Look not upon this as charity but as insurance in case you find yourself in a
desperate situation.”

She thought she was through crying but tears began to well
up in her eyes again at his generosity and thoughtfulness. She shook her head
again, still not certain that she should accept, what would be considered in
this time, an extravagant gift.

“I will not take no for an answer,” he persisted, his voice
filling with an authority she had never heard in him before. “When you find
yourself settled and secure, then you may give them back to me. Until that
time, however, I must insist that you keep them in case of an emergency.”

Kaitlyn sighed and nodded, grateful for the friendship that
this giant of history was offering her. “Thank you, Mr. Clark.”

He smiled gently. “And please send word to me should you
find yourself in need. These addresses should give you ample means for finding
me,” he said, adding, “Or for simply writing to me. I would welcome any
correspondence from you.”

She nodded again as emotional exhaustion swept over her. She
could sense that James had more in mind than friendship and she had to admit
that, if she were stuck here without Gabriel, James would offer a tempting
alternative. Not because she felt anything deeper than friendship for him but
because he was gentle and thoughtful. And safe. He was just the type of guy she
normally went out with—one who wouldn’t ever really break her heart.

Unlike Gabriel.

Chapter Nine

Kaitlyn sighed heavily as she stared at the paper in front
of her. Nearly three weeks had passed since she last saw Gabriel. None of the
women in the house had much of a clue as to what had happened other than rumors
from neighbors and traveling merchants. Unfortunately, no one seemed to agree
as to which side was victorious, let alone if the battle was even over.

She glanced over her shoulder at Gabriel’s empty bed behind
her. She had taken to using his bedroom as a place to quietly write every
evening so as not to disturb Eileen while she was falling asleep.

Only one person ever interrupted her. Harriet had taken on
the habit of placing fresh water in the pitcher in the water basin every night.
She would always smile sympathetically at Kaitlyn and tell her that she was
doing it just in case the men came home that night. Kaitlyn would smile back
and continue with her writing, wondering just how transparent her feelings for
Gabriel were becoming to those around her.

Kaitlyn had spent many hours writing down her observations
on Colonial life. Perhaps it was simply the graduate student in her, she wasn’t
certain but the action seemed to bring her a modicum of comfort.

Plus, it was a good distraction from thinking about Gabriel.
The man consumed her thoughts in a way no man ever had. Though a good portion
of her imaginings lingered upon his enticing body and exactly what she wanted
to do to it the next time she saw him, she began to discover that she was
thinking more and more about how he made her
feel
. Whenever she allowed
her mind to dawdle too long on him, she would smile to herself over how
thoughtful he was and how protective of her he seemed. Even though he was a
product of a time in which women’s minds weren’t valued as much as they should
have been, Gabriel had never once made her feel like she had nothing worthy to
contribute intellectually. In fact, he seemed to actually like it when she
spoke her mind to him.

And then, of course, her mind would come racing back to how
his hands felt as they raked down her skin and how smooth and hot his cock felt
in her hand.

Kaitlyn squirmed in her chair, closing her eyes and thinking
back to the morning before he left. They had been so close. She could still
feel the tip of his cock parting her lips, ready to plunge inside. Even now the
mere thought made her clit ache.

She could feel her pussy moistening and she absentmindedly
rubbed her thighs, the sexual frustration building once again. She would have
thought that she would be used to it by now, since she had spent the past month
in a near-constant state of arousal but it was quickly becoming too much to
bear.

She spread her legs on the chair and leaned forward, placing
her elbows upon the desk and allowing her forehead to fall into her hands. She
arched her back slightly, tilting her pelvis until her clit was pressing into
the hard wood of the seat to ease some of the ache threatening to drive her out
of her mind. Her nipples hardened and she groaned as they lightly brushed
against the top of the desk.

Without warning the door opened, causing Kaitlyn to jump
from the chair. She turned and gasped at the sight before her.

Gabriel’s form filled the doorframe, the expression on his
face indicating his surprise at seeing her as well. His hair was unbound and
his features were taut with dark circles rimming his eyes as though he hadn’t
slept for days.

“Gabriel,” she whispered, exhaling sharply.

He looked beyond her to the water basin on the dresser
behind her. He shut the door and tossed his hat onto a chair near the bed.
Striding purposefully past her, he removed his sword and pistol, carefully
laying them on the dresser. He then took off his jacket, shirt and belt,
dropping them on the floor at the foot of the bed. She immediately glanced at
his arm and saw a red scar where his injury had once been.

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him pour
water into the basin and then splash it on his face, scrubbing his skin
forcefully. She allowed her eyes to roam over his naked torso, resisting the
urge to step behind him and trace the outlines of every hard muscle with the
tip of her tongue. As she breathed, her rigid nipples brushed against the
fabric of her nightgown and her pussy throbbed with every movement of Gabriel’s
body, yearning for him to simply look at her.

Finally, he turned and stared at her, his eyes raking boldly
up and down her form. His eyes were dark and fathomless, his chest rising and
falling heavily. Kaitlyn unconsciously licked her lower lip as she met his
gaze, the tension of the room hanging over them like a thick cloud.

Footsteps fell in the hallway and low voices murmured from
somewhere outside the room. Several moments passed as their eyes clashed,
seemingly frozen to the spot. Then silence fell over the house, humming loudly
in Kaitlyn’s ears.

Swiftly, Gabriel descended upon her, grabbing her by the
waist with one hand and her hair with the other. He yanked her head back
forcefully and smashed his lips against hers, propelling her backward.

She moaned softly as her back hit the wall and he grabbed
her hips, ramming his thick erection against her abdomen. She ground her pelvis
against him, silently hoping he wouldn’t stop this time. She didn’t care who
walked in on them or if the house began to burn down around their ears. She
needed him to fuck her. Hard.

With a low, animalistic growl, he forced his tongue between
her lips, his mouth hard and searching. He began to pull his hips away but she
whimpered and arched her back to follow him with her own in a desperate need to
continue the scorching physical contact.

She could feel him grasping frantically at her nightgown
until he reached the sides of her breasts. He forced his hands between their
bodies, chafing her erect nipples with his palms. He broke the kiss then and
pulled away, holding her firmly against the wall.

His eyes bored into hers for split second before he seized
the neckline of her garment and yanked on it, the muscles in his arms bulging.
The fabric immediately gave way and he ripped it in two, drawing a gasp of
shock and arousal from Kaitlyn’s mouth.

Gabriel stood back for a moment and allowed his eyes to roam
lazily up and down the soft, feminine curves that had haunted his thoughts for
the past three weeks. What was left of her nightgown hung in tantalizing
tatters from her shoulders, sweeping past her full hips. Her breasts, flushed
and pink in the candlelight, rose and fell heavily with her breathing, the
nipples straining forward and beckoning to be tasted.