by Olivia Drake
But he’d slept late, and halfway through the afternoon, when she’d looked up to see him standing in the doorway of the conservatory, her heart had filled with love and longing. He’d given her an enigmatic stare. She’d been on the verge of standing up and hastening to him when her father had spoken to her. When she looked back, Gabriel had gone off with his grandmother.
Deflated, she’d hoped to see him later, but he hadn’t come down to dinner. Lady Stokeford had made his excuses, explaining that he was exhausted from the effects of his injury. She’d looked directly at Kate, smiling as if to reassure her.
The trouble was, Kate wanted reassurance from Gabriel. In spite of her resolve to wait for a few days, she needed desperately to tell him that she was ready to accept his marriage proposal. She wanted to put her arms around him, to kiss away his hurts and find happiness with him. Though she’d believed herself to be a sober, sensible woman, now Kate knew the fanciful dreamer still lurked in her, for she ached to hear him speak tender words of love.
But as she lifted her hand to knock, she hesitated. What if Gabriel was sleeping? It was selfish of her even to think of disturbing him. She mustn’t impede his recovery.
Resolutely, Kate pivoted on her heel and walked away, heading toward her own chamber at the opposite end of the house. The floorboards squeaked now and then, and the faint aroma of beeswax hung in the air. A lamp flickered on a table, lending an aura of intimacy to the night-darkened old house. Sometime, she’d like to take a closer look at the antique portraits on the walls. She’d like to explore every chamber, every nook and cranny. How she yearned to be Gabriel’s wife, to be mistress of this fine house, to see their children run and play in these corridors.
Her home was with Gabriel, wherever he might be.
The merry sounds of laughter rose from the drawing room downstairs, where Papa and Meg and the others caught up on all the family news. Uncle Nathaniel was openly courting Lady Stokeford, who sparkled at his attentions. If only she could be so happy, Kate reflected wistfully. She wouldn’t feel at ease until she could speak to Gabriel, to know he still wanted her as his wife.
Reaching her bedchamber, she paused, looking back, though the turns in the corridor hid his door from view. Had he thought of her today? Did he feel the same torturous longing for her companionship as she did for his? She mustn’t hope for too much. It was enough that she would commit herself to him, to accept the happiness he could give her, however long it lasted. She would live for the moment, savoring all the richness and joy of love.
On that resolve, she stepped into her bedchamber and closed the door. A low fire burned on the hearth, though the rest of the cozy room lay deep in shadow. Ignoring a little twist of loneliness, Kate picked up a candle and went to the hearth to touch the wick to the flames. She would read for a while, divert her mind from distressing thoughts of Gabriel. As she straightened, the candlelight gleamed on something golden perched on the mantelpiece. Something she hadn’t seen since the tumultuous events of the previous day.
The goddess.
Transfixed, Kate stared at the statue with its exotic features and curvaceous form, the huge diamond glinting like a star.
On a surge of impossible hope, she whirled around. Her gaze locked on the figure of a man reclining in the four-poster bed. The counterpane covered his lower extremities, and a bandage wrapped his bare chest, the bleached linen pale against his dark flesh. Through the gloom, his familiar cocky expression made her heart flutter.
“Gabriel!”
He beckoned to her. “I’ve been waiting for you, my lady.”
Afraid to blink lest he vanish, Kate hastened to the bed and, with shaking hand, set the taper on the table. He looked so incredibly masculine against the lace-trimmed linens. His hair was rakishly mussed, the candlelight gilding his strong, sun-browned features. Her body reacted with a powerful pulse of yearning.
Denying herself, she touched his cheek, its rough warmth assuring her that he was real. “You’re flushed. Do you have a fever?”
“Only for you.” Taking her hand, he kissed her palm.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she scolded. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I’m in bed, aren’t I? But I’d heal so much quicker if you’d minister to me.” Gabriel gave her arm a mg, bringing her down onto the mattress.
Kate sat primly upright. “Are you in pain?”
His fingers traced a meandering path over her skirt. “Sheer agony,” he drawled. “I need a devoted nurse.”
“You need a dash of cold water.” To hide temptation, Kate drew the covers up to his chin. Brightly, she said, “I didn’t expect to see the goddess again so soon.”
He pushed the covers back down to his waist. His lean, naked waist. “You can thank Bickell and Ashraf,” he said. “They retrieved the statue for you and your father.”
“And you.” She kept her gaze focused on his. “Gabriel, I was wrong to claim the goddess for myself. You deserve it as much as Papa.”
“Never mind the damned statue. I’ve something to tell you, Kate. Something very important.”
In the midst of her longing, memory tugged at her. “That’s what I said to you...that night four years ago.”
“Yes.” An intense smile flashed and vanished. “But there’s one significant difference between then and now.”
“Only one?” She ticked them off on her fingers. “I came to your bed, not vice versa. I was a girl of sixteen, and you were a man of twenty-six.” Unbidden, her gaze dipped to the broad expanse of his chest. “And I was clothed in a nightdress.”
“You’re forgetting the most important difference of all,” he murmured, his blue eyes serious. “You said that night that you loved me.”
She glanced away. For years she’d regretted that foolish confession, and she’d suffered from his humiliating rejection of her. But now the memory had lost its sting, for she had come so far since then. The love within her had survived and matured, enhanced by her experiences with Gabriel. “Yes,” she whispered, “I did.”
He caught her chin, bringing her face back toward him.
“But I never returned those words. So I’m saying them now. I love you, Kate.”
Oh! Nothing else could have caused such a lifting of joy inside her. She leaned closer, mindful of his injury. “I love you, too. Oh, Gabriel, we didn’t have a chance to talk today. I’ve done a lot of thinking—”
“To hell with thinking. Concentrate on this.”
He brought his hands up to her breasts, caressing her through the bodice of her gown, making her thoughts scatter. She took firm hold of his wrists and pushed them away. “But there are things we need to discuss—”
“Yes, you’re right,” he said, nimbly sliding his hand beneath her skirts. “First and foremost, that I don’t care for skulking around anymore. I had enough of that when I posed as a footman.”
His fingers were doing delicious things to her legs, stroking her calves, rubbing lightly behind her knees. “I...yes,” she breathed. “No more skulking.”
“I mean it, Kate. There’ll be no more of me visiting your chamber like this.” As he spoke, Gabriel moved his hand a little higher on her leg. “I won’t carry on an affair with you under your father’s nose.”
“But you’re doing so right now,” she said in bemusement.
“Only to make my point. To remind you of what you’ll be missing.”
Kate edged closer to him. “Missing?”
“I won’t make love to you again until you become my wife.” Heavy and warm, his hand came to a halt on her thigh. “However, if you marry me, we can send everyone away and enjoy a long honeymoon.”
“As you wish,” she murmured.
His face stern, Gabriel went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “I realize that it’ll take time for you to trust me. I told you myself I wasn’t the marrying kind. But all that’s changed now that I’ve fallen in love with you—” He stopped and stared at her. “What did you say?”
Laug
hing, she leaned toward him, cupping his cheeks in her palms. “That I accept your proposal. I went to your chamber tonight to tell you so.”
He looked stupefied. “You did?”
“Yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. But you’re too arrogant to listen to a mere woman.”
A slow smile spread over his handsome face, and his pirate eyes held a dissolute promise. Reaching out, he pulled her to him, nestling her against his uninjured side. He pressed his lips to her brow. “Woman,” he said, his voice a soft growl, “you’ve yet to learn your place.”
Tipping up her chin, he joined their mouths in a tender kiss that bound them, both body and soul. He held her as if she were a goddess, and Kate melted against him, wondering if he realized just how much she was already in his power. Better he not find that out too soon, she thought with a dash of giddy humor. It would only feed his charming lack of modesty.
When she felt his hands at her back, nimbly unfastening her gown, she curled her fingers around his muscled arms. Drawing back, she chided, “The doctor left strict orders for you to avoid any exertion.”
His teeth flashed in a bawdy grin as he lifted the gown over her head and tossed it to the floor. “Then I’ll lie here and let you have your wicked way with me.”
Demurely, she said, “But you told me we can’t make love until we’re married.”
“It’s enough that I have your promise. I trust you’ll not renege.”
The uncertain note in his voice caught at her heart. Did this strong, indomitable man really love her so much that he could worry about losing her?
“I’m all yours,” she said softly. “Gabriel, I want you to know that I trust you, too. I want us to be together always.”
“A woman after my own heart,” he stated. “We’ll help your father write his book. There’s plenty of room for all of us here at Fairfield Park.”
“Yes.” A profound yearning brimmed in her breast. “But if someday you feel the need to travel again—”
“I won’t leave you, Kate.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back. “You have my solemn vow on that.”
She arched an eyebrow. “There you go, not listening again. I wanted to say that I’d travel with you. I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.”
A guarded light shone in his eyes. “But we’ll have a family.”
“We’ll take our children with us, milord. We’ll see the world together. I insist upon it.”
Pulling her to him, he tilted his mouth in a smile that stirred her most idyllic dreams. “Prickly Kate. Right now, I insist we start on begetting an heir.”
“Or heiress.” Brushing aside the counterpane, she decided that in all the ways that mattered, she and Gabriel were in complete accord.
As the night deepened, neither of them had any further inclination to quarrel. And from her perch on the mantelpiece, the goddess smiled down at them.
Also by Olivia Drake
Unlikely Duchesses Series
The Duke I Once Knew
* * *
Cinderella Sisterhood Series
If the Slipper Fits
Stroke of Midnight
Abducted by a Prince
Bella and the Beast
His Wicked Wish
The Scandalous Flirt
* * *
An Heiress in London Series
Seducing the Heiress
Never Trust a Rogue
Scandal of the Year
* * *
Single Title Romance
Dream Spinner
Silver Splendor
* * *
Writing as Barbara Dawson Smith, reissues published as Olivia Drake
Fire on the Wind
Fire at Midnight
Never A Lady
A Glimpse of Heaven
Romancing the Rogue
Tempt Me Twice
With All My Heart
The Wedding Night
Countess Confidential
The Rogue Report
About the Author
Shortly after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, Olivia Drake sold her first novel two weeks after sending it to a publisher. She now lives in Texas in a cozy cottage with a feisty cat, a loving husband, and two wonderful daughters who still come back whenever they want a home-cooked meal.
Many of you already know Olivia as Barbara Dawson Smith, author of 24 historical romance novels. She is a New York Times bestseller and winner of numerous honors, including the Golden Heart Award and the coveted Rita Award for excellence in the historical romance genre.