THREE DESPERATE CHOICES: Brothers Mortmain Book 3
Page 13
Even now, remembering how his mouth had taken hers, made her ache with need. He had tasted and explored her body as if she were part of the wedding banquet, and then when she was delirious with desire, he’d pushed himself inside her slowly. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he’d said, despite her pleas for him to hurry.
And then, when he was finally deep within her, their bodies pressed closer than they had ever been, he kissed her with slow deliberation and said in a voice filled with satisfaction, “Mine.”
Gabriella had already loved him but at that moment she fell even deeper in love with her husband. And every day, every night, she felt as if he took another piece of her heart into his keeping.
The sea breeze tangled her hair and she opened her eyes.
Pale blue looked down at her, promising pleasures she had once only dreamt of. Her lover, her husband, her Maddox.
“You look like a siren,” he said huskily. “Luring men to their deaths upon the rocks with the promise of a night in your arms.”
Gabriella smiled. Her husband, she had discovered, was a romantic while she was far more practical. “You don’t need to die upon the rocks for a night in my arms.”
He sat down beside her and leaned to kiss her lips, lingering, his mouth tasting hers, his tongue delving. After a moment he lay down beside her, still smiling.
“Do you know how much I love you, Gabriella?” he asked.
“As much as I love you, I would hope,” she murmured, her response one she gave him always. “Which is a very great deal.”
He tangled his fingers with hers. After a moment he said, “Your charges will be missing you.”
Gabriella was now one of the patrons of the very same orphanage she had been left on the doorstep of as a baby. The work kept her busy, as she took great care to visit as often as she could, to make sure the children were given every chance to fulfil their dreams. Maddox had taught her that dreams could be just as important as learning to write and add up sums. Without them, life could be a very monochrome affair.
“The children have Hannah and Katherine,” she said, naming her sisters-in-law, who had also become involved in the orphanage. “We deserve a little holiday. It’s our anniversary, after all.”
Maddox helped with the children as well, when he could. He was the perfect role model for the boys who were inclined to be naughty, because he knew all about the temptations to be found in the world. He did his best to steer them toward a more virtuous and constructive path for their impulses. Sometimes she caught him watching his little charges with a wistful expression. He wanted a child of his own, someone of his own flesh and blood, to whom he could teach those hard won lessons.
“Maddox,” she said, stroking the backs of her fingers over his unshaven jaw.
He had closed his eyes to the sun but now he opened them. “What is it, my love?” he asked, hearing the changed note in her voice. Then, catching her hand in his, “Are you worrying again that you are not withchild? There is plenty of time. If you wish I can redouble my efforts.” Then he added with a devilish grin, “For your sake, of course.”
His wicked smile made her pulse quicken. “I won’t say no to that,” she said, “but that wasn’t what I was going to tell you. Maddox, I think…” She took his hand and placed it on her still flat stomach. It was early days but she wanted him to share in her news.
He stared at her wide-eyed and then down at their joined hands. “My love,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “Oh, my love.”
He leaned in to kiss her again and, feeling content, Gabriella settled into his arms. The world suddenly seemed full of colours, bright and beautiful hues, and she knew it was because all of her dreams, the dreams Maddox had promised to help her achieve, had come true.
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Look for these titles by Evie North
Now Available:
One Night of Surrender (Brothers Mortmain Book1)
Two Days of Temptation (Brothers Mortmain Book 2)
Knights of Passion Box Set series 1
Knights of Passion Box set series 2
About the Author
Evie North is a writer of sexy romance. She prefers a happy ending and enjoys stories set in the days of medieval knights or regency rakes. Visit Evie at her Facebook page or her website www.evienorth.com
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