Gabriel had betrayed Jacques in more ways than one. He’d betrayed an old friend, his comrade – a man who’d endured monumental grief and heartache.
Jacques loosened his grasp, leaned back, and surrendered to a sigh. He drummed his fingertips on the countertop; the repetitive melody seemed to have a calming effect. When he at last spoke, his voice was riddled with agony, the words barely above a whisper. “I imagine it would be impossible not to fall in love with such a woman. I would know. I’ve loved her since I was a boy – since I first saw her standing behind the counter of her father’s shop. She was a tenacious, spirited, little thing. Still is.” Gabriel swallowed and met his comrade’s unwavering stare. Jacques searched his eyes, missing nothing … extracting unspoken truths. “Tell me the way of it, comrade to comrade: you and Ariah are in love.”
Pulse racing, Gabriel traced the glass’s lips and allowed the silence to speak.
•
Gabriel lurked in front of the blazing hearth as he absorbed its warmth. Anguish shot through his body, and his heart pinched with a nauseating force. He knew exactly what had to be done. And it would surely kill him.
He clenched onto the mantel as his legs buckled. His nails tore at the surface, embedding the wood with long scratch marks. Each breath made his head spin and lungs constrict with painful spasms. Tears he refused to shed welled in his eyes as he imagined a life without Ariah, Emmaline, and Miriam.
Dieu, how he loved her.
He gazed at his portrait from his peripheral vision. Memories of that night swarmed through him until he could scarcely hold himself upright. Breathless, he collapsed to his knees and allowed the flames to bathe his skin. But no warmth was to be found.
The truth was a knife to his throat. He’d outstayed his welcome. By some miracle, Jacques had returned home – and Gabriel had no right to be here beneath his comrade’s roof, lusting after his wife. Sharp pangs of guilt twisted his gut and impaled his heart. Mind racing, Gabriel trailed his fingertips over the uneven half of his face while the opposite hand fiddled with his signet ring.
This was no longer his home. And now Colonel Gabriel de Laurent would make the greatest sacrifice of all.
•
Ariah stood beneath the immeasurable night sky as she admired the breathtaking view. She lost herself within the constellations, allowing those luxurious diamond strands to coil around her heart. Numberless stars reflected within the Seine’s glassy surface and set the water afire. Breathing deeply, Ariah reached out and folded her hands atop the stone balustrade.
This is where she’d found him. Her heart picked up speed as memories of that fateful night invaded her mind and body. Down below, water lapped against the embankment and infused the atmosphere with a soothing lull. A flashback of Gabriel’s motionless form materialized within the shadows … and Ariah’s chest constricted as she relived his every kiss and touch.
Then –
A gentle pressure whispered against her back. Gabriel’s unique aroma filled her spirit while strong arms enfolded her from behind. Somehow, some way, she’d known he’d be here tonight.
She sighed deeply and relaxed within his protective embrace. One hand lost itself in her curls and delicately sifted through the strands; the other applied subtle pressure to the base of her spine in a ghostlike caress. Breathless and at peace, she spiraled into a decadent trance. She drank in each sensation … the mesmerizing caress of his fingertips against her scalp, the wind’s crisp breath, the Seine’s haunting lamentations …
Gabriel brushed away the swarm of curls, exposing her ear to the night, and breathed against the fine cartilage. This was the moment she’d feared for weeks – the moment of their parting. Then he sang to her – his voice rich, warm, and sultry, and all other thoughts fell away.
“The gentle breath of winter sings,
It cools my brow and furls my wings.
And when the dusk at last descends,
I shall keep my hope, steel my heart, for never will thy love depart.
Now you are come all my grief is gone,
Let us forget those nights that never dawned.”
The rich cadence of his voice seduced her into calmness. Fighting to hold back tears, she rotated in his arms, never once leaving the security of his embrace. Indeed, she’d stay with him until the very end – and they wouldn’t part a moment sooner. She tilted her chin up and met his expressive gaze. The nearby oil lamp shone brightly behind Gabriel, silhouetting his strained features. She directed his body to the side, needing to see his eyes, directing the shadows from his face.
“You remember.”
Gabriel shook his head while a riot of emotions crossed his features. “I shall never forget.”
“Oh, Gabriel … I – ”
“Shh,” he murmured against the rim of her ear.
Ariah relaxed as his arms wound about her waist and reeled her to his chest. He tentatively swayed on his booted heels, rocking her back and forth within the security of his arms. Closing both eyes, she nestled against the planes of his chest, never wanting the moment to end. She raised her left arm and wedged her hand between their entwined bodies. She pressed her palm flat against his heartbeat and lost herself within the comforting rhythm. Her curls stirred, manipulated by his labored breaths. Then he leaned in close and whispered into her ear once more: “I love you, Ariah. I love you more than I could ever say.”
She swallowed and gazed up at him. Shared tears glittered in his eyes as he balled a hand into a fist. He ran those callused, scarred knuckles across her cheek, warming her with his gentle touch.
Barely able to breathe, she spoke from the very depths of her soul, her eyes never parting from his own. “I love you. I have loved you for weeks now. I – ”
Their mouths crashed together in a movement neither of them was able to control. Air gushed from her lungs as Gabriel pressed her firmly against his body and melded them as one. The uneven flesh of his lips brushed insistently, invadingly, against her own, demanding complete surrender. Strong, masculine hands fisted in her hair as his mouth consumed her with ardent fervor.
She grew heady, weak at the knees. The kiss was bruising. Unyielding and desperate. Their tongues dueled an erotic tango. Murmuring into her mouth, he slanted his face and deepened their kiss to impossible limits. He possessed her. Drank in her very spirit. She yielded to the passionate onslaught, surrendering mind, body, and soul – if only for this moment.
It seemed that Gabriel was lost to a primitive hunger … a hunger to claim what was rightfully his. He ravished her without restriction, allowing his darker side – the side she’d fallen for nearly a month prior – to take over. He kissed her with purpose, with every grain of passion, branding her forever.
He kissed her with the intention of winning her soul.
Ariah took a small step backward and raked a hand down his tattered coat. He groaned inside her mouth as she continued moving southward. Her fingers blindly skimmed the various military decorations, moving from one to another. “My hero …”
“Yours,” came his throaty reply, “only and always yours.”
A million things burned to be said. A million regrets, shared confessions, and eternal vows. And yet Gabriel and Ariah elected silence and touch.
Mind spinning, she continued the restless perusal – claiming her prize straight through the material of his trousers. She curved her palm and molded it around his hard length, caressing him with explorative, varied movements. He detached his mouth from hers, simultaneously grinding his hips against the pressure of her hand. His neck slouched forward, and his face fell into her curls.
“Mon Dieu,” he moaned, speaking against her neck. “More …” The word was brusque and guttural – uttered with the fearlessness of a true commander.
Ariah obliged without thought and increased the tension. Digging into the trousers’ coarse material, her fingers coiled around his manhood and moved up and down in spherical motions. In the same breath, his lips ghosted across her neck an
d summoned powerful currents down the length of her spine. His tongue slid over her skin in tantalizing circular motions – pausing only to tease at her throbbing pulse. He nibbled tenderly, branding her flesh with gentle bites. Then he raised his chin several centimeters and hissed into the hollow of her ear. Grasping tighter, she alternated between circular motions and long, slow, vertical caresses. Her efforts were rewarded with a chorus of guttural moans and whispered endearments. Needing more – needing Gabriel free of barriers – Ariah’s opposite hand skimmed his waistline.
She blindly sought the clasps of his trousers. Echoed passion flamed in his eyes. Never letting up on her sensual movements, she undid each hook – and Ariah sensed as his last resolve crumbled away.
Now she was the commander.
Her hand wedged inside the trousers and he jumped to life in her palm – pulsating, throbbing, expanding. She enveloped him completely, claiming him with her moist hand. Like hot, freshly forged steel, he thickened against her skin and grew impossibly rigid.
Ariah worshiped every centimeter of him as her fingers twisted up and down in firm, calculating strokes. He bucked against her hand while his breathing grew rigid and irregular. Feminine pride swelled in her spirit. Connected to him in this primal way, everything outside of her love and desire went forgotten. For the moment, only she, Gabriel, and their mutual affection existed.
She observed as his eyes hooded in acute pleasure. Then he leaned against the stone balustrade and glanced about, confirming they were alone. Not a person was in sight – the only signs of civilization were puffs of chimney smoke against the gilded horizon.
With a muttered curse Gabriel leaned forward and bunched the material of her skirts in one hand. He hiked them up in a fluid motion, exposing her scantily clad thighs to the elements. In a flash of realization, Ariah acknowledged that she’d left the dagger at home in her dresser drawer, entirely forgotten …
The crisp night air tightened her skin, causing gooseflesh to spread over her body. His touch alleviated the coldness, replacing it with mesmerizing swirls of heat. She glanced down as his hands worked their exquisite magic. She saw herself then, standing by the River Seine, her cheeks flushed with pleasure, pressed against Gabriel’s massive body …
Someone still could spot them, Ariah’s mind warned. But her heart quickly rebutted with its characteristic stubbornness: so be it. Nothing would keep her from Gabriel. Not on this night. Not when it could very well be the last time in his arms.
“Dieu. Ariah,” he panted between heavy intakes of air. “It’s too much.”
Ariah muttered an airy protest as Gabriel freed his hands from her thighs. He wrapped both arms beneath the curve of her bottom and, steadying himself against the stone balustrade, elevated her from the cobblestones. The abrupt change in position caused her hands to slip free from the warmth of his trousers. She slung both arms around his neck and clutched onto him like a lifeline. He positioned his legs wide apart, encasing her perched body between them. Leaving a damp trail in their wake, his lips traveled over the high, modest neckline of her dress … then skirted over each curve of her breast – one and then the other …
His mouth and tongue wetted the material, plastering cotton to flesh. With each pull, each lick, her fingers twisted in the dense waves of his raven hair. Her nipples sprang to life, seduced by the overlapping sensations: his tongue saturating her chemise, the wind in her ears, her skirts rustling in the breeze, the Seine’s steady cadence …
With labored breaths, he skimmed his lips across her throat and deftly worked the clasps of her gown. They popped open, revealing the swell of her breasts to his hungry mouth. Gabriel skimmed his lips over each mound, dampening the chemise firmly to her skin. She cocked her head back and moaned in appreciation. Long fingertips urged the material aside; Gabriel’s tongue ran over the veiled flesh and sought her nipple. Red-hot chords of pleasure shot through Ariah’s body while he suckled her straight through the material. The thin layer of cotton clung to her like a second skin. A masterful hand kneaded her opposite breast, caressing and fondling – cupping the voluptuous weight in his palm.
Thumb and forefinger rolled over her veiled nipple, urging it into erotic submission. She obeyed with breathless wonderment as the sensitive bud tightened into a knot of pleasure. His lips detached from her other nipple and sought the center of her throat. Her pulse quickened, hurdling to life as his lips traced the architecture of her collarbone.
Every nerve caught fire. Ariah twisted her fingertips in the thick waves of his hair and pulled him from her neck. Their lips crashed together and worked in unison, as if they were attempting to consume the other’s spirit. Ariah jerked her head back, generating a few centimeters of space between their lips. She stared straight into his eyes and caressed the disfigured half of his face. Groaning deeply, he dipped into her touch, and a ragged breath pierced the air between them.
“Please. Let me feel you, Gabriel …” Her voice sounded unusually husky. She leaned forward as her fingers slid down the greatcoat in urgent perusal. Reaching into the high waistline, she dove inside his trousers and claimed him once more. A tortured groan rose from his throat and echoed the darkness. His head fell forward as she enveloped him with her fingers, sliding up and down his impressive, turgid length …
She paused her movements, grasped onto either side of his trousers, and urged them downward. Along with his undergarment, they slid down both muscular thighs until his manhood sprang free. Had she truly been so fearful – so afraid to even touch another – only a month earlier? Indeed, it seemed a lifetime ago that she’d been a prisoner to her memories. Yet, with Gabriel, she felt safe, empowered, and free.
A strangled sound rattled his chest as she worked his silky smooth erection between both palms. She dampened her lips and peered down at where her hands rested – pale white against the bronze of his skin. Shallow breaths stirred her curls as his head slumped forward. His arms landed on either side of her seated body, anchoring her in place. Then one of his hands slipped downward, beneath the material of her skirts, and skimmed the wet material of her pantalettes. He found the slit, and a strong, hooked finger eased inside her very center.
Paris seemed to swirl and rotate, blending everything into a surreal blur. The hold on his erection faltered. Her breaths grew shallow and irregular. Biting back a moan, she arched against the mind-bending ministrations. Her body opened for him, inviting him inside, and two thick fingers sank deep. As she steadily reached that plateau, he withdrew completely. Then, in a solid, consuming motion that screamed you are mine, he thrust forward and joined their quivering bodies. His face rolled forward and descended into the crook of her shoulder.
She glanced up at the star-speckled sky, and the world seemed to spin as Gabriel swiftly plunged in and out of her body. She embraced him with both arms, holding him soundly all the while, never wanting to be separated from him again.
His lips ghosted across her neck and teased her racing pulse. Precious seconds soon transformed into minutes, and Ariah fought to commit every sensation to memory: the cool stone grating against her thighs, the tentative breeze that rustled through her hair and swelled her skirts, the musky scents of the Seine and melting ice, the steady cadence of her beloved’s voice, the soulful melody of their hearts pressed together.
Let this moment whisper through eternity, her inward voice sighed. Let it fill my every dream and visit me each night.
White-hot warmth swirled inside Ariah’s body and rose in a steady roar. Her senses reeled, her legs tightened, and she rode the mounting precipice into a wave of mind-bending release. Gabriel’s breaths shortened and grew increasingly rigid; he chanted her name as his tempo increased. Within minutes, the urgent movements summoned a second wave of pleasure – this one far more intense than the last. Bound together, Gabriel and Ariah surrendered and fell into blissful, pulsating oblivion.
Ariah collapsed within his arms. He embraced her tightly as if never intending to let go. Their tears mingled as t
hey wept, arm in arm, heartbeat to heartbeat.
Then Gabriel finally stepped back, cradled her face between his palms, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He outstretched an unsteady hand and slid the signet ring off. Ariah’s breath caught as he grasped her left hand and placed the ring on her wedding finger. The band was two sizes too large for her, yet it was a proposal, a vow, an unspoken promise. It whispered all the things they dared not speak.
Swallowing deeply, Ariah studied the engraving and closed her palm to trap the signet ring in place. Her eyes fluttered shut, and a whirlwind of emotions consumed her.
Gabriel leaned forward and caught her lips in a soul-searing kiss. The heat of his body tied them together as one. His unique scent, sandalwood and winter, engulfed her within a safety net.
“Vous et nul autre.” You and no other. He breathed the words into her mouth, urging them to overflow her lungs and fill her spirit. “I love you, Ariah Larochelle. And that shall never change. Today, tomorrow, always.”
•
Hours later, Ariah stood before the hearth and vacantly stared into the blazing fire. Despite the heat, she’d never felt colder. A chilling numbness seeped through her bones and spirited away her very soul. She summoned every bit of her strength and wrestled back her tears. She fought to be logical, to be sensible, to be filled with gratitude rather than disdain.
Most of all, she fought to be untouchable. But Gabriel had touched her profoundly.
She’d known this time was coming ever since he first arrived. Even if Jacques hadn’t returned, she and Gabriel had immersed themselves in a world of make-believe. They’d recognized a kindred spirit in each other – and they’d seized the opportunity to at last become whole.
Finding Gabriel Page 33