A Winter Scandal (24 page)

Surprising her, he stood up, hauling her up with him. She turned to him, but he was already stepping out of the tub and spreading her bedcover out on the floor before the fire. She could not tear her eyes away from his strong, lithe body or the hard, elongated maleness that thrust out from his body. Thea would have liked to touch him, but she was not bold enough, even in the warm, sated state she dwelled in now.

Gabriel lifted her from the old wooden tub and laid her down on the bedspread, then covered her with his body, propped himself up on his elbows. She opened her legs, luxuriating in the feel of his maleness pressing at the gate of her femininity. He gazed down at her for a long moment, his eyes hard and bright, the firelight glowing in them. Then he bent his head to take her mouth, kissing her as though he would consume her. He kissed her again and again, and when he pulled his mouth from hers, he moved down her body, kissing seemingly every inch of her.

He took her breast in his mouth, devoting his complete attention to it. Thea was shocked to feel her body respond to him, the heat and tension building in her once more. She would have thought that all the passion had been drained from her in that explosion of pleasure. But somehow it lurked inside her, curling and leaping and swelling with each touch of his lips.

Gabriel moved to her other breast, lavishing the same exquisite care on it. He made his way down her body, mumbling low, soft words she could not understand but the hunger and need of which was abundantly clear. His tongue dipped into the well of her navel, moving out to trace patterns over her skin. He moved ever lower, and Thea felt his hands slip beneath her hips, lifting her. Then, unbelievably, his mouth was on her in that most intimate of places, teasing and stroking, arousing her in a way she would never have imagined.

“Gabriel!” Passion roared through her even more fiercely, igniting her to a white-hot pitch. Thea curled her fingers into the spread beneath her, a groan escaping her clenched lips as Gabriel toyed with her, his tongue driving her higher and harder than anything else he had done before. She arched up, digging in her heels, her body taut, desperately seeking the release that dangled just beyond her grasp.

Then it crashed through her, and she trembled all over. For a moment she was beyond thought, beyond speech, her world narrowed down to the supreme release that carried her away. Gently he lowered her hips and lay down beside her. Thea could do little more than gasp for breath, her heart slamming inside her chest.

After what could have been hours or mere moments, for she felt utterly beyond time, Thea turned her head to look at Gabriel. He was watching her, his eyes still glinting between his narrowed lids.

“Gabriel …” She reached out and put her hand on his chest, not sure what she wanted to say. A hundred emotions were tumbling about inside her, and she could not even begin to straighten them out enough to give voice to them. “But you are still unsatisfied” was what she found herself saying.

“I enjoyed it, believe me. And it was your first time last night. I did not want to hurt you.”

“Are you sure it would hurt?”

“No.” His smile was wry. “I have little experience with virgins.”

“I think I should like to try. You seem to want something more …” She looked down at the clear evidence of his unspent desire, and her hand drifted lower.

“Indeed.” He sucked in his breath as her hand glided lower, but when she shot him a tentative glance, he said, “No, don’t stop.”

“Do you like it?” Thea smiled a little, sliding her hand farther downward.

“You know I do. I can see you grin like a fox.”

She giggled. She had never before felt like this, so happy, so free and unfettered. “But, indeed, my lord, I thought you might find me too bold.”

“I like a bold wench.” Her fingers reached him and stopped, barely touching the base of his manhood. He let out a low groan, his teeth clamping down on his lower lip.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, the teasing leaving her voice.

“I think … whatever you try … I shall find pleasing,” he told her, his lungs laboring.

Thea skimmed her fingertips along the length of him, amazed and delighted by the satin smoothness of his flesh over the hard line beneath. Slowly she trailed her fingers up and down him, and the low moan her actions pulled from him stirred an answering heat in her belly.

She was not so surprised this time to find that desire could pulse in her again, and she let herself savor each moment along the way. She played with him, teasing and arousing him, her hand sliding farther down to cup the sac between his legs. Gabriel shuddered. His eyes were closed, his skin stretched taut across his facial bones, his breath harsh on his lips. Thea gently curled her fingers around him, and he jerked, but he shook his head when she paused.

“Don’t stop.”

She stroked him with slow, almost languid motions, feeling the slick glide of his skin against her palm. His pulse pounded in his throat, his chest rising and falling in pants, and the signs of his passion aroused her.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered to him. “I want to take you inside me.”

His eyes flew open, fierce and bright. He reached out, taking her hips in his hands, and tugged her toward his legs. “Ride me.”

“What? Oh.” Her eyes widened a little, but she moved quickly to do as he said, straddling him and lowering her body over him until she felt the springing thrust of his maleness against her. Reaching down, she took him in her hand once again, guiding him into her. The sensitive flesh throbbed at the touch of his hardness, and she moved the tip of his manhood against her, tormenting them both in the most delightful way. She eased down slowly, then pulled back up, exploring each new sensation she created. The exquisite friction tantalized, delighted, beckoned, and promised.

He moved beneath her, pushed almost to the breaking point, and then his hands clamped on her hips, and he lifted up, slamming into her with hard, fierce thrusts. Thea matched his rhythm, the dark, tumultuous pleasure driving her ever closer. At last it exploded, sweeping them both over the edge and into the dark chasm of pleasure.

Thea was not sure how
long she lay there, her head pillowed on Gabriel’s broad chest, half-asleep and utterly at peace, before a wail sounded from the bedroom, breaking the peace. She felt the rumble of Gabriel’s laughter beneath her ear.

“At least we can rest assured that the cold did not harm his lungs.” Gabriel eased out from beneath her and stood up, grabbing his breeches and pulling them on. “I’ll get him.”

Thea rose, too, wrapping the cover around her once more, and followed him into the bedroom. Gabriel picked Matthew up, and his crying stopped immediately, the tears turning to a smile. Thea had long since given up being astonished by Gabriel’s seemingly magical effect on the baby. After all, she had experienced Gabriel’s charm, as well. While Gabriel whisked the baby out into the main room of the cottage, Thea dressed.

She ran her hands through her hair, wishing she had a brush or comb. She started to braid it, but stopped, Gabriel’s words going through her head, and she let her hair fall back down. She leaned in close to the mirror to look at herself. Could Gabriel really find her beautiful? Was that tumble of reddish-brown curls really appealing? Did he see something in her level gray gaze that other men did not?

Thea tilted her head to one side and then the other. She could not help but think that she did look different today—her skin had a glow, her features a softness, that she was not sure had ever before been there. Could happiness make one prettier? If so, she should be stunning, for she was certain that she had never before felt the singing joy that filled her now.

She supposed that she should feel guilty and sinful, but Thea could not. She had experienced something she had never thought she would, and it had been far more wonderful than she could ever have imagined. The joy might be brief; Thea was far too realistic not to admit that within a few weeks or even days, Gabriel would likely be gone from here—perhaps taking Matthew with him. But however short this happy moment was, Thea intended to enjoy it. And if sorrow followed, so be it. Good things rarely came for free, in her experience.

Gabriel was feeding the baby at the table when Thea joined them. She picked up the spectacles that she had left on the table the night before and settled them on her nose. Gabriel looked up at her and smiled, and Matthew followed suit. Despite the difference in their coloring, Thea could see the resemblance between them, and she could not help but think that the child must be his sister’s. But she could not understand why his sister would have abandoned the baby. Knowing Gabriel as she did now, she could not think that Jocelyn would have thought Gabriel would be angry or punitive.

“Why did that man steal Matthew?” Thea asked, following the train of her thoughts. “Who was he?”

“I have no idea.” Gabriel tore another piece of bread from the piece before him and dipped it in milk, then offered it to the baby. Matthew grabbed it and shoved it in his mouth, bouncing as if to some inner tune. “I did not get a very good look at him as we fought, but he certainly didn’t look familiar. Why would anyone steal an abandoned baby?”

“It makes no sense,” Thea agreed, reaching out and tearing off a little chunk of bread to pop in her own mouth. “Perhaps someone stole the baby from him and he was taking it back.”

“But if he had a legitimate claim to the child, he wouldn’t have crept in and grabbed it from your house in the middle of the night. Rawdon was right in saying that the child’s father could take the baby legally. The argument makes even more sense given that Matthew was abandoned. Most people would happily turn a foundling over to anyone who appeared to claim him.”

“True. So I would not think he is Matthew’s father.”

“No.”

Thea looked at Gabriel. “Do you still think that Lord Rawdon is his father?”

Gabriel sighed. “I don’t know what to think. I don’t even know if my sister is his mother.”

“I was just thinking that he looked a bit like you.”

“Does he now?” Gabriel gazed down at the child, tilting his head consideringly. Matthew chose that moment to purse his lips and blow out milky air bubbles, making Gabriel and Thea laugh. “Obviously he has my sophisticated charm.”

“Indeed.”

More seriously, Gabriel said, “I feel as if … as if he is connected to me. But perhaps I am merely being foolish. If he is Jocelyn’s, ’tis hard for me to believe the father was someone other than her fiancé. Obviously Rawdon was not the man who stole Matthew—still, I suppose he could have hired the fellow to do so.”

“But you just said that he would not need to. He could take him from you in court.”

“True.” Gabriel sighed, obviously reluctant to give up the idea. “No, I think Rawdon must not have had a hand in taking Matthew. But that does not mean he is not the father. A large number of men have no interest in claiming their by-blows. Still, given the enmity between us, I would think he would take his child simply because I do not want him to.”

“Perhaps the kidnapper took the baby from your sister—or whoever his mother is—and was asking for a ransom for him. But then somehow the baby wound up at St. Margaret’s, and he was trying to steal him back.”

“So he stole the baby from his mother, then someone stole it from him, and then that someone abandoned the child in the manger of an empty church?”

Thea made a face. “Well, if you put it that way …” She shrugged. “I am not sure we are ever going to understand what happened with Matthew.”

“You may be right.” Gabriel wiped the baby’s mouth and stood up, putting him to his shoulder and patting his back. He strolled over to the window as he talked. “But I intend to make certain that no one has a chance to steal him again.”

“I will keep him with me in my room every night from now on. And I will make sure that not only is the door to our house locked, but also the door to my bedchamber.”

“I shall have one of my men standing watch at night, as well. Not that one you bullied so easily. Peter, I think; he seems made of sterner stuff.”

“A guard? Really, Gabriel, that won’t be necessary, surely.”

He shot her a hard look. “Do not fight me on this, Thea. I will not leave you and Matthew exposed to danger. What I would prefer is to be there myself to make sure nothing happens, but obviously that is not a possibility. And even if I take Matthew to the Priory with me, it would still leave you vulnerable.” His face was a study in frustration. “The only thing I can do to protect you both is to put one of my servants there at night, and I will do so.”

Ordinarily his peremptory tone would have been enough to make Thea argue, but she could see how much he disliked his comparative lack of power in this situation, so she only nodded her head. Rising, she went over to where he stood in front of the window, and he looped an arm around her shoulders, tucking her against his side. For a long moment they stood silently, gazing out at the snowy scene in front of them. Gabriel bent and kissed the top of her head. “I think I would prefer to stay right here instead of going home, frankly.”

Thea smiled and rubbed her head against him. “It seems much more pleasant. But I fear we could not stay here forever. For one thing, we are getting low on milk.”

“I think it comes from that goat out back.”

Thea tilted her head back to look at him skeptically. “And are you planning to try to milk that goat?”

He looked offended. “You think I could not?”

Thea laughed. “I am wiser than to offer you such a challenge.” She returned to her contemplation of the snow outside. She understood what Gabriel meant. It would be wonderful to stay here together, alone except for Matthew. She could smile at Gabriel whenever she wanted or reach out to touch his arm without worrying about what someone observing them might think. There were no rules here or gossip or other people, only the sweet excitement of his hands and mouth on her, the indescribable fulfillment as he plunged to his peak within her.

Unconsciously she let out a little sigh. Gabriel leaned down to whisper in her ear. “We could celebrate our very own Christmas here, you know.”