She was wearing white silk, the cloth draped about her and clinging to all those wonderful curves. Her glossy brown hair was loose about her shoulders, framing her face, echoing the glow of her eyes. As she moved toward him, the gown flowed about her like mist, and he could see her naked skin. Or was that just his hopeful imagination?
“Champagne?” he offered, his eyes warm on hers as he held out his glass.
Antoinette came toward him and he tried not to groan aloud. She took the glass from him, her fingers brushing his. After she sipped, she ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip, and Gabriel knew he was lost.
“Antoinette, you are gorgeous.”
She smiled. “So are you.”
Gabriel was wearing black evening wear with a crisp white shirt. He knew the austere look suited him, made him appear more of a gentleman than she was probably used to after his roles as the highwayman and Coombe. Or was she flirting with him? As usual she made him feel off balance.
He cleared his throat. “Are you hungry, sparrow?”
“I am.”
He filled a plate with morsels for her, before loading his own. They sat on one of the elegant couches and nibbled their food and drank their champagne. “I thought this was a party?” Antoinette said, glancing about at the splendor of the salon.
“It is. A party for two.”
She looked surprised and then resigned. “Oh.”
“Aphrodite’s treat,” he added, wondering if she was disappointed.
“Will there be music?” she said.
“Do you want to dance?” At once he was on his feet. “Will you dance with me, Miss Dupre?”
Antoinette hesitated, and then, as if making up her mind about something, she set down her plate and glass. “Yes, Mr. Langley, I will dance with you.”
He gathered her in his arms and began to waltz her around the salon. Antoinette clung to him, feet flying, the room spinning. This was perfection. Why couldn’t it have been like this the first time they met? Antoinette imagined dancing with a man and falling in love with him.
Her steps faltered.
The problem was that for her everything had happened the wrong way around. She’d given Gabriel her treasure, as Bridie called it, and then she’d fallen in love.
Gabriel’s lips brushed her temple. They were barely moving now, swaying back and forth to imaginary music. His hand was warm and firm on the small of her back, and he drew her against his body so that she could feel every muscle with her soft curves.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
She looked up, startled by the intensity in his voice.
“I love you,” he said. “I want you with me always. I can’t be without you, Antoinette.”
Emotion welled up within her as she remembered the weeks she’d spent with him, the excitement and fear, the highs and lows. It felt like someone else. Life had returned to normal now, the days planned, her tasks set out like the columns and figures in her books, away into a future that was smooth and calm as a windless sea.
But she wanted a return to the turbulence, even if it made her a little seasick.
Her eyes stung and she blinked furiously. It wasn’t fair. She had longed to get back to her home, and now she couldn’t stop thinking about the past. And him. And just when she’d convinced herself they weren’t meant to be, here he was, telling her he loved her.
His fingers brushed her cheek. He rested his brow against her hair and breathed in her scent with a sigh.
“Antoinette,” he murmured, “my darling. I’ve missed you so much. Please tell me you’ve missed me, too, or I don’t know what I’ll do. I might have to abduct you and take you back to Devon with me.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She tried to laugh but made a snuffly sound instead. “I’ve missed you, too, Gabriel.”
“Ah, that’s good.” He nuzzled her cheek, lightly brushing his lips against her skin. She turned her face blindly, and their mouths touched and clung. Her arms slipped about his neck, and he drew her in against him, holding her body pressed to his.
“I know, before, we were at cross purposes,” he went on, lifting his lips from hers. “I couldn’t understand why I always knew you weren’t the sort of woman to abide a man like Appleby.”