“The apples came from the nearby orchard and the water from the stream just beyond the cottage.”
She turned her head, allowing her gaze to slide over his disheveled appearance. He smiled wryly, knowing precisely what she was seeing. His hair was still wet from the stream and finger-combed to curl against his forehead. His jaw was unshaven and his thin linen shirt hung open at the neck to reveal a shocking amount of his chest.
No doubt he possessed all the elegance of a pirate, but he did not miss the manner in which her eyes darkened and breath quickened.
An answering surge of awareness thundered through him with shocking speed. Lord. How had this delicate gypsy managed to ensnare him with such ease? Certainly no other female had ever consumed him to the point where he thought he might go mad if he did not have her. Now.
Obviously sensing the prickles of heat in the air, Talia nervously cleared her throat.
“Did you fall in?”
His laughter rumbled through the air as he shifted to settle behind her, his fingers nimbly dealing with the tiny ivory buttons.
“I thought we could both use a good scrub, although I assumed you would prefer privacy for your bath.”
He heard her sharply drawn breath as her bodice was pulled relentlessly downward.
“Gabriel, what are you doing?”
“Assisting my wife with her morning ablutions.” Bending his head, Gabriel planted hungry kisses down the side of her neck. “It is the duty of a devoted husband, is it not?”
“Certainly not. It is the duty of the husband to stand guard at the door and make certain—”
Her words were lost in a low moan of pleasure as he unlaced her corset and tossed it aside to cup her breasts through the sheer fabric of her chemise.
“Do you enjoy that?” he whispered, brushing his thumbs over the tight peaks of her nipples. “Perhaps you would prefer this?” He plucked the ribbons holding up her undergarment and pushed it aside to cup the satin weight of her breasts in his hands.
She fell back against his chest, her entire body shivering in reaction to his bold caresses.
“Gabriel, we are in a barn,” she started to protest.
His tongue tasted the pulse that beat at a frantic pace at the base of her throat before he trailed a line of kisses down her shoulder.
“Yes, I know.”
“In full daylight.”
With a subtle motion he stroked his hands down her body, removing the female clothing that stood in his path.
“So it is.”
Her lips parted on a small gasp as he turned her to the side and laid her back on the hay, clearly becoming aware for the first time that she was completely naked.
“With heaven knows how many French soldiers searching for us,” she rasped.
Gabriel wrenched off his boots before yanking his shirt over his head and tossing it aside.
“But it has started to rain,” he informed her, ridding himself of his breeches before he stretched out next to her, his fingers threading through the glorious satin of her hair. “It would be foolish to risk the rising streams or becoming stuck in the mud.”
“The soldiers…”
He brought an end to her argument, covering her mouth with his own.
Excitement exploded through him at the first taste of her honey lips, his hands greedily exploring her luscious curves.
“We are well hidden, Talia. Let us forget the world,” he whispered. “At least for now.”
In answer, she tentatively lifted her slender arms to wrap them around his neck, and Gabriel growled in approval, dipping his head to lick a rose-tipped breast. She arched upward in pleasure, her fingers tunneling into his hair.