A Curse of the Heart

She tried to recall the first time she felt her body grow warm just from the sight of him and knew she had felt that way from the very beginning. The feeling had grown in intensity, the first flicker of desire now a blazing inferno, destined to destroy anything that got in its way.

The thud of boots making a slow ascent up the wooden staircase interrupted her reverie. They came to a stop at the far end of the landing and after a brief silence, she heard him walk towards her door.

Her heart hammered in her chest, her stomach fluttering from the thousand butterflies trapped inside. She could feel his presence as he hovered on the other side. Should she open the door? Should she invite him into her room, into her heart, into her bed?

While her mind moved frantically from one chaotic thought to another, she heard his steps recede, heard him open the door to his bedchamber and gently close it again.

Rebecca closed her eyes and remembered to breathe, the pain of loneliness crippling.

When she’d asked Gabriel if she could stay, her plea had been genuine — it was not seduction she had in mind. She thought of him as her friend, as the only person in the world she could trust. If they crossed the line of propriety and became lovers, what would happen then?

Would he be her salvation or the cause of her ruination?

If George Wellford had his way, she would be married to a wealthy merchant by the end of the month, forced to spend the rest of her days in a cold, lifeless bed. Then the thought of what could have happened to her had she not fled the museum, sent a terrifying shiver right through her.

Her thoughts drifted back to Gabriel. A burning need for him flooded her body with a heavenly feeling and she imagined a place where utter bliss was a certainty. A place where she could pander to her heart’s desire, regardless of the consequences.

Pushing away from the door, she straightened her wrapper, moistened her lips and shook out her hair, so it hung in waves about her shoulders.

She was strong-willed and fiercely independent. And she would have the man of her choosing, the only man she had ever wanted.

With her chin held high, she opened her door and walked with purposeful strides to stand outside his. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to knock. But before she knew what was happening, Gabriel yanked open the door, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her inside.

Kicking the door shut with his boot, his gaze swept over her with a level of hunger that forced her to swallow. “Good God, Rebecca, you are going to be the death of me,” he said as his mouth claimed hers in a passionate frenzy.

Chapter 14

It felt as though he had waited a lifetime to kiss her again, had spent years wandering the dry, dusty desert searching for sustenance before finally stumbling upon a glittering oasis. The first taste of her lips sent ripples of pleasure flowing all the way down to his toes. And he drank in the intoxicating feeling in a bid to sate his thirst.

Out of desperation, he cradled her face and tilted her head, the angle making it easier to plunge his tongue deeper into her mouth, as he searched for a way to ease his torment. Her hot mouth welcomed his wild attack, and he dropped his hands, pulled her into an embrace in the hope of easing his throbbing cock.

Her trembling fingers edged up over his shoulders, and she sank them into his hair to pull him closer. The need to have her grew so fierce he wanted to throw his head back and howl. He wanted to rip and tear at her clothes and ravage her heavenly body.

“Gabriel,” she breathed, tilting her head to the side so he could kiss along the line of her jaw and down the perfect column of her neck.

That one word sang to him: save me, show me, take me, and he knew if he did not rein in his rampant desire the memory of this night would be lost in a drunken blur.

Against the demands of his body, he broke contact and tried to calm his ragged breathing. “I do not have the strength to turn you away,” he whispered, a little surprised his conscience had found a voice.

She put her hand on his cheek, and he leaned into it. “I do not have the strength to run from it anymore, Gabriel. I cannot control what is happening to me. All I know is I need to be close to you.” She glanced at the floor as a blush flooded her cheeks and when she looked up, her gaze appeared more purposeful. “I want to experience the physical bond between a man and a woman and I … I want to experience it with you.”

Her words were like a potent aphrodisiac, yet he could not define the feeling that swamped his mind and body: pure carnal lust fused with something else, something less tangible, but equally as powerful.

With his gaze locked on hers, he pulled off his boots and then undid the ties on her wrapper, pushing it back off her shoulders until it fell to the floor. “Don’t be afraid,” he said, believing it was the right thing to say to a virgin.

Rebecca gave a little chuckle. “I am not afraid, Gabriel. Strangely, I have never felt more in control of anything my entire life.”

Well, he would do everything he could to make her lose control.

“Good,” he said, working on the knot in his cravat, “because I intend to worship your body, Rebecca. I intend to show you exactly how much I want you.”

She stood there, in what he presumed was one of Mrs. Hudson’s nightgowns, her generous breasts pushing against the confines of the fabric. Her wide eyes followed his movements with eager anticipation, the tip of her tongue touching her top lip as he yanked his shirt from his breeches and pulled it over his head.

Her gaze held a look of fascination as her hands came up to rest on his chest. The tips of her fingers traced the dusting of dark hair before wandering up over his shoulders and back down over the bulge of muscle in his upper arms.

He should have known she would not be shy and timid. He should have known her passionate nature would drive her to explore his body. It heightened his own pleasure to know he had the power to do this to her, that she wanted him and no other.

He unbuttoned his breeches, so they hung loosely around his hips. “I seem to be at a disadvantage,” he said as his gaze dropped to her white nightgown. “Here, allow me to rectify the problem.”