Chapter 19
Mary turned wide-eyes on Gabriel. “Someone’s coming!”
She hastily closed the secret compartment, cringing at the loudclick, then pulled at the material of her bodice, exposing a generous swell of her bosom and part of one nipple.
Gabe tossed his coat aside and growled as he fought with the knot in his cravat.
Mary’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. She reached up to tug several pins from her hair, until the chignon was partially undone and half hanging to her shoulders.
The voices were upon them now. Without wasting another moment, Mary flung herself bodily at Gabe, her skirts hiking up to her thighs as she lifted one leg to encircle his hip. She wrapped her arms snugly around his shoulders and gripped Gabriel’s hair in her fists. His arms came around her waist, pulling her tighter against him.
With a deep breath for courage, Mary pressed her lips to his.
Everything disappeared.
It was just Mary and Gabriel, alone. His mouth against hers, his heated, muscular form surged against her soft curves. The tension suddenly left her shoulders and her jaw dropped, allowing him full access to her mouth.
A low, rumbling groan escaped him, pulling a sigh from her in response. His tongue traced her lips, ran along each of her teeth, then entered to tease and toy with her own. She tasted him in turn, her tongue dipping and swirling with his, their mouths dancing in a dangerous, seductive waltz. The taste of fruit, tea, and cloves was an alluring combination on his lips.
An electric thrum pulsed its way through her body, each hair standing on its end, each nerve alert and buzzing with anticipation and heated arousal. She tightened her grip on his hair, her nails scraping gently against his scalp, as she instinctively ground hermonsagainst the hard ridge of his arousal.
Gabe grunted his approval.
Oh good heavens, what a sensation!Need shot through her like a whizzing bullet, both explosive and perfectly targeted to her womanly core.
She needed to do that again.
The door swung open, pulling a cry of genuine alarm from Mary as she pried her lips from Gabe’s. For a moment she stood in shock, not only for the realization of what she felt within the circle of Gabriel’s arms, but because kissing him had so distracted her from their purpose.
“My, my, what have we here?” Lord Hale’s black eyes took in their dishevelled appearance, his expression alive with dark mirth.
Mary’s leg fell, her foot returning to the ground as she quickly righted her bodice.
“What the devil are you doing in my study?” Lord Kerr was decidedly less amused. In fact, his expression betrayed nary a hint of his true feelings.
“I think what they’re doing is quite evident, Kerr, think you not?” Lord Hale sniffed, rubbing a finger along the side of his nose. “What say you share, eh Spencer?”
That snapped Gabe from whatever had him frozen in place. He stepped back from Mary, but kept an arm securely around her waist. “My apologies, my lords.” He looked down at Mary with warm fondness in his eyes. “We happened to be walking by when I was overcome with a fit of passion for Miss White.” He returned his attention to the two lords. “I found the nearest vacant room, not taking notice of which it was, and secreted her inside.” He picked up his coat, draped it over one arm, then brought his arm around her once more.
“’Tis a shame we did not arrive later, eh? Wouldn’tthathave been a sight to see?” Lord Hale laughed jovially, and Gabe joined in, but Mary could feel the tension coiling within him. “Go on with you now,restbefore luncheon.”
With Hale’s laughter ringing in their ears, and Lord Kerr’s disapproving gaze following them, Mary and Gabe quit the room. They hastily made their way from his lordship’s study and back to their bedchamber abovestairs.
Mary’s heart thundered in her chest, shock rippling through her as the events of the past two minutes caught up to her. She hardly knew how to comport herself or what to think.
Gabe swung their guest bedchamber door closed behind them, thesnickof the lock echoing through the grand room. Mary’s heart thudded faster.
What just happened? She had kissed and touched him before, so why was this so different? So…so…electrifying? She was uncertain as to what made this so alluring, but of one thing she was certain. She wanted to do it again.
She turned to speak with Gabe about the possibility of giving it a try, but one look at his expression halted her. He was unmoved. Unaffected. He went about his ablutions as though nothing had happened, his movements brisk and precise. But surely he had felt something?
Ah yes, of course. He did not like her. He thought her a whore. How could she have forgotten?
Her heart sank in her chest. She was foolish to think that whatever act they perform at this house party could seep into real life. Gabriel would never be with her, and she did not want him to be. She straightened her shoulders and swallowed past the sudden emotion in her throat. This was purely a physical attraction that would pass. Mary could find another bloke after this assignment was complete and give it a go with him.
It was time to move on. Stop dwelling on her past friendship with Gabriel, her heartbreak…and their kisses. Yes, their kiss had been pleasurable for her, but it was not to be repeated after their assignment. She had best remember that.
Mary strode to their shared wardrobe and spotted the costume that had been hung carefully on an outer hook. A smile touched her lips. It would seem that Eleanor had chosen Mary’s costume for this evening’s performance. My, but she was efficient. Mary fingered the sheer material. She had done theseperformancesfor myriad traitorous men and gleaned countless secrets from each, but never had she danced for so large a group, with not only men but women, as well. And Gabe.
