His frantic fingers trembled as he grabbed fistfuls of her skirt and lifted it higher. He grazed her thigh with the last handful of bombazine and Mary twitched.Good.
Moving his mouth back to hers, he set to work making her want him as damned much as he had grown to want her. And blast it, he wanted her more than any woman had made him want before.
* * *
Mary was lost, floating in a sea of passion. Gabriel made her feel things she had never thought possible for her to feel. She had always thought women silly when they spoke of such feelings of dizziness, swooning, and weakness in the knees. Now she found it not so silly. If Gabe and Mary had not been gripping each other as tightly as they were, Mary was certain that she would have been reduced to a puddle at Gabe’s feet at the very beginning of this interlude.
His hand brushed her thigh and her muscles twitched of their own accord. She was accustomed to bringing men to fulfillment, but never had she allowed a man to provide such a service for her. Most particularly in such perilous and, dare she say it,exhilaratingcircumstances. And with a man she… Well, she did not love Gabriel any longer, but evidently she held him in high enough regard to allow him to…Oh!
He slid his palm further up her thigh, until the tips of his fingers reached her mound. He pulled his lips from hers to move them to her ear. Nearly inaudibly he whispered, “Open for me, Mary. Please.”
Her body did as he bade, her legs spreading as far as they were able in such a confined space.
“Yes, Mary,” he hissed.
She tensed, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest, as he glided his fingers between her slippery folds.
“Easy,” he whispered.
But she couldn’t ease. A man—Gabe!—was touching her intimately, and it was oh, so pleasurable.
His fingers began to move, sliding up and down her cleft, around in circles, and repeating. The motion rhythmic and exceedingly hypnotic.
His mouth sought hers once more and she eagerly attached herself to him. The combination of sensations built tension within her, coiling and wrapping itself so tightly she could scarcely breathe.
She was frantic for more.
One of her hands still clutched at his neck, but with her free hand, she reached down to tug at the falls of his trousers. Shemustfeel him, hold his thickness in her hand and give him the same thirst for gratification that she felt.
His breath caught as she worked him free, his eager manhood leaping happily into her palm.
One of Gabe’s fingers slid deep inside her, forcing her to break the kiss and her neck to arch on a silent cry of delight.
Finding an opportunity, Gabe slid his tongue up the side of her neck and along her jaw, sending a shiver down to her toes. She was damp, she was aching, oh goodness, sheneeded…
His fingers still worked, swirling and dipping. Her body trembled, but she forced herself to focus. She could not be alone in her pleasure; Gabe must join her.
Mimicking the motions of intercourse, she gripped him tighter and began a rhythm of her own; up, down, cup, up, down, cup. She felt him tense. He must be close, she could feel his strain.
His movements became fixated, his mouth fervent in his anxious desire to find release. Her own need had built to a fever pitch, his fingers playing her expertly. The coil tightened and tightened until, finally, it snapped.
An explosion of stars so bright as to be blinding burst behind her eyelids, her head fell back, and her mouth dropped open on a silent shout of ecstasy. She was far away, flying among the clouds high in the sky.Oh my word!How could something so sinful feel so, so good?
Gabe’s damp fingers grabbed at the back of her neck, pulling her mouth back to his, his hips pumping against her tightly fisted hand. Finally back to earth, Mary realized her blunder. As she found her pleasure, she had entirely forgotten about him.
She moved her hand faster and he quickly released her neck to fumble in his pocket. He removed a handkerchief and wrapped it around her hand just in time. He froze, his entire body stiffening as his member pulsed in her hand, his seed pumping into the kerchief.
The sound of their heavy breathing filled the cramped space, the smell of their mingled pleasure nearly overwhelming in its arousing intensity.
Awareness began to seep back into her mind, the hazy fog of their passion dissipating.
A loudthunkin the room across the hall brought her fully alert. Goodness, there was still someone there! Had they heard?
Gabriel must have heard it, as well, as he quickly buttoned his falls and fixed her skirts. Mary adjusted her bodice to cover her exposed bosom.
The clink of glasses echoed through the room.
“I must bid you goodnight, dear.” It was Lady Kerr’s voice.
