He almost laughed. Presently, the righteous Lord Rothley would say anything to join her in bed. “Let’s just say it’s nolonger my opinions that are rigid. And the feeling I have when I kiss you is the only honest thing I’ve felt in thirty years.”
A hint of a smile graced her lips. “And if we tire of each other? What then, Gabriel?”
He slid his hand higher, his thumb coming to rest an inch below her breast. “I’m not sure we will. We’re matched mentally, the attraction is undeniable, and we’re sensible enough not to have grand expectations.”
She considered the proposal. “Why the change of heart?”
“It’s not a change of heart. I’m merely accepting the inevitable.” His gaze dropped to where his hand rested. “May I touch you, Olivia?”
She swallowed, the rapid rise and fall of her chest stealing his attention. “Tell me first why you gave me a plain band as a token of our marriage. Be honest. Did it belong to a family member?”
He knew the answer would surprise her.
“No. I had it made in town while you were sleeping.” He’d paid the goldsmith a small fortune to have it ready the same day. “I measured your finger and had him engrave the inside. You deserved something more personal than diamonds.”
Her brows lifted slightly. “There’s an inscription? What does it say?”
He hesitated, his thumb tracing the outer curve of her breast. “You must discover it for yourself. Look when the time is right. When our troubles are behind us.” He hoped it was soon. “Now, will you permit me to ease this restlessness that exists between us?”
Her gaze softened, her lips parting on a breath as shearched into him and mouthed, “Yes. Touch me. You never need ask again.”
It took him a moment to master his lust, not to pin her to the wall and ravish her until her knees gave way. But he wanted to watch her. To witness the heady haze of desire light her eyes. To know he’d put it there.
He cupped her breast, soft, full, heavy in his palm, her nipple hardening against the gentle stroke of his thumb.
Her eyelids fluttered, her sweet moan an arousing aphrodisiac.
“Look at me, Olivia. Let me watch.”
She met his gaze. “Watch?”
“Watch you lose yourself to pleasure.” His voice was rough, a testament to restraint. “I’ll not rest until every part of you smells of me.”
Her breath caught. “You mean to make love here?”
“Not tonight.” His thumb traced a slow circle over her nipple. “You need to decide if you like what happens between us when I touch you intimately.”
“I’m confident I will.”
“Shall we find out?”
He kissed her deeply, intoxicated from the first touch, steeped in everything he had ever wanted to say to her.
You’re mine.
I knew it the moment we met.
I feel it every time I touch you.
And I’ll be damned before I deny myself again.
He wanted to taste every inch of her, to etch the memory into his soul, to banish every doubt that fate would one day steal this fragile hope from him.
The thought drove the kiss harder, rougher, urgency laced through every desperate stroke of their tongues. His bodythrobbed with need, hard and aching for her, but this was her awakening, not his. He wanted her to feel it. To know her power. To understand the hunger she could stir in him with a single sigh.
He broke the kiss to trail his mouth along her jaw, down the smooth line of her throat. The womanly scent of her was intoxicating. His hand slipped beneath the thin fabric of her nightgown, tracing the length of her thigh, his breath a warm whisper against her flushed skin.
“Part your legs for me, love.”
