A crack of lightning struck down nearby, and a loud boom sounded a moment later. In the dim light, he saw a blanketed figure standing in front of Xanthus’s stall. Perhaps Luigi had ventured out after all, which was why he’d left the door open.
Then he saw the person leaning in to kiss the horse’s nose. Xanthus was a no-nonsense horse who didn’t like strangers, and he wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of animal that sought human interaction. Yet his soft whinny told a different story, and the way the horse blew soft puffs of air from his nostrils and nuzzled the person’s hand was a sign of complete trust.
Jack stood frozen in place, completely taken aback by the interaction and realizing it wasn’t Luigi. In fact, the slight figure was trembling under the wet blanket. He strode forward, his footsteps echoing his advance. In his wildest imaginings, he’d never expected to see Gaby turn to him, her eyes wide with fear.
“Gaby?” Jack slowed his pace so as not to alarm her. “Please, let me help you,” he said, his voice sounding raspy to his ears. In one swift motion, he removed the soaking-wet blanket and threw it aside then wrapped his arms around her shivering form.
Her teeth chattered, “I’m s-sorry—I just came out for a quick w-walk, and then the s-storm hit so hard and f-fast. I t-took refuge in the s-stable. I hope I d-didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It’s okay. You did nothing wrong, but you’re soaked to the skin and will catch your death of cold if we don’t warm you up.” He removed his coat and slipped it around her shoulders. She was such a little thing, and his jacket completely dwarfed her. He wrapped his arms around her, hugged her close, and rubbed her back. Like a child, she nestled closer into his embrace, resting her cheek on his chest.
Jack could no more still his heartbeat than stop the rush of emotion that flooded his senses. When he touched her, a fire blazed through his veins, and he half expected her to pull away from the intensity of the heat. Instead, she sighed with such contentment that tears brimmed in his eyes. Nothing in his past or present could help him navigate the uncharted waters of what was happening to him.
“Gaby.” Her name on his lips sounded like a prayer.
She looked up at him, and he found himself lost in her luminous hazel eyes. “Yes?”
The cords of his throat constricted from his racing thoughts, and speech deserted him. His gaze dropped to her lips, and he was lost.Oh, Lord.The memory of their kiss was seared in his brain and imprinted on his lips.
He did something that he’d never done before—he asked, his voice husky and deep in a sound that was more than words and more than a plea, “Gaby, I want very much to kiss you—may I?”Am I really asking permission?
He suddenly realized what a selfish fool he’d been. To take from this woman of all women—the last thing he wanted was to hurt her or cause her pain. It was she who held the power and held his next breath in the balance. He feared being rejected by her again.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Her sweet smile made his heart do a triple flip.
Their lips met, and their bodies came together, closing the space between them. All the visions Jack had of a mad, passionate union took wing. But pleasing Gaby took precedence over his own pleasure. She was a walk in a garden where one breathed deep and slow, imbibing the fragrances.
“Gaby, my darling, I cannot stop how I feel about you. It’s not within my power, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
She placed her fingers on his lips. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t fight what I’m feeling, either. I felt the same from the first moment our eyes met. I don’t care about what comes later. I only know that if I don’t do what my heart insists I must, I will never know what it feels like to love or be loved.”
He placed his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. He knew that loving Gabriella D’Angelo was the only thing that mattered. Whatever came later, he would face it with Gaby, the devil be damned.
Chapter Eleven
Maremma, Italy
October 18, 1902
The house wasquiet as Jack carried Gabriella up the staircase. The carpeted stairs gave no echo of his footsteps. The creek of a floorboard made him hesitate and look around, but everyone had gone to bed, and he continued.
He glanced down as Gaby’s dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks, and if not for her shivering, he might have thought her asleep. He relished looking at her without anyone questioning why, or what he was thinking. The sweep of her cheek and the exotic tilt of her eyes mesmerized him, and her mouth and the lush fullness of her lips made him yearn to kiss her. He imagined her soft and pliable lips tracing a path over his body, branding him, leaving an imprint that no other woman would ever erase.
I am doomed.
He opened his bedroom door and laid her on the bed before he set about warming the room. He stoked the coals in the hearth and added fresh timber. Satisfied that the blaze would not die, he removed her wet shoes, stockings, and dress. Her feet were ice cold to the touch, and he rubbed them until he felt them grow warm.
To see Gaby in nothing more than pantaloons and chemise slip made it difficult for him to swallow. As if drawn by a magnet, his eyes took in the swell of her breasts through the thin white cotton chemise, then followed the sinuous curves of her waist and hips and the honeyed tone of her skin. He was reminded of that first night and the inexplicable, instantaneous attraction he’d felt for her. If anything, that attraction had only grown more intense. Gaby’s face and body deprived him of sleep and haunted his dreams. The harder he’d fought his obsession, the stronger it had become.
Now, at this moment, his yearning and fulfillment were about to meld into one. He doubted the reality would disappoint.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her cold hands and rubbed them. Unable to stop himself from acting out his desire, he pressed a kiss to the back of each hand. Gabriella’s damp hair clung to her forehead, and he gently smoothed it off her face. Her hair fanned across his pillow in glossy black strands, beguiling him.
Her teeth had stopped chattering, and her trembling lessened. Jack’s heart swelled with emotion as he watched her. He felt sure he could sit staring at her, never tiring, for the rest of his life. He had learned early in their exchanges that she had no idea how beautiful she was. Maybe she couldn’t see it, but in his mind, she was the most goddess-like woman he’d ever seen.
Jack could barely believe his dreams were coming true, which set his body on fire. The press of his trousers had become nearly unbearable, and having her within reach had such a powerful effect on his manhood that he could scarcely restrain himself. He was a prisoner to his lustful thoughts, which, for want of her, went no further than the bed and all the wondrous things he wanted to do to her.
