That bulge growing even harder, Gabriel’s groan not so low this time, but deep and resonant while his hips pressed closer as if with some primal instinct that made her face grow hot.
And not just her cheeks aflame, but her entire body in a manner she’d never felt before, his lips grazing the curve of her neck.
A kiss? She had never been kissed before so how would she know? His breath like flame against her flesh, he nuzzled her and pressed his lips there again—which made Magdalene gasp in spite of herself.
Here she hadn’t wanted to make any noise at all, not a peep, but she knew then with a strange fluttering in her abdomen equally unknown to her until now, that he wasn’t sleeping any longer.
Heaven help her, Gabriel wasn’t sleeping any longer!
Any relaxation she had felt in him was gone, and replaced by a sudden tension in his muscles that made him stiffen against her.
His breath not slow and steady anymore, but something different altogether—not held, but not fully inhaling and exhaling, either.
The air in the room felt different, too, and seemed to crackle with something she had never experienced before…an expectancy that made her breathing uneven, too.
What was going to happen? What was he going to do? As if in answer, Magdalene felt him release her just enough to roll her gently toward him.
His arm lying across her breasts now in so intimate a fashion that she couldn’t breathe, but not for lack of air.
The slightest movement of his flesh rubbing against hers making her nipples grow hard and taut, the strange flutter in her abdomen only quickening. Still she kept her eyes closed, for surely he would see thatshewas still sleeping, wouldn’t he?
“My beautiful wife. Thank God you are well…thank God.”
His voice no more than a fervent whisper, she felt a trembling in him of some deep emotion that made him simply stare at her…for she could sense his gaze upon her.
And then she felt it, a warm drop of moisture upon the curve of her shoulder that he wiped away with the tip of his finger.
A tear? How could this be possible? He was a tyrant, a monster to have thrown her into the lough! Powerful warriors like Gabriel MacLachlan didn’t shed tears…but she felt another drop as he sighed raggedly, his voice sunk so low she could barely hear him.
“Mayhap one day you will forgive me, Maggie. Mayhap one day you will trust me enough tae show your true self tae me…”
She could almost not say where his hoarse whisper ended and the gentle grazing of his lips upon hers began, but his kiss was over so quickly that Magdalene wondered if she had imagined it. She felt him suddenly roll to the opposite side of the bed and then the mattress released, bereft of his weight.
She didn’t dare to open her eyes. Instead she lay there with the cool air in the room puckering her flesh even as she heard him throwing logs into the fireplace and the sharp prodding of a poker.
It seemed within mere moments the crackling of flames could be heard, and then his footfalls upon the floor as he came around the bed and covered her with the blankets.
If he thought her feigning sleep, he said not a word, only bent down to kiss her forehead and smooth a lock of her hair before leaving her again.
Only then did she open her eyes to see him facing the fireplace as he grabbed his tunic from a chair.
The muscles across the broad span of his back and shoulders rippling while he pulled the garment over his head, Magdalene feeling her breath catch at the sight of his taut buttocks and powerful thighs.
Never in her life had she seen a man more magnificent, her cheeks flaring hot, but once again she shut her eyes when he turned around to look at her.
She heard him pulling on his boots and fastening his sword belt around his waist, his footfalls heavier as he crossed the room and pulled open the door.
Then he was gone, Magdalene clutching the covers to her breasts with trembling fingers as the portent of what he’d whispered settled over her.
Mayhap one day you will trust me enough tae show your true self tae me…
God help her, he knew. She didn’t know how or when, but somehow he had discovered that she wasn’t a madwoman at all.
Was it something she had said? Something she’d done? Och, there had been more than a few times she had nearly given herself away—no,not nearly, for the thing was done!
Yet why hadn’t he confronted her? Was it possible he had thought her asleep and that she hadn’t heard him say those words? Hadn’t felt him kiss her?
Kiss her…
