Page 87 of Gabriela and His Grace

“My God, Ella,” he growled, swiping his finger across her flesh once again. Sebastian chuckled when she arched her back, greedy for more. “Are you hungry for me, darling?”

Unable to speak, Gabby nodded.

Running his hand along the inside of her thigh, he dragged it around to squeeze her arse. “Did sucking my cock make your pretty little cunny jealous?”

A fresh rush of arousal dripped from her core. “Sebastian, por favor.”

“Christ,” he whispered, running the head of his flesh through her slick folds, “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

Gabby didn’t have a chance to respond before Sebastian thrust inside her, and she shrieked, scrambling her hands against the desktop as her body worked to adjust to him. He curled around her, his arms crisscrossing around her chest, his hand cupping her chin while one of his long fingers slipped between her lips. With a groan, Gabby sucked it into her mouth.

“Ella,” was the only word he said, over and over, against her cheek and temple, as he held her to his chest, his hips surging as he worked his length inside her. Gabby anchored herself to the desk, certain it was the only way she’d be able to withstand the pleasure. It was beautiful and wild, and she clamped her eyes closed, allowing the warring sensations to crash over her.

Within minutes—or perhaps it was hours—her legs began to quake, and Gabby dropped her head and sobbed as her orgasm loomed. Sebastian didn’t slow his pace, but quickly maneuvered a hand into her bodice, where he clutched her breast.

“Ella, now. Come for me now.”

His imperious tone pushed her over the edge, and Gabby wailed his name as she was swept under. Moments later, Sebastian thrust into her one last time, gripping her hips with bruising strength as he spent deep inside her. With an exhausted sigh, he gathered her in his arms and collapsed onto the chair.

Neither of them spoke, for they had already expressed everything with their bodies. Instead, Gabby rested her head on Sebastian’s chest and closed her eyes, desperate to hold on to this satisfaction for as long as it would last.

25

Sebastian’s to-do list for the day was extensive, yet when Simon, the boys’ tutor, sent a note that James and David wanted to show him the progress they had made learning their multiplication tables, he could hardly refuse.

Which was how Sebastian found himself in the nursery, his two excited brothers rapidly reciting times tables simultaneously. It was a noisy affair, and Sebastian was not sure he properly heard one boy over the other, but he smiled and nodded just the same.

After their showcase, a maid delivered a lunch tray, and Sebastian and the boys enjoyed a meal of cold roasted chicken, cheeses, tart apricots, and thick slices of bread. He felt more relaxed, more carefree visiting James and David than he had in a long while, and only because Gabriela was visiting the rectory in the village to take lunch with the vicar and his wife. When he learned the couple was interested in organizing a health clinic for their parishioners and the residents of the village, he’d thought Gabriela might be interested in the endeavor. Sebastian knew she had been corresponding with her sisters about arranging such a clinic in London similar to the one she’d visited in San Luis Potosí, and he’d been right, for Gabriela had responded eagerly to the suggestion.

So for once, Sebastian didn’t have to worry about the boys being too loud and calling attention to themselves. Mrs. Evers had told him that Gabriela had overheard the boys laughing in the attic and had wanted to investigate. Knowing how close they had been to being discovered made his stomach drop.

Which in turn made guilt flame hot in his throat. He loved his wife and wanted her to know the boys; he’d come to believe Gabriela would adore James and David and would not hold their parentage against them. But the omission had grown in proportion, with every person at Whitfield Manor helping him to keep the secret, and Sebastian was at a loss for how to rectify it. Because despite his best efforts, his regret was beginning to sour his relationship with his bride. Sebastian could sense it in the guarded nature of Gabriela’s gaze. In the brittleness of her smile. In the way her lips pinched when he kissed her goodbye at the breakfast table. So Sebastian clung to her, showering her with attention whenever the day’s events brought them back together. If he were at leave, he would spend every day with Gabriela in bed, chasing one orgasm after another. Sebastian longed to learn every thought in her head, and tease smiles onto her lips until she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Adoration seemed such an inadequate word to describe the fiery rush of emotions Sebastian felt whenever she stepped into the room.

Yet his responsibilities to the estate and his brothers were never-ending, and try as he might, Sebastian was pulled in multiple directions at once. The crux, though, was that he knew Gabriela was not upset about his dedication to the manor or the people who worked there. She was pulling away because she knew he was keeping something from her.

That something—or rather those someones were currently making animal noises as they finished their lunch. Sebastian watched them, his throat tight. Finding the boys had filled him with a sense of purpose, a need to breathe life back into Whitfield Manor again. Yet it wasn’t until Gabriela had arrived as the new Duchess of Whitfield, with her generous heart, no-nonsense demeanor, and tart tongue, that the old manor house had begun to feel like home again. Sebastian hadn’t realized how little he laughed or smiled until Gabriela gave him a reason to do so. And he’d taken the sparkle from her eyes…

“We saw the duchess yesterday,” David said suddenly, around a mouthful of apricot.

He went still, watching as James scowled, reaching out to smack his brother’s arm. “Lud, Davey, we agreed not to say anything.”

The younger boy ducked his head. “I forgot,” he mumbled.

Turning to James, Sebastian frowned. “Why wouldn’t you tell me you saw Gabriela?”

“Because she was crying,” David interjected.

Ignoring how his stomach sank, Sebastian returned to James. His brother cringed. “It’s true. We were coming back from fishing at the lake when we saw her in the garden. On that bench under the wisteria arbor. You know the one.”

Sebastian nodded.

James dropped his gaze to the tabletop. “We hid as soon as we saw her, but not before we saw her wiping her cheeks.”

“And her eyes were all red,” David added, most unhelpfully. “Did you do something to make her cry?”

Stealing a moment to pluck his spectacles from his face and massage the bridge of his nose, Sebastian willed the fire scouring inside his ribs to subside. “There are some…things I haven’t told her yet.”

“Why not?” James asked, his gaze darting over Sebastian’s face.