Tempted Read online

  Chapter Eight

  Juliet’s hands shook as she pushed the door to her chamber open and stepped inside. She felt Gabriel’s presence behind her, his heat looming around her, and couldn’t help but hesitate. This would be his first time and she didn’t want to disappoint him.

  “It’s a pretty room,” he said, his voice tight as he softly shut the door and they were well and truly alone.

  Juliet sighed as she looked around her. The chamber was enormous, bigger than half their cottage at home. There were paintings on the wall she would wager were worth ten times more than her entire dowry.

  “It is glorious,” she said. “But too fine for a simple girl like me. I don’t belong here.”

  Gabriel caught her arm and slowly drew her around to face him. His expression was earnest as he said, “You don’t belong here? No, you don’t.”

  She caught her breath. Gabriel had said many times he didn’t care about her origins or those of her father, but she had known that couldn’t be entirely true. But to hear him say it…

  “Because you belong in the sky, Juliet,” he continued, his voice so soft and seductive that she almost didn’t recognize it. “With the stars or the moon or the sun. You are too bright and beautiful to remain here in this drab chamber.”

  Her lips parted. “I thought you said you didn’t understand emotion.”

  He blinked as if he suddenly understood what he’d just said. “I-I don’t. Usually. That is why you are such a riddle to me, Juliet Gray. You bring out the strongest of feelings that I normally avoid.”

  “Such as?” she asked.

  “Frustration,” he said with a chuckle, and she fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him and his teasing. “Jealousy.” The laughter was gone from his tone now. “Desire.”

  “Do you want to make love to me, Gabriel?”

  He swallowed so hard she saw his Adam’s apple working madly. Then he nodded. “Though I may be rubbish at it.”

  She almost fell over at that silly notion. “Oh, Gabriel, I don’t think that is possible.”

  She leaned into him, lifting her lips to his. He met her halfway, eagerness in his touch, anticipation. The kiss was hungry, desperate, filled with desires long squashed on both their sides. And Juliet knew, in that fleeting moment, just how powerful this night would be.

  She reached behind him to turn the key in the lock and then took his hands, slowly leading him back across the room. She stopped when they were closer to the bed and smiled at him in the hopes she would quell not only his nervousness, but her own as well.

  She reached up to slide her hands beneath his jacket, jolting at the heat of his body trapped under the fabric. God, they would combust when they touched. He shivered as she pushed it away and then went to work on his cravat, loosening the precise knot with deft fingers. When she parted the fabric, he let out a sigh.

  “That thing always feels like noose,” he admitted.

  “You should try a corset,” she laughed. “Though I don’t really wear those.”

  His eyes went wide. “What do you wear under those pretty new dresses?” he asked.

  She smiled. “You are a natural at seduction, my lord. And the answer to your question is…” She leaned up close to his ear. “Nothing.”

  He made a strangled groan before he caught her shoulders and dragged her against him again, his mouth hot and heavy on hers. His tongue drove between her lips, sweeping across her own, making her tingle from her head to her toes. She lifted to meet him, clutching at his arms, rubbing her pelvis against his.

  He was panting as he pulled away, his sparkling brown gaze focused on hers as he grasped the front of her gown and started slipping buttons open with clumsy fingers. She might have laughed at the unexpectedly boyish eagerness in his touch and on his face, but every time he parted another button her heartrate increased and reality set it further. She was going to make love to his man. This amazing man.

  Her dress parted and he took a long breath before he slid his fingers beneath the silk and slowly glided it away to hang at her waist. He looked down at her, now just in a flimsy chemise, and shuddered.

  “God, I have imagined you like this,” he murmured. “I have pictured it a thousand times and it was never this perfect.”

  “Did you imagine what would happen next?” she asked, repeating the action he had just done, but on his shirt. She slid the buttons free, catching her breath at how toned the flesh beneath was.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you take yourself in hand?” she questioned, leaning in and sliding the shirt from his trousers, off his body. She stared. God, he was marble. Gorgeous, too gorgeous to be real. But he was. And he would be hers. Just for a while, but hers nonetheless. No one would ever be able to change that she was the first woman he’d ever claimed.

  Pride swelled in her at that. Irrational, but true.

  “I did,” he whispered. When her eyes went wide, he laughed softly. “I’m virgin, Juliet, not a eunuch.”

  “Thank God,” she muttered, lifting a hand to place it on his now-bare chest. The warm skin rippled as he sucked in a breath. His flat nipples were hard and so was the cock beneath his trousers. The ridge of it was plainly outlined beneath the heavy fabric.

  “Remove the rest of my gown,” she ordered.

  He nodded and hooked his fingers at the open waist of the dress. With a few gentle tugs, it crumpled around her feet and she kicked it away along with her slippers. Now she stood in just her chemise.

  “You are beautiful,” he whispered. “Too beautiful to touch.”

  “I hope not,” she said, reaching out for his hand. “Because all my plans involve you doing just that.”

  She placed his palm on her breast and arched against it. Even through the chemise, he was like fire on her skin. Her body reacted naturally. Her nipple swelled, rising to meet him, tingling with the sensation of being touched after such a long period of neglect.

  “I want you too much,” he admitted.

  She shook her head. “There is no such thing, I don’t think, as long as the feeling is returned.” She let her fingers drag down past his waistband and cup him through the woolen cloth. “And it is.”

  He groaned out a long sound of pleasure and began to knead her breast gently. She gasped at how perfect his touch was, dipping her head back as she stroked him through his trousers. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to touch him without barriers. To see his reaction when she took him in hand.

  She unfastened the breeches, then pushed them away, leaving him naked before her. Slowly, she looked down and smiled, though nervousness fluttered in her belly. His cock was hard and ready, thrusting against his belly in invitation. He was big, too. Thick and heavy.

  “Why the pensive look?” he asked, tilting his head to examine her more closely.

  She laughed. “And you say you are not a good read of emotion, my lord.”

  “I’m a good read of evidence,” he clarified. “The sudden frown and wrinkling around your eyes. The way you stopped moving entirely.”

  “Of course,” she said, her smile not fading at his ability to read the situation even when they were in the midst of such passion. “It is only that I’ve only been with the one…man. And he was a bit…smaller than you are. Much smaller.”

  Gabriel’s lips turned up in a bit of a sneer. “Good.”

  “You men are all alike in some ways,” she teased gently. “Even the wonderfully brilliant ones.”

  His face grew more serious as he stared at her, his gaze roaming her body. Then he caught the hem of her chemise and tugged it upward, over her hips, pushing her arms up to pull it over her head.

  She forgot her nervousness at his size in that moment and shivered as the warmth of the fire hit her bare skin. Now they were naked together.

  “I want—” he began, shifting awkwardly.

  “What do you want?”

  “To pleasure you,” he said, stepping toward the bed. “I have
studied on the subject even if I’ve never done any, er, field research. But I don’t want you to be denied pleasure.”

  Her lips parted in surprise and she reached out to take his hand. “Oh, Gabriel. All of this is a pleasure to me, I assure you.”

  “Not enough. Will you lie on the bed?”

  He motioned behind him and she nodded. Since her arrival she had been questioning why she needed such a big bed in such a huge room, but now she silently thanked everything in Heaven and on Earth that she had it. Because of it they could spread out. Take their time.

  She settled onto the pillows and looked up at him as he perched beside her. He was examining her body closely. Although she had claimed experience, she longed to cover herself in the face of his scrutiny, but fought the desire.

  She was glad she had when he reached out and stroked her breast again.

  “You like when I touch you here,” he whispered, his voice rough with desire and the holding back of what he wanted.

  She nodded. “So very much.”

  He leaned in and continued to stroke her hard nipple with his thumb as he kissed her. Then he dropped his mouth lower, tasting her neck, her chest and finally letting his tongue join his fingers.

  She arched up with a hiss of breath and he smiled against her skin. “And you like that even more.”

  She jerked out a nod. “Y-Yes.”

  He continued to suckle her, switching from one nipple to the other even as his hand trailed down her body. He caressed her flat stomach, her hip, her thigh, before finally he cupped her sex.

  They both froze. He lifted his head, looking down to where his hand met the apex of her thighs. She lifted into him, letting her clitoris grind against the flat of his palm. When she did it, the tip of his index finger dipped into her entrance just a fraction.

  He caught his breath and nudged further inside. The stretch of him in her, even in this small way, made Juliet arch into him, squeezing around him. It had been so long and she had wanted him since the moment she met him.

  He stroked his thumb over her clitoris rhythmically and she rose to meet his touch, clenching against his fingers as pleasure began to mount in her. He watched her, she felt his stare burn on her even when she squeezed her eyes shut. She was so close to release, so close to that exquisite explosion of sensation she so craved.

  She opened her eyes to find his intense gaze still focused on her and she realized he was using those finely honed deductive skills to glean what she desired. What she liked. So he could use it to his full advantage. And he did. His thumb began to move with more certainty across the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex, while his finger stroked deeper and deeper. She moaned, she cried out and finally, she came.

  The orgasm hit her suddenly, waves of pleasure that made her hips jerk and her breath short. He continued to stroke her through it all, never ceasing until she collapsed back on the pillows with a panting groan of pure satisfaction.

  “Yes, that’s what I wanted,” he murmured with a tiny smile.

  She caught his arm and tugged, urging him over her. She opened her legs wider to give him a place to settle.

  “Do you know what I want?” she whispered.

  He shook his head slowly.

  She reached between them and guided the tip of his cock to the still twitching entrance of her body. “This.”

  He shut his eyes, taking a long breath, and then he pushed. She was so slick with release that there was no resistance to his entry. He glided in, inch by inch, filling her, stretching her until he was fully inside.

  She watched him as he had watched her a moment before. His eyes were wide and wild, his neck straining with pleasure.

  “Jesus,” he moaned.

  “Sorry you waited so long?” she teased gently.

  He did not return her smile, but looked down at her with a serious expression. “Glad I waited for you, Juliet,” he whispered.

  She drew back in surprise at that tender claim, but was not offered a chance to reply. He began to move then and everything else was forgotten.

  His thrusts were smooth and gentle at first, a man exercising all the control he had. And with Gabriel that was a great deal, indeed. But as the pleasure built between them, she saw his desperation. His desire to just take without finesse.

  She reached up, cupped the back of his head and drew him down to her. She kissed him, sucking his tongue gently, tasting the tang of his need and drowning in it. His thrusts grew more erratic and he let out a great cry before he withdrew from her body and his essence burst free.

  He collapsed over her, face misted with sweat, breath short. She wrapped her arms around him and smoothed the broad plain of his back as she held him to her. And in that moment, he was hers.

  Gabriel flopped onto his back next to Juliet and stared up at the ceiling. His entire body still felt weightless and tingly with pleasure. And yet his mind was beginning to recover from the blissful experience of taking Juliet.

  And his mind had always been his greatest asset and biggest enemy.

  Had he done the right thing? Not just for himself, but for Juliet? She had claimed to want this, and she hadn’t been untouched, but it was still an ungentlemanly act, especially since he had no intention of wedding her. Would she regret it? Would he?

  No, he wouldn’t. He’d never felt anything like that moment when he’d slid home into the tight, wondrous heaven of her body. Already he wanted to do it again. And then again. And then a hundred more times until he had figured out every aspect of her pleasure and his own.

  But that was the problem, wasn’t it? This desire, which he had hoped to quench by claiming her, was only made stronger. And the distraction of it was…

  “Are you tying yourself up in knots in your head?” Juliet asked softly.

  Her voice cut through his thoughts and he turned on his side to look at her. Her ruddy hair was partially down now thanks to their lovemaking and it framed her pink cheeks beautifully. How he longed to touch her.

  But touching her would only lead to more. And right now he felt overwhelmed by all the confusing thoughts and feelings swirling around inside his chest.

  “Gabriel,” she said with a smile as she propped herself up on her elbows. “Talk to me.”

  “Did I hurt you?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “No, not at all.”

  He nodded. “Good. Good.”

  “Don’t follow every thought in your head to its bitter end,” she suggested as she reached out to touch his cheek. When she did so, his mind slowed just for a moment and all he felt was her, all he saw was her. He couldn’t remember if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “I don’t know what to…to do,” he admitted. “Now that this has been done.”

  She laughed. “Then you are no worse than most men, if what I have experienced and heard about from my patients is true.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at how easy she was with him. His awkwardness didn’t seem to trouble her. If only it didn’t trouble him.

  “I should go,” he said, rising from the bed slowly. “After all, we wouldn’t want to be caught, would we?”

  She didn’t respond, but simply watched him as he dressed. He felt her stare on him, heated and focused, and he was surprised that the need she had so recently slaked built up again with a swiftness he could hardly believe. How could she do this to him with such ease? With so little effort?

  Was he weak?

  “Gabriel,” she said.

  He turned to look at her and saw the concern for him in her eyes. And the flicker of pain that he was rejecting her.

  “Good night, Juliet,” he said, moving to the door. He wanted so badly to hesitate there. To look back at her or offer her comfort. But he couldn’t. Because he feared if he went back, he would never leave. He would be changed forever.

  And everything he wanted and needed to do would be forgotten in her arms.

  Chapter Nine

  Juli
et stared at the plate before her, piled high with wonderful luncheon fare, and yet she couldn’t bear to eat a bite. It had been two days since she and Gabriel had made love in the chamber at the top of the stairs. And since then she had not seen him.

  Her mind took her back to the man who had been her first lover. She had been his conquest, but the moment after she surrendered, he’d tossed her aside. Could that be happening all over again with Gabriel? And if so, why did it hurt so much more now?

  “Juliet?”

  She blinked at her father’s voice saying her name and forced herself to look at him. “I’m sorry, Papa, what did you say?”

  He laughed and exchanged a look with Lady Woodley. “I told you she was drifting off into her own little world.”

  Lady Woodley smiled. “It puts me to mind of Gabriel. He is always traveling off in his mind.”

  “Then it is an affliction all three of us share,” Mr. Gray laughed. “I have been known to do the same.”

  “Brilliant minds act alike,” Lady Woodley said with a gentle look for Juliet. “Are you well, my dear? Despite all our teasing, I do have to say I’ve noticed you are a little distant these past two days.”

  Juliet jolted. Was she so obvious? She hadn’t thought so. But it seemed she was. She searched for a response that would lead to the smallest chance of questioning.

  “I’m sorry. London is…it’s very different than Idleridge,” she said.

  “You are overwhelmed,” Lady Woodley supplied.

  Juliet nodded. “A bit.”

  That was true, though not just because of the big city. Still, if it helped her escape questioning she would let the little lie stand.

  “I recall the first time I came to the city,” her father said. “When I went to teach at a school here. I was nervous, too. But it worked out, didn’t it?”

  She smiled, once again reminded that her father had met her mother in London. “It did.”

  “And now here I am again, the proverbial fish out of water, and yet I am comfortable thanks to the renewed friendship with Lady Woodley.” He moved his gaze from her to their hostess, who blushed rather girlishly. Then he returned his attention to Juliet. “Enjoy your time here, my love. You might regret it if you don’t. And regrets are hard to live with.”