to heal. ‘I have no doubt it will.’
‘And your other request?’
She swallowed the remainder of her wine to gather the courage. ‘While we are here—’ she motioned between them ‘—I would like your word as a gentleman that you will not have any intimate encounters with other women.’
‘Here?’ he asked, purposely pretending ignorance.
Dealing with him could be so exasperating at times. ‘While we are trying to conceive a child, I would like you to refrain from bedding anyone else.’
‘I see no problem with your request. Very well.’
She searched his eyes for a clue he was being sincere. ‘Consider my request carefully. Make certain you can comply.’
He took a sip and nodded over his glass. ‘I have no doubt I can comply.’
Was he telling the truth? He had a strong sexual appetite. Olivia knew this first hand. Did that mean he planned to bed her—a lot? She poured more wine into her glass. ‘So then you will be monogamous.’
‘I will expect the same from you,’ he said, narrowing his gaze.
She had not strayed from their wedding vows—he had. Could she throw her wine in his face and still expect him to bed her? Probably not. ‘I assure you I have honoured my marriage vows.’
Gabriel looked as if he were about to say something, but instead downed the rest of his wine. He lifted Olivia’s glass out of her hand and placed it on the dressing table beside his. ‘We need to get you out of that,’ he said, looking down at her dressing gown.
This was it then. Now she would know if she could give him her body without opening up her heart. She turned away from him to avoid his gaze and prayed this would not be a mistake. Slowly she slid off her dressing gown. The warmth from his fingers as they brushed her hair forward over her shoulder made her skin tingle. Her body had changed since she’d had Nicholas. It was softer and rounder. Would he still find it pleasing?
‘At least you are not wearing enough fabric to supply all the upstairs maids with aprons.’
‘Your seductive skills are as impressive as ever,’ she muttered and could not help but grin at his laugh.
‘And yet I have only begun exercising them. Take care, you may swoon when you hear what I will say when I finally spring you from that bewitching garment.’
This time she did laugh. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the realisation that they were going to have to do this a number of times before she actually conceived—perhaps for months. The very notion made intimate parts of her flutter.
‘I am certain you will have me shaking with need,’ she teased. But when she slipped her nightrail over her head and turned around, the smile fell from her lips.
His heated gaze left her practically without breath. He took one finger and trailed a line of warmth from her ear, down her neck, across her collarbone and finally between the curves of her breasts. His eyes traced every movement of his finger. It would be impossible for him not to feel her heartbeat quicken with each area he touched.
‘You are even more beautiful than I remembered,’ he murmured, cupping a breast.
It was all coming back to her. Every touch. Every kiss. Every time she’d cried out his name. When he lowered his lips to hers and coaxed her with gentle nips to open her mouth, memories of the times they’d spent together flooded her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push images from the past out of her head. Part of her wanted to remind herself that he could not be trusted, but another part of her wanted to believe he truly wanted only her as much as she wanted only him. During this time together she would take her pleasure, but she would not allow herself to fall in love with him again.
The kiss deepened and a sense of urgency replaced the initial gentleness.
‘We both want this, Olivia.’ His words filled her mouth with his breath. ‘I do not wish to fight with you any more.’
She tasted his familiar lips, sweetened with the delicious wine. She missed this—missed him. He groaned into her mouth and she could not resist unbuttoning his banyan to feel the heat of his hard smooth skin.
While they were together, she would take as much pleasure as she could stand. Then she would lock these memories away when their time together was over. She could resist the spell of his body.
When she slid her hands up his chest, the banyan fell to the floor. He stepped closer. Their bodies fit together like pieces of a puzzle. It had been so long. She traced the bumps of his ribs. How had a man who sat behind a desk all day remained this muscular?
As he caressed her bottom, he groaned again. Lifting her into his arms, he released her gently on the bed and his body followed hers.
‘Are you comfortable?’ he asked, trailing hot kisses along her neck.
Trying to breathe somewhat normally, she skimmed her hands along his spine and rested them at the curve of his lower back. ‘I am quite well,’ she managed to reply.
He bit gently into her neck and slid his thumb around her nipple. It was growing painfully hard and she didn’t want him to stop.
‘You feel very well,’ he rasped.
‘So do you,’ she said with a moan.
He smiled against her neck and she lowered her hand even more. His weight shifted slightly, pressing her into the mattress. Sliding his tongue along the upper swell of her breast, he groaned loudly as he sucked her nipple into his mouth. She had forgotten how good that felt and gripped his head with both her hands. After giving her right breast exquisite attention, he kissed his way over to the left. She could feel the heat pooling between her legs and ground her pelvis into him. Then he kissed a path down to her stomach...
It was becoming difficult to remember how much she disliked this man.
He nipped at her thigh. ‘I want you ready for me.’
‘I am ready,’ she managed to say through strangled breath.
He shook his head and his soft hair tickled the inside of her thighs. Fluttering her eyes open, she met his gaze.
She struggled for air as their eyes locked and he lowered his mouth between her legs. His eyes closed momentarily, as if he were savouring his favourite dessert. He placed long, slow licks while his gaze bore into her.
The air in the room disappeared as her body responded to the amazing things his mouth was doing to her. She did not want him to stop. He continued to torture her with his mouth until she began to tremble, then she let out a loud cry as she came. His strong arms held her down, as he continued to lick and suck her. She had to push his head away to make him stop.
Her eyes would not open. Struggling to catch her breath, she felt him rise above her.
‘I believe you’re ready now,’ he whispered against her neck.
Before she could think of a response, he was sliding inside her. Her back bowed. How she had loved feeling this filled. Within moments she was meeting him thrust for thrust. He was bringing her to the edge all over again,
