Chapter Seventeen
May 1, 1820
No. 10 Orchard Street
Portman Square
Marylebone, London
It had been five days since she and Bright had concluded the case regarding the murder of Edwin Rightenour as well as witnessed the wedding of their son, Henry to the winsome and talented Priscilla. It had also been five days since Mary thought she might have lost the love of her life to that madman who’d tried to burn him alive.
With a sigh, she moved across the bedchamber she shared with her husband and pushed open the window then lifted her face to the gentle slightly cool breeze coming in that was laden with the scents of the flowers from the large arrangement he’d given her yesterday that rested in a vase near said window. There was also the smell of rain in the offing, for it was once more overcast even if it was May Day, but such was the mood of London, and now that they were back, she realized she rather enjoyed living amidst the hustle and bustle of Town.
Because that was where she felt most effective and where her husband truly shined.
As the longcase clock on the lower level chimed the three o’clock hour, Mary continued to stare out the window. Cassandra was spending the afternoon with Adelaide, Mary’s niece, who would make her Come Out into society this week, with the sponsorship of her and Bright since Adelaide’s father had been delayed in returning from Austria. He was the English ambassador there, and political stages being what they were, he’d not been able to come home as expected.
Neither of them minded, for Bright adored Mary’s niece, and it was rather entertaining having a young twenty-one-year-old young lady in the house.
As for Charlie, he’d gone on an outing with Miss Wright the governess to the British Museum for the afternoon. The boy was curious about everything in the world around him as well as things from far-flung lands, and there were only so many questions she and Bright could answer for him before he needed a wider audience.
Which meant she was alone with her husband for the first time in what seemed like weeks. In fact, from the splashing in the adjoining dressing room, he was finishing the bath he’d ordered. The poor man had suffered greatly at the end of the case, and it had taken some time before he felt his usual self.
The soft snick of the door to the corridor in the other room indicated Bright’s valet had left him to his own devices, and seconds later, her husband called out for her.
“Mary, are you there?”
She drifted to the door and peered into the adjoining room. “I am. Perhaps I’m still at sixes and sevens, for nothing is holding my attention just now, and I think it has much to do with needing quiet and relaxation from the things we have gone through in the past week.”
“Indeed.” The inspector had left his bath and had wrapped a thin, Oriental-style robe about his frame. The brilliant red silk shot with golden embroidery suited him, but it was his damp brown hair that was prone to curling that held some of her attention. The threads of silver glimmered in the weak sunlight coming into the room from the window. Truly, he was a handsome man, and her fingers itched to touch him. In his hand, he held a rather lengthy letter. “This was waiting for me when we came home yesterday.”
“Who is it from?” Her husband had a bevy of friends and a large network of contacts.
“Felix Kourier. It seems the major has been strongarmed into attending a house party for May Day and surrounding activities.”
“Does this concern you?” She came further into the room, and the whisper of her sarsenet skirting sounded overly loud in the hushed space. The major was a good friend of Bright’s. They’d recently had him over for dinner during the Christmastide holidays, where he’d proved a good conversationalist, had a latent sense of humor, and was quite a striking man who didn’t let the injury that ended his Bow Street career stop him from doing anything he’d wanted. Though she feared he would sink too far into a taciturn mood if left on his own.
“Yes. I’m of a mind that nothing good comes from a house party. Just think of the ones we’ve attended in the last year or so. They’ve all gone quite mad, haven’t they?”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, but then, there have been some wonderful moments within those same house parties.”
“True.” He met her gaze. “In any event, his sister made him attend, and since this letter is a week old, he’s probably there right now, no doubt bored and keeping to himself.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Perhaps we should have him over again when next he is in London.” As she joined him in the middle of the room, Mary gently tugged the stationery from his fingers. “Was your bath refreshing?” She laid the letter as well as the envelope on a nearby ivory-inlaid table.
“It was. The slash marks are healing and no longer hurt. They are merely itchy from the scabbing.” He watched her as she came near, with a certain dark hunger in his brown eyes that fueled her own building desire. “Though I still have the bruises, they hurt less than they did days ago.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.” Two days after they’d left the Titterford house party, the viscount had sent Mr. Forsythe to London for Bow Street to take care of. It seemed that Lady Parsington had ordered him to be placed there and tried to the fullest extent of the law for the murder of her son. A day after that, Lord Parsington passed on from this mortal coil, and her son Robert was now the new Viscount of Parsington, which meant Priscilla’s sister was a viscountess.
He nodded. “It is part of my duties toward finding the truth. I’m glad the case is closed, though. It was a particularly nasty one.”
“Aren’t they all? Delving into the psyche of people is somewhat unpleasant.”
“Well, to be fair, sane people don’t go around murdering others.” Then he grinned in that certain way he had that sent flutters sailing through her lower belly. “Why do you look at me like that?”
“How am I looking at you, Inspector?”
“As if you wish to eat me up or do wicked, scandalous things to me.”
Heat went through Mary’s cheeks. “Perhaps I do.” She took one of his hands and led him into the bedchamber. “Do you take issue with that, Bright?”
“I do not, but do we have commitments with the children this afternoon?”
“They are both otherwise engaged.”
“Oh?” His eyes darkened further. “We should make responsible use of this boon, then.”
“I’d hoped you might say that, but finding time alone for such endeavors recently has been challenging, and I feared…”
“What, sweeting?”
“That your need for me beyond a partner had cooled.” Her voice had taken on a breathless quality, for she couldn’t breathe when in his company, couldn’t think clearly when presented with the tempting figure he made in that robe. Even after the year and a half they’d been together.
“Such gammon. My ardor toward you has only deepened.” Watching her, he untied the belt of his dressing down so that the garment gaped open to give her peeks of his lean body. “Shall I show you?”
“Yes.” Her throat had suddenly gone dry, for there was something wicked about watching a man undress, especially this one. Never would she have enough of seeing his body or of teasing him for that matter. “Remove your robe for me.”
“So needy, Mrs. Bright.” But he did as she asked, and the silken robe fell to the Aubusson carpet with a soft whisper. He stood in all his naked glory before her, and Mary couldn’t help but sigh with appreciation. “One would think from that reaction you are lusting after my form.”
“Do shut up, Gabriel. You know that I do.” The mat of dark hair on his chest was still a tad damp, and as she swept her gaze down his torso to follow the thin ribbon to his semi-erect shaft, shivers of need zipped along her spine. “So much.”
His grin would drive her mad before too long. “Ah, Mary.” He drew her closer to his body. “As much as I adore our children and the life we’ve made here together, I do long for the times when we can enjoy ourselves freely.” Then, with a soft chuckle, he brushed his fingertips along the bodice of her morning dress. “This garment is quite pleasing on you, but I must say you won’t be wearing it long enough for me to give it the full admiration it deserves.”
“Oh?” Gooseflesh popped on her skin. The twinkle in his hazel eyes that promised carnal delights, and she wanted him more than ever. “Can you promise that your healing wounds won’t hinder your performance?”
“I can, and I will also promise that I can’t wait to explore every inch of your gorgeous body, to show you how much I want you, need you, love you.”
The man never failed to appear romantic. “I want the same freedom to explore you, though, since we are alone, and it has been a while since we did this while completely naked.” Usually, their couplings these days were rushed and hurried with clothes more or less on.
“Have I ever denied you that?”
“No.”
The dear man worked the laces at the back of her gown. “I gave my statement to Bow Street yesterday regarding Forsythe’s intentions and how he’d murdered Edwin. It will help when he is prosecuted.”
“Good. That man simply doesn’t need to know freedom after what he’d done.” She sighed when her husband tugged on the fabric of her dress and sent it sailing to the floor, leaving her just as nude as he, for she hadn’t worn a shift beneath the dress since she hadn’t planned on receiving visitors.
“Agreed.” He gasped as he stared at her. “No underclothes today? How scandalous, Mrs. Bright.”
“It must be the company I keep.”
“Cheeky.” He drew his knuckles along the side of her cheek. “No wonder I adore you and everything you stand for in our life together. ”
“You certainly know how to flirt with me.” But she didn’t want more words. She just wanted him.
“I am weak where you are concerned.” He rested his hands on the curve of her hips. The warmth he imparted both comforted and aroused, but before she could say anything else, he slid his palms up her sides, skimming her ribcage, which set off another round of butterflies in her belly. “You are also my greatest strength, my most insistent encouragement. I couldn’t do what I do without you.”
“So sweet, but we do work well together.” She couldn’t help the delicious tingles twisting down her spine when he cupped her breasts. Never would she tire of being with him like this.
“We do, and there has never been a woman so completely made for me. I wake every morning in thankfulness I found you, won you.” With the pads of his thumbs, he teased her nipples into hard buds that sent pleasure zipping through her body to lodge between her thighs.
“I feel the same way. After everything, I have been given such a gift in you, a safe harbor if you will.” She could hardly think let alone breathe with him so close and her body two seconds from surrendering to him.
“If we don’t get on with this, the both of us will become far too maudlin to be wicked.” Then he tugged her into his arms, and she nearly melted into him as feelings of protection and security and love swirled around her. “There is nowhere I wish to be than with you in any capacity. I adore all the facets you represent.” Tenderly, he kissed her, drinking from her lips as if she were a delicate porcelain figurine.
“I feel the same about you.” Tears rose in her eyes. Quickly, she blinked them back. “Please love me.”
“Haven’t I done that all along?” He kissed her again, slowly and with more passion, and with a sigh, Mary surrendered into his embrace. She looped her arms about his shoulders and kissed him back, intent to lose herself in the feel and taste of him.
“I need you.” It wasn’t enough to kiss him and explore every centimeter of his mouth. She wanted to lay ownership to all of him, explore his body at her leisure and remind herself that this wasn’t a dream and that he was hers, that they belonged to each other and their love wasn’t a fluke. They had an equal partnership, now more than ever, and it was breathtaking. “Dear God, Bright, you make me quite mad with need.” She took advantage of him by dragging her lips over his chest. The warmth and smell of him, the rasp of the hair sprinkling his skin tickled her cheeks and nose, the solid manliness of him nearly rendered her intoxicated on nothing except him, as it always did. “So delicious.” When she teased one of his flat nipples with her tongue, he caught his breath. It was something she loved doing and it teased him quite effectively.
“Then we shall go slowly insane together, for you send me to the edge each time you look at me.” He let her explore, let her kiss and lick and nip and caress her fill.
How was it possible to continually fall in love with him with every new day?
“Do hush.” The man was hard and powerful, his skin smooth and warm, the length and breadth of him everything she’d ever desired, everything she craved. Beyond that, he wasn’t afraid of showing emotion or affection, which was a change from the man she’d originally met. It left her constantly amazed and flowing with gratitude. She glided her fingertips over him as she memorized every dip and divot, every scratch and scar both old and new, everything that made him into the man she loved beyond reason. “You never cease to amaze me and challenge me.” Needing so much more from him, Mary kneeled in front of him and his hardened and quite aroused length. “I have been waiting to treat you to this.
His eyes darkened. Anticipation shadowed his face, and with the stubble still clinging to his cheeks, he was mouthwatering. “You needn’t do this particular act. It isn’t something we often indulge in, and—”
“Hush, Bright. I want to bring you pleasure, to tell you with actions that I am still quite in love with you.” With desire careening through every nerve ending, she took his hot, hardened length in her hand. “I adore exploring your body and have missed it.”
“At least let me touch you.” His shaft continued to thicken while she manipulated it, and when she touched the tip of her tongue to its head, Gabriel jerked with reaction. “Mary!”
She ignored his hiss of warning and slid one hand up the back of his muscled leg to squeeze an arse cheek while with the other, she pumped his length the same time she took the wide head into her mouth.
“When you do this, you completely have the power to steal my soul.” The pleasure in his voice made her grin. He rested his hands on either side of her head, and when she found the rhythm they both enjoyed, employing her mouth, tongue, and fingers, he buried his fingers into her hair and thrust his hips, which sent that part of him deeper into her throat. “Dear God, you feel so good.”
She hummed her approval around his shaft, for there was such power for a woman in this act. More than that, her husband never failed to let her have that power, and in their couplings, everything was as balanced as it was in all aspects of their life. It was quite breathtaking. While she applied more friction, a strangled sound issued from him.
“You must cease this teasing,” he ordered in a desperate whisper and broke their connection. “I’m close to spending, and if you continue, I’ll release down your throat instead of in your body.” He tugged her into a standing position. “And damn, I want to share that together with you.”
“Spoilsport,” she said with a smile.
“Perhaps.” His eyes were dark and wild as he reached for her. “Yet since we have embarked on this journey, it’s my turn to bedevil you.” Before she had time to think, he lifted her into his arms, carried her across the room, and then tossed her onto the four-poster bed.
“Impressive display, Inspector.” Mary’s grin felt far too satisfied as she found a comfortable position reclining against the goose down pillows. Seconds later, he joined her, his hard body covering hers. “I love you,” she whispered and encircled his shoulders with her arms. This little game they played was amusing, and kept interest in their couplings.
“And I love you.” Gabriel claimed her lips in a kiss that held a desperate edge she shared all too much. Then her husband set out to explore every inch of her skin with his tongue, lips, and teeth. Just as he’d promised.
His attention to her breasts and sensitive nipples kept her gasping while the scrape of the faint whiskers on his chin sent her into another level of delight as he kissed a path down her abdomen and belly, the inside of her thighs. As always, there was much enthusiasm in his overtures. She furrowed the fingers of one hand into his thick hair. “Dear God, keep going.” When he buried his head between her thighs and sought out the tiny bud at her center with his mouth, she bucked her hips as he teased and taunted. “Why do you have the option to bedevil me to release with your mouth when you stopped me prematurely?” The pressure building in her belly would soon cause her to explode.
“Women have the wonderful capacity to come more than once. Why should I deny you that?” Eventually, he left off with his mouth only to replace his tongue with his talented fingers. “I want to see pleasure on your face, and to know you’ll always find everything you need in me.”
“Of course I do!” She was lost from everything he did to her, for he knew every secret of her body and how to coax out those reactions to his best advantage—for her ultimate pleasure. A wave of bliss crashed into her so strong she cried out. Fire replaced her blood while intense sensation throbbed through her insides. “That exploded through me before I wasn’t ready.”
Gabriel’s chuckle renewed her awareness of him. “Each time is different, but can you blame me when your body is so responsive?” He claimed her mouth again and this time immediately deepened the kiss until she writhed beneath him. “So needy. I wonder why?” he murmured against her neck. “Shall we continue, love? ”
Was he trying to be annoying? “Of course.” She drew her hand down the length of his back. There would certainly be payback for this, but then, sharing any sort of intimacy with him was mutually pleasurable, and again, fully balanced. When she bumped her hips and jostled his rampant shaft, she giggled, and he grinned.
“Minx.” His eyes darkened with the same desire flowing hotly through her veins.
“I adore sharing this with you.”
“Good, for you are mine, Mary.” Gabriel encouraged her legs wider and then settled himself between them, his hot, hard length heavy at her thigh. “Since the children aren’t in residence today, we needn’t be quiet, and sweeting, I want to hear you scream.”
“Now who is the needy one?” Heat infused her cheeks. She could hardly think with his weight on top of her. “But I quite agree.”
With a chuckle that tugged at her heart, he fit his tip to her opening, and with a quick flex of his hips, he penetrated deep into her passage, filling her quite satisfactorily.
Their moans filled the space. Mary wriggled beneath him . “I adore this moment when you have me poised at the edge.” Unable to remain parted with him, she pulled him down and kissed him. Then he moved, slowly at first with long, leisurely thrusts that hit every sensitive part of her, which sent the most wonderful shivers of pleasure through her belly. When she matched the rhythm he set, for they had been doing this together for quite some time, her husband increased his pace. His strokes became short and fast and went so deep that her body shook, and she didn’t have the strength to stave off the inevitable for much longer.
“I need all of you.” She clutched his shoulders, wrapped her legs about his in the effort to be as close as she could to him. “Don’t hold back today.”
“Have I ever?” He didn’t slow, but he did peer into her eyes. “You have my heart and soul, Mary. I will never stop loving you.”
“Oh, Gabriel…” Tears filled her eyes, for he was so dear. “I will love you to my dying breath, for you made me find life a second time.” Then she gasped; she’d been thrown over the edge.
The dam holding back the coiling, building sensations broke and Mary shattered. Pleasure drowned her; she threw back her head into the pillows and let loose a keening cry blended with his name. If the servants heard, let them talk. If people walking through Mayfair heard, she hoped they were inspired. There was no shame in coupling with her husband.
While contractions shivered through her core, Gabriel continued to stroke into her. Seconds later, he found his own bliss. With a muffled shout, he ground his hips into hers then collapsed on top of her body. Murmuring her name, he wrapped her into his arms, held her close. The sense of wonder and safety came around her like a comfortable cloud as he wrapped her in his arms.
“That was amazing,” she whispered, and was perfectly content to remain in his protective embrace.
“Because of you.” The baritone of his voice sent delicious tingles dancing over her skin.
“Ha. And you.” For long minutes, they remained entwined, their limbs a tangle, very nearly sharing breath, before he rolled off her to recline on his side. A pleasant lethargy worked its way through her body, and she smiled. “I think we’ve made good use of our time alone.”
“We have.” He pulled her close again as if loath to let her go. “I was thinking of taking you on a drive to Hyde Park. We haven’t done that as a couple for a bit.”
“That sounds wonderful.” For she wasn’t ready to give up his exclusive company just yet. “And perhaps take tea later at our favorite tea house.” Going there always reminded her of their engagement period.
“How can I deny you anything?” He nuzzled into the crook of her shoulder. “I’m looking forward to the remainder of the spring. There is so much I want to do as a family when my time isn’t spoken for with consulting work.”
“And don’t forget. We are sponsoring Adelaide in society this week and next while my brother is out of the country.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll make certain to safeguard her from rakes and bounders.”
Mary smiled. “You are ever and always the hero.”
“Even though I don’t have a sword?” he asked in a reference back to what Charlie had said days ago.
She snickered. “True heroes don’t need a sword or even a weapon of any kind.” It was but one lovely thing about her husband. He didn’t need to employ violence to resolve conflict. “Above all, I’m just looking forward to seeing what each new day brings to us. Never have I been as satisfied in life as I am now, and much of that has to do with you.”
“Such gammon, but I know how you feel.” He brushed his lips over hers. “Now, let us dress for the day. I am done with bed rest and relaxing. I want to find adventurewith you before we welcome the children home later. I might chase them about the garden before dinner so they can work out the wiggles.”
Her heart squeezed and she kissed him. He was adorable as a father, and so very appealing as a man. It was insanity how much her life had changed since meeting him. Whatever fate had planned for them in the future, she knew it would be quite exciting as well as satisfying. They would meet whatever came together, on equal footing, for that was how love should be.
And it was every bit as splendid as she’d dreamed.
The End