Page 88 of My Darling Rogue
Without thinking, she twisted the wedding ring on her finger, conflicted about how she could obtain any meaningful funds in such a short timeframe. It was doubtful Bryan would be content with anything she gave him.
“What has you so worried now,petite femme?” Gabriel asked as they entered their suite of rooms.
“Nothing. I think tonight went exceedingly well, don’t you think?” Celia replied, tossing her reticule onto an occasional table.
Gabriel regarded her with an unblinking stare, his jaw setting itself in a stony line. “It did. But that is not what I asked you, is it?”
Celia forced herself to act surprised by his seriousness. “Whatever is the matter, my lord?”
“You, sugarplum. You are not yourself and you cannot hide that from me. I will have an answer. What has you reacting like a scalded cat? Jumpy and looking over your shoulder.”
“I’ve no idea what you are talking about, Gabriel,” Celia replied. She was saved from saying anything further when Katie entered the room to help undress her for the evening. The girl yawned behind her hand and drowsily stood by the connecting door to the lady’s chambers.
“I will help Her Ladyship tonight. You may go back to bed, Katie,” Gabriel said, his tone curt with frustration.
Katie nodded, and with another yawn, she departed for her room in the servant quarters. Once they were again alone, Celia stripped away her formal gloves and then sat at the dressing table. She began removing the pins holding her intricate coiffure in place, working in silence with her eyes downcast. When that was done, she finally met Gabriel’s stare in the reflection of the glass.
He was frowning, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he watched her.
“I know you are not telling me something, Celia. And for the life of me, I cannot reason out why you’ve been acting so strangely since we arrived here yesterday.”
Celia let out a little laugh of dismissal. “It is nothing, Gabriel. Just a bit of tiredness is all. Nothing more. Please do not worry so.”
Taking her hand, Gabriel pulled her up until she stood before him. His eyes darkened into melting pools of nearly black ink, his mouth quirking at one corner. Slowly, he spun her so she faced away from him and began unfastening the buttons running down the back of her gown.
“I don’t believe you, pet. At least, not entirely. And I will do as you ask for now and cease my questioning of your odd behavior. But tell me this at the very least. Are you too tired for your husband’s attentions? A continuation of what we started last night is in order, I think.”
Celia trembled as the gown parted and his knuckles brushed her skin through the material of the corset and her chemise. “I am not exhausted, my lord. If that is what you are asking.”
His chuckle was dark and whispered across her shoulder blades as he bent his head to the task of unlacing the corset. “I am gratified to hear it. I would take you anyway as my body aches for yours, but I am glad you are of a like mind.”
Before she knew it, he had loosened everything to the point she could step out of the puddle of material. Once again, she was left wearing only her chemise, stockings, and a pair of elaborately designed heeled slippers of sapphire blue decorated with delicate butterflies of gossamer thin silk.
Gabriel groaned at the sight of them, and Celia’s heartbeat increased a hundredfold at the husky sound.
“You are trying to kill me with these damned shoes, aren’t you, little witch?”
“No, no, I am most certainly not,” Celia stuttered in surprise. “Do you not like them?”
He chuckled again, spinning her back around so that she was staring at his chest. He still wore his evening clothes, although he had removed the formal black coat and tossed it over a nearby chair.
“I like them too much. They are a sinful delight, and I imagine you wearing nothing but these shoes while I’m fucking you.”
Celia blushed. She was so relieved that the former topic of her uneasiness was replaced by a discussion of footwear, she did not even mind the wicked nature of his statements.
“You liked it when I did that once before, didn’t you?” His question left no room for deception. She could at least tell the truth on this subject.
“Yes,” she said softly, her breath catching as a pang of lust rippled through her.
“Sweet little pet. You really are a dream come to life, you know that, right?”
“Yes,” she said again, her voice even softer now. There was an element of danger to Gabriel’s tone that was not present before. A darkness of sexuality and possession she both feared and craved. She loved when he spoke with such brutal honesty about his needs and the awakening of her own desires. With this man, she could allow the outside world to fade away, knowing Gabriel would take care of her in his own fashion. Knowing he would break her in the sweetest of ways and then carefully rebuild her.
“I want to see all of you, Celia. Remove your chemise for me. Or would you rather I rip it from your body? Use the remnants as a gag so no one hears your screams?”
Celia tugged her bottom lips between her teeth, biting down hard as a wave of desire weakened her knees.
Ducking her head, she did as he ordered, and he watched with an avarice gleam in his eyes as she wiggled out of her underdrawers. After a moment of hesitation, she pulled the silky chemise up and over her head in a fluid motion and tossed it aside. Now, she was completely bare to his gaze, and Gabriel’s eyes roamed over the creamy paleness of her skin with greedy hunger.
