Page 38 of Lady of Providence
When she moved restlessly against him, he bucked slightly, and he knew what she was seeking. But he was no longer the foolish youth he had been the last time the two of them had been alone in these gardens. While he was able to better control his impulses, he was also a man with much more experience, and right now, he only sought to make Elizabeth happy.
Gabriel took one of his hands from behind her back and found her ankle, which was resting against his side. He stroked around the soft bone, then began to trail his fingers along her leg underneath her gown, lifting them higher and higher as he continued to love her with his lips and his tongue. Finally, he reached her inner thigh and he went higher, gripping her hip. As she seemed to be fully capable of holding herself up against him, he now brought both hands around her bottom, squeezing the firmness of her cheeks.
Oh, how he longed to undo the fall of his breeches and bring her down upon him, finding the sweet softness within her. But he wouldn't do that to her in these gardens, not again. Instead, he brought a hand around to the front of her, finding her curls, reaching through them for the bud he knew was awaiting him.
She gasped into his mouth when he found her, and he began to stroke in circles. She was restless against him, moving with him, and he brought his left hand up to tease one nipple and then the other through her thin silk dress.
Elizabeth broke her lips away from him for a moment to cry his name, and then suddenly she was gripping him tightly, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she rode the waves he knew were engulfing her.
They stayed still where they were for what must have been a few moments, holding one another, until finally she leaned back ever so slightly. Gabriel was surprised to see a slight sheen of tears over her eyes, but before he could question them, she whispered, "Thank you."
She began tugging at the fall of his breeches, but he stilled her hands.
"No, love," he said softly. "Tonight was for you."
He looked down at her dress, ensuring she was properly covered once more, before fixing a few silky strands of hair that had fallen out of her chignon.
“You could be a lady’s maid,” she said with a short laugh, and he winked at her, easing her apparent sudden nervousness.
“I’m at your service anytime you need,” he said, and she shook her head with a smile on her face as he lifted her up to her feet.
"Tomorrow," he said, cupping her face, "Will you be home?"
She blinked a few times as though clearing her thoughts, and then nodded. "Until early afternoon, yes."
"Very good," he said. "I shall call upon you, for I have a question. Goodnight.”
And then, with one last quick kiss, he left her there, as he had to make his way out of this party to his home — for if he stayed here for one moment longer, he would lose all control and take her to that very same gazebo he had five years ago.
CHAPTER18
What had she just done?
Elizabeth had had full intentions of telling Gabriel tonight that they could no longer see one another, that their time together must come to an end. And then she had found herself being ravished once more in the very same garden as she had years ago! Was there some sort of potion within the scent of these lilies that caused her to lose her senses? Or was it Gabriel himself?
Elizabeth was rubbing at her forehead, perplexed at all that had just occurred, when she walked back into the party room, looking around for Gabriel, but it seemed he had vanished. Instead, Sarah found her.
"Elizabeth?" she asked, looking up into her face. "Is something... amiss?"
"Everything," Elizabeth said with a rueful laugh.
"Oh dear," Sarah responded, biting her lip. "The Duke just wandered through here looking rather pleased before he made his excuses and left for the evening. Our host was quite agitated, though the Duke assured him it was nothing of his doing, but instead complimented him on his beautiful gardens. I don't suppose..."
"That I ruined myself once more, with the same man, in the same place?” Elizabeth asked, arching an eyebrow, and when Sarah looked worried, she waved her hand in the air with a little laugh.
"It's fine, Sarah, it is a legitimate concern. Particularly because that is nearly what happened."
"You and the Duke..." Sarah breathed, and Elizabeth sighed in response, looking for a drink much stronger than her previously untouched lemonade. Finding a glass of champagne, she took it in hand and tilted it back, emptying half the contents of the glass.
"I don't know what happened," Elizabeth said, lifting her hands in front of her, the golden liquid sloshing in the long glass, threatening to spill over the edges, but she was too agitated to care.
"I had every intention of telling him that I no longer had any wish to be together, that we would have to spend our time apart, with the exception of business meetings. But then... but then... he was kind and understanding, and I allowed my emotions and my attraction to him to overcome all else. Oh, Sarah, I am falling for him once more, and I have no idea what to do."
Elizabeth sank heavily into a chair at the side of the room, and Sarah took the seat next to her in a far more graceful manner.
"Why are you so upset?"
"Pardon?" Elizabeth asked, turning toward her, puzzled.
