Page 41 of Lady of Providence
Oh, she wished he would stand, instead of leaning back and watching her with that smug expression on his face.
“I did,” she said with a nod, holding her chin high, refusing to back down. “For you see, Your Grace, I also needed you to know something. What happened at the party tonight should never have occurred. I became lost in my senses and did things…allowedthings, that should never have happened. I no longer want nor need any ties to you. You said you would call on me tomorrow, but the truth of the matter is that this cannot go on.”
“No?” he asked, seemingly unaffected by her words. "And why would you say that?”
“You and I are different people,” she said, all of her fears and worries flowing out now. She didn’t know if it was the late hour, or the intimate atmosphere, or the few glasses of champagne she had drunk that night in order to get through it, but suddenly all of her inhibitions fled, and her true thoughts came pouring out. “I will not discuss the past, not again, but it’s more than that. I love the bank, despite how difficult some days may be. You are a duke, and no matter what you say, your wife will have expectations placed upon her. I certainly would not meet any of them. You care nothing of what anyone thinks, but to me, it matters. It has to, due to the role in which I’ve been placed. And yet, you know that I am attracted to you, an attraction that I cannot seem to deny. Therefore, the only thing to do is for us to no longer see one another, besides during times for business and social engagements.”
He uncrossed his arms now, bringing them to the sides of the chair as he slowly began to rise and step toward her. His gaze had darkened, his expression unreadable, and Elizabeth swallowed hard. But she wouldn’t back down. She had come here for a purpose, and now that she had delivered her carefully practiced message, it was time to go.
“Good night, Gabriel,” she said, but as she turned, he crossed the room in an instant and reached out, catching her fingers in his, turning her around to face him.
“That’s not why you came here tonight,” he murmured, and her eyes widened.
“What are you talking about? Of course it is,” she said, indignant that he would so question her.
“No, that’s what you are telling yourself,” he said, still holding one of her hands in his, the other coming up to lightly stroke her face. She told herself to move back, to tell him to stop, but somehow she found herself leaning into him once more.
"Look me in the eye, Elizabeth, and tell me that you came here only for your gloves, that you truly no longer desire my company, and I'll see the truth," he continued. "Say the word and I will walk you to the door, say farewell, and have nothing further to do with you besides our business at the bank. But first, you must convince me, Elizabeth."
As he spoke, he inched ever closer, his lips nearing hers, and she could feel his breath upon her cheek. He smelled slightly of brandy, but it was the musky scent of his cologne that was so distinctly him that overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes for just a moment, losing herself in the sensations that came over her just by his nearness.
Her rational thought was fighting against her instincts, telling her to do as he told her, to tell him that she must go and he should leave her be.
But when she opened her eyes and stared into the deep blue of his, they drew her in, pulling her closer, and all thought fled. She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and with one hand entangled in his thick locks of midnight hair, she tilted his head down toward her and stood on her toes to press her lips against his.
He instantly responded to her invitation, taking the kiss and expertly deepening it. His tongue swept into her mouth, and she matched him stroke for stroke. Never before, even with him all those years ago, had she felt such a yearning to come ever closer to a man. His hands came around her back, wrapping the two of them more tightly together, their bodies flush against one another, his hard and unyielding.
She slipped one hand from the back of his head to place it on the opening of his shirt, over the bronze skin at his neck where her gaze had been lingering for so long, feeling the warmth of his skin on her fingertips. She moved her hands lower, trailing her fingertips along the bristle of dark hair that dusted his hard chest, and it seemed as though his breath was coming ever faster. It gave her a feeling of heady power to know she could have such an effect on him, but at the same time, it wasn't enough. She wanted more. She wanted to see all of him, to know him as she had once before.
Elizabeth knew they could never truly be together — not in any way that would be longer than what had already come before. But she would give herself this one night. One more night to know him, to love him, to have a memory she could forever cherish.
She broke her lips away from his, unsure of how to tell him, to ask him for what she wanted.
"Gabriel..." was all that came out on a throaty whisper, but it seemed to be enough for him to understand what she was seeking.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his forehead against hers as they remained locked in an intimate embrace, their breath mingling together.
She nodded against him, feeling the hard set of his jaw beneath her fingertips.
"Very well," he said, his voice full of smoke and promise of more to come. "But tonight, love, tonight I will show you exactly how it should be done."
He nudged the towel off of her shoulders, allowing it to pool on the floor at their feet, and Elizabeth gasped as he suddenly bent at his knees and scooped her up in his arms, her own hands wrapping around his neck.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, to which he smiled seductively.
"My bedroom, of course," he responded, but as he began to carry her out of the room, Elizabeth protested.
"Your servants," she said, "whatever will they think? Can we not stay here, away from prying eyes?"
"Most are abed, except the butler, and he is as loyal as they come," Gabriel said, clearly not concerned in the least, and for a fleeting moment, Elizabeth wondered whether this was the first time he had carried a woman through the house to his own chambers. "I can promise you, Elizabeth, the utmost privacy."
“I am soaking your clothing.”
“It will wash.”
He paused for a moment, a thought clearly entering his mind.
"Is your carriage out front?"
