Page 47 of In Search of a Husband
Gabriel shuthis eyes at her plea, pain radiating in his chest.
Leaving was his only option. To stay, to continue, that would only complicate things. But worse, if he allowed her any closer, he would destroy her.
Her fingertips danced over his jaw, slowly undoing him, spinning him into some sweet hell where he was stuck with his want for this woman and his need to remain focused.
Temptation.
He grew his companies with self-discipline. He would save his family’s business as well with the same focus. And here came the governess who should have been a solution, and now she was up in the middle of the night with her thighs around his waist, sighing as his mouth claimed hers.
And he wanted more.
One kiss wouldn’t be enough.
And he must leave.
“Gabe.”
It was as if his heart was in a vice. He couldn’t breathe. Every muscle within him was drawn taut, and he thought if he gripped the tabletop any tighter it would crumble.
“I…” He dipped his head, dragging in a steadying breath. He must maintain control.
Her fingers crept up his chest and tugged on his shirt. Kate pulled as he attempted to push away, but he couldn’t resist. She lightly kissed his jaw and weaved her fingers in his hair, languidly, carefully touching each part of him, pushing him closer to the edge.
He hadn’t allowed himself such pleasure in years.
And right now, he couldn’t think of wanting anything else more than this beautifully infuriating woman in his arms, kissing him until he forgot about everything.
Her lips against his was a balm to his soul.
And now that he dared taste a sip, she would be his poison.
“Christ,” he groaned, ducking his mouth next to her ear. “Ye must think me a monster.”
She shook her head, digging her heels into the back of his thighs in response.
“Tell me what ye want, Kate. Tell me, and I promise ye can have it.” He would do anything. “I swear it, ye willna come to harm because of me.”
Except he was lying. He knew nothing good would come from their pairing. He wasn’t seeking a wife, and she was under his employ.
Miss Katherine Bancroft should be off-limits.
She tugged at his hair at the nape of his neck, and a shiver chased down his spine. The cockstand in his trousers was more than uncomfortable. When he refused to move, she tugged again, and this time he allowed his lips to cut across the sharp edge of her cheekbone.
Her palm cradled his face, and her lips ghosted up over his jaw until meeting his mouth. With the lightest press, Kate kissed him. She tasted of honey and cinnamon and apples, and he swore he must have had too much whisky earlier in his office because his head swam at her mere touch.
“Wait.” He could barely force himself to stop from kissing her, even as his mind caught up to what was happening. “I didna… we canna.”
She broke apart, licking her lips as if to savor the last taste of him. Her mouth glistened, beckoning him.
The sight of it went straight to his groin. Damn it.
The very last thread of his control snapped, and Gabriel moved forward, braced both hands on her jaw, and drew her mouth in for another bruising kiss. She whimpered against his lips, reclining back on her elbows over the worktop, as if laying herself out for him. He wasn’t slow or soft, he didn’t treat her as if she were delicate. He kissed her with the same desperation that consumed him every day, the fear that everything would end far too soon for him like it had done for his father.
Kate arched her back, pressing against his body, then darted her tongue into his mouth. The room spun, or maybe it was the small little gasps she made as he moved one hand down from her jaw to rest over her breast.
“Please,” she whispered against his mouth.
At that sound of that small, lusty cry, Gabriel broke away and straightened. He cleared his throat and glanced away from the sight of her spread out before him as he struggled to put his present back in order and push the past away.
