Chapter Twelve

"Since we have been given a rather scandalous suite, let us make use of it at least somewhat," Gabriel said against Mary's lips as he continued to kiss her as well as work at removing the remainder of her clothing.

"Where to start?" She shoved her hands beneath his lawn shirt, and the instant her fingers touched his skin, he swore it seared his chest.

"The pool. I'll wager it's heated thermally." Seconds later, he wrenched the shirt up and off his body while she did the same with her shift. He temporarily lost the ability to breathe when gazing upon her nearly naked body. Those dark pink nipples were pebbled and practically begging for his attention, and as his gaze landed at the thatch of blonde curls at the apex of thighs, his mouth watered, and his shaft tightened. "Dear God, you are delectable."

"Well, the sooner you disrobe fully, the sooner you can explore further, Inspector," his wife said with a wink as she toed off her slippers. Then, turning her back to him, she bent over to manipulate the beribboned garters, looked with provocation over her shoulder at him, and proceeded to remove her silk stockings.

"Where did you learn such seduction skills?" If he wasn't careful, he'd shoot his wad prematurely. He hopped on one foot while attempting to remove the opposite boot, which only resulted in him tumbling onto one of the sumptuous divans.

Mary giggled. She removed the pins from her hair and let them fall to the floor. The pings they made as they hit the marble were like fairy bells. "Perhaps I've spent too much time around you." While he pulled off his first boot, she moved around the furniture toward the pool and then slowly descended the four wide marble steps into the water. "Oooh, it's lovely and slightly warm."

Bloody hell. Gabriel nearly died a painfully erotic death as he yanked off his second boot, for she waded into the water and kept going until the surface covered her breasts.

"I'll say this about the spa. As questionable and scandalous as it is, no expense has been spared in the building of this place." Then she dunked beneath the water line. Seconds later, she resurfaced and slicked back her drenched hair, which only served to give him a tantalizing peek of her breasts .

"To what end, though? It has to be about more than finding pleasure in any number of unorthodox ways." After pulling off his breeches and his socks, he hurried through the trail of clothes and the furniture dotting the floor to join her in the pool. Immediately, the warmth of the water seeped into his body and bones, and it was indeed wonderful. "What is the founder of this place receiving over and above having his prick serviced whenever he wants it?"

Mary shrugged as she drifted closer to him. When she reached his location, she laid a wet palm against his skin. "Perhaps it's the money. We didn't pay for this suite because we had a card, but what do you guess a stay in one of these suites costs?"

"I don't know, but how does he gain other business if he doesn't charge people who have a card?" He dropped his hands on her shoulders and peered into her eyes. "Are the clients who have a card required to bring another couple to the spa?"

"Is that the mystery you want to concentrate on while we're here in a thermal pool without a stitch of clothing on? I honestly don't think the reason for the spa matters."

"You're right, of course." Gently, he urged his hands up her slender neck to cup her cheeks, then he kissed her as if he had all the time in the world.

Mary slipped her hands over his shoulders to twine about them. As she layered herself against him and returned his regard, his erection brushed her hip. "Tease me, Bright. I want to come undone spectacularly."

"I have wanted to do nothing except that ever since I spoke my vows to you, but this case and life had other ideas." Ignoring his own need, Gabriel turned her about so that she was in his arms with her backside to his front.

"Isn't this position how we began this week?" She wriggled her rear end, and that provocative movement jostled his hard shaft.

Pleasure-tipped pain twisted down his spine. It was going to prove difficult to ignore how much he wanted to bury himself in her honeyed heat, but he wouldn't join with her until he'd encouraged her to fall over that edge at least once. "You know, wife, we should do something with that tart mouth," he couldn't help but quip then he urged his lips down the side of her neck.

"Oh, I rather think we should." She put a hand to his hip and her fingers brushed his erect length. "I can do a few things with my tongue and lips with that impressive piece of equipage you are sporting." The suggestion came out in a sing song voice, and damn was he glad the curtains were drawn over all the glass panels throughout the room .

"Later, I promise. I am ready to explode, but for now, I am chasing giving you pleasure." As he spoke, he took her breasts in his hands, and once more he was glad for that fullness that made such an act so pleasing. The odd combination of the air on his wet skin coupled with the warmth of her against him made him grin. God, he needed this interlude.

"Mmm." She put her hands over his, guiding him. "I have missed you, missed us like this."

"I have too." The more Gabriel squeezed and massaged those globes, the more she moved restlessly against him, but when he brushed the pads of his thumbs over her nipples, she gasped, and her fingers tightened on his. "It is almost that we've lived a lifetime since we wed, but it has only been days ago," he whispered and continued to tease her breasts.

"Sometimes it is like that when working a case," Mary panted out between soft moans. "On a case you are not even going to see a payment on."

For a few seconds, he continued to strum his fingers over those hardened tips. "There are times when the coin doesn't matter, and one should do the right thing." Then he applied himself to teasing and torturing her nipples all the more. Could he send her flying merely from stimulating her breasts?

"You are a good man, Gabriel." She gasped when he pinched one turgid tip, and as he rolled that bud from root to tip, she cried out and shook in his hold.

"I try." He rolled her nipples and manipulated her nipples with his fingers then caressed one hand down her torso. "But never think my cases are more important to me than you." He was nearly lost in her, drunk on her. The longer he worried her nipples, the more she stirred restlessly in his hold. "Lean into that bliss, Mary. Fall for me." Knowing that he would soon have his mouth on not only her nipples but between her thighs left him gasping and his chest tight with anticipation.

Not wanting further conversation, Gabriel put a hand to her cheek, nudged her head about so he could kiss her while with his other hand, he continued to roll and pinch one of her nipples until she was gasping for breath. They remained locked like that together, for the embrace was incredibly enjoyable for both of them.

How the devil had he been fortunate enough to win this remarkable woman?

"Dear lord, you must leave off," she gasped out. "I'm going to melt."

"That is exactly what I want you to do." With a chuckle, Gabriel eased a hand down her torso to urge his fingers between her thighs. As those digits slid along her folds, Mary trembled in his arms. "As many times as you can stand. "

"Gabriel, I—" Her words ended on a squeal as he brought that swollen pearl out of hiding and rubbed his fingertips over it. "Dear heavens, you know just where to touch me for maximum impact."

"Because I know you as a woman, not just as a bed mate." While he continued to bedevil that button at the center of her pleasure, he continued to pluck and roll her nipple in the hopes she would break soon.

Perhaps it had been the fact the tension between them had been building over the past handful of days since they'd spoken vows or perhaps their teasing had seen her primed, or perhaps it was the overall attitude of the spa, but Mary finally fell into a release, but it wasn't nearly as spectacular as he'd wanted.

And it certainly didn't speak to his prowess, especially if any of the neighbors were currently listening in their own rooms.

Yes, it was a matter of pride.

"Now that you are relaxed, we'll move to the next stage of my seduction." But first, he turned her in his arms and spent copious minutes kissing her because he could—because he loved her. Then he moved her to the side of the pool. The thought occurred to him that he could claim her in the pool against the wall, but he really didn't fancy that and wanted a more tactile experience.

Mary looked up at him while sliding a hand down his chest. "There is wicked scheming in your eyes. What are you about?"

"I'm not finished loving you yet." He tangled his fingers in her wet hair, tugged until her chin went up and he kissed her lips.

"I should hope not." When she brushed her fingertips along his hardened length, he sucked in a breath. "This is quite tempting, Inspector. I need to explore." Gently, she wrapped her fingers about his girth and then gave him a few strokes that would surely drive him mad before too long.

"Not today, for it won't take much for me to embarrass myself, and when I come, it will be with you—in you—for nothing else is acceptable." Knowing exactly what he wanted to do, he grasped her hips, lifted her upward, and then set her arse on the lip of the pool. "This coupling is to celebrate our wedding."

Surprise jumped into her eyes as he urged her backward and encouraged her legs to part. "What are you doing?"

"Tasting you, pleasuring you, sending you over before we move to a different location."

"Are you bragging about your skill, Bright?" Mary trembled, probably with anticipation, for even being out of the water, it wasn't all that cold in the room. "Men who are good in bed don't need such claims. "

How much did he adore her tart mouth and teasing, especially now that she had seemed to put the maudlin feelings for her first husband's mistress behind her? "I rather think I am." Gabriel grinned, and for fleeting seconds, he fell in love with her all over again. "But you can make that assessment after you hit release a second time." As he spoke, he glided his fingers along her flesh made slick from his teasing, back and forth, to prep her. "Shall we begin?" Before she could utter a response, he reacquainted himself with the swollen pearl hidden in those folds.

"Oh!" She shivered as she reclined backward on her elbows. "I am never ready for this; it's just so scandalous but feels so lovely."

"Quite fitting for where we are, hmm?" With each pass of his fingers, her trembling increased, as did her moans of approval. "I… oooh…"

"Speechless already?" Over and over, he worked that tiny bundle of nerves, and when her moans grew louder, he grinned. "Enjoying that, are you?" It was the height of erotic, giving his wife pleasure.

My wife. Never had he taken such joy in two little words.

"Do hush," she managed to gasp out as she tried to wriggle into a more upright position. When he wouldn't let her, she huffed. "Bright…"

"To the feast, then?"

"What do you think, Inspector?" A knowing light lit her eyes, but it was that little quirk of a smile that became the beginning of his undoing.

He adored it when she used his title, but he wanted—needed—to hear her say his name. Loudly. "Very well." Then he gripped her inner thighs and splayed her open. "My sweet Mary, you are perfection throughout."

"Such gammon."

"The truth, and you should know that by now. I tell you it quite often." The second he put his mouth to her button, she squeaked. He chuckled, for it was so rewarding to make love to her.

"Merciful heavens." Mary caught her bottom lip briefly between her teeth as he employed his lips and tongue to her most sensitive, private parts. "This… You…" Her breath came in pants, and with each nibble, every nip, all the swipes and strokes of his tongue, her eyes closed and her head lolled onto a shoulder.

Every so often, Gabriel would peek up at her before continuing his wicked work. Her thighs trembled at either side of her head. Her body shook as he suckled that slippery nubbin. Tears fell to her cheeks, but he had no worries that he was hurting her, for Mary often cried during coupling sessions. It was one of the ways tension rid itself from her form.

When she touched one of her nipples, rolled it to help enhance the pleasure he'd already given her, he nearly shot his wad, for it was the height of erotic to see her assist in bringing herself pleasure. Yet she wasn't quite as needy as he'd like. He kept on with his work, meant to toss her over the edge, yet she hovered there, waiting, her pulse fluttering wildly in her neck, her cheeks pinkened with stimulation.

"Please leave off! It's too much."

"Sweeting, I know you can go the distance. We play at this regularly." Humming softly, he kept her poised on the razor's edge, pinning her there with every penetrating stroke of his tongue, each calculated nibble, every round of suction on that swollen button until she squirmed on that lip of the spa pool. One of her hands went to his head. She furrowed her fingers into his hair, perhaps to shove him away but also to hold him to her tighter, guide him to exactly where she needed him.

And it was bloody brilliant, for he adored how she lived life to the fullest.

"Oh, oh, oh…" Her body shook, but instead of him letting her squirm away, he gripped her thighs tighter.

"Hold. Almost there." It was vital to concentrate on her. Otherwise, his pulsing shaft would take all his attention, and he'd be damned if he'd ruin this moment prematurely.

Her back arched, which put her deeper into his care. "I am going to break."

"That is the purpose of this exercise." He followed the comment with a particularly strong bit of suction.

"Ah! Gabriel!" Mary shattered in spectacular fashion with a half-muffled. "Dear God that was intense."

"I'm not done." Bright glanced up, but her eyes were closed, and he'd wager she was only half-cognizant. "Show me how much your body wants me, sweeting. Come for me again."

"You don't play fair," she whispered and gasped while he continued to worry her swollen nubbin.

"No, I don't, but then, I adore playing your body and bringing you to bliss. Watching you fall into pleasure? I live for those moments." When he inserted two fingers, pumping them in and out of her convulsing passage, she bucked against his hand. "Mmm, Mary, how much do you want me?" As he spoke, he twisted those digits in order to massage a spot on her spasming flesh he knew from past experience would send her flying.

"Ga-bri-el!" The word was long and drawn out in a keening wail that would probably embarrass her after the fact, but to him it was sweet music. "Oh, dear heavens, that was… There are no words." Her thighs trembled, while over and over contractions squeezed around his fingers still deep inside her.

With a grin, he withdrew those digits and pulled away. She could do nothing else but collapse backward, apparently boneless.

"Mmm, liked that, did you?" Every time with Mary made him feel as if he could conquer the world.

"I have no more strength."

"That is too bad, for I'm not done with you yet, Mrs. Bright, and I'm going to need you over on that divan." Then he dipped beneath the water line merely to help take the edge off the desire roaring through his veins. By the time he came up for air and climbed out of the pool, his wife had relocated to the indicated piece of furniture.

She watched him with half-closed eyes as she reclined backward. "There is no wonder in mind why you receive so many looks from women here. Every one of them is undressing you with their eyes and they think about being bedded by you."

With a snort, he slicked back his hair and then joined her on the divan. "I don't know why. I'm ordinary and old."

"You are not, on either count." As his arms came around her, she drew a hand down his body and curled her fingers around his painfully erect shaft. "You are easy on the eyes, intelligent, respectful, and the best man I have ever met."

Unexpectedly, moisture rose into his eyes. He claimed her mouth in a gentle kiss, but her touch, every squeeze she gave his stones, threatened to send him over the brink. Shifting his position, Gabriel caught her in the cage of his arms, keeping the bulk of his weight on his elbows while he settled between her splayed legs. "Let me love you, sweeting. Right now, I want to consummate our union and show you how much I adore you."

She frowned, but she released her hold on his equipage. "You show me that every day that goes by." When she met his eyes, his heart trembled. "I think I've known that from the first."

"Truly?" His voice was hoarse and ragged from strain. It wouldn't be long until his control snapped.

"Yes. There is no one for me but you."

"I feel the same way, and now you are mine. Exclusively mine, and I will throttle any man who tries to take that away." Emotional, he set out to kiss her senseless. When they both paused for air, he said, "I want to experience everything with you, Mary, all the raw and messy emotions because we both deserve a second chance when it comes to marriage, especially a union built in honesty. "

"We do, indeed." Such love reflected in her eyes that he nearly became lost in it.

"What the devil did I ever do right that the gods gave me you?" Pressed into her embrace, with her fingers furrowing through the hair at his nape and her body soft and pliant beneath his, the sensation of falling assailed him. Loving this woman had been an adventure unto itself, and he hoped it never ended. He kissed her with all the ease of familiarity, but nothing about this coupling was familiar; everything was new, exciting, safe—because they were married.

Her fingers glanced along his shoulders. "Perhaps it's not about checks or balances but more about needing a challenge, a catalyst to bring about change." When she nipped a line of feather-weighted kisses beneath his jaw, need shivered over him. "You and I build each other up. We support each other. Beyond that, we are partners in everything."

"As it should be." He had all he'd ever wanted, and he'd found it this petite, blonde wonder who knew her own mind and possessed a tart mouth. Gabriel trailed his lips along the column of her throat and the soft skin called to him. He continued over her collarbones then took a pert nipple into his mouth, spent copious moments teasing that bud to the best of his ability. When Mary moaned her pleasure, he switched his attention to the other tip. God, but he couldn't have enough of her lush body—of her. Everything about her teased or challenged, and in turn, all of it aroused him. Eventually, he returned to her lips and endeavored to introduce himself to her all over again.

As her husband and the man who would do anything to protect her—love her.

"Gabriel…" She danced her fingers along his shoulders, swept them over his chest to rake through the mat of hair there. The muscles in his gut clenched; his shaft pulsed with urgency. "I love you."

"I love you too." It was so different this time ‘round that it was almost laughable. Perhaps he had to suffer through his disastrous first marriage in order to arrive at this one.

He kissed her again, for her lips were all too addicting, made love to her mouth, hoped that he would always keep her happy, live up to her expectations. With a knee between hers, he splayed her thighs. "This will not be the only time you and I come together during our stay here." His hold on control was slipping; he needed to join with her body. The tip of his length glanced over her opening, and he sucked in a breath, for he already knew how wet she was, and it had nothing to do with being in the pool.

"I certainly hope not," she said softly, and when she flashed a smile, he was completely lost in her. "I'm going to need much, much more of from my husband, since this is our honeymoon. "

"Part of it, at least, but I can't wait until we're back with our little girl… as a family." Gabriel took possession of her mouth once more and at the same time, he thrust into her honeyed heat. Oh, she felt all too marvelous, like being welcomed home to a place he'd no idea existed before he'd met her. A sigh of contentment left his lips. Never had he been as happy as he was right now. "Damn."

"No matter how often you bed me, I always adore this moment." Mary adjusted beneath him, pulling him to her as she wrapped herself around him. He fit all too perfectly in the cradle of her hips, and she held him there, shielded from the world, wanted for who he was with no judgment about his past or his failures, merely supporting him as she'd done from the first. Buried deep inside her warmth, he knew he'd found the perfect wife for him.

"Gabriel? What's wrong?" Concern furrowed her smooth brow while she canted her hips, which sent him in deeper.

But he didn't move. He couldn't. Not when it felt all too good being joined like this. "Nothing. Everything is just right." He held her gaze and grinned. "Perfect."

They communed without words, for none were needed. She would always be there to help and support him no matter what he faced, and he vowed to do the same for her. Being partners with a woman in every aspect of life was a beautiful thing. While she held onto him with her arms looped about his shoulders, he pushed into her heat with slow, measured precision, wishing to draw the act out for as long as he could. Logically, he knew that wasn't possible, for he was well and truly primed to explode. Deeper and deeper he plunged until they were one, joined far greater than just the mere press of bodies.

"Yes!" As her cries of enjoyment came faster, Mary dug her fingernails into his back, moved her hands down his spine. She clutched his arse cheeks, holding him impossibly closer, her hips moving in time to his. Sweat and the residual water from the pool had their skin gliding against each other; they exchanged pants of breath.

Everything shared.

With every thrust, every stroke, tingling sensation raced up his member and settled into his stones. Release wasn't far off. "Damn, I'm nearly gone." And they had barely gotten started.

"Then make it count, Bright. We can go slowly the next time." She gave him such a sultry, inviting look that his control wavered, and he increased his rhythm. "Or perhaps I'll coerce you into those restraints."

Would he ever not adore her?

Over and over, he claimed her body, rocking them both, leaving her with no doubt as to how he felt about her. Perhaps wanting to join their souls, he drove deep into her core, stroking in and out in the hopes he would be all she ever needed, that he would never disappoint her, that she would forget the horror of her first marriage. She met his gaze, held his head between her palms, her expression reassuring, and he knew they would be all right. Then the urgency riding him changed into voracious hunger and undeniable need. With a ragged moan, Gabriel continued to thrust, his hands on her hips holding her steady as he claimed her.

Cherished her.

"Please say that you love me as I do you."

"Never doubt that." She put a hand between them in order to worry the nubbin at her center, and it gave him a sense of pride that she felt comfortable enough to seek her own pleasure. "Yes, oh I do!" Her moans blended with his and she held him.

He grinned as he labored to keep himself together. "Say my name, sweeting. Shout it and make our neighbors jealous because I belong solely to you." Perhaps it was vanity, but he didn't care, and he pumped into her more powerfully than before.

His sweet Mary didn't disappoint. "Ack! Gabriel!" When she shattered, she didn't do so quietly. Oh, no. His wife, always surprising, screamed as she fell into release. Whether it was for theatrical effect or because she truly felt uninhibited, he didn't know. Neither did he care, for it was beautiful. She whispered his name over and over like a prayer, and as her core contracted around his length, he uttered a curse and pushed through those waves.

But the moment was gone… he was gone.

All too soon he surrendered to the vortex of pleasure he'd created with her. A heated tide of bliss washed over him so intensely he caught his breath and gave himself over to it. Loath to have the exquisite coupling end, he thrust once more to prolong the act, but he was done. As his pulse pounded in his temples and roared in his ears, and his length pulsed deep inside her, he collapsed on top of her, wrapping her in his arms.

Minutes, perhaps hours later when he came back to himself and Mary stirred, he rolled off her and onto his side to contemplate her. "I think we both needed that connection, that release."

"Agreed, and it was splendid." Her smile held an exhausted edge as she laid a hand on his chest. "Truly, I have the best husband."

"You do, indeed." With a wink, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "But then, I have the best wife, and she is every inch the investigator that I am."

She laid a palm to his cheek. Before she could say anything, her stomach issued a loud growl. "We should probably make inroads into that luncheon they've provided for us."

"I could eat." The spread did look inviting—fresh fruit, nuts, cheeses, cold cuts, bread, honey and jams, and plenty of choices of wines, meads, and other spirits. "Afterward, I want to make use of that pool for a bit of a bath."

"Now that sounds like a good plan. After that?"

He shrugged. "We'll do some exploring around the townhouse and grounds, perhaps even try to win an audience with the founder of the spa."

"I did say I wanted adventure with you." With a wink, she climbed over him and made sure certain various interesting portions of her body brushed against his. "Thank you for keeping your word about that, husband."

Never was that word as sweet as it was when she said it, and his heart squeezed. "I would do anything for you, Mary. Trust me on that."

She stared down at him after gaining her footing. "My dear Bright, I trust you implicitly."

"Shall we attend dinner?" He heaved himself to his feet and wandered toward the sumptuous pallet that would serve as their bed. "Are you that daring?"

"Absolutely not, on both counts." A giggle escaped her. "I have no desire to take part in that crazy hedonistic revelry, but I wouldn't mind having a picnic dinner on the seashore with you. I've never been to Brighton, so everything is new for me."

He couldn't wait to show it to her, and share the sunset. They had a lifetime to experience everything together. This was only the beginning.