Chapter Four

Later that evening

Mary had come into the rooms she shared with her husband with every intention of dressing for dinner. Her maid, Maggie, was waiting for her with two gowns in her arms.

“Which one do you wish to wear tonight, Mrs. Bright? The green velvet or the silver satin?”

“That is a difficult choice, but I’ll go with the silver tonight. I wish to feel as if I’m from the stars even though it will be a quiet dinner.” She glanced up when Bright came into the dressing room from the adjoining bedchamber. “What say you, Inspector? The silver for tonight?” How handsome he was in his evening clothing and tailcoat. It always made her heart flutter to see him thusly each evening when he was home.

“Since I adore you in anything that you choose to wear, it matters not to me,” he said with a wink at the maid. “You chose well, though, Maggie. I admire your taste in clothing.”

“Thank you, Inspector.” The maid giggled as a blush raged in her cheeks, for Gabriel flirted shamelessly with her at times. She laid the silver gown over the back of a chair then went to replace the other gown into the clothespress. “Mrs. Bright, will you require my assistance in dressing tonight?”

Of course her husband answered ahead of her. “I’ll take care of my wife’s needs, Maggie. You can go ahead and have the next hour or so for yourself.” When he looked at Mary with wicked promise in his eyes, heat slapped at her cheeks. “Don’t you agree, Mrs. Bright?”

“I do. You have proven yourself quite adept at helping me dress—and undress—in recent months,” she said and was hard pressed to keep the laughter from her voice. Then she smiled at Maggie. “Go put your feet up and enjoy a cuppa. I am in good hands.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Bright. Inspector.” Once the young maid fled, Bright made certain the door to the corridor was firmly locked behind her.

“You know the staff probably thinks we’re quite scandalous,” she couldn’t help but remind him as his large presence filled the space.

“Perhaps, but then, can I help it that I’m madly in love with my wife?” He followed her into the adjoining bedchamber, caught her hand, and then easily tugged her into his arms. “Besides, why shouldn’t I continue to show that affection?”

“You’ll find no complaint from me.” Mary lifted a hand, slipped it about his nape, and urged him closer. Gabriel was her anchor in a world that seemed flooded with horrible news and impossible crimes. In him there was a familiarity that she appreciated as well as an edge of excitement she craved. “Why are you staring at me?”

“Can’t a man admire his wife?” Then, he dipped his head and claimed her lips with his.

She returned his kiss, for this was one of her most favorite times during the day, when he came in to “assist” her in dressing. Occasionally he would kiss her, and sometimes they would merely converse, but then there were times like tonight when he was a bit more amorous, which made him more adorable and that much more attractive.

“So cheeky,” she whispered against his lips as she looped her arms about the breadth of his shoulders, then Mary applied herself with every ounce of feeling to that embrace. He cradled her head with one hand while he slipped the other to her hip and pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. After nibbling the corners of her lips, he teased their seam until she opened to him, and the moment his tongue touched hers, heat flooded her.

Over and over, they parried, and satin slid against silk, and still, she couldn’t have enough of him. When he was in this sort of ardent mood, he wouldn’t be dissuaded until they were both sated, so she plucked at his cravat. “If I am not able to feel your skin against mine, I shall go mad.” Tremors of anticipation danced down her spine. “You know this, Bright, so there is no use dancing about it.”

“Indeed, there is not.” The emotions filling his eyes were so warm and inviting, she wanted to dive in and drown in those dark pools. “Ah Mary, how is this our life? All these wonderful days?” he asked as he struggled out of his tailcoat and draped it over the back of a nearby chair.

“We have worked hard for this, darling.” Mary removed his waistcoat while he made short work of his cuffs, collar, and cravat. Undressing a man was every bit as delicious as it had always been, especially with Gabriel. Good heavens, he was quite a male specimen! As various bits of clothing littered the floor, she yanked the tails of his fine lawn shirt from his satin evening breeches then impatiently pulled and tugged it up and off his torso. “I adore having you naked.”

His chuckle sent threads of need through her chest. “I am not quite that yet.”

“This is a lovely start.” The second she rested her palms on his chest, slid her fingers through the crisp, coarse hair there, his muscles contracted, and he hissed in a breath. “There is so much I want to do to you.” Was that too forward of her to say? Even as a married woman? “Yet we haven’t that much time before dinner.”

“Then we shall need to revisit this scene later, hmm?” Gabriel framed her head between his hands and kissed her with so much passion that her head spun from it.

Heady stuff indeed, and one of the reasons she loved him so much.

“Rogue.” But she slid her hands over his chest, her fingers dancing along the planes of his torso. To her eyes he was perfection, and didn’t look his three and forty years. Everywhere she touched provoked either a half-stifled groan or the flinch of muscle. Down, down, down she went in her exploration until she teased at the waist of his breeches. Then, feeling absolutely as wicked as he looked, Mary eased her hand lower as she held his gaze, and as she stroked her fingers along his erection through the fabric, his whole body shuddered.

“If I am a rogue, you are surely a minx, or perhaps a temptress.” Gently, he urged her hand away, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back. “There hasn’t been a day in the past year that I haven’t thought about you, wanted you, desired you… needed you.”

Her heart trembled. “You are so sweet, and such a romantic. I appreciate having a man in my life who never lies, cheats, or schemes.” And if she didn’t know better, she would accuse him of trying to distract her, yet this wasn’t out of the ordinary for him.

Shadows clouded his eyes. “I would never hurt you. At least, not intentionally.”

What did that mean? When he didn’t comment further, she continued her ministrations. Where their previous coupling of the night before had been frantic and hurried, there was no such energy this time. While she pressed kisses to the side of his neck and upper chest, intent to explore as much of him as he would grant, her husband methodically worked the laces at the back of her dress. Once the garment gaped, he tugged it off her shoulders and down her arms. When it pooled and hung at her elbows and waist, he cupped her breasts, worried the nipples through the fine lawn of her chemise, and she was once more lost upon a sea of heated, familiar sensation.

“Gabriel…” Mary’s head lolled onto her shoulder. Why did every time with him feel like the first, and why had she no willpower at all around him? “Make love to me, show me that you will never find yourself tempted by a woman above me.”

He lifted his head from where he’d been teasing a nipple with his lips, and the smile he gave sent shivers of need careening down her spine. “Haven’t I shown you that all along?”

“Yes, but sometimes a woman wants her vanity fed and her fears relieved.” She stepped away from him to let the day dress fall completely from her frame. As he watched, those dark eyes roving up and down her form, she removed her petticoat and then her chemise until she stood naked before him with the exception of her slippers and stockings. For the space of far too many heartbeats, he said nothing, and old insecurities came pouring in. “Surely I haven’t lost my attraction so soon after marriage…”

“There is no danger of that, sweeting, for what I feel for you goes beyond physical looks.” Gabriel quickly closed the distance. He claimed her lips in such a searing kiss that she felt the heat of it all the way to her toes. “You are ravishing. The perfect temptation.” Slipping his hands around her waist, he drew them down to cup her buttocks and bring her flush to his body. The undeniable evidence of his desire pressed with insistence against her hip. “I can’t wait to explore you, as always.”

“Yes, you are indeed a rogue.” She threw herself into his arms with such forward momentum that he staggered backward. They both toppled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. “So much charm with you; it’s not needed, for you’ve already won me.”

“A man should continually court the woman in his wife, especially if that woman is his wife.” Before she could move into the middle of the mattress, he slid from the bed, tugged her more flush to the edge so that her legs dangled over the side, and then with a grin that promised wicked things, he kneeled, encouraging her thighs apart as he went. “Now, hush, and let me taste you.”

Mary clambered to an elbow. “You haven’t done this since our honeymoon at that pleasure spa—Oh!” Her husband had indeed meant what he said, for he buried his head between her thighs and licked her flesh while she squirmed in both surprise and delight. “Gabriel, stop, I want to…” But her words died in her throat as he spread her open with his fingers and then touched his tongue to that tiny, swollen button at her center while she dug the heels of her slippers into his shoulders to pull him closer.

Merciful heavens! Whenever he did this to her, she reached insanity so quickly.

Since he wasn’t inclined to let her go, there was nothing to do but enjoy everything he did to her. Around and around, he circled that nubbin with the tip of his tongue, and just when she’d become accustomed to that feeling, he suckled that dynamic piece of flesh. Mad streaks of pleasure shot through her being. She clutched the bedding in one hand while hanging onto the edge of the mattress with the other.

“Shall I continue, Mrs. Bright?” The timbre of his voice vibrated against her sensitive flesh.

“Always,” she said in a barely audible whisper. Every coupling with this man was an adventure that she would continually crave.

Of course, the man was skilled in his craft, and before she was ready, the pressure that had built low in her belly broke. Falling over the edge into bliss surprised her, for it went far too quickly, especially like this. With a cry that she didn’t care who heard, Mary temporarily lost the ability to breathe as a wave of intense sensation washed over her.

“Gabriel!”

He chuckled against her but pulled away with a grin. “I am not nearly done.”

“I should think not, but be prepared for retribution. If not now, soon.”

“Ha. We shall see.” And he winked, for he was quite secure in his confidence. It was one of the things that made him a good inspector.

“Arrogant,” she whispered. Even though a pleasant sort of lethargy weighted her limbs, Mary pushed herself onto her elbows to watch as he removed first one of her slippers and then the other. Slowly, oh so slowly, he released one beribboned garter and then rolled the stocking down her leg.

“Taking off your stockings is something I love about this act.”

“I’ll merely need to put them back on in a quarter of an hour.”

“Yes, but then I can help you remove them tonight.”

Residual tremors deep in her core were enhanced by the feel of his fingertips on her skin, caressing, teasing, urging her up that hill again where another release would surely wait.

Only when she was completely naked and almost panting with renewed desire did he stand and attend to the rest of his undressing. With a dry throat yet a watering mouth, she crawled up the bed to recline amidst the pillows while Gabriel removed his boots. The dull thuds of them hitting the Aubusson carpet echoed in the room. Then, he took off the breeches as well as his small pants leaving him unashamedly nude in all his glory.

“Who is the perfect one now?” She couldn’t help but stare, for every part of him was wonderful no matter how many times she’d seen him thusly. From his flat, gently ridged abdomen, to the taut curve of his pale backside, to the scars on his back, to his erect member, he was exactly the man of her dreams. “Never will I tire of gazing upon you.”

“Such gammon. Yet go ahead and look your fill, wife.” When he joined her on the bed, he layered himself over her and settled between her splayed legs that were bent at the knee.

“Mmm, you feel good already.” She ran a hand up his spine. The weight of him pressing her into the pillows was lovely. As she furrowed her fingers into the hair at his nape, she smiled. “In the event you haven’t noticed, I adore you.”

“I hope you will continue to think that as time goes on.” Emotions she couldn’t read battled for dominance in his expression, and in the end, he simply kissed her, whether to show her his devotion or to hide, she had no idea.

Perhaps I’m looking for shadows where there are none.

“How could I not? You are… without guile.” With a happy sigh, Mary looped her arms about his shoulders and applied herself to kissing him back, completely lost in the wonder that was her husband. The longer they communed without words, the harder the hot length of him against her thigh grew.

Eventually, the restlessness that circled through her insides was impossible to ignore. She slid a hand down his back, and at his buttock, she squeezed a cheek. A groan escaped him.

“It’s a slippery slope when you think to tease, madam,” he whispered against the side of her neck. At the same time, Gabriel put a hand between her thighs, and the second his fingers found that button which throbbed with renewed need, she loosed a sound of excited anticipation.

“Aw, then we are done playing?” Oh, it was such a lovely thing to joke with him!

“You tell me.” He rubbed that nubbin with varying degrees of friction while taking a hardened nipple deep into the warmth of his mouth. Her back arched of its own accord, for the dual threads of pleasure he invoked were enough to threaten to tear her apart. Yet there was nowhere else she wished to be than at his mercy, and she encouraged him onward with the touch of her hand to his, pressing him closer to where she needed him to be the most.

Once again, the rush of release caught her unawares. Mary cried out with surprise and complete abandon as wave after wave of intense sensation crashed into her. Need throbbed through her core, caught her up in that tide, and she bucked her body into his as heat flooded her.

There was no time to catch her breath, to retaliate with pleasure from her to him, to move, for Gabriel slid the wide head of his member along her sensitive flesh to pause at her entrance. When she assumed he would spear into her, he merely teased, paused just inside her passage, and then kissed her as if he had all the leisure time in the world. When she thought she might go insane from the delicious anticipation, he withdrew and then thrust back into her body without stopping until she was fully impaled.

Her moan blended with his, and as he encouraged her knees closer to her chest, he went ever deeper, and he moaned again. “How is it that you fill me, how we fit so well, know exactly what I need?” When she peered into his eyes, an almost sacred promise was exchanged, as if she’d given him pieces of her soul and he had returned the favor. But that was silly, for hadn’t she already given him all that she was?

“Because we were always meant to find each other.” Then Gabriel kissed her with such tenderness that tears sprang to her eyes, and he began to move within her. Gentle strokes left her gasping for more than he gave, teasing little pushes that left her hovering on the edge and chasing that glimmering bliss once more. But she wanted all of him, more of him, to feel the raw need that bound them both together.

And kept them going forward.

“Gabriel, send me flying.” She canted her hips to better receive him, wrapped one leg around his waist and moved in time to his thrusts. For long moments, she existed in a world made only of hot feeling and pleasure that splintered through her body at each stroke. As best she could, Mary held him close, whispered scattered endearments into his ear as he worked her over.

Then everything subtly shifted.

Frantic need hurtled down her spine and through her core. Her breathing became more erratic to match his, pressure built and stacked in her lower belly, but still their bodies moved together in a beautiful dance as old as time.

“I won’t last tonight.” His words were ragged with strain as he clutched at her hip, body holding her steady and bringing her impossibly close to his pistoning body.

“Don’t try. Just give me you.” That quickening of her pulse, the crawling insanity that came just before she was hurtled over the edge teased her. While his strokes went ever deeper, ever faster, she touched a hand to her breast, rolled the nipple, plucked at it to enhance the sensations he already provided. That little bit of added stimulation proved her undoing. “Oh! Gabriel!” Her body stiffened as release shot through every pore and nerve ending, setting her on fire as she crashed, fell, tumbled into that white light where only pleasure existed.

With him.

For long moments as her core contracted, she floated on a sea of feeling, then as he pushed into her once more, he shouted her name, joined her in that place where only lovers knew, and he collapsed on top of her. “Dear God, Mary, every time it’s amazing.”

“Agreed.” She snaked her arms about his waist and held him close. His breath sounded ragged in her ear, sweat dampened his back beneath her fingers as her body shook with residual tremors. It was still frightening how content and happy she was with him.

He nuzzled the crook of her shoulder and then rolled onto his side. “We’ve worked up quite the appetite, hmm?”

“Possibly.” She curled against him with a hand to his chest, not wishing to leave the bed just yet.

When he sighed, it ruffled the curls on her forehead. “Oddly enough, I used to think we were like this only because we worked cases together, but our honeymoon and every time thereafter has shown it is merely our chemistry.”

“Mmm. It’s lovely how well we work together on every level.” Mary pressed her lips to his chest. How much did she adore the tactile feel of him? “It makes you different from other men, you know.”

“Perhaps, though I’m sure there are things about me you haven’t discovered.” He moved his gaze from her face to focus on the painting on the wall behind her.

“Then it will be a lovely surprise once those truths come to the surface, hmm?” Yet her chest tightened. What wasn’t he telling her?

“Or you might be angry with me.” Then he snapped his gaze back to hers, those brown depths clouded and hiding emotions. “But that is a problem for another day, isn’t it?” After brushing his lips over hers, he rolled off the bed. “I’m famished, so I hope Cook has loads of food in store for us. I intend to do it justice tonight.”

“No doubt she will have, for she dotes on you like they all do.” Some of the euphoria from their coupling faded in the face of his obvious discomfort. With a sigh, Mary put her legs over the side of the bed. “Does Henry join us for dinner?”

“I’m not certain what his schedule holds, to be honest.”

She nodded. “The last I saw him, it seemed he was heading down to the kitchen.”

“Oh? Perhaps he wished to sneak a pastry or two. We Brights do have a sweet tooth.” He didn’t look at her as he pulled on his small pants.

“Yes, I suppose that must be it.” But she frowned as she left the bed then sought out her abandoned chemise. Why did she have the thought that her husband was keeping something significant from her? Icy fingers of worry danced through her belly. Had he tired of her already and had taken a mistress?

Only time would tell, for if Gabriel Bright didn’t wish to talk, he wouldn’t, and no amount of pleading on her part would encourage that.