* * *
Mary was lost, floating in a sea of passion. Gabriel made her feel things she had never thought possible for her to feel. She had always thought women silly when they spoke of such feelings of dizziness, swooning, and weakness in the knees. Now she found it not so silly. If Gabe and Mary had not been gripping each other as tightly as they were, Mary was certain that she would have been reduced to a puddle at Gabe’s feet at the very beginning of this interlude.
His hand brushed her thigh and her muscles twitched of their own accord. She was accustomed to bringing men to fulfillment, but never had she allowed a man to provide such a service for her. Most particularly in such perilous and, dare she say it, exhilarating circumstances. And with a man she… Well, she did not love Gabriel any longer, but evidently she held him in high enough regard to allow him to… Oh!
He slid his palm further up her thigh, until the tips of his fingers reached her mound. He pulled his lips from hers to move them to her ear. Nearly inaudibly he whispered, “Open for me, Mary. Please.”
Her body did as he bade, her legs spreading as far as they were able in such a confined space.
“Yes, Mary,” he hissed.
She tensed, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest, as he glided his fingers between her slippery folds.
“Easy,” he whispered.
But she couldn’t ease. A man—Gabe!—was touching her intimately, and it was oh, so pleasurable.
His fingers began to move, sliding up and down her cleft, around in circles, and repeating. The motion rhythmic and exceedingly hypnotic.
His mouth sought hers once more and she eagerly attached herself to him. The combination of sensations built tension within her, coiling and wrapping itself so tightly she could scarcely breathe.
She was frantic for more.
One of her hands still clutched at his neck, but with her free hand, she reached down to tug at the falls of his trousers. She must feel him, hold his thickness in her hand and give him the same thirst for gratification that she felt.
His breath caught as she worked him free, his eager manhood leaping happily into her palm.
One of Gabe’s fingers slid deep inside her, forcing her to break the kiss and her neck to arch on a silent cry of delight.
Finding an opportunity, Gabe slid his tongue up the side of her neck and along her jaw, sending a shiver down to her toes. She was damp, she was aching, oh goodness, she needed…
His fingers still worked, swirling and dipping. Her body trembled, but she forced herself to focus. She could not be alone in her pleasure; Gabe must join her.
Mimicking the motions of intercourse, she gripped him tighter and began a rhythm of her own; up, down, cup, up, down, cup. She felt him tense. He must be close, she could feel his strain.
His movements became fixated, his mouth fervent in his anxious desire to find release. Her own need had built to a fever pitch, his fingers playing her expertly. The coil tightened and tightened until, finally, it snapped.
An explosion of stars so bright as to be blinding burst behind her eyelids, her head fell back, and her mouth dropped open on a silent shout of ecstasy. She was far away, flying among the clouds high in the sky. Oh my word! How could something so sinful feel so, so good?
Gabe’s damp fingers grabbed at the back of her neck, pulling her mouth back to his, his hips pumping against her tightly fisted hand. Finally back to earth, Mary realized her blunder. As she found her pleasure, she had entirely forgotten about him.
She moved her hand faster and he quickly released her neck to fumble in his pocket. He removed a handkerchief and wrapped it around her hand just in time. He froze, his entire body stiffening as his member pulsed in her hand, his seed pumping into the kerchief.
The sound of their heavy breathing filled the cramped space, the smell of their mingled pleasure nearly overwhelming in its arousing intensity.
Awareness began to seep back into her mind, the hazy fog of their passion dissipating.
A loud thunk in the room across the hall brought her fully alert. Goodness, there was still someone there! Had they heard?
Gabriel must have heard it, as well, as he quickly buttoned his falls and fixed her skirts. Mary adjusted her bodice to cover her exposed bosom.
The clink of glasses echoed through the room.
“I must bid you goodnight, dear.” It was Lady Kerr’s voice.
“Yes, yes, goodnight,” Lord Kerr’s voice responded.
Had they only just entered the room or had they been in the meeting, as well? Mary wondered.
“Well, I had best be off to bed, as well,” that mysterious voice said.
Kerr grunted. “Be good to my wife, Boxton.”
Mary’s eyes widened as she turned her shocked gaze on Gabe. Boxton! She mouthed. Oh, this assignment certainly has been productive.
It was silent for several moments, but instinct told Mary to wait and listen longer.
A soft knock sounded against the open doorframe across the hall.
“Ah. Yes, yes, I know,” Lord Kerr grumbled.
“Everyone else is to bed, it is time that we were, as well.”
That must be Lady Marpol, Lord Kerr’s mistress.
“Or perhaps…” her voice turned sultry, and the swoosh of skirts could be heard. “Perhaps you remained in your study because you wished for me to join you here?”
Oh dear, please no.
Rustling fabric and loud smacking sounds echoed through the study, the sound easily reaching the closet across the corridor. Mary cringed.
“Perhaps we should retire to my bedchamber,” Lord Kerr suggested.
Please, yes!
“Mmm, indeed.”
Mary listened anxiously as their footfalls moved across the study toward them and retreated down the hall.
She stood facing Gabriel for countless minutes, both of them waiting until the way was entirely clear before they made their withdrawal from hiding.
When the house was still and silent once more, Mary reached past Gabe to push open the closet door. With a wordless, enigmatic glance, Gabe exited their hidden spot first. Mary awkwardly followed, her long twisted skirts hindering her movement.
She hid her shaking fingers as she straightened her frock. Mary’s heart still raced with the startling force of her completion. She had never experienced a… What was it that the other actresses called it? Ah yes, the little death. But that had felt nothing like death. It felt like life, passion, excitement, and exhilaration. Is that what men felt when they reach their fulfillment?
Is that truly what it feels like for everyone?
Chapter 23
Gabe stood, frozen. Mary’s question hung in the air between them, her expression one of wonder. She could not possibly be asking what he thought she was asking.
“What what feels like?” Gabe whispered.
Mary’s eyes widened. “Good heavens, did I ask that aloud?”
She was not… She couldn’t possibly be… Gabe’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You did.”
“Well.” She waved a hand through the air in apparent unconcern. “I don’t know what possessed me to say it. Think no more on it.”
Mary flounced down the hall, but Gabe remained still, his feet entirely immobile.
She had come markedly easily, but then, so had he. Her attentions to him had been well practiced, as he had expected. But thinking on it, Mary’s reaction to his ministrations had been untutored and noticeably inexperienced.
Could Mary be a maiden?
Just as quickly as the notion had entered his mind, he dismissed it with a silent scoff. In all the years of Mary’s service to the crown, it was impossible for her to never have made love to a man. She was a beautiful woman and was proficient in the ways of pleasuring men; some bloke must have taken her to bed long ago. Her innocence was undoubtedly all but a clever act to entice lovers.
He could not help the sudden, fierce frown that creased his forehead, nor the speeding, angry tempo of his pulse. Curst
bizarre and entirely unwanted emotions.
Mary was entitled to bed whomever she chose. But Gabe would make certain that he would be the next. Brief, and perhaps flippant, as their tryst had been, Gabe most certainly wished to continue in their physical association. He had never felt such remarkable pleasures as he had with Mary. And as green as she seemed in the ways of her own gratification…
Gabe’s eyes widened as sudden anticipation leapt to his breast. Good God, why had he not realized it before? Mary had unquestionably had past lovers, but what of her own completion? Could every cad before him never thought to reciprocate the gift of orgasm? Had they all taken what they liked of her and never taught her the delights of her own body? Could he be the first man to ever give her such satisfaction?
He hoped he was. In fact, he was almost certain that he was.
The thought sent a burst of absurdly optimistic pride through him. And God help him, but it got him half hard again just thinking of teaching her all the ways her body could delight her.
Suddenly very aware that he was still standing in the middle of the dim corridor, already half aroused again, Gabe decided it would be prudent of him to make himself scarce.
With a grin on his lips and eagerness in his heart, he made his way through the shadowed, eerie halls and returned to his guest bedchamber, the oddly spooky nature of the house not dampening his mood one jot.
* * *
The door stood closed, but Gabe let himself in. Mary sat writing at their bedchamber’s desk, her gaze shooting up in alarm when he entered.
“Oh!” she gasped. She had lit a taper and placed it beside the ink blotter on the table. Firelight flickered dimly over the room, the candle upon the desk giving a warm light to Mary’s flushed cheeks.
He grinned, locking the door behind himself. “I did not mean to startle you.”
She returned his grin with a shy smile then bowed her head once more over a sheet of parchment. “Not startled,” she mumbled. “I’m simply glad that I have not been caught being naughty.”
Gabe’s brow creased. “Naughty?” He strode toward her. “Whatever are you doing?”
“Forging those documents while they are still fresh in my memory.”
Gabe nodded, “Ah.”
He removed his coat and draped it over the back of a chair.
“Tell me, Gabe…” she started, her head still bent over her task. “How will we replace these documents? It is far too late tonight to make an escape before others are awake, and the traitors will be watching you.”
“Yes,” Gabe scrunched his face as he considered their options. “Our best choice is to replace them on the morrow. If you will distract the others, I will replace them.”
Mary nodded. “Very well.”
Gabe cleared his throat. “I should probably inform you that I promised your…er…charms to Boxton and Reddington for tomorrow evening.”
Her head snapped up. “I beg your pardon?”
“They came to the room while you were sleeping and I—having thought that we would have made our escape this evening—believed the best way to be rid of them would be to relent and promise them a ‘private performance’ tomorrow evening.” He cringed. “I’m sorry, Mary. I—”
She shook her head. “Please do not fret. If we are fortunate—and I believe we are—we will have quitted Kerr House before they seek me out.”
She gave him a quick smile before she bent her head over her work once more.
His thoughts wandered back to their interlude in the linen closet and a slow grin grew on his lips. Mary; so experienced, yet so innocent in the knowledge of her own body.
He glanced at the clock on the mantle. They had several hours before they were expected to appear at the morning meal. He could have her here. Now. She was amenable enough to his attentions in the closet, she would likely be most receptive to the many delights he could bring her in a bed.
His grin grew and his breath came fast. He wanted her. God how he wanted her!
But first he would tease her…
“Mary?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Mmm?”
“Why did you—”
“Oh!” Her head snapped up once more. She dropped her quill on the table next to the ink. “I must tell you, before I forget once more.”
A clever evasion. “What is it, Mary?”
“Lady Kerr called on me earlier this evening, as I prepared for my performance. She—”
“Are you finished?” Gabe interrupted.
A frown crossed her brow. “I beg your pardon?”
“Your forgeries. Are you finished?”
“Er—yes.” She clucked her tongue. “You’re not listening, Gabe. She arrived unannounced, unwelcomed, and…in the middle of my bath.”
Gabe shrugged one shoulder as he leaned one hip against the table. “Surely she left directly the moment she learned of her error?”
“Actually, no. Lady Kerr questioned me on my association with you and then—”
“Ah, yes,” he interrupted, a haughty tilt to his chin. “I see. The lady sought your blessing for a romantic interlude with me, and—”
Mary clucked her tongue. “No, you arrogant arse, she—”
Swift as a thief, Gabe swept down to steal her lips in a kiss. Hard, rough, and passionate.
His heart beat wildly in his chest as other parts of him prepared for what would be most unquestionably a memorably gratifying experience.
* * *
Mary’s body awakened with the memory of pleasures recently discovered, while her mind raced.
Gabe. Kissing her! Again! Oh heavenly day! Her stomach fluttered with renewed arousal, her already satisfied feminine flesh throbbing with the desire to find fulfillment once more. She squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to ease the passionate ache. She groaned. The motion only intensified her wanton desire.
She explored his mouth, running her tongue along his teeth and over his responding tongue. It was the very same mouth that had so pleasured her breasts scarce minutes ago and the memory of his intimate touches sent her lust ever higher.
Mary knew what he wanted; they were in their guest bedchamber, alone, with their tongues intertwined. It was plainly obvious.
Gabe wanted her. In his bed and surrounding his body. Tonight. Now.
If she never had another opportunity to make love to Gabe she would deeply regret not having him now. He would always be her first. It was fitting in a tragically poetic sort of way. He had been her first friend, her first love, her first kiss, and now her first lover, in the true sense of the word.
Gabe wrapped his hands around her upper arms and pulled her from her seat to stand flush against him. His arousal pressed firmly into the softness of her stomach and heat washed over her body, the molten lust sending liquid desire to her feminine core.
Her hands worked nimbly with the buttons of his waistcoat, the nervousness that she had felt before their previous encounter was gone, replaced by simple, human need. She needed to have him within her, filling her. He must be just as eager, for he pulled roughly at the buttons on her bodice.
Their mouths locked in a wickedly passionate kiss as they undressed each other. First Gabriel’s waistcoat and cravat, then his shirt. Mary nearly sighed with relief as his torso was exposed, one corded muscle at a time. Goodness, but he was a finely sculpted man! Rubbing her hands over his muscled chest and rippling stomach, Mary revelled in the sheer masculinity of him. She had burned to do this when she had seen him half nude this morning, and she would certainly not squander this opportunity now.
Pulling her lips from his, Mary half bent to boldly lick the deep crevice up the centre of his torso.
Gabe hissed a breath and she moved to scrape her tongue over his flat male nipples. “Ye tease me something fierce, leannan.”
Mary would have grinned if her blood hadn’t been pounding in her ears so. This man did something remarkable to her body. With hands and tongue she explored the contours of his chest.
“I cannae take it any longer,” Gabe growled.
With a deep groan, he nimbly pulled at her black bombazine sneak-work costume, effectively leaving her only in her night rail.
“I have seen ye in this nightwear too many nights in a row…” Gabe said between kisses, his practiced accent slipping, “and evera night I have thought of taking it off ye.”
“Have you?” Mary breathed.
“Aye, damn it. Aye!”
His lips caught hers in a fervent, if not entirely sensual, kiss. She opened her mouth willingly under his as he gripped the low neckline of her night rail and ripped. The loud rent echoed off the walls of their guest bedchamber, mingling with Mary’s loud gasp as her mouth broke from his.
Her breath caught as she saw his hungry gaze. She shook her now-ruined nightclothes from her shoulders to join her dress on the floor. She stood, nude, before him, allowing him to eat up every inch of her with his gaze.
Gabe’s breath came faster, his chest expanding greatly with each gravelly huff. “Ye’re… God, Mary!”
His mouth crushed hers, his kiss deep and rough.
Gabe wrapped his arms tightly around Mary and he lifted, carrying her effortlessly to the bed and depositing her atop the dishevelled bedclothes, before eagerly unfastening the buttons of his black trousers. His gaze never left her body as he freed himself, shucking his trousers and kicking them away. Mary’s gaze, however, was entirely consumed with his jutting manhood. Good heavens! Is that what she had held in her hand? It was positively stunning. As odd-looking as the male appendage was, on Gabriel it was…beautiful.
Her gaze was locked on him as he leapt atop the bed and positioned himself above her. His hand grazed her hip and her waist, sliding further to rest upon her breast. Her skin heated beneath his scorching touch, but she exulted in his reverential attentions.
“I ken ye experienced yer first orgasm this verra evening, lass…” his voice was rough as gravel.
Mary’s eyes widened in shock. How could he have known that? Oh, yes, of course. Her blunder. She opened her mouth to reply, but Gabe flicked his tongue over her hardened nipple. Her jaw dropped open on a gasp, her eyes drifting dreamily closed.
The Thespian Spy: The Seductive Spy Series: Book One Page 18
