by Laura Glenn
“I thought you said you would not openly pursue me,” she replied in a low voice, trying to ignore the feel of his erection pressing intimately against her ass.
He chuckled lowly as he lowered his lips to the base of her neck.
If she hadn’t felt so sexually frustrated, she might have stepped away from him right then. However, her body responded to his skilled touch and she leaned into him ever-so slightly. She closed her eyes for a moment to regain her sanity, her heart feeling cold as he caressed her arms.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, feeling her strength return. Yes, she needed physical release but she wanted it from only one man. She pushed Alexander’s hands away and stepped out of his embrace just as she heard someone shout from the doorway.
“Ross!”
Kaitlyn gasped and looked up, finding James Clark glaring menacingly past her. He sprang forward and yanked her behind his back, staring Alexander down.
Alexander held up his hands defensively. “Hold on, friend.”
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Clark hissed, taking a step toward him.
Kaitlyn jumped in between them, keeping both men at arm’s length. She looked at James. “I’m all right. No harm was done.”
James relaxed and he grabbed her hand, looking her up and down. “Are you certain, madam?”
“Of course, she is fine,” Alexander replied with a dramatic sigh. “I do not force myself on women.”
“You may not have harmed her person but you could have damaged her honor had anyone else seen what you were up to,” James admonished, taking his eyes from Kaitlyn for only a moment. “I will hold this moment in utmost secrecy, madam. You have my word.”
“And mine as well, madam,” Alexander stated with a small smirk as he bowed before her and excused himself.
James shook his head and released her hand, his cheeks coloring slightly at having touched her. Normally she wouldn’t have cared but, after having lived in this world for almost two weeks, she was becoming sensitive to what was considered appropriate during this time period. And handholding was definitely understood to be an intimacy.
She smiled shyly, determined to make James forget about his impulsive touch. “You are passing through on business as well?”
He nodded as relief swept over his face, obviously grateful for the change in topics. “I am, madam. Mr. Ross and I will be taking our leave after the midday meal, if that is agreeable with Mrs. Washington.”
“I’m certain it will be.” She smiled at the funny but adorable way he always pushed his spectacles up onto the bridge of his nose.
“Oh, I had nearly forgotten,” he mumbled, digging into the front, inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” she asked, unfolding the paper. Inside were four gold coins and what appeared to be addresses carefully handwritten on the paper.
“Those are the places where I mostly do business. The last address is my home in Virginia,” he explained, his voice taking on a sudden shy tone.
Kaitlyn lifted the coins from the paper and shook her head, attempting to hand the money back to him. “I can’t accept these, Mr. Clark.”
He closed her fingers over the coins and nodded emphatically. “I know that you have no family or means to support yourself. Look not upon this as charity but as insurance in case you find yourself in a desperate situation.”
She thought she was through crying but tears began to well up in her eyes again at his generosity and thoughtfulness. She shook her head again, still not certain that she should accept, what would be considered in this time, an extravagant gift.
“I will not take no for an answer,” he persisted, his voice filling with an authority she had never heard in him before. “When you find yourself settled and secure, then you may give them back to me. Until that time, however, I must insist that you keep them in case of an emergency.”
Kaitlyn sighed and nodded, grateful for the friendship that this giant of history was offering her. “Thank you, Mr. Clark.”
He smiled gently. “And please send word to me should you find yourself in need. These addresses should give you ample means for finding me,” he said, adding, “Or for simply writing to me. I would welcome any correspondence from you.”
She nodded again as emotional exhaustion swept over her. She could sense that James had more in mind than friendship and she had to admit that, if she were stuck here without Gabriel, James would offer a tempting alternative. Not because she felt anything deeper than friendship for him but because he was gentle and thoughtful. And safe. He was just the type of guy she normally went out with—one who wouldn’t ever really break her heart.
Unlike Gabriel.
Chapter Nine
Kaitlyn sighed heavily as she stared at the paper in front of her. Nearly three weeks had passed since she last saw Gabriel. None of the women in the house had much of a clue as to what had happened other than rumors from neighbors and traveling merchants. Unfortunately, no one seemed to agree as to which side was victorious, let alone if the battle was even over.
She glanced over her shoulder at Gabriel’s empty bed behind her. She had taken to using his bedroom as a place to quietly write every evening so as not to disturb Eileen while she was falling asleep.
Only one person ever interrupted her. Harriet had taken on the habit of placing fresh water in the pitcher in the water basin every night. She would always smile sympathetically at Kaitlyn and tell her that she was doing it just in case the men came home that night. Kaitlyn would smile back and continue with her writing, wondering just how transparent her feelings for Gabriel were becoming to those around her.
Kaitlyn had spent many hours writing down her observations on Colonial life. Perhaps it was simply the graduate student in her, she wasn’t certain but the action seemed to bring her a modicum of comfort.
Plus, it was a good distraction from thinking about Gabriel. The man consumed her thoughts in a way no man ever had. Though a good portion of her imaginings lingered upon his enticing body and exactly what she wanted to do to it the next time she saw him, she began to discover that she was thinking more and more about how he made her feel. Whenever she allowed her mind to dawdle too long on him, she would smile to herself over how thoughtful he was and how protective of her he seemed. Even though he was a product of a time in which women’s minds weren’t valued as much as they should have been, Gabriel had never once made her feel like she had nothing worthy to contribute intellectually. In fact, he seemed to actually like it when she spoke her mind to him.
And then, of course, her mind would come racing back to how his hands felt as they raked down her skin and how smooth and hot his cock felt in her hand.
Kaitlyn squirmed in her chair, closing her eyes and thinking back to the morning before he left. They had been so close. She could still feel the tip of his cock parting her lips, ready to plunge inside. Even now the mere thought made her clit ache.
She could feel her pussy moistening and she absentmindedly rubbed her thighs, the sexual frustration building once again. She would have thought that she would be used to it by now, since she had spent the past month in a near-constant state of arousal but it was quickly becoming too much to bear.
She spread her legs on the chair and leaned forward, placing her elbows upon the desk and allowing her forehead to fall into her hands. She arched her back slightly, tilting her pelvis until her clit was pressing into the hard wood of the seat to ease some of the ache threatening to drive her out of her mind. Her nipples hardened and she groaned as they lightly brushed against the top of the desk.
Without warning the door opened, causing Kaitlyn to jump from the chair. She turned and gasped at the sight before her.
Gabriel’s form filled the doorframe, the expression on his face indicating his surprise at seeing her as well. His hair was unbound and his features were taut with dark circles rimming his eyes as though he hadn’t slept for day
s.
“Gabriel,” she whispered, exhaling sharply.
He looked beyond her to the water basin on the dresser behind her. He shut the door and tossed his hat onto a chair near the bed. Striding purposefully past her, he removed his sword and pistol, carefully laying them on the dresser. He then took off his jacket, shirt and belt, dropping them on the floor at the foot of the bed. She immediately glanced at his arm and saw a red scar where his injury had once been.
Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him pour water into the basin and then splash it on his face, scrubbing his skin forcefully. She allowed her eyes to roam over his naked torso, resisting the urge to step behind him and trace the outlines of every hard muscle with the tip of her tongue. As she breathed, her rigid nipples brushed against the fabric of her nightgown and her pussy throbbed with every movement of Gabriel’s body, yearning for him to simply look at her.
Finally, he turned and stared at her, his eyes raking boldly up and down her form. His eyes were dark and fathomless, his chest rising and falling heavily. Kaitlyn unconsciously licked her lower lip as she met his gaze, the tension of the room hanging over them like a thick cloud.
Footsteps fell in the hallway and low voices murmured from somewhere outside the room. Several moments passed as their eyes clashed, seemingly frozen to the spot. Then silence fell over the house, humming loudly in Kaitlyn’s ears.
Swiftly, Gabriel descended upon her, grabbing her by the waist with one hand and her hair with the other. He yanked her head back forcefully and smashed his lips against hers, propelling her backward.
She moaned softly as her back hit the wall and he grabbed her hips, ramming his thick erection against her abdomen. She ground her pelvis against him, silently hoping he wouldn’t stop this time. She didn’t care who walked in on them or if the house began to burn down around their ears. She needed him to fuck her. Hard.
With a low, animalistic growl, he forced his tongue between her lips, his mouth hard and searching. He began to pull his hips away but she whimpered and arched her back to follow him with her own in a desperate need to continue the scorching physical contact.
She could feel him grasping frantically at her nightgown until he reached the sides of her breasts. He forced his hands between their bodies, chafing her erect nipples with his palms. He broke the kiss then and pulled away, holding her firmly against the wall.
His eyes bored into hers for split second before he seized the neckline of her garment and yanked on it, the muscles in his arms bulging. The fabric immediately gave way and he ripped it in two, drawing a gasp of shock and arousal from Kaitlyn’s mouth.
Gabriel stood back for a moment and allowed his eyes to roam lazily up and down the soft, feminine curves that had haunted his thoughts for the past three weeks. What was left of her nightgown hung in tantalizing tatters from her shoulders, sweeping past her full hips. Her breasts, flushed and pink in the candlelight, rose and fell heavily with her breathing, the nipples straining forward and beckoning to be tasted.
All of it was his. He would kill the man who touched this body that he was now going to claim for his own. It mattered not what happened to him from this point.
He would survive hell for her.
He grabbed her hips, digging his fingers into the tender, inviting flesh of her ass as he bent his head to suck one nipple into his mouth. He heard her gasp and she rotated her hips against him, causing his cock to throb mercilessly. He could smell the sweet scent of her desire and it caused his head to spin. Gently clamping her nipple between his teeth, he flicked his tongue quickly over the taut skin. His need to feel her soft thighs wrapped around his waist as he pumped into her took over his mind. He wanted to bring her to her climax, to watch her, to hear her scream his name.
Kaitlyn thought she was about to come unhinged. She bit her lower lip to keep from crying out as shocks of pleasure rippled through her breast to her clit. Moisture seeped from her pussy, wetting her thighs. Her legs began to feel weak and her knees threatened to give out on her.
He released her nipple from his mouth and grasped her buttocks, lifting her off her feet. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind his rock-hard ass. His knuckles grazed her clit over and over again, causing her eyes to roll to the back of her head, as he released his cock from his tight breeches.
She wildly rocked her hips against him, finally feeling the silken tip of his shaft slide from her clit to her wet opening. With one hard thrust, he forced his thick cock deep inside her pussy, burying himself to the hilt.
Kaitlyn cried out, pleasure ripping through the walls of her canal as he stretched her wide open. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, quivering as she pressed her lips hungrily against his.
Gabriel growled, overwhelmed by the feel of her hot, wet cunny surrounding his cock. She felt so good, her slick walls yielding to his invasion almost as though she was made for him. She felt like liquid fire surrounding his shaft, her pussy eagerly drawing him inside.
She pulled on the back of his hair and wiggled her hips as she slipped her tongue between his parted lips. He slid his cock almost all the way out before ramming himself back inside. She opened her mouth wider over his and moaned as he gave her his tongue once again.
He reveled in her passion, desperate to bring her to fulfillment. She was so responsive to him and so giving. He loved the look of ecstasy on her face as he fucked her, amazed that she seemed to be deriving as much pleasure from his cock as he was from her cunny.
Kaitlyn moaned again as Gabriel rocked his hips rhythmically, driving his rigid shaft harder and faster into her. Her nipples rubbed against his chest hair and she bucked her hips against his, desperate to find release.
As he pummeled his cock into her, his hand moved between their joined bodies and quickly found her clit, stroking it in fast circles. The two sensations at once finally proved to be her undoing. The tremors built faster and faster until her pussy exploded, her orgasm blinding her to everything but the spasms deep within her.
Gabriel tore his lips from hers, his forehead falling onto her shoulder as he began to shudder violently. She heard him inhale sharply as he drove into her one last time, grinding his pelvic bone ferociously against hers and pouring his hot seed deep inside her.
Frozen and spent, he held her against the wall for a long time. She could feel his heart thudding heavily against her chest as he breathed. She caressed his neck and shoulders lightly as she closed her eyes, still drunk from the passion they had just shared.
She felt him press his lips against her shoulder and neck several times as he began to slowly massage her ass. She inhaled contentedly, feeling satiated and loved.
“I am so sorry, Katie,” he whispered raggedly against her neck.
He withdrew his cock from her and gently pulled her legs from his waist, carefully setting her down upon her feet.
She wobbled slightly, her muscles zapped of their strength. “I’m not,” she whispered, placing a light kiss upon his chest.
“I never should have taken you like this.” His voice was low and dark. “This is not what I had imagined.”
Kaitlyn smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. “No, it was better,” she replied as a feeling of warmth engulfed her body.
He pulled away from her slightly and cupped her face in his hands, his dark eyes searching hers intently. “Are you certain I did not harm you?”
She nodded and caressed his worried brow with her fingers. “I can’t say as much for my nightgown.”
He chuckled and pressed his mouth gently to hers. “I have missed you, Katie,” he stated softly against her lips.
Slipping her arms around his waist, she sighed and leaned into him as a wave of contentment washed over her. He had missed her—old blend-into-the-wall Kaitlyn McCann.
Gabriel drew her shredded nightgown down her shoulders and she released him from the embrace so he could pull the garment off her arms. He tossed it aside and swept her into his
arms, carrying her to his bed. Laying her gently upon the mattress, he pulled the blankets down and motioned for her to get under them.
She giggled and immediately complied, leaning back against the pillows to watch him strip off his breeches and boots and slip into bed beside her.
He pulled her firmly against his chest, wrapping his muscular arms around her body. Placing a soft kiss upon the top of her head, he sighed as she tucked her head underneath his chin.
Kaitlyn took a deep breath, content in the feel of his warm, hard body enveloping hers. She closed her eyes, silently wishing that this moment would never end.
* * * * *
The first night they spent together before he left, Gabriel slept more soundly than he had in a long time.
This night was different.
Gabriel’s eyes flickered open restlessly, acutely aware of the gentle, deep breathing of the woman sleeping so peacefully in his arms. His thoughts whirled endlessly through his mind, torturing him awake every time he seemed close to losing consciousness.
He hadn’t meant to take her that way—like some rabid animal up against the wall. But the moment he walked into the room and saw her standing before him, so beautiful and tempting with her nipples straining against her nightgown, he lost all control.
Yes, he had every intention of making her completely his that night. He had thought of little else on the ride back, going over every little detail in his mind about how he would seduce her. However, he thought he would sneak into her room and silently scoop her up into his arms. He would then lay her in his bed and slowly kiss her awake, overwhelming her senses until she would be certain to succumb to him. He was going to take it slowly, making love to her tenderly until she began to beg.
Then she would know how he felt. Emotions were not exactly something he enjoyed talking about and he was certain he would muck it up if he tried.
Now he was not certain how she would react to what he had to tell her.
