As if he could possibly be interested in any other woman when Gabriella herself had him so tied up in knots he couldn’t think straight most of the time.
His mouth twisted mockingly. ‘You could always come with me, Gabriella,’ he invited derisively—and totally in contradiction of the decision he had made minutes earlier. ‘Although I couldn’t guarantee you would see much of New York!’ he added, watching intently to see her reaction.
His eyes, Gabriella realized, were now gleaming with a far different emotion from anger.
Rufus still wanted her…
How he could feel that way, believing what he did about her, she had no idea. But she knew by that gleam in his eyes, the slight flush to his cheeks, that Rufus desired her.
She met his gaze unblinkingly. ‘I’ve seen New York,’ she said. ‘I went there with my mother and James a couple of years ago Christmas shopping.’
‘So you did,’ he drawled. ‘Do I take it from that you want to come with me?’
Did she?
Oh, yes!
She hated the thought of him going away now, with things so unsettled between them. But at the same time she knew he was still angry at what he considered her duplicity with Toby, and that if she went with him to New York he would probably make her pay for that anger.
She shook her head slowly. ‘I don’t think that would be a good idea when you’ve already told Holly she can’t go. She dislikes me enough as it is,’ she added ruefully.
‘She doesn’t know you well enough to dislike you—’
‘That’s never seemed to stop you!’ she pointed out dryly.
His mouth thinned. ‘We both know exactly why I distrusted you from the beginning, Gabriella—’
‘Even if what you believed about my mother had been true—which it wasn’t,’ she snapped defensively before he could speak, ‘that was still no reason for you to decide I’m a manipulative little gold-digger!’
Rufus eyed her mockingly. ‘And your behaviour in Majorca? You deliberately set out to seduce me that day, Gabriella. Am I to believe that was just—youthful curiosity?’
Because he was never going to believe she had been in love with him!
‘It was!’ she claimed heatedly. ‘You were my good-looking stepbrother, obviously experienced, and I was—at the time I was infatuated with you!’ she admitted breathlessly.
Rufus gave a humourless smile. ‘And I suppose I crushed all your girlhood dreams?’ he taunted.
Yes, he had.
Just as he was crushing the wholly adult love she had for him now.
She shook her head. ‘You wouldn’t care if you had,’ she acknowledged quietly.
Rufus looked at her bowed head, at those long lashes sweeping her creamy cheeks, and resented the feelings of guilt she aroused in him even as he dismissed them as unnecessary. Gabriella had known exactly what she was doing five years ago. She had been dressed—or in this case, undressed!—for the part.
‘You’re right, I wouldn’t care,’ he confirmed harshly, his hands clenched at his sides as he desperately tried to resist the temptation he had to take her in his arms and make love to her, to give himself one more memory of her to take with him to New York. It was a fight he lost…
Gabriella looked up, her eyes wide as Rufus took her in his arms to crush his mouth down on hers in a kiss that demanded and took, his hands firm on her hips as he held her against his hardness, his hands moving to cup her bottom as he pressed her into him.
It was a kiss meant to punish, to claim possession, rather than give pleasure. And in that it succeeded, as Gabriella knew that she wanted no other man but Rufus to touch and hold her like this, no matter how he felt towards her.
His eyes glittered as he wrenched his mouth away from hers and put her firmly away from him. ‘Stay well away from Toby while I’m away,’ he advised harshly.
Gabriella watched, tears gleaming in her eyes as Rufus strode forcefully from the room without so much as a second glance.
Because she meant nothing to him.
Because he felt nothing but desire for her.
A desire he satisfied whenever, and wherever, he felt like it.
A desire she had no weapons against.
Just as she had learnt today that she had no defences against the love she felt for him.
Which was why, this afternoon she had visited David Brewster to start the legal process that would ensure one day Rufus would have no choice but to believe her.
It might turn out to make absolutely no difference to Rufus whatsoever, but at least she would know, when in six months’ time she gave him back the twenty-five million pounds he claimed were all she was interested in, that she had proved him completely wrong about her.
Her life, without Rufus in it, would be empty, but at least he would know the truth.
Chapter 8
Gabriella was having the most wonderful dream. In her dream Rufus was in bed beside her, holding her, making love to her, kissing her even as he explored every inch of her body.
Gently.
Tenderly.
Adoringly.
Which was when Gabriella realized she really had to be dreaming!
Rufus didn’t adore her.
She quickly buried such thoughts deep in the back of her mind, desperately returning to that dream, to the Rufus who was serving her so erotically.
Because she wanted Rufus to adore her?
Oh, yes!
She cradled his head against her as his tongue moved lightly across her breast, her moan one of protest as he abandoned his caress.
But as the heat of his lips claimed its twin, and gently drew the aroused nipple inside the moist warmth of his mouth, her groan turned to a moan of pure pleasure.
‘Do you like that, Gabriella?’ he prompted huskily.
‘Oh, yes,’ she sighed achingly. ‘Don’t stop, Rufus. Please don’t stop!’
‘Tell me what else you like,’ he encouraged throatily as his hand moved gently down the curve of her body, his fingers trailing a path of fire.
This was a dream, she told herself, and in her dream she could ask Rufus to do whatever she liked.
‘I like it when you touch me here.’ She moved his hand to cup the warm triangle between her legs.
‘Like this?’ he asked as he started to stroke her.
‘Oh, yes,’ she sighed achingly, the pleasure building deep inside her. ‘Rufus—’ She broke off with a breathless gasp as he moved until his lips touched her, his tongue hot and moist against her arousal. ‘Oh, God, Rufus…!’ she groaned weakly, totally lost as the pleasure surged hotly through her whole body, arching her back, her head thrown back as that convulsive pleasure soared to every part of her body for what seemed an eternity.
‘Mmm.’ She breathed her satisfaction, reaching down to pull him up to her, her mouth ready for his as he kissed her with a demand that told her this dream wasn’t about to end just yet.
She smiled as Rufus broke the kiss to move his tongue across the sensitivity of her lips, tasting, licking, teeth gently biting as he once more trailed a path to the swollen thrust of her breasts, her hands entangled in the thickness of his hair as she arched against him.
‘More?’ he prompted gruffly.
‘Oh, much more!’ She gave a husky laugh of triumph as she reached down to touch the rigid hardness of his body. Rufus was the one to groan with pleasure this time as he fell back against the pillows beside her.
Her hair trailed across his chest as she moved down his body, stopping along the way to plunder the hard tips on his chest, her tongue dipping into his navel, so close, but still not quite touching his arousal, the darkness in her dream giving her a boldness she had never known before.
‘What do you like, Rufus?’ she encouraged huskily. ‘Do you like this?’ Her hand ran the length of him. ‘And this?’ Her tongue moved along that same silky hardness. ‘And this?’ as her tongue encircled the tip.
‘All of it, Gabriella! I like all of it!’ he groaned, reaching up t
o tangle his hand in her hair. ‘For God’s sake, don’t stop!’
She had no intention of doing so this time, kneeling between his legs, her hand encircling him as her lips captured him, feeling the strength of him beneath her as he shuddered at her touch.
‘No more, Gabriella!’ he breathed weakly. ‘I want to be inside you.’
‘But what do I want, Rufus?’ She straightened on her knees, changing her position so that she straddled him. She moved temptingly along the length of his hard arousal, but refused him entry to her heated centre. ‘I want you to beg, Rufus. Beg me to take you!’
She murmured her approval as Rufus pulled her towards him slightly, capturing her breasts with his hands, his thumbs moving rhythmically against the swollen tips, his hips straining against her as he begged softly for the release she could give him.
‘Not yet, Rufus!’ she groaned. ‘Oh, not yet…!’ she cried as she could feel her own pleasure peaking once more.
Gabriella arched against him as he took one nipple into his mouth, full and open to his touch as the pleasure surged low in her body and spread wildly to every sensitized inch of her as she thrust against him.
She collapsed weakly onto his chest, breathing deeply.
‘Now, Gabriella?’ he pressed urgently as he moved so that he was poised between her legs, his arousal pulsing against her.
‘Please…!’ she groaned, reaching for him, guiding him into her.
‘I can’t hold back any longer, Gabriella,’ he warned gratingly. ‘I need you too much!’
‘Come inside me, Rufus,’ she invited achingly. ‘Now!’
She met thrust with thrust, her nails scraping across the broad width of his back as she felt them reaching a climax that was deeper and stronger than anything she had ever known, before curling against him in the sleepy aftermath.
Wow! was Gabriella’s first thought as she woke to the sun shining through her bedroom window, stretching like a cat as she remembered the eroticism of her dream in every detail, a smile curving her lips as she recalled how she and Rufus had given to each other, taken each other, and then given again.
It wasn’t the first dream she’d had about Rufus, but never in the past had they ever been so erotic, or so lucidly clear to her when she’d woken up. She felt as though she were still able to feel the touch of his skin, the warmth of his breath, the caress of his lips and hands, the bite of his teeth against her shoulder as he shuddered to climax—
There were teeth marks on her left shoulder!
But it had been a dream. Hadn’t it…?
Her eyes widened in alarm, throwing back the covers to look down at her body. Her naked body. When the night before she had gone to bed in a cream silk nightgown. A nightgown that now lay on the floor beside the bed.
Oh, God, it hadn’t been a dream.
Rufus had really been here in bed with her last night!
Her face paled as she remembered all that had taken place, her lack of restraint in demanding what she wanted from him, her boldness as she’d touched and caressed him in return.
But Rufus was still in New York, she reasoned dazedly. He had been in New York for the last eight days. He couldn’t have been here with her last night!
But she wasn’t imagining the slight redness to the curve of her breasts, as if from the rasp of a late-night beard against the tender skin. And she wasn’t imagining those teeth marks on her shoulder, either!
No matter how she might try to reason this out, Rufus really had been here in bed with her last night, and none of it had been a dream at all!
No, Rufus couldn’t have been here, she told herself again. He hadn’t so much as spoken to her on the telephone the last eight days, but he had spoken to Holly, and Gabriella was sure he would have told his daughter if he had expected to return last night.
There was no if about it; Rufus had returned last night.
And how was she supposed to face him again this morning after the wanton way she had behaved?
But only in her dream, she defended with a rising indignation. To her it had all been a dream.
What—?
‘It’s almost eight-thirty, Gabriella, if you intend going to Gresham’s today?’ enquired a mockingly familiar voice.
Rufus’s mouth curved at the self-conscious way she pulled the covers back over her nakedness, her violet eyes blazing with anger as she glared at him over the top of them, her hair a wild tangle of ebony.
He had been tired, weary, and emotionally drained from his unhappy trip when he had returned last night, sorely in need of the warmth of just lying beside a woman in bed in order to drive the demons away.
What had followed had been totally unexpected. Pleasurably so. But still unexpected. All the more so because he knew the two of them had been angry with each other when they had parted eight days ago. But last night Gabriella had given to him in a way that made his body grow hard again now just looking at her.
Gabriella frowned at him. ‘When did you get back?’ she demanded rudely, a part of her still hoping that she was mistaken, that their lovemaking really had been a dream.
Futile, she knew, but she could hope, couldn’t she?
Rufus shrugged. ‘About one o’clock this morning.’
Gabriella closed her eyes, praying to whatever god might be listening, before opening her eyes again to glare at him accusingly. ‘You came to my bed last night!’
‘I did.’ He nodded, gaze considering. ‘We are married, Gabriella.’ He shrugged.
‘Yes, but—but—I was asleep. Didn’t know what I was doing. You took advantage of me!’ she accused heatedly.
He strolled further into the bedroom, dressed casually in a deep blue tee shirt and faded denims. ‘As I recall, you were the one who demanded that I be the one to beg…?’
Oh, God, she had, too!
And Rufus had begged, as she remembered, had pleaded with her to give him release…
She swallowed hard. ‘I thought you were a dream.’
He smiled slightly. ‘Have a lot of dreams about me, do you?’
Never like that one. And never so lucid, either.
Because it hadn’t been a dream!
‘Usually they’re nightmares,’ she snapped, wishing he would go away so that she might at least try to regain some semblance of dignity.
Although that was going to be extremely difficult to do in the circumstances.
Rufus’s smile deepened. ‘You can have as many nightmares like that one as you please! I’m more than happy to oblige.’
She would just bet he was!
‘Will you just go away, Rufus?’ she muttered impatiently. ‘Haven’t you humiliated me enough for one day?’
His smile faded, his gaze searching the paleness of her face, and what he saw there didn’t please him one little bit.
Instead of leaving, as she asked, he moved across the room to sit on the side of the bed, reaching out to cup one side of her face as he looked down at her intently.
He shook his head. ‘I’m not intending to humiliate you, Gabriella,’ he assured her huskily. ‘In fact, if anything, I should be thanking you—’
‘Thanking me?’ she repeated agitatedly, fingers tightly gripping the sheet as she still held it defensively up to her chin.
Rufus gave a weary sigh. ‘I didn’t tell you before—the reason I had to go to New York so urgently was because the manager there had been involved in a car accident.’ He shook his head. ‘He died five days ago. I—he was a friend, Gabriella. All the family are.’
Gabriella looked up at him searchingly, seeing the strain now in his face, the lines beside his eyes and mouth that hadn’t been there eight days ago.
His expression was grim. ‘The funeral was yesterday. I stayed around for as long as I could, but his widow’s grief was just too—He had two young children, too, and they don’t understand at all—I couldn’t wait to get out of there, Gabriella,’ he admitted shakily, his thumb caressing the pout of her bottom lip. ‘I badly needed what you gave so
willingly last night, Gabriella,’ he added intensely. ‘Can you understand that?’
His father, her beloved stepfather, had died only seven weeks ago, and Rufus’s loss was obviously still as painful and raw as her own. It must have been awful for him to have to go through the trauma of yet another death, of a much younger man by the sound of it, and a friend.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she told him huskily. ‘I had no idea.’
He hadn’t felt he could talk to Gabriella on the telephone while he was away, Rufus acknowledged. His presence had been needed in New York, for the stunned staff at the Gresham’s there, and for Jen and her two children. If he had so much as heard Gabriella’s voice over the telephone he wouldn’t have wanted to stay in New York at all; he would have wanted to get on the next plane home.
He had got on the next plane home as soon as he had felt free to do so.
He had missed Gabriella, he realized heavily. Whatever the reason for this marriage, whatever her involvement with Toby—and he would find out exactly what that was now that he was back in England—he knew that Gabriella was fast becoming an essential part of his life. A part he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to relinquish at the end of the six months…
He stood up abruptly, thrusting his hands into his denims pockets. ‘Come down and have some breakfast with me,’ he rasped shortly.
Gabriella blinked her surprise at his sudden shift of mood. For a few minutes, a few brief minutes, Rufus had actually shared some of his personal life, his feelings, with her. A lapse he obviously now regretted!
‘Okay.’ She nodded slowly. ‘I’ll come down as soon as I’m dressed,’ she added pointedly as he made no effort to leave her bedroom.
‘Oh. Right. I’ll see you downstairs.’ He nodded abruptly before turning on his heel and walking away, closing the door firmly behind him.
Gabriella collapsed back against the pillows to stare blindly up at the ceiling.
She had longed for Rufus to come back from New York, the eight days without him here seeming to drag interminably. Although she had expected, once he did return, that they would continue to have the strained relationship that Toby had helped to maintain with his lies, with Rufus’s distrust of her now overwhelming.
Wife By Contract, Mistress By Demand Page 10
