Gabrielle awoke with a start.

Sitting up in bed, she looked around the elegant chamber and knew she was no longer at Bev’s. Nor was she at her uncle’s, thank God. Glancing down, she sighed with relief seeing she still wore the borrowed pants and shirt.

She lay in a large, comfortable bed with soft sheets and an impressive headboard and footboard. A dresser of rich mahogany and a matching wardrobe with glass knobs took up one wall. Directly across from the bed, a fire burned in the hearth, the mantle made of white marble etched with roses and vines. A cheval mirror and a vanity, complete with brush, comb, and toiletries, took up another wall. Heavy shutters covered windows, giving her no idea of the time of day.

She shifted and winced. A few days in the saddle and every muscle ached. Hopefully nothing bad had come of the horse that had been her companion during her short run at being a highwayman.

Somewhere in the house, a clock tolled. Gabrielle counted eight rings. Did that mean it was eight in the morning or eight at night? Even more important—where was she?

Was this Darius’s home, or perhaps Remont’s or Demetri’s? Was she still in London? Unfortunately, she remembered nothing after Remont had told her to hold onto him and close her eyes. That was the last thing she remembered until now.

Though she could not remember how she got here, she did remember everything up to that moment. The robberies that had gone off smoothly. That was until Darius, Demetri and Remont stepped from an elegant carriage. In that moment, she could not believe her luck. What were the chances that on a long lonely stretch of road, the one person she could not stop thinking about would come rushing back into her life?

How ironic that the very man her mother had warned her about was the very same man who had saved her. If he had not come along, she might very well be dead by now. If not shot, then hanged by an angry crowd. Or perhaps burned at the stake, since she was not just a highwayman, but a witch as well.

Witch. Highwayman. The list just kept on growing. Could her life get any more complicated?

And here she thought Darius would not be able to see beyond her highwayman disguise. He had known it was her all along and had played along until he realized she was in danger.

But even then, he had taken a moment to kiss her. His touch had seemed frantic, like he had been waiting to feel her for a long time. Truth be told, that touch had been heavenly.

She smiled, touching her lips, reliving the moment. For as long as she lived, she would never forget that kiss. How gentle his lips had been on hers. At least at first. Then the kiss had changed, becoming more primal, with an intensity that had her aching for more.

Much more.

As strange as it sounded, especially knowing he was a vampire, she felt safe with Darius. Safer than she had ever felt with her uncle.

Where was Darius now?

As much as she wanted to leave the chamber to search for him, she was wary and afraid of what she would find. After all, didn’t vampires sleep in coffins, most often in a crypt? Where would they keep such a coffin in a place such as this? Down in a dark cellar, or perhaps in a room just as this one—with heavy shutters on the windows to keep out the light?

A door opened and closed somewhere in the house.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

Getting out of bed, she crossed the room and pressed an ear against the door. She heard several masculine voices, one with a Scottish brogue, but she could not make out any words.

Catching her reflection in a cheval mirror, Gabrielle winced and took a few minutes to brush out her messy hair using her fingers. She also straightened her clothing and pinched color into her cheeks and lips.

If this was how she looked last night, it was a wonder Darius bothered to rescue her from her assailants.

Remembering the robbery and the jewels, she went to the jacket that had been tossed over the back of a chair and removed the velvet bag.

Sitting on the plush rug, she emptied the bag’s contents, and her heart gave a leap. She did far better this time out. Indeed, one of the prostitutes’ rings might be the real thing. “How like a man to shower his whore with real jewels, while the wife gets paste and glass,” she said to herself, setting the ring aside and picking up another.

Hopefully she could find a pawnshop nearby where she could get enough money to buy a few dresses, some underclothes, and repay Bev for all she had done. The poor woman was probably tearing her hair out wondering what had happened to Gabrielle. Perhaps she could write a letter to Bev and ask Darius or a servant to deliver it?

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Gabrielle did not have time to stand when it opened a second later. “Sorry, I thought you would still be asleep.” Darius hesitated, one long-fingered hand on the door, the other resting on the table. “I could come back later.”

How lovely he was. His dark hair pulled back from his chiseled face, and those eyes—so brilliantly blue. So intense they took her breath away. Could he see into her soul? She wondered, recalling how he could read her thoughts.

When she said nothing, he took a step back, as though he were going to leave.

“No, I want you to stay.” Ignoring the sudden increase of her heart rate, she came to her feet. “I was just seeing what I had—”

She could not say the word stolen. In fact, she could hardly believe she had done such a thing.

His gaze shifted to the stolen jewels at her feet, and she could feel her cheeks turn hotter by the second. What must he think of her?

“Do not be embarrassed, Gabrielle,” he said, shutting the door behind him. He walked toward her and went down on his haunches, picking up one of the rings. “This is lovely.”

Speaking of lovely, he had nice hands. Strong, long fingers. Hands that could bring pleasure, if the visions she had been seeing were to tell. “You did what you must in order to survive, lass. There is no crime in that.”

“You are lying in order to make me feel better.”

He grinned, exposing a deep dimple in his left cheek she had not noticed before. “Did you sleep well?”

“Very well, thank you.” She began to pick up the rings and other items, placing them back into the bag, aware that he stared intently.

She glanced up and caught his gaze. How serious he looked. What did he think of when he stared at her in such a way? Did he look down upon her for having stolen from others?

The side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. Good lord, had he just read her mind?

He placed the ring he held into the bag, his fingers brushing against hers as he did so. How odd that such a casual touch sent a shiver of awareness through her body. “I want to thank you,” she blurted, trying to forget the sensual images that danced through her mind.

“Thank me?” he asked, his gaze shifting over her face, as though he wanted to memorize each feature. “Whatever for?”

“For last night. For protecting me. For coming along when you did. I can only imagine what they would have done to me had you not been there.”

“I did not mean to scare you in the woods, Gabrielle. I did what I had to do.”

Still she struggled with that frightening side to him. To lift a grown man who outweighed him by so much, the way Darius had, took immense strength. And she did not want to think about the vicious way he had bitten the man’s neck. “You do not have to explain.”

He reached out and touched her cheek, a long finger brushing along her jaw. “I know I have said this before, and I shall say it again and for as long as you need to hear it. I will never hurt you, Gabrielle. Ever. That is a promise. I care for you, and I will kill any man who means you harm. I mean it … with all my heart.”

She stared into his eyes. Eyes that had turned fierce last night, like a wolf’s. There was nothing fierce about them now. Instead, she saw a vulnerability there that surprised her. “I know you mean it, Darius. Thank you.” She looked at his full lips and could not help herself. Leaning forward, she gave him a soft, gentle kiss.

His hands cupped her face, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping past her lips. Her tongue brushed against a fang and she nearly pulled back, but he held her fast and softened the kiss.

Trust me, Gabby. Trust me.

The only person to call her Gabby had been her mother. She had not heard the endearment for so long, it brought tears to her eyes to hear it once more.

Even though her mother warned her Darius was a vampire, she still trusted him. After all, he had put his life, and the life of his brother and friend, in jeopardy to save her, and she trusted no one else.

He smiled against her lips, and she guessed he must have heard her thoughts. Just in case he hadn’t, she whispered, “I trust you, Darius.”

“Thank you, lass. Those words mean more to me than you will ever know.” He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly to him.

She could hear his heart pound, and it sounded so much slower than her own. Perhaps it sounded that way because hers felt like it might beat right out of her chest.

From the corner of her eye, she caught her, or rather their reflection in the cheval mirror. Her heart leapt because she could see Darius clearly, and she had always believed vampires could not cast a reflection. However, now that she looked a bit closer, she noticed a black mark ran through his heart. The mark did not touch her at all. That must have been what her mother meant when she had said if she looked hard enough, she would see a mark across his soul. Looking away from the disturbing sight, she asked him, “What will we do now?”

“We shall wait a few days and go about our normal business. You will have to stay here, Gabrielle, and it is imperative you stay out of sight.”

She nodded. “Where will we go when we do leave?”

His lips curved. “We are going to my home in the Highlands of Scotland. It is a lovely place I think you shall enjoy. No one will bother us there. You will have no need to hide, as you do here.”

Gabrielle thought of the manor house she had been seeing in her dreams since the night they met. “Darius, I want you to know how sorry I am to have involved you in all of this. You can always—”

He put a finger to her lips, silencing her. “I became involved the moment I saw you. I want to help you, and there is no way I am letting you go now that I have finally found you again.”

Again?

“I will only cause trouble for you. Sutherland is a dangerous man, and my uncle is quite terrifying when he is desperate, and he will be quite desperate since Sutherland gave him a good deal of money. If I disappear, then Sutherland will want the money back, and my uncle has no means to repay it.”

“I am not afraid of anyone, and your uncle made a deal with the devil. He deserves everything that comes his way, Gabby. He had no right to sell you to Sutherland, and that is what he has done. He sold you to the highest bidder.”

“Yes, he did. Sutherland is a horrible man, and I could not marry him. I left the night of the Vanderline ball because I had overheard a conversation he’d had with his sister. He planned to take me to Gretna Green and marry me the very next day. He knew I did not want to marry him, and perhaps he knew I had tried to escape my uncle’s townhouse already.”

Darius’s jaw clenched. “You were wise in leaving, Gabrielle. I wish you had told me all of this then, because I would have helped you then and there, and you would not have had to endure this by yourself.”

She dropped her gaze, unable to tell him the reason she had been unable to ask him for help. He would probably think her crazy if he knew her dead mother spoke to her from the grave and that she had informed Gabrielle that Darius was a vampire. “They say Sutherland killed his previous wives. Do you think that to be true?”

“Aye, I do, and in time he would have done the same to you. Gabrielle, believe me when I say the man will get what is coming to him. He will die for what he has done.”

She could not believe how safe she felt, especially after all the uncertainty of the past few weeks. She wanted to ask him where he slept and if he would be nearby, but could not bring herself to.

His white shirt had been unbuttoned partially, showing part of his strong, wide chest. In the erotic visions of the past weeks she remembered him looking much the same, aside from his manner of dress. Now he wore snug navy breeches that clung to his long, muscled legs, knee-high Hessians, and the shirt that contrasted fiercely with his dark hair that curled at the ends. “What kind of things do you do for enjoyment?” she asked, stunned by the husky quality of her voice.

He stood and held out his hand to her, helping her up. “I draw, paint, read, take walks, and ride horses when I am at home.”

His answers shocked her. “You paint? What kind of things do you paint?”

“You are surprised that I paint,” he said with a light laugh that made her smile. “It has been some time since I have done so, and to answer your question, I prefer painting landscapes, though I have drawn a portrait or two.”

“Perhaps one day you will paint my portrait?”

The side of his mouth lifted in a boyish grin that had her heart skipping a beat. “I would like that very much.”

His gaze became so intense she felt her cheeks turn warm under his intense stare. She walked across the room to the window. “May I?”

He nodded. She opened the shutters and looked down at the street below. The street lamps had been lit and the road was filled with carriages. “I slept all day?”

“We both slept all day.”

She could feel his gaze on her, and then heard him walk toward her. Her hand that rested on the windowsill trembled.

He walked up behind her, reached up, and drew the curtain closed. “You must be careful, Gabrielle. There are people looking for you.”

He stood right behind her, so close she could feel the heat from his body. She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. “Do you have anything else I could wear besides this?” she asked, looking down at the borrowed clothes.

“I am certain I can find something.” He moved away from her, and she instantly felt his absence. “I will send my man out to purchase some items in the morning. For now, one of my shirts might have to suffice. Will that be all right?”

She turned. “Of course.”

“By the way, how did you ever get away from Vanderline Manor?”

“I climbed the back wall.”

He laughed as though he did not quite believe her.

She straightened her shoulders. “You think I am lying?”

His smile faded a little. “No, I just cannot envision you climbing that wall in a ball gown.”

“It was not easy.”

“I imagine not.” He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, and she wanted very much to do the same. What a handsome man he was. She could stare at him for hours.

“Well, let me see what I can find for you. I shall be right back.”

He closed the door behind him and she returned to the window, looking out. A couple walked hand-in-hand, chatting away, while an older gentleman crossed the street and walked past a young man. Gabrielle’s heart skittered. The same young man leaned against a tree and appeared to be watching the townhouse. Good gracious, he seemed to be looking straight at her. Perhaps he waited for someone, or perhaps he watched her.

She stepped back, out of sight, and closed the shutters. Darius walked into the room with a shirt draped over his arm. He hung it over the footboard. “So you never said if you enjoyed being a highwayman.”

She wondered if she should mention the man across the road and decided against it. “I do not recommend it to anyone. One’s imagination begins to wander when alone in the woods at night, particularly on a long, isolated stretch of road.”

“You are quite brave,” he said, resting his hip against the footboard. Damn, but he was gorgeous. “I know many men who would hesitate.”

She cleared her throat and walked to the fire and stared into the flames. “When the first carriage came along, I was actually quite relieved. In fact, I felt calm. I suppose because I needed the money and knew stealing it from the rich was the only viable option for me.”

“Were you living in the woods then?”

“No, a lady named Bev took me in the night of the Vanderline ball. While I stayed with her, I would only venture out at night. You know as well as I do that there are only a few things a woman can do at night to make money, and selling my body was not an option.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Darius said, and she looked at him, half expecting a smile on his lips, but there was no humor there, just a possessiveness that oddly pleased her.

“Speaking of Bev, she has to wonder what happened to me. I borrowed her husband’s clothing and pistols without her knowledge. I do not want her thinking I took advantage of her and stole from her. She was really good to me, and she deserves something for her trouble.”

His lips curved in a soft smile. “You have a good heart, Gabrielle. I will be sure to get word to her, and perhaps a gift or two to show our appreciation. Consider it done.” He pushed away from the bed and crossed the room. He reached out and cupped her cheeks.

Excitement rippled along her spine, and she lifted her chin. “Thank you for all that you have done for me, Darius.”

He brushed his thumb over her lips, and her breath left her in a rush. “You are welcome, lass.”

Without warning he kissed her, and there was nothing passive about it. Indeed, she brushed her tongue along the seam of his lips, just as he had done to her earlier. She could sense his surprise.

His tongue mingled with hers and strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tight.

Her arms slid around his narrow waist. How she loved the feel of his hard body against hers. As the kiss deepened, her hands moved lower, to the high curve of his buttocks.

His cock swelled against her belly, long and thick, making the flesh between her thighs tingle. Even her nipples ached to be touched.

“I want to make love to you, Gabrielle,” he whispered against her mouth.

“I want you, too.”

He smiled then and lifted her in his arms, kissing her as he walked around the bed and lay her down on the soft sheets. His hands made busy unbuttoning her shirt, which he did with skill. A moment later the shirt was off and he was making fast work of her pants, pulling them from her and leaving her naked to his all-consuming gaze. He stood back for a moment and just stared.

How nervous she was, her entire body trembling, but she did not try to hide herself from him, even though she wanted to. What did he see when he looked at her?

“Beautiful,” he said, putting her fears to rest. His eyes had turned dark and the lids heavy. He gave off a sensual heat that had her blood simmering.

Her mouth went dry when he did not bother with the buttons on his shirt, but rather yanked it up and over his head and tossed it aside. He unbuttoned his pants and slid them over his hips, along with his drawers, exposing his huge cock.

She might need a drink, she thought to herself as she stared boldly.

How perfectly formed he was, his body all muscle and sinew under lovely olive skin. The body of a warrior. She wanted to know each inch of that body intimately.

He snapped his fingers, and two candles flickered and flamed. She gasped.

“Impressed?” he asked with a cocky smile.

“Yes,” she whispered, her gaze sliding to his thick length. “But not just by the candles.”

“You know just what to say, don’t you, lass?”

“I have never done this before.”

His smile softened. “I am honored to be the first.”

“I am glad you are my first.”

He kissed her lips, her nose, her eyelids, her forehead, and her lips again. “And I shall be the last,” he whispered against her lips.

Never in her life had she been so aware of another person. The touch of his silky hair as he leaned over her. The hard ridge of his cock that strangely felt velvety soft as well.

His kiss intensified, growing more ravenous. One hand slid up her side and covered a breast before his fingers circled around the nipple. Blood rushed to her groin, and there seemed to be an invisible string that ran from her aching breasts to the sensitive flesh between her legs. The tiny button at the top of her sex twitched and she shifted, arching her hips against him, needing that contact.

He removed his hand just a moment and flexed his hips against hers, hard enough to give her the contact she craved. She gasped as her channel tightened and began to pulse. This was even better than her dreams. Gabrielle swallowed a moan, shocked at the strong climax and sensations rippling through her.

Darius’s fingers slid over her dewy folds and centered on her sensitive pearl. His pressure increased while he lowered his head and took a nipple into his mouth.

Weaving her fingers through his silky dark hair, she pulled him closer as he sucked, laved, and used his teeth in a way that had her heart pounding nearly out of her chest.

Darius could not remember ever being so hard. When Gabrielle had reached climax so quickly, it had taken all his willpower not to slide his hard cock into her wet heat.

His mouth left her breast, kissing a path downward over her trembling stomach, to the soft downy hair that covered her mons. He parted her pouty lips and licked her.

Her hands fisted in his hair, and she cried out, her legs instinctively clamping against his shoulders.

He laughed softly, a purely primal sound that had her stomach tightening. He continued to lick her slit from back to front, his tongue circling her hard little button before he did it all over again. “Oh my God,” she breathed, her hands moving to his shoulders, the nails biting into his skin.

Reaching beneath her, he cupped her bottom, bringing her closer to his mouth. He inhaled her scent and thrust his tongue into her sheath.

She nearly came off the bed.

He slowly licked her, taking his time, wanting her to savor the sensations. Her head rocked from side to side and she reached up to hold onto the headboard, nearly knocking the candle over in her haste.

She did not notice the impending danger as her fingers curled around the thick wooden rail.

Gabrielle could scarcely breathe as Darius’s tongue worked its magic. No wonder women took lovers, because she could not imagine doing this with any husband, unless that husband happened to be Darius MacLeod.

His lips curved and he looked up at her. The heavy-lidded, devilish gaze made her heart pound in triple time. She watched as his long tongue lifted, swirled, and entered her weeping sheath, making her cry out as she reached for the second climax in as many minutes.

Darius slid a finger inside her molten core and gritted his teeth as the tight inner muscles squeezed around him.

“Darius,” she said on a moan.

He knew what she needed, and he was only too happy to oblige. Crawling slowly back up her body, he kissed a path from belly to breast, from chest to throat.

What he wouldn’t give to sink his teeth into that creamy flesh. Indeed, he could smell the blood rushing through her, heating her veins.

But instead of biting her, he kissed her hard and was pleased when she did not move away from him.

He smiled inwardly.

How uninhibited she was already.

His cock rested at her entrance, and she spread her thighs wider, ready to receive him. He could wait no longer.

Slowly, he slid inside her hot sheath, closing his eyes as she enveloped him like a glove, and kissed her softly.

She shifted a little beneath him and he knew she must hurt, that her tissues were stretching to accommodate him.

Gasping against his lips, Gabrielle felt her entire body tense. She could hear her heart pounding hard against her breastbone, could feel him swelling inside her. “Try to relax, lass.”

She tried to relax all her muscles, especially the ones squeezing his thick cock. Seconds later he began to move, sliding in and almost out, before doing the same motion over and over again.

Instinctively she moved with him, lifting her hips to meet each thrust. He kissed her neck, his tongue outlining her ear, swooping along the inside ridge.

She moaned.

With each thrust her stomach tightened, and she felt like she was being lifted on a soft, puffy cloud. Higher and higher she rose, closer to climax with each thrust.

She ground against him, crying out his name as she climaxed.

Sweat beaded his brow, but he waited until the final tremors wracked her body before he moved again. It took less than a handful of thrusts to reach orgasm.