“Wherein Crecy is stubborn and takes Gabriel in hand.”

Gabriel showed her to her room so she could get ready for bed, and she entered with start of surprise at how pretty the room was. It was all done in a rather deep blue, which reminded her strongly of Gabriel’s eyes and so naturally found favour with her. The rest was white with a few touches of a rather bright yellow here and there in the furnishings, which gave the room a rather joyful, sunny feel, even on a chilly spring night. That Gabriel was responsible for it was yet another revelation about the man she was coming to know.

Beth was waiting for her in the adjoining dressing room, unpacking a huge trunk that Crecy had never seen before.

“Goodness, what on earth is in there, the lost city of Atlantis?” Crecy said with a laugh as Beth returned a puzzled look.

“No, miss,” she said with all seriousness. “But there’s more dresses and the like than I ever saw in all my born days, and that’s the God’s honest truth.” She gestured to the walls of the room, which revealed dozens and dozens of dresses of every type and colour imaginable. Crecy gaped in astonishment. Moving to a large wardrobe, she opened it to find rows of shoes and boots, gloves, stockings … so much it made her head spin.

“That ain’t all, miss,” Beth said with a grin. She tugged at Crecy’s hand, pulling her to the far side of the room where Crecy’s breath snagged in her throat and tears pricked at her eyes. It was a crib. Beautifully done, it was made of walnut and designed to swing. Crecy touched it, watching as it rocked gently, and felt her chest tighten. A smaller chest beside the cradle was opened but not yet unpacked, and Crecy bent to run her hands over the tiny items. The bonnet was delicate and ridiculously small, tiny with lace trim, and she had to swallow hard to stop herself from sobbing.

“Did his lordship order all of this?” Beth asked, looking at the carefully packed chest of miniature items with as much reverence as Crecy was.

Crecy nodded, quite unable to say a word.

Beth gave a wistful sigh, smiling at her. “He must love you very much, miss. If you don’t mind me remarkin’ it?”

Wiping an errant tear from her cheek that had escaped despite her best efforts, Crecy gave a choked laugh. “Yes,” she said, nodding. “He really must.”

Once Beth had left her, Crecy took one last look at her image in the looking glass and pronounced herself satisfied. The nightgown was so fine it was almost sheer, and it was trimmed about the neck and cuffs with a beautiful lace, which gave her a deceptively virginal appearance. Her hair had been brushed and fell in heavy golden waves about her shoulders, and after a good meal and a quiet evening, the colour had returned to her cheeks. Indeed, she thought she had never looked better, a healthy, wholesome look to her skin that she had not seen for some months. She bit back a smile as she wondered how hard Gabriel would try to resist, her and then paused as she remembered her promise to let him come to her. Damnation. Well, there was nothing to say she couldn’t tempt him a bit, at least.

Crecy made her way to the adjoining door, which Gabriel had indicated led to his room, and knocked. She heard the muffled sound of Gabriel dismissing his valet, and a moment later, the door opened.

Gabriel filled the doorway. Large and masculine and virile, Crecy had to force herself not to launch herself at him.

“Hello,” she said instead, quite unable to keep the silly grin from her face.

Gabriel stared back at her, his expression unreadable as he looked her over, but that was telling enough. The harder it was to read him, the stronger he was trying to hide his emotions. Crecy decided that was good enough and moved past him without waiting for an invitation.

She looked about the room with interest. It was indeed a more masculine room than her own, done in a much darker blue and with heavy wooden panelling around much of the walls where hers had been painted white. The space was dominated by a massive bed, hung with luxurious brocade curtains of the same deep blue, shot through with gold thread, and with gold tassels along the edges. It was surprisingly opulent and indulgent. Crecy cast Gabriel a mischievous look, undid her wrap - throwing it at him as she went - and then ran to the bed, jumping on it with all the glee of a naughty seven-year-old.

Gabriel shook his head and began to fold her wrap with his usual care. “You’re pregnant for heaven’s sake, have a care, Crecy.”

“Oh, pooh,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “That doesn’t mean I shall let you wrap me in cotton wool, so you may as well give up on the idea.” She watched with impatience as he put her wrap away and then did the same with his own, before turning towards the bed. “Come along,” she said, stripping the covers back further on his side and patting the space that was his.

Gabriel let out a long-suffering sigh. “Remember what I said,” he muttered, the warning behind the words unmistakable.

“Mmmmhmmm.”

He gave her a suspicious look, but got in beside her, pausing only to blow out the candle. Crecy wasted no time in wriggling beneath his arm and laying her head on his chest.

“Crecy,” he said, sounding irritated.

“Oh, come along, you can’t deny the mother of your child a cuddle, at least,” she said, a distinctly whiny quality to her voice that she was rather pleased with.

She could practically hear him grinding his teeth, but he said nothing more, and she counted that a victory. Content, for now, Crecy discovered she really was dreadfully tired and went to sleep happy.

***

Gabriel stared into the darkness and wondered how the hell he was going to get through the next six months. Could you die from desire, he wondered with a touch of desperation? He couldn’t help but hope so. It would make things a deal easier.

Crecy was warm and soft, cuddled as close to him as she could manage, her hair a silky curtain falling over his arm as the faint scent of lily of the valley drifted up to him. The delicate huff of her breathing fluttered over his chest, sending goosebumps chasing over his skin, which did not help matters in the least. He could tumble her onto her back now, this minute, and she would be only too pleased to welcome him. The idea was like a maggot in his brain, wriggling in his conscious mind until he knew he wouldn’t sleep a wink.

He was hard and aching, and the object of his desire was only too close and as far from unwilling as it was possible to get. He sighed, suppressing a groan and consigning himself to a night of utter torture.

***

Crecy woke, a sensation of peace and happiness stealing over her. She wriggled her toes in the warmth of the bed and realised that the heat source making her so cosy was Gabriel. Without opening her eyes, she registered the feel of him under her hand, the tangle of coarse hair on his chest and the surprisingly silky skin beneath. With a deceptively sleepy sigh that might fool him into believing that she was still asleep, she stirred a little, allowing her hand to drift lower. The already tense body beside her seemed to grow tauter still, and he sucked in a breath as her hand covered a rather impressive show of arousal.

“Crecy!” he growled, though his voice sounded more desperate than angry.

She looked up at him, blinking and giving him what she hoped was a beguiling look, as her hand firmed a little, caressing him through his nightshirt.

“Yes, Gabriel?” she replied, her tone one of innocent enquiry.

She moved her hand over him, eliciting a deep groan that made her own body spring to life in response. To her chagrin, Gabriel put a dent in her enthusiasm by grasping hold of her wrist.

“I told you no already,” he said, lifting his head to glare at her and sounding very much as though he was talking through gritted teeth.

Crecy pursed her lips and shook her head. “You told me that …” she hesitated, finding that even she baulked a little at being too expressive. “That the act was forbidden, but … and I know I have no experience of such things, Gabriel, but I suspect that does not cancel out every aspect of pleasure?”

Gabriel stared at her in outrage for a moment and then capitulated. His head hit the pillow with a thud and he released her hand. “Fine, fine … just … please …”

Crecy grinned, feeling rather smug. That had been easier than she’d anticipated. With every indication of enthusiasm, Crecy returned to her work, wasting no time in pulling the infuriating shirt out of the way. That would have to go. She pushed it up, revealing Gabriel in all his glory, and making her feel all the more smug and not a little possessive. He sat up, stripping the shirt off and throwing it to the floor with impatience. Crecy took a moment to admire that impressive chest and the scattering of dark hair that trailed below a hard stomach to regions she had every intention of becoming better acquainted with. She hesitated, though, eyeing the shirt on the floor and wondering if he’d insist on tidying it. But he was staring at her with a rather frantic look in his eyes, and didn’t seem the least bit concerned with the shirt.

Intrigued, Crecy returned to the even more interesting work of familiarising herself with Gabriel. He sucked in a breath as her hand returned to him, and she ran her fingers up and down the hard length, watching with interest as he shivered.

“Like this, remember?” he said, his voice hoarse as he took her hand and showed her how to go about the business of pleasuring him. Crecy repeated his instructions, watching closely as Gabriel shut his eyes.

Crecy knelt beside him, using her free hand to smooth over his skin, and noted with interest the moisture that gathered, allowing her hand to slide easier as his breathing became deeper and faster. She bent lower, quite unable to resist the urge to kiss his stomach, pleased by the hitch in his breath as her lips met his skin. She shifted around a little, moving between his legs and bending again, this time to nuzzle her face against his thigh. Her lips continued their exploration, mapping the rough hair of his thighs and the intriguingly soft skin at the apex. She wondered if the skin she held in her hand was even silkier, as it felt like it was, and she paused her attentions for a moment. Gabriel raised his head, looking a little indignant, just in time to see her duck down and press her lips to the head of his arousal.

“Oh, good Christ.” The words were said in a rush, and Crecy decided this was something that pleased him, and continued, discovering that trailing her tongue over his flesh drew quite a remarkable sound from him. With no real idea of what she was doing, but guided by the increasingly agonised sounds from the far end of the bed, Crecy alternated her attentions between mouth and lips and tongue until Gabriel was clutching at the bed covers.

“Stop, stop,” he said, and Crecy looked up as he took himself in hand and his body grew taut, every muscle straining with exertion as pleasure overcame him and he found his release. Crecy watched, fascinated and burning with desire for him. She wanted him to make love to her so badly that she thought she’d go mad if he didn’t, but she suspected her opportunity to persuade him this morning had been lost. Still, she knew it didn’t do to push Gabriel too hard. She would just have to be patient.

She sighed inwardly, never having felt less patient in her whole life. Still, he had already shown her there were other ways to bring her pleasure, too. Sitting up, she stripped off her nightgown and used it to clean him up.

“Crecy,” he said, still breathless and a little dazed, by the sounds of things. “For the love of God, you don’t need to do that.”

“But I don’t mind,” she said, giving him a curious look. “I want to.” Her lips quirked as she looked down at him, noticing the moment when he registered her nakedness. “Besides,” she added. “It’s my turn.”

***

Gabriel wasn’t sure his heart - or any other part of him, come to that - could stand much more.

He felt raw and exposed in more ways than simply being naked before her. She was digging so deeply into his heart, it was terrifying, and he didn’t know how to stop it happening. And now, there she was, demanding that it was her turn.

He didn’t know whether to thank God or curse the devil.

Before he could consider the options further, his body had decided it wasn’t worth the effort of further thought, and he’d tumbled her onto her back as he’d been dreaming of doing all night. Though he would never have admitted it to Crecy, he cursed the bloody doctor who had advised him, and decided he would seek a second opinion - just to be on the safe side. For now, though, he was going to take his time and give a little retribution.

Gabriel moved over her, bracing his weight on his elbows and kissing her, quite unable to disguise his feelings on the matter. With Crecy’s arms wrapped over his shoulders, holding him tight, and her body as inviting and welcoming as ever, there was no greater happiness than this. He could not help but show it, kissing her slowly, tenderly, and with such reverence as he felt for her, this strange and wonderful woman who was mad enough to care for him.

But there were other inviting areas to attend to, and Gabriel made a thorough exploration of all of them, smiling as his lips closed over her breast and she gasped, clutching at his hair, and fighting back the absurd desire to laugh as his mouth trailed over her stomach and lower, and she squealed and gasped and arched beneath him.

When he finally reached his destination, the sounds he drew from her were even more pleasing. He decided that he was glad the walls were so damn thick, or the servants would not be able to look them in the eye in the morning, as Crecy did nothing by halves. Hearing his name cried out in such a desperate manner as she came, clutching at the bed covers and writhing beneath him, had him hard and nursing the violent desire to bury himself inside her. He was definitely going to consult Dr Marchand on the matter. The moment the fellow got here. Good Lord, surely a Frenchman would be sensible?

Gabriel knelt back, surveying the devastation he’d wrought with satisfaction. Crecy was gasping, her arms akimbo, hair a tangled mess against the bed covers, and her skin deeply flushed. She had never looked more beautiful, and Gabriel could no longer deny the feeling that seemed to push at his chest, needing more room than he had to give to physically contain it. It was too vast, too overpowering … too frightening, but it was real.

He loved her.