“I should think so.I’ve always wanted a houseful.”He paused, then grinned.“We could start today, if you like.”
She pinched his side, and he yelped.
“I believe we already have,” she chided.
He kissed her again, this time gentle and slow.“I want children.I want a family.I want you, always, Chrissy.I never thought I’d say any of that and mean it.But I do.”He looked at her, sober for once.
She nodded, her throat tight.
He traced a finger along her spine.“You look like a goddess.A very sleepy, very well-loved goddess.”
She snorted.“I’m a mess.My hair?—”
“Is perfect.”He bit her shoulder.“Stay like this.Forever.”
She wriggled down, resting her chin on his chest.They fell into a companionable silence, hands drifting in lazy circles across each other’s skin.Chrissy felt a wave of satisfaction, deeper than any she’d known.“Gabriel?”
“Hm?”
“You will keep teaching me?”Her voice was shy, but her eyes were bright with challenge.
He propped himself on one elbow, looming over her with an expression of pure mischief.“If you’re a willing student, I’ll be the most diligent tutor in England.”
She rolled her eyes.“You’ll have to compete with my memory of Grandmama’s letters.Grandpapa was very descriptive.”
“Was he, now?”Gabriel’s hands found her hips, gripping with just enough force to hint at his intent.“Then we shall see who is the better educator.”
He flipped her, so she straddled his lap.She felt his cock stiffening beneath her and smiled, delighted at her own power.
“Am I allowed to be in control?”she asked, experimentally rolling her hips.
He groaned, hands anchoring her in place.“You’re allowed anything, Chrissy.Absolutely anything.”
She leaned forward, kissing him—first his lips, then his throat, then down his body, retracing the path she’d learned earlier.She loved the way he arched into her touch, the way he surrendered to her as easily as he had claimed her.
When she took him inside her, slowly, deliberately, it was less an act of conquest than a gift.She could see how much he needed her, how much it mattered that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
They moved together, finding a rhythm that was equal parts tenderness and hunger.She set the pace, adjusting as she pleased, and Gabriel let her, worshiped her with his hands and his mouth and the dark, reverent things he whispered in her ear.
She came again, harder this time, and when Gabriel followed, the sound he made was so raw and honest it nearly broke her heart.
They collapsed, limbs tangled, both laughing and a little astonished.
“I think I’ll die of happiness,” he said, voice muffled in her hair.
She grinned, wrapping herself around him.“You’re not allowed.You have to show me everything, remember?”
“I will.Everything you want.Forever.”
She believed him.
Later, when he slept, she lay awake, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.She had not expected to love him so much, so quickly.She hadn’t been certain she would love anyone at all, in the way that left her defenseless and full of joy.
She traced his profile in the dim light, memorizing every detail.
She was the luckiest woman in England.
And she would never, ever surrender him.
