“I know, but we may as well enjoy it.” He started running his lips along her chin.
“But dinner—”
“Can wait,” he said, and closed over her mouth with a kiss. A long drugging kiss that sparked an ache inside her and soon had her aflame for him, making everything so much more poignant for her now she knew she loved him. Poignant and incredibly beautiful.
They made love.
Afterward Damien held Gabrielle in his arms. Their lovemaking had been richly satisfying, but he couldn’t seem to shake a slight melancholy that seemed to be sitting inside his chest. He didn’t lack for anything in his life, yet somehow it felt as though he did. He had the most beautiful woman in the world in his arms, yet absurdly he wanted more from her. Hell, what was the matter with him?
Just then Gabrielle arched her neck to gaze up at him from the crook of his arm. “Did you see the look my father gave my mother? I’m sure he still loves her.”
Her words surprised him. Usually she didn’t talk after making love. She either fell asleep in his arms, or they both got up and did other things. Their relationship was not usually about sharing the moment after they’d sated their bodies on each other.
“I’m sure he does, too,” he agreed, remembering the way Russell had looked at Caroline. “In any case, your mother’s already told us she loves your father. It’s just a matter of time before they get back together.”
Gabrielle sighed. “They’ve wasted such a lot of years.”
So did we, came the unbidden thought. It all fell into place then. The reason he felt unsettled was because of what had happened in the hospital room this afternoon. It must have subconsciously stirred up memories of five years ago.
“Why did you leave, Gabrielle?”
She looked startled. “Um, when?” she asked, lowering her gaze to his chest.
“You know when.”
She shrugged, but still kept her eyes downward. “It wasn’t easy living with my father after my mother left. And before that it had never been much good, either.”
He paused. “No, why did you leave me?”
Her eyes lifted and he could see she’d known what he’d meant all along. “I explained it in the note.”
And he’d brushed that aside at the time, allowing work commitments to prevail. Nothing and no one had been going to stop him from making his millions. Not even this beautiful woman in his arms.
“Ahh, the note,” he murmured, half to himself. “You didn’t want me coming after you, if I remember rightly.”
She looked uneasy. “That’s right.”
And that made him wonder. “Why?”
She blinked, then gave a bland smile. “This is beginning to sound like an inquisition,” she joked, but her strained look told him she didn’t actually find it amusing.
He scowled. “What are you hiding, Gabrielle?”
Something flickered in her eyes, before she glanced downward at their naked bodies entwined on the bed. “Nothing, apparently,” she mused.
She wasn’t fooling him. She was using sex to get him to change the subject. And that meant she was definitely hiding something.
Or someone.
God, he felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. That thought had never occurred to him before. He’d always assumed he was enough for her.
He squared his shoulders, prepared for a blow. “Was there another man involved?”
Her eyes widened in total surprise. “What! No, of course not.”
Fierce relief washed over him. He began to breathe again. “Just as well,” he growled. “You’re my wife now and if another man comes looking for you, I’ll kill him.”
She stared for a moment, clearly surprised. Then her eyes softened. “Damien, you have no need to worry. I won’t be leaving you again.”
He expelled a breath. For once she didn’t sound as if their marriage was a fate worse than death, and suddenly he felt more than pleased about that. He’d never realized before how much he’d missed by not being married. He was enjoying being able to work alongside Gabrielle, coming home with her, sharing dinner, sleeping together. They were a couple.
And one day they might even have a family.
He swallowed hard. The thought of Gabrielle carrying his child made him feel kind of strange. Like he was standing on shifting sand.
“Damien?” she said in a low voice, querying his silence, sending him into action.
He eased her off him and rolled out of bed. “Let’s get something to eat,” he muttered, standing, glad to be back on solid ground.
The sound of water running in the shower roused Gabrielle at four the next morning. For a moment she lay there half-awake, remembering the feel of Damien’s lips on hers after they’d gone to bed. He’d taken her with his body, conquering her, dividing her, seeming to know what she wanted before she did. It had made for an incredible union.
She must have fallen asleep again because she woke to the sound of water still running in the shower. This time her eyelids flew open. What on earth was Damien doing in there?
She threw back the covers and hurried into the bathroom. And stopped dead when she saw him naked in the shower, his forehead pressed against the tiled wall as if he didn’t have the energy to hold himself up.
“Oh my God,” she said, racing across the room. She slid the glass door back, thankful to find the water cold. “Damien? Are you all right? What’s the matter?”
He looked up at her groggily. “I was hot,” he mumbled, his eyes not really focusing on her, his cheeks flushed.
She felt his forehead. His skin was warm despite the cold water running over him. “You’ve got a fever,” she said, turning the taps off.
He seemed to become aware of her. “Allergy.”
A slice of panic raced through her. Allergies could be life threatening. “You need an ambulance.”
“No!” He tried to straighten up. “My doctor. He knows. Call him.”
Her panic receded as common sense took hold. If it had been life threatening, Damien would be dead by now. Oh God, she couldn’t think that.
She took him by the arm. “Let me help you back to bed.”
He made a feeble attempt to step out of the cubicle. “I can make it,” he said, then swayed as he tried to stand by himself.
“I’m sure,” she said wryly, grabbing a towel to throw over his shoulders and dry him, but he pulled it away and wrapped it around his trim hips, looking thoroughly sexy and masculine. “Here. Lean on me.”