Authors: Laura Glenn
She heard the mattress crinkle and then heard Gabriel’s
footsteps as he walked toward her. He pulled her hair away from her neck and
tossed it over the opposite shoulder.
“Come back to bed, Katie,” he whispered as he leaned down to
kiss her neck.
Trying to ignore her tingling skin, she attempted to wave
him off. “I can’t. You heard her. She’s trying to find me right now as we
speak. And then she’ll be coming back.”
“But she will not find you if you do not leave,” he mumbled
against her neck as he slid his hand down her back to her buttocks, softly
caressing the sensitive flesh.
Exasperated, she slapped his hand away but not before
pressing her backside into his palm in an attempt to quench the fire building
from his touch. “With or without me, she’s coming back to change your
bandages.”
She stared out into the hallway, silently willing Mrs.
Washington to go downstairs when she felt Gabriel grasping at her nightgown.
Before she knew it, her ass was exposed to the cool air of the room. A tingle
of excitement rushed through her as his finger slithered down the cleft of her
buttocks. She shivered, only partially aware of parting her thighs in reaction.
She moaned softly and leaned her forehead against the
doorframe as he slid his finger into her wet folds, rubbing back and forth in a
tantalizingly slow motion. She tilted her ass back against his hand and he
thrust one finger up into her pussy, causing her to gasp loudly.
As he slowly began to withdraw his finger, her muscles
clamped down on it to keep it inside. He nuzzled her ear and pressed her up
against the doorframe, seductively rubbing his rigid cock against her hip. He
shoved his finger back inside her, harder this time, burying it as far as it
would go. Her pussy contracted intensely, drawing a whimper from her throat.
Her whole body throbbed and she clawed at the wall for support, aching for
release.
“Push down my breeches,” he instructed in a breathless
whisper against her ear. “I want to feel you come on my cock.”
Kaitlyn groaned helplessly and nodded, her breathing shallow
and irregular. She reached behind her, her hands shaking as she released his
cock from his breeches. She was once again reminded of his size as she slid her
hand up and down his silky shaft, feeling the pre-cum oozing from the tip.
Suddenly she had no fears of him being too much for her body to handle. All she
could think about was his thick shaft ramming into her hard, driving her to a
climax she had never before experienced.
He pulled his finger from her cunny and grabbed her hip with
one hand. “Spread your legs for me, love,” he commanded, his voice strained. “I
have but one hand to work with, if you will remember.”
She immediately complied and angled her ass up toward him.
She wiggled her hips insistently, silently begging him to bring her the release
she so desperately craved. She silenced the warning thoughts in her mind,
determined to satisfy her lust for this man once and for all.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Katie?” he asked, the
question sounding as though it were pushed out from between gritted teeth.
“Yes, Gabriel,” she insisted, inhaling sharply.
As she felt the tip of his hard shaft part her pussy lips, a
voice from the other side of the door floated into the room.
“Kaitlyn? Is that you?”
It was Eileen.
Gabriel muttered an expletive as he pulled away, yanking his
breeches back up over his cock. Kaitlyn gasped and pulled her nightgown down
over her hips, furiously smoothing her hair.
She turned, throwing Gabriel a questioning look. He nodded
and motioned for her to open the door as he pulled out the desk chair to sit
down.
Kaitlyn took a deep breath and slapped a pleasant smile on
her face before she opened the door. “Good morning, Eileen,” she said,
surprised by how even and amiable her voice sounded.
Eileen’s brows knitted together in confusion as she peered
into the room. “Where have you been? We have the whole house looking for you.”
“Um,” Kaitlyn began, biting her lower lip and turning back
toward Gabriel who had strategically laid a shirt across his lap to hide any
telltale bulges, “I was so worried about your brother last night that I fell
asleep here.” She shrugged apologetically, unable to come up with a lie about
where she had spent the night.
If the dark expression on Gabriel’s face was any indication,
he didn’t seem too thrilled with her admission. “Yes, I found her asleep at the
desk this morning,” he added, his eyes darting toward Kaitlyn’s with a warning
for her to go along with him.
Kaitlyn wasn’t exactly pleased with his twist of the story
but she smiled anyway as she looked back at Eileen.
“Oh, you poor thing!” Eileen replied, grabbing Kaitlyn’s
hand and giving it a squeeze. “You do worry too much. My brother has been
through much worse.”
Kaitlyn dutifully nodded. “I know. I’ve just never been
around such drastic injuries before. My mind automatically jumped to the worst
possible scenario.”
Eileen gave her a quick hug and smiled at her sympathetically
before turning to Gabriel. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Much better, thank you,” he said as he motioned Eileen
forward with a crook of his finger. “Mrs. Washington cannot know that Kaitlyn
spent the night in here, is that clear?”
Confused, Eileen quickly glanced at Kaitlyn and then at her
brother. “Why not? It was perfectly innocent. No harm was done.”
“I panicked and hid when she came in earlier,” Kaitlyn
whispered, glancing furtively into the hallway. “I was embarrassed because of
how unsuitably I was dressed. I didn’t want her to think anything improper had
happened.”
Eileen nodded, obviously understanding the need for secrecy.
“We will think of something to tell her.”
“And of course Miss McCann is now aware of the inappropriate
nature of staying in a man’s room overnight without the benefit of marriage,”
Gabriel added with a decisive nod at Eileen.
Kaitlyn flashed him a withering look. She wasn’t sure if he
was trying to paint her as a whore or as a simple-minded ninny. “And I will
never do it again,” she said, her eyes boring into his. She hoped he took her
threat seriously, even if she knew there was no way she was ever going to be
able to stay away from him.
He grinned mischievously, obviously catching onto her hint
but not believing it for a second. “Take Miss McCann out of here so she may
dress,” he instructed Eileen.
The younger woman immediately complied and led Kaitlyn out
of the room. As they passed through the doorway, Kaitlyn threw a glare over her
shoulder, letting Gabriel know in no uncertain terms that he was going to hear
about this when they were alone. He simply smiled, removing the shirt from his
lap to reveal the large bulge still in his pants.
Her cheeks flushed and she turned away, feeling his gaze
bore into her back. She hated the feeling of being out of control. Worse yet,
she hated the feeling of someone else in control of her. She was completely at
Gabriel’s mercy and he knew it. He had turned into the devil himself.
Unfortunately, Kaitlyn couldn’t care less. She smiled secretly
to herself as Eileen closed the door behind them.
Chapter Eight
“I see that you are feeling well, Captain O’Connor,” General
Washington commented as Gabriel entered the dining room for breakfast.
“I am, thank you, Sir,” Gabriel replied, pulling out the
chair next to Kaitlyn. He winked at her as he sat down.
Kaitlyn turned her attention to the tabletop, hoping the
smile threatening to overtake her lips didn’t reach her eyes. Her heart
fluttered wildly in her chest as Gabriel’s thigh brushed against hers under the
tablecloth. She dared a quick glance up to see if anyone was watching them and
caught the look of disapproval flashing through Mrs. Washington’s eyes before
she quickly covered it with a smile.
The meal stretched on and Kaitlyn kept glancing at Gabriel,
who wasn’t having any difficulty at all coping with having the use of only one
hand. Of course, she had found that out already earlier that morning. Her legs
tingled at the memory of how close they had come to having sex.
A warm, strong hand snaked across her thigh and she jumped
slightly, dropping her fork on the empty plate in front of her. Everyone turned
to stare, including Gabriel. She murmured an apology and everyone went back to
their conversations.
She kicked Gabriel’s shin. He squeezed her thigh and leaned
back in his chair, seemingly engrossed in conversation with Henry and Adam.
Kaitlyn casually sipped water from her glass, trying to ignore Gabriel’s hand
snaking its way up to the junction of her thighs. He tugged gently at one and her
legs seemed to fall open of their own accord.
She turned her eyes back to the tabletop once again, trying
desperately to keep her breathing normal and the look on her face as neutral as
possible. Tremors of delight pulsed through her as he began to rub her inner
thigh through her skirts, the side of his hand slowly massaging her pussy. She
placed her hand on top of his with the notion of stopping the exquisite torture
but found that the pleasure was too powerful to resist.
Kaitlyn stroked his warm, strong hand as he continued to rub
her thigh and pussy. The ache in her clit began growing again and she could
feel her folds becoming wet in anticipation. His movements were deliberate and
intense, meant to arouse her and make her hot. She sat back in her chair, her
erect nipples rubbing against the stiff fabric of her bodice.
She bit her lower lip to keep from groaning out loud at the
tiny jolts of electricity shooting from her nipples to her pussy and back. The
room temperature rapidly escalated, causing her breathing to become labored.
She had to get out of there. She couldn’t come right there at the breakfast
table.
Could she?
As suddenly as his hand had landed on her thigh, it was
gone. She tore her eyes from the table and looked at Gabriel, certain that she
must have appeared like a woman possessed. He was paying no attention to her,
however, instead leaning toward the general and listening intently.
“Do you feel well enough to accompany us, Captain O’Connor?”
General Washington asked.
“Of course, Sir,” Gabriel replied without inflection.
Kaitlyn’s eyes nervously darted from one man to the other.
What had she just missed?
Simultaneously, the men shoved their chairs back and stood,
immediately walking out of the room.
“Where are they going?” Kaitlyn asked too stunned to move.
“Back to battle,” Eileen replied, her voice soft and
emotionless.
Kaitlyn stared disbelievingly at the women still sitting at
the table. With the exception of Mrs. Washington, all were quietly gazing at
their utensils.
“But they just got back!” Kaitlyn said with a little more
emotion than she had planned. She shoved her chair away from the table and
rushed out of the room, determined to talk some sense into Gabriel. He had just
been wounded. It was madness to go back into battle now.
Kaitlyn stopped cold as she reached the corridor. A flurry
of activity ensued around her as men and servants raced up and down the stairs,
carrying weapons and clothing.
Eileen slipped an arm around Kaitlyn’s waist and gave it a
little squeeze. “He will be all right, you will see.”
Kaitlyn glanced at her friend and saw her eyes quickly
filling with tears. She put her arm around the younger woman’s shoulder and
began absentmindedly stroking her long brown hair. “I know,” Kaitlyn whispered,
reminding herself that she did indeed know that no harm would come to Gabriel.
Eileen wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and laughed.
“See? I knew you were in love with him!”
Lust is more like it.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes but kept her thoughts to herself.
Yes, Gabriel was a kind-hearted, hard-working man who could make her laugh and
hold an intelligent conversation at the same time. But love? Real love didn’t
just happen overnight. It took time to grow. Besides, she was having a
difficult time seeing beyond her physical hunger for this man to really
consider how she felt about him as a person. Yes, she was worried about him but
she was human and what human being wouldn’t be worried about someone going into
a battle?
Henry rushed down the stairs at that moment and Kaitlyn felt
Eileen tense beside her. The young man came over and bowed before them, eyeing
Eileen nervously.
“You will be here when we return, will you not?” he asked,
his eyes darting to Kaitlyn secretively.
Eileen nodded and smiled, her face lighting up as Henry addressed
her. “Be careful,” she whispered.
He nodded and gave a polite goodbye to Kaitlyn as he rushed
out the door. Eileen released her hold on Kaitlyn and followed him, picking up
her skirts as she descended the stairs outside.
Gabriel walked down the stairs at that moment, his hat
tucked under his arm and his sword and pistol in his hand. “Hold these,” he
instructed in a clipped voice as he handed her his weapons and hat.
Kaitlyn accepted them in an anguished silence and watched as
he struggled to fasten the holster and scabbard to his belt with one hand.
After a few painful moments, Kaitlyn set everything on a nearby table and
helped him with his tasks.
As she placed his weapons in their respective holders, she
looked up at him, trying desperately to keep the fear out of her eyes. “You
were just wounded, you know. You really shouldn’t be going into battle again.”
“We have a lengthy march ahead of us,” he replied, placing
his hand on her cheek and caressing her bottom lip with his thumb. “My arm will
be healed by the time the fight begins.”
Tears began to sting her eyes and she twisted the fabric of
her skirt tightly between her fingers. “But who will take out your stitches?”
she asked, unable to think of anything to say to stop him from leaving her.