“Because I did want to kill him—for putting his hands on you. And you, for allowing it.” He circled her throat with one hand, feeling her pulse race beneath his fingers, and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I’ve realized that I can’t stand the sight of another man’s hands on you—any man, even one I trust.
“I’ve never been the jealous type before, so please forgive me for overreacting. But now, I need to put my mark on you.”
With that, his mouth descended on her neck and Maria whimpered as his lips caressed and nibbled along the length. He sucked her skin into his mouth and Maria cried out when he bit down gently, careful not to break her skin, but enough to mark her there. He released her skin and soothed the sting with his tongue, laving the slight hurt away.
He finally lifted his head, and Maria’s eyes were dilated until the azure blue of her iris was nearly eclipsed by the pupil, making her look nearly drugged with desire. She reached out and grabbed his head and pulled him down, crashing his mouth on hers.
She was nearly frantic as she kissed him, her mouth opening immediately to admit his tongue, hers stroking his greedily and slipping past into his own mouth. He groaned at the feel of her tongue and her soft, wet lips. He finally had to break the kiss, his chest heaving, and nibbled his way across her cheek to her ear where he sucked her lobe into his mouth.
“Gabriel,” she moaned, pushing her chest into his, rubbing her br**sts against him. He cupped one breast and rubbed her nipple, and even through the knit of her dress he could feel her nipple pebble against his thumb.
“God, I have to taste you,” he muttered and pulled her neckline as far down as it would go, relieved that the knit fabric and loose neckline allowed him to bare one bra-covered breast. He pushed down the cup completely and finally her pink tipped breast was exposed to him. He bent his head and immediately latched onto her nipple, sucking strongly.
Maria gave one of those provocative, breathless cries he remembered so well and arched her back, pushing her breast deeper into his greedy mouth. She thrust her hands into his hair to hold him there, although there was no place else he’d rather be. He sucked on her breast hungrily and her h*ps squirmed against his with every pull of his mouth.
He reached down to gather her skirt up until the hem was finally reached and her thighs exposed to his touch. His hand stroked one thigh, and he grunted in frustration when he realized she had on tights under her dress. No matter—he could still feel her searing heat and dampness as he cupped her mound, pressing down against her pubic bone with the heel of his hand and curving his fingers into her cleft.
Maria gave a little scream and bucked up hard into his palm. Her leg came up and curled around his thigh as she tried to open herself to him. He clutched her bottom and hoisted her on top of the keyboard cover, and then nestled himself between her thighs. He finally let go of her nipple and raised his head, staring into her eyes as he ground his fully erect and aching c*ck against her mound.
“God, I want to be in you so much,” Gabriel groaned. Even through her tights and his trousers the pleasure was divine, but nothing could equal being in her tight cunt. “I remember how tight, hot and wet your p**sy is, and how much you squeezed my c*ck deep inside, like you never wanted me to leave.”
“Oh, I want it too, so much,” she panted. “But we can’t!”
“I know, not now, not yet. But I can still pleasure you this way, and pleasure myself too.” With that he thrust against her, stroking hard and fast.
She whimpered and bucked, grinding her mound against his thick length. Suddenly she stiffened and he knew she was coming. He quickly covered her mouth and swallowed her scream as she cli**xed, and he could feel her muscles clenching and releasing. He wanted more than anything to feel it all again on his nak*d cock. Knowing she had reached orgasm pushed him over the edge and he groaned as he pulsed his release, rubbing his c*ck slowly against her damp crotch, wringing out every last drop of pleasure for them both.
They stayed like that as their pounding heartbeats slowly calmed, and he savored their intimacy. Finally, reluctantly, he stepped back and helped her down from the piano. She stumbled a little as her legs buckled and he steadied her, gathering her into his embrace.
He held her for a long moment, her head tucked beneath his chin and his lips caressed her hair. He breathed in her scent deeply, imprinting her onto his senses. Finally, she stirred and looked at him, her eyes soft with unspoken emotion. When she did speak, the subject surprised him.
“Why are the children so distant from you? What happened to your relationship?”
He sighed and loosened his grasp on her. He led her back to the piano but this time just pulled the bench from under the piano forward and drew her down to sit by him, his hand still holding hers.
“It all started after their mother died. Elle and I met in our junior year of college and I fell for her immediately. We got married two years after graduation even though everyone told us we should wait, get our careers going first. But we didn’t want to wait—we were in love, and we wanted to be together. I’m glad now that we didn’t listen to anyone—we thought we’d have forever and instead, we had less than a decade.”
He paused here. Maria squeezed his hand in wordless support and he felt comforted just by her presence.
“After Elle was killed by a drunk driver, I was completely shattered. Instead of grieving with my children, comforting them and being there to help them through their loss, I pushed them away completely and threw myself into my work. I started travelling for business more and more, and stayed here less and less, letting the nannies in essence raise my children.
I guess I was running away from the memories here, and the pain. My children reminded me of what I had lost and I couldn’t handle it. So instead of being their father and taking care of them, I withdrew from them so completely, they might as well have buried me with Elle.”
Gabriel closed his eyes in shame, self-loathing for what he’d done to his children filling him to overflowing. He didn’t deserve their love or forgiveness, but he was determined to earn it. He opened his eyes, braced for condemnation on Maria’s face, but all he saw was a gentle understanding and compassion, and a soul-deep pain that mirrored his own. Her hand came up and stroked his cheek. He captured her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.
“So what changed then? Because the man I see in front of me is a man desperate to re-connect with his children, who obviously loves them very much and isn’t afraid to show it. He just needs a little help with how to show it,” Maria teased gently.
Gabriel reached out and caressed her cheek, and tipped her chin up so that she couldn’t avert her gaze from his.
“You did,” he said simply. “Meeting you changed my life. You made me realize how much of life I had been shutting out, and how it was time to let go of my grief. I was using it as a way of anchoring Elle to me, but it was so wrong of me. Elle would have been horrified at the way I’d been treating our children, and meeting you made me realize that it was time—past time—to let go of her memory.
I came back from Boston determined to start anew, to show my children how much I love them, but as you can see, it hasn’t been easy. I’d been a virtual stranger to them for too long—I think they’re afraid to trust me now, trust that I won’t abandon them again. How can I blame them, when I still blame myself?”
“Oh Gabriel,” Maria exclaimed, reaching out with both hands and tenderly cupping his face. “Your children love you—it’s plain as day to me. Perhaps they don’t see your gestures to them as what they really are, but they will, I promise. It’s not too late. Just don’t give up.
You were terrific with them today, and they had a wonderful time with their father. I know tomorrow will be just as wonderful and soon, they’ll forget there was a time when they weren’t as close to you. Children are resilient and forgiving, and their hearts are so, so big—they’ve just been waiting for you to come back to them.”
“If my relationship with them is on the mend, it’s thanks to you,” he said softly, and when she started to protest he held a finger against her lips, silencing her. “No, it’s true. For six months, I’ve been fumbling around, trying to connect with them and failing miserably. Within twenty-four hours of your being here, I’m finally making some headway with them, even Lizzie, who’s been the hardest to reach.
It’s because of you—somehow, you’ve been able to bridge the distance between us and bring us together. I can’t thank you enough.” He grinned suddenly, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “For obvious, very personal reasons, I’m very happy you’re no longer a nun, but I can’t deny that you can work miracles.”
That startled a laugh from Maria, who shook her head in mock reproof. “Mr. Trentham, the nuns at the Sacred Heart Convent would be scandalized by your blasphemy and heartily disagree with you about my miracle-working abilities.”
His smile faded as he stared at her. “All I know is that I and my family are all for the better because of you.”
Maria’s heart nearly skipped a beat at the intense look in his eyes—it was something like passion, but that wasn’t it. She was actually afraid to examine it too closely—she didn’t want to believe something that couldn’t possibly be true. His children weren’t the only ones who had been hurt too many times in the past and were now too afraid to hope.
Except she suspected they were still braver than her.
Suddenly, realization hit. A wave of shame rushed over her and she nearly gasped. Dear Lord, she had completely forgotten about his fiancée, Olivia! Her desire for Gabriel had overwhelmed her completely—all she could think about was her own wild need for him and the way he made her feel. Could she have put a stop to it if Gabriel hadn’t listened to her token protest? Or would she now be in his arms, his c*ck driving deep inside her? She hadn’t even been thinking of Olivia when she’d said they couldn’t have sex—it had been more an instinctive attempt at protecting herself and her own vulnerable emotions. As it was, there was no doubt that emotionally and to some extent physically she’d been a party to Gabriel betraying his fiancée, and self-loathing rose in her. She’d have to come to grips with her own undeniable weakness.
Wanting desperately now to escape from him, from everything he made her feel, Maria said lightly, “Well I think you still give me too much credit—I think it was just a matter of time before you broke through to them. And if today was any indication, I think the children will want to spend another active day out in the snow tomorrow so I better go upstairs now. Goodnight.”
“Wait.” Gabriel’s hand shot out and caught her by the wrist as she tried to leave. “What’s wrong? I can tell something is off now where it wasn’t before.”
Maria faced him, shocked that Gabriel could read her so easily. His grip on her wrist was gentle but secure, and she knew he wasn’t going to let her go without an answer.