“This whole ordeal is unfair!” she cried out, attempting unsuccessfully to jerk away from his caressing hand.

He simply tightened his hand in her hair, and while she groaned at the pressure, it did not stop the flow of her confused words. “It is unfair you have married me when I do not know your feelings for me. It is unfair that I don’t even understand my feelings for you. It is unfair I melt each time you touch me. And it is unfair that I am so frightened of what you might do to me that I cannot bear it.”

“Shhhh,” Gabriel soothed her, the hand previously tangled in her hair now sliding to cup the nape of her neck. He could better control her in this manner, and he held her fast with that hand while the other slid across the flat plane of her stomach and curled around her waist. She was caught now, unable to move away unless he allowed it. “Calm yourself, Celia. There is nothing to be afraid of. I’ve no intention of making love to you, if that’s what has you in such a state. I realize more than you can know now is not the time to exert my power to do as I wish. You are exhausted and overwrought with emotions. And soused as well. Tonight, we share only a bed and the comfort of one another’s arms.”

Celia stilled in her efforts of escaping his embrace. “You… you will only hold me?” The last word was accompanied by a hiccup of relief. Her breath, sweet with brandy, brushed across his lips, and Gabriel steeled himself against the reaction of his own body. He would not make love to her, but damned if his body was receiving the message on that front.

The soft, creamy hue of her nightclothes was a perfect foil to her dark hair and dark eyes. She was the Devil’s own temptress. Gabriel wanted to unwrap her from the confines of that silken gown, expose her bit by bit to his hungry gaze, and feast upon her sweet skin until he was drunk with lust. Damn Ivy and Sara for dressing her in such provocative clothing.

“Yes. That is all,” he answered with some difficulty. Desire made his voice husky and low. “But I know you disobeyed me. You drank more of that brandy than you should have. And there are consequences for instances of disobedience. But not tonight, pet. Tonight, we sleep. And later, we’ll discuss your punishment.”

Celia slowly relaxed as he spoke, believing him when he said nothing intimate would occur. Rather sleepily, she sank back into the pillows with a hum, her eyes closing from the warmth of his body surrounding her like a welcomed blanket.

“You can’t punish me,” she said, snuggling closer with a confused frown at her own compliance. “I’m a marchioness now, and husbands do not punish marchionesses.”

Gabriel smoothed Celia’s hair back away from her brow, watching as she slipped into sleep. He could not ignore how her hand crept up until it now rested on his bare chest. It seared his skin like a firebrand.