Reclining against the pillows, he folded his hand over hers, holding it there with gentle force. A smile tipped the corners of his mouth up as he considered the drowsy, inebriated assertions she made.

His new wife had much to learn about what her husband would do to her, marchioness or not.

And how much she would come to enjoy it.

At some point during the night, Gabriel lowered the light of the lamp until it was almost extinguished. Then he lay awake for a long time, one arm propped behind his head, the other pinned to the mattress by the weight of his new wife.

She used his body as if she were a spoiled empress and he the most comfortable of pillows, her arms and legs in a tangled sprawl. Despite her standoffish behavior during the ceremony and even earlier when he entered the suite, Celia possessed no qualms when pressing closer to him. She practically straddled him, one leg thrown up near his hip, the other entwined with one of his legs. Her arm lay haphazardly across his stomach, her fingers touching bare skin and setting him ablaze with awareness.

Gabriel shifted, growing more uncomfortable by the second. He hadn’t been with a woman in weeks. And that abstinence was making this even more difficult than he thought it would be. His cock was a hardened staff of iron beneath the bedclothes, and Celia’s knee rested dangerously close alongside it.

Damn, how he wanted to roll his new wife over onto her back. Press his lips to the perfumed softness of her breasts. Discover all the places on her body that reacted to his touch. He would make her cry out loud with satisfaction and revel in the fact he’d been the one to do that to her.

But he’d already made his promise. He would not touch her this first night they shared. He would let her sleep in peace and keep his hands to himself.

When Gabriel’s muffled sigh of discontent ruffled her hair, Celia snuggled even closer. Her breath passed from between softly parted lips and feathered his shoulder. She slept like the dead, unphased by his agitated shifting. The deepness of her slumber was both a blessing and a curse.

God’s teeth. How can I lay with her like this and not touch her? Fuck, why should I? She’s mine. My wife. I’ve every right to do as I please.

I should do as I please.

Hoping he could relieve the pressure building in his groin, Gabriel moved his arm from behind his head. Remaining on his back with Celia cradled on his opposite side, he carefully reached between his legs.

Giving his aching cock a squeeze, he nearly groaned aloud at the sensation, even as he breathed deeply of the rose and lemon scent emanating from Celia. He really shouldn’t be frigging himself while she lay right beside him. He was a bloody degenerate for even entertaining the thought. But still, his hand found its way beneath the blankets and into his sleeping pants until his hand closed around his bare flesh.