Past the expansive breadth of those shoulders, his body tapered down to a narrowed waist and trim hips. But it was the unexpected sight of his buttocks that drew a quick breath of appreciation from somewhere deep in the center of Celia’s chest.

They were so exquisitely sculptured they might have been constructed of fine marble. Round and firm. And smooth. So damned smooth Celia imagined running her hands over the pair of them so she could determine for herself if there was any roughness to them.

She must have let out a noise more alarming than the intermittent pounding on the suite’s door. There was no mistaking the fury of the person making all the racket.

Gabriel glanced over a shoulder, confusion etched across his features. Upon realizing Celia was staring unabashedly at his naked body, he grinned.

“Sorry, sugarplum, but you will become used to seeing me thus. I usually sleep in the nude.”

Since his sleeping pants were unusable, Gabriel half turned and tugged the gold-colored coverlet from the bed. He quickly wrapped the length of damask around his waist but not before Celia glimpsed just a small portion of his impressive front. She blushed a fierce red, remembering how she’d boldly taken his flesh into her mouth. Remembering how much she liked it and how she’d felt like a beloved goddess suddenly subservient to a more powerful ruler.

Gabriel tsk-tsked. His eyes sparkled with mischievous intent. “Keep looking at me like that, pet, and I’ll send whoever’s pounding on that door straight to the Devil. Then, I’ll make good on the invitation your eyes are extending.”

Celia should have looked away with that ominous warning, but instead, her gaze locked with Gabriel’s. As they measured one another for a long moment, a new sense of connectivity linked the two of them. Whatever happened from this day forward, they were in it together.

“Stay in here, Celia,” Gabriel said in a more somber tone than before. “You aren’t exactly dressed for company this early in the morning. And if trouble has come looking for us, I’d rather you not prove so accessible.”

Wide-eyed, Celia nodded and watched as Gabriel padded from the bedroom and into the sitting room portion of the suite. As an afterthought, he drew the door behind him, leaving it cracked open so Celia was not left isolated.

The moment he was out of sight, Celia slid from the bed, pulling on the matching wrapper to her nightgown. She quickly hurried to the door and peered through the opening.

Gabriel strode across the room as best he could with a coverlet draped around his hips. He flung open the door with a low snarl.

“What the Devil do you want?”

The answer came in a swift punch to his jaw. Gabriel stumbled back, barely managing to maintain his grip on the coverlet.

“Where is she, you reprobate?” Tristan demanded in a low voice filled with rage. “Where is my sister?”

Gabriel rubbed his jaw and faced his new brother-in-law with a rueful shake of his head. “In my bed. Where she should be.”