“May I kiss you, Gabriel?” Her voice was low and husky, her eyes dancing with mysterious lights. “And for every kiss, will you tell me one of your secrets?”

“You never need permission to kiss me, sugarplum. All of those belong to you now. But if we are to trade secrets, I will demand the same of you. All those you carry deep inside you are mine now. And I will have them. One by one or all at once.”

Her features immediately tightened, the teasing mood evaporating like the morning mist. “I’ve no more secrets to tell.”

Gabriel’s hand wrapped lightly around her throat, his thumb teasing the pulse beating there in the delicate hollow. “But I think you do. And as I said, those belong to me now. Everything about you is mine.” His free hand slipped around her body and cupped one of her buttocks in a firm grip. Even through the fabric of her gown and her underclothes, his fingers were hard reminders of his overwhelming strength. He was so much larger than she. So much stronger.

Her breath came in short gasps of air as he simply held her in place, poised like a beautiful statue on his thighs.

“Gabriel…”

His name fluttered on her lips in a plea for more.

“Yes, pet,” he rasped. “A secret for a kiss. Starting this very moment.” His fingers tightened slowly, both around her neck and on her buttocks. “You go first.”

Her eyes flared with heat. “That is unfair. I asked you first. And I was distracting you from being ill.”

Gabriel chuckled. He found it amusing how she believed she had the upper hand. While her ploy did work—his nausea had passed—she’d soon learn he controlled their interactions. Yes, she held the power to determine their duration, but he held the reins to the outcome.

“And I’ve said before that you will find many things to be unfair as my wife. As my marchioness.” He tilted her head back by exerting pressure at the nape of her neck. “Now, do you want that kiss or not? A secret first.”

She trembled at the sternness of his voice, and just when Gabriel thought their game was at its end, she licked her lips.

The motion made his cock twitch, remembering how she used those lips on him just two nights ago.

“I’ve never felt this way with anyone but you, Gabriel. You—” She swallowed hard. “You make me feel wild. Uncontrolled. Like something that must be tamed.”

Her confession hung in the air between them, flushing her cheeks with the prettiest blush of honesty.

“Well done, Celia. You’ve earned that kiss. Good girl.”

Her pupils dilated with something Gabriel recognized quite well. Lust. Pleasure. Surrender.

With a low growl, he crashed his mouth to hers, kissing her with all the pent-up frustrations swarming through his brain and body. It was not a gentle, sweet kiss, but one harsh and insistent, demanding she give him the rest of her secrets.