The anxiety he’d sensed in her earlier was easing away. She smiled up at him as he kissed her forehead. “I’d like that very much, Gabriel. I truly would.”

“Then we shall do as you wish.”

CHAPTER 34

Gabriel did as he promised. He simply held her during that first night at Rosenthorne Hall. Celia did not know what well of strength the man drew from when it came to his self-imposed abstinence, but she could not manage the same restraint.

Her body practically buzzed with awareness of her husband. Every move Gabriel made had her skin tightening in response. When he nuzzled her hair, she could not help from wiggling back into him, her bottom nestled against the tops of his thighs. She ached for him, and not having him was frustration amplified a hundred times over.

As he dressed the following morning, Gabriel laughed at her interest in helping him. It was an excuse to touch him, and he knew it. Still without a valet and with no intention of employing one, he quickly dressed himself.

“You’ve more experience in the intricacies of women’s fashions than I have in men’s clothing, Gabriel,” Celia grumbled, giving up and plopping into a high-backed chair near the fireplace. “I find it most vexing to discover I’ve no skill at all when it comes to something as simple as tying your cravat. A woman should know such things, don’t you think?”

“I think it is far more important to know how to remove such items,” Gabriel said with a sly grin. He shrugged into a russet brown coat and straightened its edges. “You will not overexert yourself today while I am gone. Explore as you will, but no lifting and no moving of furniture or anything of that nature. I do wish I could be here with you for this as I must learn the layout as well, but Mister Harold and the housekeeper, Mrs. Chason, will show you around. Then you can give me the tour, personally.”

Celia drank him in. Her husband was so incredibly handsome. Even if his hair was a bit shaggier than the average lord and the brawny width of his shoulders might be considered beastly by some. He had shaved away the fine stubble on his chin, but by the next morning, he would be forced to do the same again. It was one of his concessions in looking the part as the new Marquess of Rosenthorne. Civilized brutality mingling with the potency of savage, male beauty.

Seeing his arms bulging even beneath the fine cloth of his coat, Celia remembered how they’d wrapped around her during the night when she woke from a frightening nightmare. It’d been years since she’d had one so intense, but Gabriel had taken immediate control, soothing her back to sleep.

She woke that morning with dark circles under her eyes and the understanding she must confront Bryan. Convince him that he could not possibly work for the marquess and be so close to her. It was for his own safety and her sanity. Should Gabriel become aware of just who was working in his stables, he would likely exterminate the man without a second thought. The thought of even talking to Bryan made her nauseous, but it must be done.