Turning his head, he scorched her palm with a kiss before capturing her hand within his loose grip.

“I know you take cream and no sugar in your morning tea.” He pressed a tender kiss to the inside of her knee. “I know your favorite color is emerald green.” Another kiss burned the opposite knee. “You love to read but rarely sit still long enough to finish a book. You will dance every dance, rushing from ball to ball, but are left restless and aching for something you’ve yet to find. And you are fiercely loyal to friends and family.”

His tongue slid along the contours of her kneecap. “I know you are frightened of all manners of insects but will save a beetle carried in with the morning’s floral arrangements.”

A whimper escaped Celia’s throat as Gabriel revealed an incident which occurred during a house party at the beginning of the season.

“You are frightened of the dark, but you do not avoid the shadows. You’ve kissed other men but not in the same manner in which you kiss me.” Releasing her wrist, Gabriel now used both hands to further spread her legs. His fingers stroked the texture of the skin he found there on her inner thighs.

Bloody hell. She’s as soft as gossamer.

“Oh, Celia. I do know you. Perhaps better than you know yourself.” His whisper tickled her skin, and she moaned at the sensation of his teeth nipping her with soft brutality. “But still, you have secrets I’ve yet to discover. Rest assured, I will seek them out. And I will uncover them all if you open to me just a tiny bit.” “

Raising his eyes, their gazes clashed over the battlefield of her stomach and a mound of satin skirts. Then he watched her as his fingers coasted higher. And higher. Until finally they rested on the thin fabric of her undergarments. His thumbs framed the small slit in the material.

The look of reluctant lust on Celia’s features was a siren’s call Gabriel could not ignore. She was afraid but also helpless in her desire for him. The combination was heady. It turned him inside out. Turned him into a beast. A lion determined to claim a mate. To protect her from all harm except what he would do to her.

“I want to see you, Celia. Spread your pretty thighs for me so I can taste you. I want your sweetness coating my tongue. Filling my mouth. Because you are the most exquisite creature I’ve ever had within my grasp, and I know with certainty you will eventually be my downfall. My utter ruin. Give me this gift, Celia, so I’m not forced to steal it from you. Let me see you and show you Heaven.”

As he spoke, Gabriel shifted off the footstool. On his knees, he moved until his shoulders filled the space between Celia’s legs. She was prevented from easing her thighs shut. It was impossible with his wide, muscular form wedged there.