I glanced down at her and asked, “What did I do to deserve a hug from you just now?”

She spoke against my chest, her soft cheek warming my skin right through my shirt. “It was rude of me, and I’m sorry. Of course, you have friends, Ivan.”

What I wouldn’t give for a room with a door right now so I could show her how much I really appreciated her gesture. The great outdoors would have to do, and if people saw and thought I’d lost my mind, then so be it. I almost didn’t know what to say to her. Nobody had ever apologized to me so sweetly before. At least not anytime in recent memory, and I wanted her to understand how much it meant to me.

“You’re so bloody sweet.” I took her face in my hands and kissed her slowly, loving the taste of the wine on her tongue as it tangled with mine. I wanted to crawl up inside her again, she felt so good against me.

Like fucking perfection fitting against my body as if we were interlocking parts of a puzzle.

The sound of a throat clearing behind us killed the interlude, much to my frustration.

Gabrielle jerked back as I turned to face the offender. Marjorie. One of the few people who didn’t annoy me, so I couldn’t be an arse to her for interrupting. It wasn’t her fault I was outside with my tongue down Gabrielle’s throat. A few moments later and she might have caught me being downright indecent, so there was that.

“Sorry for the intrusion, Ivan, but I saw the Willys and thought to come ask if you needed something.” Marjorie’s eyes moved quickly over Gabrielle, who had two fingers up to her lips and a clearly embarrassed blush on her face. So damn beautiful with her hair moving in the breeze, I could hardly take my eyes off her to address Marjorie’s question.

“No, I don’t need anything, but I should introduce you to Miss Hargreave from the University of London who’ll be working here with us to get the art catalogued.” I moved in close and put my arm around Gabrielle, I suppose making a show that she was someone important to me. Marjorie caught on quickly, which was no surprise. There was good reason we got on so well. “Gabrielle Hargreave, Marjorie Palmer, my estate manager and probably the sanest person I know.”

“Miss Hargreave, welcome to Donadea. It’s a good thing for you to get all those paintings sorted for Ivan, indeed.” She offered her hand.

Gabrielle seemed to snap out of her embarrassment and shook hands politely. “Thank you, Marjorie. Donadea is breathtaking, and please, call me Gaby.”

Marjorie grinned knowingly as she turned to go, probably on her way to search out some gossip from Finnegan on catching me snogging a woman at Donadea. “I’ll leave you in peace then, and nice to have met you, Gaby. Please, carry on.”

A huge sigh from Gabrielle broke the silence. “Well, that was fun. Second time today we’ve been busted by your staff. Who else is left here to meet? And do I have to meet them topless in the pool or caught in a compromising position with you because it just really sucks!” She stomped her foot for emphasis.