Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) (23 page)

Moved beyond words, Naomi covered her mouth with one hand and continued her visual inspection.

“Are you pleased?”
Leon
brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles.

“She seems rather overwhelmed,” Gideon said from the doorway.

Eyes the same vivid blue as the costly ink turned his way and Gideon’s entire body reacted. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. His lips tingled and his fingers itched. Tension gripped his muscles, making him restless and hungry.

“I’ll let Roderick know your suggestion was sound,”
Leon
told him. He looked at Naomi and then back at Gideon, his expression revealing his concern. “Shall we return to the hall below?”

Gideon chuckled. “I’ve been charged with her protection,
Leon
. You need not protect her from me.”

Still he hesitated. “Naomi, if you are not comfortable—”

“I am well. Sir Gideon doesn’t frighten me.”

Gideon smiled at the subtle challenge. Would she never learn?

After another moment of indecision
Leon
departed.

It was all Gideon could do not to crush her in his arms and plunder her mouth. Her radiant smile was nearly as painful as the memory of her passion.

“He said this was your doing.”

Emotion caused her voice to catch but Gideon couldn’t decipher what she was feeling. “I had to do something.”

She took a step toward him. Gideon folded his hands into fists to keep from touching her.

“Why?” Her wide blue eyes swam with tears. “Why did you do this?”

He turned away before she saw how powerfully her gratitude affected him. “
Leon
mentioned in one of his messages that Gabriel taught you the art of illumination. Roderick wanted to do something special, something to make you feel welcomed. I simply suggested this as the means.”

Her warm hand touched his arm and Gideon groaned. If she had any idea how close he was to feasting on her tender flesh, she would run screaming from the room. She stood beside him, touching him gently, her eyes limpid pools of blue temptation.

“You are lying.”

He shrugged off her hand and moved toward the window. Cool evening wind fanned out his hair and chilled his heated skin. “Why would I lie?”

“I never told
Leon
about my art. You and Brother Gabriel are the only ones who know.”

Grinning into the twilight, Gideon welcomed the coming night. “You are mistaken. Just ask your uncle. He sent a message informing Roderick of your unusual abilities.”

Her soft chuckle wrapped around him like fur. If he didn’t have her soon, he’d go mad. He’d tried to stay away, to ignore the bone-deep ache. It was useless. He needed her too badly.

“
My
unusual abilities?”

She was right behind him. He could smell her tantalizing scent and feel the heat radiating off her body. Without conscious thought, he spun and pulled her into his arms. They sighed together and she wrapped her arms around his back, pressing her body against his.

Dark hunger flared within him, driving the breath from his lungs. His fangs extended and his muscles cramped. Pulling her face into his chest, he gasped and trembled.

Damn it, not now!

“What’s wrong?” she whispered against his skin, sending tingles up and down his spine.

“Nothing,” he said into her hair. “It has just been too long since I held you.”

A shiver shook her body and echoed through his. She would be the death of him, there was no doubt. He closed his eyes and allowed the languid pleasure of her embrace to push away the darkness—at least for now.

She eased away from his chest and looked up into his eyes. “Are the customs so different here? Will I be allowed to illuminate openly?”

Tracing the edge of her filmy veil with his fingertip, Gideon said, “Nay. But you are capable of much more than illuminating manuscripts. The scroll you showed me is proof of that. Have you ever attempted something larger? A canvas? A mural?” He proposed the last with a chuckle.

She stepped out of his arms and moved to the desk. Finding the lever on each side that adjusted the angle of the workspace, she shifted the position to her liking. “I’m still confused. How did you know what I would need and from whence did the supplies come? These are not compounds found in an average castle’s scullery.”

“There is a large monastery two days’ ride from here. With a sizable donation from Roderick, they were persuaded to part with my list of supplies.”

She faced him, her steady gaze searching his face. “And how did you compile this list? How did you know what I would need?”

Unwilling to reveal the full scope of his sacrifice, Gideon scrambled for a feasible explanation. She didn’t need to know what it had cost him to bring this about.

“I asked Gabriel,” he said simply, and hurried from the room.

* * * * *

Midnight
came and went and still Naomi could not sleep. The shock of seeing Gideon had receded, leaving her restless and unsure. Why was he here? What did he want? Why was he being kind to her?

Seduction could no longer be his purpose. He had been the one to stop before they shared the final intimacy.

“This cannot go on,” she whispered.

She had to understand what purpose drove him. The tension within her was tearing her apart. It would be tonight. Tonight they would be lovers or he would leave her life forever.

Not bothering to dress, Naomi pulled her hooded mantle from the peg by the door and swung it around her shoulders. He had been given a tiny cottage within the castle walls. Elspeth had learned this from one of his men.

Her guards were nowhere in sight when she slipped from her bedchamber and tiptoed across the great hall. Either Gideon had yet to implement their rotation or there would be hell to pay when he found out.

The gatekeeper merely tugged his forelock as she passed into the lower bailey. With her identity concealed by her hood, he didn’t spare her a second glance.

Moisture seeped through her slippers and Naomi hurried her pace. The faint scent of horses and wood smoke drifted on the breeze. It wasn’t really cold but Naomi drew her cloak more tightly around her.

There were three small wattle and daub buildings adjacent to the barracks, which was how Elspeth had described the location of Gideon’s cottage. Naomi studied each for a moment and then approached the only one with firelight escaping around the shutters.

After a single tap, the door jerked open and Naomi ducked inside. Gideon quickly barred the door and turned to face her.

The fire was at her back and she hadn’t lowered the hood so she knew he couldn’t see her features. Secure in that advantage, Naomi studied him. Tension hardened his features to the point of ferocity. He wore nothing but woolen hose. She watched his muscles ripple and flex as he moved beyond her to stoke the fire.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

Naomi laughed. “I came to ask you that very question.”

“I live here.”

She had tired of word games and half-truths. Tossing back her hood, she shook out her hair. “Why did you follow me?”

“I arrived before you. How could I have followed?”

Planting her hands on her hips, she glared at him. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

He stalked toward her with the loose-limbed grace of a wild animal. “All I understand is that I burn for you night and day. I tried to stay away from you, Naomi. I honestly tried.”

“I came to you that night and you did not take me. You kissed me goodbye and—”

“A mistake I will not make again!” He grasped her upper arms and dragged her forward until she pressed against his naked chest. “I will never be satisfied without you. You are mine and I am yours.”

She didn’t stop him when he unfastened her cloak and tossed it over the back of a chair. If she hadn’t wanted this, she wouldn’t have come.

His fingers threaded through her unbound hair. Naomi tilted her face and closed her eyes. The fire popped but nothing happened.

“Open your eyes.” His voice sounded harsh and strangled. Naomi did as he asked. His gaze glowed with otherworldly light but Naomi was not afraid.

“There can be no regrets. You must come to me freely without reservation or not at all.”

Annoyed by the ultimatum yet understanding his hesitation, Naomi paused but a moment. “I am yours,” she whispered, “and you are mine.”

His eyes squeezed shut and his lips compressed as if he were in agony. She stepped closer. He shook his head. After several deep, ragged breaths, he opened his eyes. The strange light had faded yet he looked so forlorn Naomi wanted to weep.

“What is it? Why do you—”

“I promised Michael I would not seduce you,” he lamented.

She smiled into his eyes and gathered the hem of her chemise with both hands. “You are not seducing me. I am seducing you.”

Pulling the simple garment off over her head, she let it slip from her fingers and sail to the floor. Naomi held her breath, waiting for his reaction.

Gideon feared his heart would burst through the wall of his chest. Firelight danced across the surface of her skin, creating hypnotic patterns that did nothing to distract from the beauty of her shape. Her long, slender arms remained at her sides, though he saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.

“You make me ache just looking at you,” he said.

She smiled and glanced away. His gaze immediately descended to more intimate treasures while her eyes were averted. Lush and round, her breasts beckoned his touch and his mouth. The rose-hued nipples had already distended and tightened.

He had just begun his visual investigation of her feminine mound when she took two quick steps forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. The velvet heat of her skin on his made him groan. He wanted to see her and touch her and taste her before he joined his body with hers.

“Please, Gideon.” She rubbed her cheek against his chest and her moist breath fanned his skin. “We have waited so long.”

“We have waited too long not to enjoy everything there is to enjoy.”

So saying, he grabbed her ass and dragged her up along his body until her mouth was even with his. Her lips were parted and pliant, waiting for him. Gideon savored the texture and the softness of her lips before venturing into her mouth with his tongue. She angled her head and curled her tongue around his, clutching his shoulders. She tasted of wine and woman and Gideon drank deeply.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he murmured against her damp lips.

Without argument, she drew up her long legs and wrapped them around him. He came to rest at the entrance to her body and she tensed. Did she expect him to ram into her like a beast, a monster…a creature of darkness?

Gideon stroked her back and buttocks and kissed her slowly, deeply. His fingers delved into the crack between her bottom cheeks and he felt her start. “Easy.”

The damp heat of her sex enveloped his fingertips. He could thrust into her now and she would take him, but he wanted so much more than simple acceptance.

Setting her down on the edge of his narrow bed, Gideon parted her thighs and knelt on the floor between them. He moved her arms behind her and pushed gently until she rested back on her elbows.