Page 37 of Unmask Me My Love

“Gabriella!”

Chuckling, she came toward him and took his hand. “Do not be shocked, Hal. I am not one of your English maidens who knows nothing of how to please a man.”

His jaw dropped. Never had he expected such a statement from his bride-to-be. “You know?”

“Once I was affianced, Maman instructed me in what to do to make certain I pleased my husband.” She tugged him toward the door.

“But, Gabriella, we are in your father’s house,” Hal whispered, although no one seemed to be in the vicinity.

She shrugged and opened the door a little wider. “It is a very large house, mon amour. Almost a mansion. I do not believe my papa will know a thing.” The minx grinned at him. “Maman will make certain he is paying attention only to her.”

Hal didn’t know what to think about that. Had the duchess given her tacit approval for their tryst?

“Be very quiet, mon cher.” Gabriella led them at a fast pace out into the corridor, in the opposite direction from the one the duke and duchess had taken. Almost immediately, they came upon a narrow set of stairs that wound upward. “Come with me.”

They climbed the steep staircase to the next floor where Gabriella paused at the door. “The good thing about having been a servant is my knowledge of how a noble household works, including the servants’ stairs. They are always tucked out of the way, for the master does not wish to see the servants at all.” She opened the door a crack then poked her head out. “Viens.”

She pulled him down the corridor, their feet making little noise on the soft beige and brown Turkish carpet. Halfway down the hall, she stopped before a stout oak door, glanced both ways, then opened the door and pulled him inside. “Now we are truly alone, mon amour.”

That they were. Hal gazed around at the chamber, taking in the feminine furnishings but also the fact that they were as alone as they had ever been. Suddenly, Hal had misgivings. “I don’t think I should be here, Gabriella.”

“Perhaps not if we wish to be strictly by the rules, as my papa would want.” She laced their hands together. “But we will be married in two weeks. What difference can it make?”

“If your father were to find out—” Hal had a nightmarish image of the duke crashing through the door as he and Gabriella were in delicto flagrante.

“And if he did, what then?” She came toward him until she stood between his feet. Peering up at him, she unbuttoned his jacket. “Will he break the betrothal? Challenge you to a duel?” Gabriella waved that away as though it were a dish that displeased her. “In his youth, peut être. I understand he was assez sauvage. Now, though, he can do nothing.” She gazed at him, a look in her eyes that made him catch his breath. “Because I, his daughter, love you. There is nothing he will do to hurt me, so he can do nothing to you, mon cœur.”

She might speak the truth, but Hal wasn’t so sure. Perhaps if he hadn’t been under the duke’s roof, he would’ve been less nervous about indulging in the pleasures of the bed with the man’s daughter before they were married. Still, he didn’t attempt to stop her when she drew his jacket off and started on his cravat.

“Is this your method of seduction, Gabriella?” His heart had begun to race as she freed his cravat and draped it gaily over the mirror that sat on her toilette table.

“Mais oui.” She unbuttoned the placket of his shirt and slipped her hand inside.

The moment she touched him, Hal knew he was lost. Her bare skin against his was incredibly arousing, his body playing traitor to what his head told him was unwise. “Gabriella, we shouldn’t—”

Her other hand went to his lips, silencing him. “Yes, we should, mon amour.” She pulled his head down and kissed him again, shattering any vestige of resistance he had left. “When two people love one another as we do, then absolument, they must make love.”

He didn’t disagree with her. Couldn’t. Easing his arms around her, Hal pulled the bow that tied the lacings of her gown and expertly unthreaded them. The garment began to sag, and Gabriella laughed and pulled it down over her shoulders. With a plop, the material fell to the ground, leaving her in only her stays and chemise, stockings and slippers.

“Your turn.” She reached to unbutton his fall, but Hal stopped her.

“Allow me to do that, my dear. You may very well set off an explosion that will cause a delay in our plans.”

“Very well, then.” She began instead on her stays, pulling the strings out quickly. When that garment dropped to the floor, without any further attempt at seduction, Gabriella grasped the edge of the chemise and stripped it off, leaving her magnificently naked before him, save only her backless pink slippers and clocked stockings.

The sight of her glorious figure—round, sumptuous breasts, pert nipples pebbling in the exposed air, tiny waist with curvaceous hips he wanted to grasp this moment—made him stop and stare at the ultimate beauty before him. “Oh, my love. You are the most exquisite woman.”

A proud smile spread across her mouth, and she raised her chin. “I am glad I please you, mon cher.” She arched her back, thrusting her breasts toward him, and he groaned. He would never be able to get these blasted breeches off in time.

Gabriella bent to untie her garter then turned to him, an impish gleam in her eyes. “Would you like my stockings on or off, mon cher?”

With a growl, Hal tore at the buttons of his fall, ripping several off, their ping ping sounding like the patter of light rain on the carpet. His breeches went down, sweeping everything else off with them. He pulled his shirt up and over his head in one effortless movement, until he stood as naked as she. “On, sil vous plait, mademoiselle.”

“Ooh, mais oui, certainement.” She straightened and backed toward the bed, holding out her hand to him. “Viens à moi, mon amour.”

Mesmerized, Hal followed her until they stood together at the edge of the bed. “You are certain, love?”

Her only response was to slide up onto the bed until she lay in the center, the covers fanned out all around her and her desire for him written on her face.