OnlyYou (6 page)

“Miss McCann, please come sit with us,” came Mrs.
Washington’s voice from somewhere in front of her.

Alexander dropped his hand from her arm and was suddenly
gone. Kaitlyn shivered at the sudden absence of male heat and briskly rubbed
her arms. She took a deep breath and plastered a fake, serene smile on her face
as she met Mrs. Washington’s eyes.

The older woman affectionately patted her on the forearm and
glanced in Alexander’s direction, flashing him a disapproving look. Taking
Kaitlyn’s arm, she led her over to the settee and sat her down next to Eileen.

Kaitlyn wasn’t certain how much time had passed as she half
listened to the women’s conversation. Her eyes kept darting back toward the
door, hoping that Gabriel would walk through at any moment.

She absentmindedly fidgeted with her skirt as she considered
leaving the party to find him. But what then? Drag him up to her bedroom and
demand that he fuck her? Never once had she initiated sex with a guy, let alone
one who probably wouldn’t even give her a second thought in her own time.

But the heated, jealous expression on his face as she danced
with James and Alexander—no man had ever looked at her in that way before. Just
the mere memory caused her clit to throb.

What if she was wrong? What if he didn’t really want her and
had simply been thinking of something else when he was looking at her?

Or, worse yet,
someone
else?

This was going to drive her mad. Kaitlyn needed know one way
or the other. As gracefully as possible, she excused herself from Eileen and
Mrs. Washington and made a beeline for the door. Breathing deeply, she
carefully stepped out into the dark hallway and closed the door behind her.

A large figure unexpectedly appeared before her, nearly
knocking her to the floor. She gasped and took a step back. The candles
flickering in their sconces on the walls illuminated the person just enough for
her to be able to identify him. It was Gabriel. And from the look on his face,
her sudden appearance surprised him as well.

“Gabriel,” she whispered with an exhaled breath.

He stared at her, remaining darkly silent. His eyes raked
down her form and back up to her face, openly appraising her.

Kaitlyn’s cheeks flushed as tremors of excitement pulsed
from her breasts to her thighs, causing her nipples to harden.

How the hell does he do that?

He stepped forward and reached out to lightly caress the
side of her face with the back of his curved fingers. Instinctively, she leaned
into the warmth of his touch. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as he
lowered his head to hers and softly brushed his mouth against her quivering
lips.

Gabriel was stunned when she did not pull away from him.
Damn it all if she did not look like she enjoyed him touching her. Unable to
resist, he pressed his lips to hers again, this time more firmly. He pulled
away to gauge her reaction. Her lips parted slightly as she looked into his eyes,
her body leaning toward him willingly.

She did want him after all. The realization hit him like a
ton of bricks. He had not seriously begun to doubt her desire for him until
earlier in the evening when she verbally sparred with Ross. He could see the fire
of arousal in his rival’s eyes as Kaitlyn’s quick wit put him in his place. She
took the arrogant Ross down a few pegs with such obvious pleasure. He had never
heard such delight in her voice before and it fairly caused his cock to weep.
And when she so easily spoke with Alexander as she was dancing in his arms
later, Gabriel wondered if she did not find Ross a more suitable object of
desire.

Though partly overcome with male satisfaction at figuring
out that it was
he
whom she wanted, the protective part of him was
appalled since he could feel the threads of his control slipping away as she
stared up at him with lustful eyes. Everything about her, from the parting of
her lips to the stance of her body, indicated that she had no intentions of
stopping his advances.

Hungrily, he cupped her face in his hands and covered her
mouth with his. He pressed his body into hers, forcing her backward.

A soft yelp of surprise escaped Kaitlyn’s mouth as her back
hit the wall behind her. Gabriel’s lips became hard and demanding, barely
allowing her to take a breath. She became acutely aware of his erection jutting
against her lower abdomen, sending chills coursing to the very core of her
body.

Eagerly, she succumbed to his desires, feeling her own rise
as her pussy became slick and ready for his cock. She met his kisses halfway
and he groaned into her mouth. Her mind reeled, shocked at the level of his
fervor and the utterly primal nature of the feelings he drew from her body.
Never before had a man threatened to snap the threads of her control.

Never before had she
wanted
to lose control. Her
previous boyfriends had all been rather uninspiring sexually, even if they had
been intellectually stimulating outside the bedroom. Now she understood just
what had been missing from her other relationships.

Fire.

Gabriel shuddered as she flattened the palms of her hands
against his chest and began to slowly slide them down to his waist. He broke
the kiss and stepped backward, removing her hands from his waist. His fingers
lingered on hers for one brief, agonizing moment before releasing them. Without
a word, he turned and walked down the hall once again.

Kaitlyn slumped against the wall, having difficulty catching
her breath. Every nerve in her body seemed on fire but now there was no way to
quench it.

What the hell had just happened? At first, the idea that he
could actually be attracted to her finally began to worm its way into her brain
as his demanding lips drew her long dormant passions to the surface. But after
that look on his face as he pulled away—one she could only describe as
disgust—she had to think twice.

Her stomach sank and hot tears began to sting her eyes but
she refused to allow them to fall. Gabriel was just a man, she told herself.

And men, she had already learned, were not worth getting all
worked up over.

Chapter Four

The man was going to drive her insane.

Not only did Gabriel haunt her dreams all night long but her
thoughts were consumed with him from the moment she awoke as well.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem terribly moved to explain any
of his actions, let alone speak to her all morning. She would catch him looking
at her now and then but that damnable mask seemed adhered to his face, not
allowing her to gauge his emotions.

His actions the previous night just didn’t make sense. Why
would he kiss her with such passion and then release her with a look of
repulsion? Had she read him wrong? He didn’t appear to be drunk but what did
she know?

Kaitlyn spent most of the morning under the tutelage of Mrs.
Washington, learning how to do basic sewing. When Kaitlyn had been asked during
breakfast to help with the mending of clean shirts for the soldiers camped out
on the front lawn, she thought that Mrs. Washington was suffering from a heart
attack when Kaitlyn told her she didn’t know how to sew. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn
found the task to be more difficult than she had originally imagined and she
ended up stabbing her fingers with the needle more often than she completed a
stitch. If she hadn’t seemed so determined to turn her fingertips into
pincushions, she just might have found the repetitive nature of the task rather
meditative.

After another meal with Gabriel sitting beside her and not
speaking one word all throughout lunch, she decided that she needed to get some
fresh air. Mrs. Washington handed her a stack of shirts to hem and Kaitlyn
carried them out into the cool spring air to work under the gnarled, old maple
tree near the farmhouse.

Perhaps the constant pinpricks would serve as some sort of
aversion therapy, she thought. Chances were that every time Gabriel entered her
mind, she would stick the needle into her finger anyway.

* * * * *

Gabriel stood with his legs braced shoulder width apart and
his arms crossed in front of his chest. Damn it. Ross was at it again and this
time he had Clark with him. The two men were sitting next to Kaitlyn in the
grass and had been conversing with her for some time now.

He had gotten little sleep that night. The feel of Kaitlyn’s
soft, willing lips haunted him throughout the night and well into the day. It
was torture to sit so close to her during breakfast and the midday meal and not
be able to touch her. He had considered sitting elsewhere but then thought
better of it once he remembered that Ross would happily take his place at Kaitlyn’s
side.

“Be careful, cousin. You may wait too long,” Philip stated
in a low voice as he strolled up to Gabriel.

Gabriel glanced at him briefly before turning his eyes back
to Kaitlyn. “I do not know of what you speak.”

“Like hell,” Philip replied with a shake of his head. “You
have been mooning over the woman since you carried her into camp last week.”

“I suggest you hold your tongue before I rip it out of your
mouth,” Gabriel threatened in a low, menacing tone. He would never do such a
thing, of course. But the thought that others could see what was happening to
him irritated him to no end.

Philip chuckled, clearly undaunted by the threat. “She is a
good woman. Hell, even I can admit that, especially after acting like such an
ass the first day of the march. A comely figure and pretty face will only serve
a woman insofar as that beauty is reflected on the inside. And if I can see
that, then others certainly can as well.” He patted his cousin on the back
heartily and turned toward the encampment.

Gabriel shifted his attention back to Kaitlyn and allowed
his arms to drop to his sides. Her laughter floated to him on the breeze,
causing the corners of his mouth to turn up in an easy smile.

What exactly was it that he was fighting? He was by no means
a married man. Hell, he had never even asked for a woman’s hand in marriage
before. However, he certainly was no stranger to the fairer sex, having bedded
more than his fair share of them, he surmised.

On the other hand, he had never met anyone quite like
Kaitlyn before. Not only was she beautiful but she could also match wits with
any man and come out victorious. She had strange notions, to be sure but she
was generous and helpful. Plus, not one pretentious bone could be found in her
body, which he considered to be a definite asset.

He simply had to get her alone. He had no idea where he
would take her but he was determined to find the privacy he needed to seduce
her into spreading her legs for him. There would be time enough to find a
priest and make it official later. His cock, far too insistent to let this free
moment pass by without taking advantage of it, strained against his breeches at
the very thought.

He began walking toward her, noticing for the first time how
his sister was sitting with Henry several yards away from Kaitlyn. He frowned
in reaction, making a mental note to speak with Henry later.

“Miss McCann,” Alexander said as Gabriel approached them, “I
do believe that your guard dog is back.”

James snickered under his breath, daring a quick look up at
Gabriel who simply raised an eyebrow in reaction.

Kaitlyn looked up from her sewing, her face breaking into a
shy smile as her eyes landed upon his. She felt her stomach flutter as he
flashed her a boyish grin.

“Mr. Clark! Mr. Ross!” a youth breathlessly called as he ran
up to the group. “Letters from a courier await you up at the house.”

Both men quickly stood and bowed low before Kaitlyn as they
excused themselves. Giving Gabriel a polite nod, they turned to walk toward the
farmhouse.

Gabriel lowered himself to the ground next to Kaitlyn,
stretching out on his side with his legs extended and his elbow propped beneath
him.

Kaitlyn’s breath caught in her throat as he peered at her
intently. She bent her head to her task, trying to concentrate on her stitches
and ignore the ache between her thighs that seemed to intensify whenever he was
near. She wasn’t certain why she was reacting so strongly to Gabriel. Either
she felt some serious chemistry with this guy or it had simply been too long
since she had gotten laid.

The events surrounding last night’s kiss intruded on her
thoughts once more. The disgust so obviously expressed in his features after he
had pulled away brought her anger back to the surface and she took a deep
breath, determined to confront him about it.

She suddenly poked her finger with the needle once again.
“Damn it!” she muttered, dropping her sewing into her lap.

Gabriel took her hand, pulling it toward him and carefully
studied the pinprick. He pulled a small handkerchief from the inside pocket of
his dark blue coat and dabbed away at the drop of blood resting upon the tip of
her finger.

“There, Katie,” he said, his voice low and sensuous. “I
daresay you shall be no worse for the wear.” He bowed his head over her hand
and lightly touched his lips to her injured finger, his eyes never leaving hers
for a second.

Kaitlyn’s lips parted and her breathing slowed as she held
his gaze. Her mind swirled in confusion. So, he did like her then? She shook
her head, nearly jumping at the ripple of pleasure coursing through her at his
touch. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure.

“Katie,” he whispered.

His hot breath stroked her cheek. A split second later, his
lips, warm and gentle, caressed the corner of her mouth causing her to inhale
sharply. Her eyes fluttered open, half expecting to see him staring at her as
though he had just kissed General Cornwallis. However, the fire was back in his
eyes and not an ounce of repulsion could be seen. Her stomach tightened in
sudden nervousness at the determined sparkle in his warm, brown eyes.