Julia stared at Gabriel, wide-eyed. “What?”
“Christa filed a complaint with the sexual harassment officer, who referred the file to Jeremy. That’s why I have to meet him this week.”
Shakily, Julia lowered herself to sit in the red velvet chair. “When did you find out?”
A muscle jumped in Gabriel’s angular jaw. “He called me a few days ago.”
“A few days ago?” She clenched her teeth. “How long were you going to wait before you told me?”
“I didn’t want to ruin our trip to Belize. I was going to tell you when we got back. I swear.”
Julia glared at him angrily. “I thought we weren’t keeping secrets from each other.”
“It wasn’t a secret — I just wanted you to have a few days to relax before I gave you the bad news.” With a sigh, he turned to face her.
“Why would Christa accuse you of harassment? She’s been harassing you!”
“I don’t know the specifics of the allegations. I should have filed a complaint with the harassment officer, myself, but I didn’t want to draw unwanted attention.”
“What are we going to do?”
Gabriel stared determinedly into the fire. “I’m going to call my lawyer, and we’re going to see that both of these accusations are dealt with. Swiftly.”
Julia stood up and clasped her hands around his waist, burying her face in his sweater.
Sylvain Reynard
152
P
“What is it now, Emerson? I’m in bed with a hot young law clerk from a competing firm.” John Green answered his cell phone amidst the sounds of squealing and high-pitched giggles.
“Zip up your pants, John. This is going to take a while.”
The lawyer cursed before covering his cell phone with one hand. “Don’t go anywhere, sugar.” He addressed his female pelvic affiliate before scuttling off in his red bikini briefs to the washroom.
“I’m already on top of your harassment complaint, Emerson. You don’t need to pester me. I was about to have the best sex of my life.”
“I need to speak to you about something else.” Gabriel briefly summarized the contents of the Dean’s letter to Julia.
“I can’t help your girlfriend.”
Gabriel began to sputter and protest, but John ignored him.
“Listen, if they’re dragging you in for sexual harassment and your twink — ahem — girlfriend in for some kind of academic infraction, I’ll bet my Porsche that the two complaints are connected. Have you told her not to mention you during her conversation with the Dean?”
Gabriel gritted his teeth. “No.”
“Well, you should. You don’t want to be drawn into anything through her. You have enough to worry about.”
The Professor breathed in and out chillingly slowly.
“I’m not in the habit of cutting loose my friends, least of all Julianne. Is that clear? Or do I need to find myself another lawyer?”
“Fine. But she needs her own attorney. If these two matters are connected, it’s likely to raise a conflict of interest for me. And I think the university might become suspicious if I represented both of you.”
“Fine!” spat Gabriel. “Who do you recommend?”
John thought for a moment. “I’d recommend Soraya Harandi. She works for one of the Bay Street firms, and she has represented faculty against the university in the past. We had a thing a couple of years ago and she hates my guts. But she’s good at what she does.”
He grunted into the phone, apparently reaching for his BlackBerry. “I’ll text you her contact information. Ask your girlfriend to
Gabriel’s Rapture
153
call Soraya’s office and explain the situation to her secretary. I’m sure she’ll jump at the opportunity.”
“What’s the likelihood of either complaint resulting in — negative consequences?”
“I have no idea. It’s possible the university will conduct an investigation and dismiss both complaints. But don’t let her go in there without a lawyer, or this could turn around and bite both of you in the ass.”
“Thanks, John.” Gabriel’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
“In the meantime, I’d like you to make a list of everything — and I mean everything — that is relevant to the harassment complaint. Any kind of evidence she might present, such as emails, texts, messages, and photographs. Send everything to me, and I’ll start looking at it. And send me everything on your girlfriend too.
“I don’t like having to say, ‘I told you so,’ Gabriel. But I did. The university has a zero-tolerance policy with respect to fraternization, which means they can expel your girlfriend and fire you. Let’s hope the two complaints are not connected and that someone reported her for failing to return her library books.”
“It’s always a pleasure to speak with you,” said Gabriel icily.
“If you didn’t think with your dick, you wouldn’t be speaking with me. I just hope your girlfriend was worth it, because if the shit hits the fan, she’s going to turn out to be an extremely costly lay.”
Before John could say good-bye, Gabriel hurled the handset against the wall, watching it smash into several large pieces and falling to the hardwood floor below. Then he took several deep breaths so he could convince Julia they should simply enjoy their vacation.
P
That same afternoon, Dean David Aras sat in his office on St. George Street and looked at his telephone with surprise. Usually, his administrative assistant was much better at screening his calls. But Professor Katherine Picton was nothing if not persistent, and she usually received whatever she wanted. In this case, that was a conversation with the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto.
Sylvain Reynard
154
He lifted the handset and pressed the button. “Hello, Professor Picton. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“There’s no pleasure at all, David. I demand to know why I received a letter from your office requiring me to be interviewed at one of your Stalinist proceedings.”
David pressed his lips together in order to avoid biting back. She was famous, she was old, and she was a woman. He wasn’t about to curse her out.
(Except in Lithuanian. Perhaps.)
“I need to ask you a few questions. It will take ten minutes, tops, and you’ll be on your way,” he replied smoothly.
“Nonsense. It takes me ten minutes to walk down the front steps of my house in the winter. It will take forever to walk over to your office. I demand to know what I am being summoned to and why, or I’m not coming. We can’t all spend our afternoons having assistants screen our calls and make us coffee so we can dream up ways of making other people’s lives miserable.”
The Dean cleared his throat.
“A complaint has been made against the graduate student you’re supervising.”
“Miss Mitchell? What sort of complaint?”
In a very understated way, he explained the nature of the complaint that he’d received.
“That’s outrageous! Have you even met her?”
“No.”
“This is a ridiculous complaint made against an innocent and hardworking female student. And need I remind you, David, that this is not the first time that a successful female graduate student has been slagged in a university proceeding.”
“I am quite aware of that. But there are related matters that I am not at liberty to discuss with you. I wish to interview you about your dealings with Miss Mitchell. That’s all.”
“I am not going to lend any credence whatsoever to a witch hunt that is targeting my graduate student.”
David frowned at her through the phone. “Without your testimony, it’s quite possible a grave injustice might occur. You might be exactly what we need to clear Miss Mitchell’s name.”
Gabriel’s Rapture
155
“Codswallop! It’s your responsibility to see that justice is served. I’m surprised that you have taken the complaint seriously. Quite surprised. And wipe that frown off your face, David. I can hear you sulking and I don’t appreciate it.”
The Dean suppressed a Lithuanian curse. “Professor Picton, are you refusing to answer my questions?”
“Are you hard of hearing? Or has your quest for administrative power made you intellectually lazy? I’ve said that I refuse to cooperate. I don’t work for the university anymore. I am retired. Furthermore, I will be bringing this matter up over dinner tonight at the President’s house. I’m sure he and his guests will be most interested in how the administration of his own university is operating.
“And by the way, the dinner party is being given in honor of Mary Asprey, the famous novelist. As an alumna, I know she takes an avid interest in the affairs of her alma mater, particularly the more patriarchal machinations. I wonder what she’ll make of this?”
And with that, Professor Picton hung up.
P
When Gabriel and Julia finally arrived at the Turtle Inn resort in Belize, it was late in the evening and the stars were already out. Julia explored their accommodations — a private hut on a secluded beach — while Gabriel ordered room service.
The walls of their hut were white, with the exception of a row of tall, teak panels that accordioned to open out onto the covered porch. The ceilings were a mixture of bamboo and thatch, and a large bed was centered in the room, shrouded in mosquito netting. Julia was particularly taken with the open air shower and bathtub that were located on a side veranda.
While Gabriel wrestled with the kitchen staff over the telephone, Julia quickly slipped out of her clothes and took a shower. The space was not completely closed, affording the bather a view of the ocean. But since it was dark out and they were on a private beach, there was no possibility of being surprised by anyone, apart from one’s lover.
“Dinner will arrive in about an hour. I’m sorry it’s going to take so long.” Gabriel licked his lips as he took in the sight of Julia in her bathrobe.
Sylvain Reynard
156
In contrast, he’d changed into a white linen shirt that was mostly unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms. He wore khaki pants with the hems rolled up, exposing his bare feet.
(Parenthetically, it should be noted that even his feet were attractive.)
“Would you like to take a walk with me on the beach?”
“I think I’d rather do something else.” She tugged him, smiling, toward the bed, and gave him a gentle push so he was seated on its edge.
He caught her by the belt of her robe. “I’d be content just to relax. It was a long trip.” His face showed that he was in earnest, which somewhat surprised her.
“I miss you.” Her voice dropped to a throaty whisper.
He pulled her so she was standing in between his knees and slid his hands to rest on her backside. “We could nap before dinner. There’s no rush.”
She rolled her eyes. “Gabriel, I want you to make love to me. If you’re saying no, just tell me.”
He gave her a very wide, very delighted grin. “I’d never say no to you, Miss Mitchell.”
“Good. Give me five minutes, Professor Emerson.”
He sank down on his back, his feet still on the floor. Julia’s newfound confidence was absolutely enticing. In a single sentence, she’d aroused him so much that he was already suffering.
It seemed like forever, but it was really only a few minutes later when Julia emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in his Christmas gift. The black satin fabric accentuated the pink and cream of her skin, while the corset itself made her breasts look fuller and her waist smaller. Gabriel couldn’t help but admire the exquisite hourglass that was Julia’s now transformed figure.
His eyes hungrily regarded the merest glimpse of black lace panties, paired with black-silk stockings that were held up by a garter belt. Finally and gloriously, a pair of black pumps decorated her feet.
Gabriel nearly had a heart attack when he gazed at the shoes alone.
“Bonsoir, Professeur. Vous allez bien?” Julia purred.
It took a moment for him to figure out why she’d made this linguistic choice, so taken as he was by her figure and her footwear.
Julia was wearing his beret.
Gabriel’s Rapture
157
When his eyes finally met hers, she watched him swallow hard. She pouted at him provocatively and removed her hat, tossing it at him. After he threw it aside, she walked slowly, very slowly, to the bed.
“I really like my Christmas present, Professor.”
Gabriel gulped, at a loss for words.
“Have you seen the back?” She pivoted her hips, watching him over her shoulder.
He reached out a finger to touch the laces that tied the corset, dragging his hand down to the panties that cut across her pert backside.
“Enough teasing, Miss Mitchell. Come here.” He pulled her to him, bringing their mouths together in a forceful kiss.
“I’m going to take my time unwrapping my gift — with the exception of the shoes. I hope for your sake they’re comfortable.”
After ten minutes of knocking on the door, the room service waiter had to take their dinner back to the kitchen and await further instructions.
The instructions never came.
P
Long after midnight, beautiful music hung in the air from Gabriel’s new playlist, including songs by Sarah McLachlan, Sting, and Matthew Barber. Julia was lying on her stomach amidst a tangle of linen sheets, drowsy and satisfied. Her back was exposed down to the two dimples that rested above the curve of her backside.
Gabriel had artfully placed part of the sheet over her bottom and retrieved his camera. He stood by the bed, snapping picture after picture until she yawned and stretched, like a sleepy cat.
“You’re exquisite,” he said, placing the camera to one side so he could sit by her.
She looked up with wide, happy eyes as he began running his long fingers down her spine, then gave a rueful smile. “When you love something, you don’t see its flaws.”
“That’s true, I suppose. But you’re beautiful.”
Sylvain Reynard
158
She shifted so she could see him better, hugging her arms around a pillow. “Love makes things beautiful.”
A familiar tightness spread across Gabriel’s lips. His hand stilled on her lower back, just over the dimples.
She read the unspoken question in his eyes. “Yes, Gabriel, you’re beautiful to me. The more I know you, the more I see who you really are and the more beautiful you become.”
He kissed her, the light, appreciative kiss of a teenage suitor, and ran his fingers through her long, brown hair. “Thank you. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
He looked over at the door. “I think we missed our dinner because we were feasting on — ah — other things.”
“And what a feast it was, Professor. At least there’s a fruit basket.”
She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her torso, while he walked over to the large basket that was sitting on the coffee table. He found a Swiss army knife in the kitchenette, made an adjustment to the music, and brought a mango with him to bed.
“I needed to match the song to the fruit,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling. “Now lie back.”
She felt her heart rate begin to increase.
“You don’t need this.” Boldly, he pulled the sheet away. Now they were both naked.
“Who’s singing?”
“Bruce Cockburn.”
He began cutting the mango slowly, his eyes exploring Julia’s body.
She gave him a quizzical look. “Naked lunch?”
“More like a naked midnight snack.”
With deft fingers he cut a small slice of the fruit, juice dripping from his hands and onto her abdomen. She arched an eyebrow.
“Hmmm.” He peered at the juice with an impish expression. “I’ll have to take care of that.”
She opened her mouth as he leaned forward to feed her. “You have a feeding fetish,” she said, licking her lips and angling for more.
He bowed before her in obeisance, his tongue snaking out to capture the liquid from her stomach. “Pardon?” he asked.
Julia groaned incoherently.
Gabriel’s Rapture
159
“It isn’t a fetish so much as an act that gives me joy. I like to care for you, and there’s something sensual about sharing food with a lover.” He eschewed her lips to kiss her shoulder, the tip of his tongue tasting her skin. Withdrawing, he cut another slice of fruit. A few droplets fell like liquid sunshine on her left breast.
“Damn. Forgive my mess.”
He ran a sticky hand up and down her ribs, tantalizing one of his favorite erogenous zones, before placing his lips to her chest.
“You’re killing me,” she managed as his wet mouth found her nipple.
“I seem to recall saying that to you once. And you promised it would be a sweet death.”
Julia opened her mouth to indicate her willingness to accept another piece. “I should have said a sticky death.”
He placed a piece of mango on her tongue before stroking her lower lip with his thumb.
“I’ve thought of that. Don’t worry.”
Without warning, she moved so she was straddling his lap and placed her hands on either side of his face, pulling him toward her. They kissed passionately for a moment before she took the mango and knife from his hand and placed a piece temptingly in her mouth.
He gave her a heated look before he brought their lips together, tugging the piece of fruit away with his teeth.
“Mmmmm,” she hummed. “By the way, I don’t think I ever saw the security video from our date at the museum.”
She gently squeezed a piece of mango over his chest and began kissing and sucking across the droplet trail.
“Ah — ah —” Gabriel had trouble finding his words. “I’ve seen it. It’s pretty hot.”
“Really?” She sat back and languidly ate a piece of fruit in front of him, licking her fingers slowly.
“I’ll show it to you later.” He pulled her into a tight embrace, his hands sliding up and down her back. Then, when he couldn’t stand it any longer, he tossed everything aside so he could lift her into his arms.
“Where are we going?” she asked, slightly alarmed.
“To the beach.”
“But we’re naked.”
Sylvain Reynard
160
“Our beach is private.” He kissed the tip of her nose and carried her down to the water’s edge.
“Someone will see us,” she protested as he stepped into the sea.
“There’s only a little sliver of a moon. Anyone who came by would only see you in silhouette. And what a view.”
He kissed her long and good, adoring her face and neck with his lips as the gentle tide lapped against them. Then he placed her on her feet so he could press every inch of his body to hers.
“See how we fit together?” His voice was urgent. “We’re a perfect match.”
They cupped salt water in their hands, cleaning one another’s flesh. Julia couldn’t help but lean forward to kiss his tattoo, reveling in the way the taste of the sea mingled with the flavor of his skin.
He began kissing her neck and she could feel him smile against her. “Have you ever seen the film From Here to Eternity?”
“No.”
“Then I need to introduce you to it.” He took her hand and led her to the beach, where he lowered himself to the sand. “Please,” he beckoned, motioning that she should lie atop him.
“Here?” Her heart thumped wildly in her chest.
“Yes, here. I want to be inside you, but I don’t want the sand to scratch your skin.” Gabriel pulled her down, and his mouth sought hers eagerly as the waves gently lapped at their legs. When they cried out their pleasure, the pale moon smiled.
P
A tropical rainstorm moved through the area the following morning. While the raindrops tapped against the roof of the hut, the couple made love slowly in a bed covered with mosquito netting. They found their rhythm in the steady dance of the rain.
When they were both blissful, he suggested that they rinse the sweat and humidity from their skin in the large bathtub on the veranda. Reclining in vanilla-scented bubbles, Julia leaned against his chest as he wound his arms around her middle. When she was in his arms she could almost forget the troubles that waited for them in Toronto.
Gabriel’s Rapture
161
She felt safe with Gabriel. It was not that he was a powerful man, although his wealth gave him some measure of strength. It was the way he’d confronted her bullies — first, Christa, then Simon. And the fact that he’d excoriated her father for a lifetime of neglect.
The vulnerability of the lovers’ bed was well-known to Julia now. She knew nakedness and intimacy, desire and burning need, and deep, deep satisfaction. But she also knew that Gabriel loved her and wished to protect her. In his arms, she felt safe, for the first time in her life.
“Saturday mornings were my favorite when I was a child.” Gabriel interrupted her musings with a wistful voice.
Julia traced his lifeline with a single finger. “Why?”
“My mother was passed out. I could watch cartoons. This was before we lost our cable.” He gave her a half smile, and Julia tried not to cry, thinking of Gabriel as a sad little boy whose only happiness was a few hours of cartoons.
“I used to make my own breakfast. Cold cereal or peanut butter on toast.” He shook his head. “When we ran out of milk, which we did frequently, I’d use orange juice.”
“How was it?”
“Awful. It wasn’t even real orange juice — it was Tang.” He stroked her hair absentmindedly. “I’m sure a psychiatrist would have much to say about the connection between my childhood and my attachment to fine things.”
Impulsively, Julia turned and threw her arms around his neck, causing a great tidal wave of water to slosh over the sides of the tub.
“Hey, what’s all this?”
She buried her face into his shoulder. “Nothing. I just love you so much it hurts.”
He hugged her gently. “Those things happened thirty years ago. Grace was more of a mother to me. I regret not being with her when she died. I didn’t have the chance to say good-bye.”
“She knew, Gabriel. She knew how much you loved her.”
“I think your childhood was far more painful.”
She sniffled against his shoulder but said nothing.
“If meanness makes people ugly, your mother must have been hideous. My mother was neglectful and indifferent, but never cruel.”
He paused, wondering if he should broach the topic both of them had been avoiding since the advent of their vacation.
Sylvain Reynard
162
“Once I became acquainted with Christa Peterson, I thought that she was ugly. I owe you a debt for keeping me from sleeping with her. Although I’d like to think that even intoxicated I have better taste than that.”
Julia withdrew, sitting back slightly and toying with the end of a lock of her hair.
He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t like thinking about you and Christa together.”
“Then it’s a mercy you saved me from her.”
“She’s trying to end your career.”
“The truth will out. You said yourself that Paul heard her aspirations with respect to me. I’m hoping she’ll wash out of the program and we’ll both be rid of her.”
“I don’t want her to flunk,” Julia said quietly. “Then I’d be just as ugly as her, taking pleasure in her misfortune.”
Gabriel’s expression grew fierce. “She was mean to you on more than one occasion. You should have cursed her out when you had the chance.”
“I’m too old to call people names, whether they deserve it or not. We don’t live in a nursery school.”
Gabriel tapped the end of her nose gently with his finger. “And where does that wisdom come from? Sesame Street?”
“The benefits of a Catholic education,” she muttered. “Or maybe a little Lillian Hellman.”
His eyebrows crinkled. “What do you mean?”
“Lillian Hellman wrote a play called The Little Foxes. In it a young girl tells her mother that some people eat the earth, like locusts, and others stand around and watch them do it. She promises her mother she isn’t going to stand around and watch anymore. Instead of standing around and watching Christa’s ugliness, we need to fight her with something stronger, like charity.”
“People underestimate you, Julianne. Nevertheless, it pains me when people fail to give you the respect that you deserve.”
Julia shrugged. “There will always be Christas in this world. And sometimes, we become the Christas.”
He placed his chin on her shoulder. “I’ve changed my mind about you.”
“You have?”
Gabriel’s Rapture
163
“You aren’t a Dantean, you’re a Franciscan.”
She laughed. “I doubt the Franciscans would approve of me having sex, unmarried, outside, in a bathtub.”
He brought his mouth to her ear. “Is that a promise?”
Julia shook her head and stroked his eyebrows, one at a time. “I like to think of you as a little boy, sweet and inquisitive.”
He snorted. “I don’t know how sweet I was, but I was definitely inquisitive. Especially about girls.” He leaned over to kiss her, and when his lips left hers she smiled.
“See? Any boy who can kiss like that can’t be all bad. St. Francis would approve.”
“I hate to tell you, but your beloved Francis wasn’t always right. There’s a passage in the Inferno in which he argues with a demon over the soul of Guido da Montefeltro. Do you know it?”
Julia shook her head, so Gabriel recited the text for her in Italian.
“Francesco venne poi com’io fu’ morto,
(Francis came afterward, when I was dead,)
per me; ma un d’i neri cherubini
(for me; but one of the black Cherubim)
li disse: ‘Non portar: non mi far torto.
(said to him: “Take him not; do me no wrong.)
Venir se ne dee giù tra ‘ miei meschini
(He must come down among my servitors,)
perché diede ‘l consiglio frodolente,
(because he gave the fraudulent advice,)
dal quale in qua stato li sono a’ crini;
(from which time forth I have been at his hair;)
ch’assolver non si può chi non si pente,
(For who repents not cannot be absolved,)
né pentere e volere insieme puossi
(nor can one both repent and will at once,)
per la contradizion che nol consente’.”
(because of the contradiction which consents not”.)
Sylvain Reynard
164
“So you see, Julia, even St. Francis was wrong about people on occasion. He thought Guido’s soul belonged in Paradise.”
“Yes, but it’s like Francis to think the best of someone — to think that Guido’s repentance was real and to fight for his soul,” she protested. “Even if in the end he was wrong.”
“St. Francis gave up too quickly.”
“Do you think so?”
Gabriel gazed at her intently. “If it were your soul I was after, all the dark Cherubim in Hell couldn’t keep me from you.”
A shiver snaked up and down Julia’s spine.
“I would have done whatever it took to save you.” His voice and his expression were grave. “Even if that meant I had to spend eternity in Hell.”
P
Gabriel and Julia spent their last full day of vacation in and out of the ocean. They sunned themselves, then relaxed in the shade with a beer and an umbrella drink. Julia nodded off in her lounge chair, her large floppy hat discarded on the sand.
Gabriel loved to watch her sleep — the way her chest rose and fell with her gentle breathing. The way her lips curled back with the occasional sigh. She looked so peaceful. Gabriel was convinced that Grace would have been delighted that he and Julianne were a couple. No doubt she would already be pressuring him to put a ring on her finger and pick out china patterns.
There had been so many moments during their Valentine’s weekend that he had wanted to bend his knee and ask her to marry him. But not only was he worried about enacting a cliché, he was worried about her future. It was likely they were about to be embroiled in a scandal that could jeopardize his career and her admission to Harvard.
Even if the complaint against her was investigated and dismissed, she would need to be able to complete her MA free of other distractions. He was sure that she’d want the full university experience at Harvard without the pressure of planning a wedding. And there was still the question of what he would do — whether he would be
Gabriel’s Rapture
165
able to take a sabbatical. That is, if he survived Christa Peterson’s harassment complaint.
Despite the fact that he found the words marry me on his tongue on more than one occasion, he bit them back. There would be a time and a place for a proposal. That time and place should be in their orchard, sacred as it was to both of them. Not to mention the fact that it would be a polite gesture to alert Tom to his intentions before broaching the topic with Julianne. Without doubt, he wanted her to be his wife. And no matter what the next few months brought, he would make her his.
Later that evening, Gabriel found himself brimming with emotion, the fruit of much contemplation and the pleasure he always found in Julianne’s company. They’d just returned from the resort restaurant. Julia had planned on visiting the washroom to clean the makeup from her face, but he caught her wrist and wordlessly led her to the bed.
He kissed her softly and began to undress her, his eyes shining with worship and need. He took his time, adoring shoulders and arms and naked skin, his mouth beginning to make eager promises as she arched beneath his touch.
He pulled her astride him, gazing up with an expression of wonder mixed with desire. She moved her hips to taunt him a little, closing her eyes in order to let the feeling take center stage.
After a few minutes, Gabriel flipped her so she was on her back and he was kneeling between her legs. She let out a cry as he entered her.
He stilled. “Are you all right?”
“Mmhmmm,” she hummed. “You just surprised me.” She brought her hands to rest on his back, urging him forward.
Gabriel liked her on top, she knew it. He would gaze up at her adoringly and touch and tease. He would praise her sexiness, for he knew that even after these few months she was slightly self-conscious at being so exposed. Julia was surprised that he moved them so his body was covering hers, his lips at her neck, when they’d enjoyed that position several times already.
A few more kisses and he was pressing a hand to her face, his eyes dark and desperate.
“Gabriel?” She searched his expression.
Sylvain Reynard
166
He closed his eyes and shook his head before opening them again.
Julia gaped at what she saw — insecurity, passion, hope, want, and need. She threw back her head from time to time as groans of pleasure escaped her lips.
“I need you,” he whispered against her throat as his movements increased to a fevered pitch. “I can’t lose you.”
Julia’s response was lost in a series of pants as she grew closer and closer to her release.
“Ah — ah, hell.” Gabriel cursed as he climaxed, knowing that Julia had yet to do so. He tried to keep moving, hoping that she would follow him, but it was not to be.
“Damn it. I’m sorry.” He hid his face against her skin.
“It’s all right. I enjoyed myself.” She tangled her fingers in his hair, tugging playfully, before pressing a kiss to his face. “And I’m glad you came.”
A self-deprecating mumble escaped him. He moved to lie beside her and began to pet between her legs, but she pressed her knees together. “You don’t need to do that.”
His eyes darkened with determination. “Yes, I do. Let me.”
She stilled his hand. “You aren’t going to lose me if you fail to give me an orgasm now and then.”
Gabriel’s expression tightened. “It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s life.” She kissed his nose. “I don’t expect you to be perfect, in bed or out of it.”
“Bless you for that.” He kissed her slowly, sighing when she pulled away to nest in his arms. “But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.”
“Well, if you insist, there is something you could do for me…”
Gabriel moved so quickly Julia was torn between shock and the urge to laugh. But as soon as he touched her, she stopped laughing.
P
Later that evening Gabriel lay on his back in the center of the bed, underneath the mosquito netting. Julia rested her head just below his pectorals, her arm wrapped around his waist.
Gabriel’s Rapture
167
“Are you happy?” His voice came out of the candle-soaked darkness, as he ran his fingers over the top of her head and down to trace the curve of her neck.
“Yes. Are you?”
“More than I ever thought I could be.”
Julia smiled against his chest and kissed the skin there.
“Things seem — different since we came back from Italy,” he prompted, his hand still gliding across neck and shoulder.
“We have a lot to be grateful for. We have each other. I have Harvard. Doctor Nicole has been helping me. I feel like I’m finally putting the pieces back together.”
“Good,” he whispered. “And the way that we make love, in general, you’re happy with that?”
Now Julia lifted her head so she could gaze up into his concerned blue eyes. “Of course.” She laughed quietly. “You can’t tell?”
“I can tell that I please your body. But your body is not your mind, or your heart.”
He seemed embarrassed, and Julia repented of her decision to laugh.
“Tonight was an aberration. But even if it wasn’t, I’m sure we’d work through it. Are you happy with the way that we make love?” She sounded shy.
“Yes, very much. I feel it changing — I feel the connection deepening.” He shrugged. “I just wondered if you felt it too.”
“Sometimes I think this is a dream. Believe me, I’m happy.” She leaned up to kiss him and then rested her head on his chest again. “Why are you asking me these things?”
“Where do you see yourself in the future?”
“I want to be a professor. I want to be with you.” Julia’s voice was on the quiet side, but remarkably assertive.
He began threading the sheet in between his fingers. “Wouldn’t you rather find a nice man who could give you children?”
“You can’t ask me if I’m happy with one breath, and push me away with the next.”
When he didn’t respond, she gently took hold of his chin, forcing his eyes to hers.
Sylvain Reynard
168
“No, I don’t want to find a nice man to have a child with. I want a child with you.”
Gabriel stared at her incredulously, his blue eyes widening.
“Truthfully, I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the point where we’re healthy enough to open our home to a child. But if we do, I’m sure we’ll find a little boy or girl who is supposed to be our child. Grace and Richard adopted you; we can do the same.”
Her face grew pained. “Unless you decide you don’t want that. Or you don’t want that with me.”
“Of course I want you.” The intensity of his voice matched his eyes. “I’d like to make promises to you. But I want us to wait a little before we have that conversation. Does that trouble you?” He reached out a finger to toy with the diamond in her ear.
Julia didn’t need a narrator to understand what his physical gesture meant. “No.”
“I don’t want you to think that any hesitation on my part is due to lack of feeling.” Gabriel gave voice to her unspoken fear.
“I’m yours. All of me. And I’m so glad we won’t be apart next year. The thought of losing you was torturous.”
He nodded as if he understood.
“Now come here, Julia, so I can worship you.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment