A Curse of the Heart by Adele Clee Read Free Book Online Page B

began pacing back and forth, her head bowed. Using her thumb and forefinger, she pulled gently on her lips. “And you will assist me only until the intruder is caught?” she said swinging round to face him.
    Gabriel offered a bow. “I will assist you until I’m satisfied you’re safe.”
    Perhaps he should call upon her brothers and see if they could take her in.
    Miss Linwood folded her arms across her chest. “But you cannot stay here, people will talk. And I’m not leaving.”
    “No one knows I’m here,” he said. Only the members of his staff would know he had not come home. But they were used to him trailing about to odd places at short notice. “If I remain in your quarters, for this evening at least, then I shall be able to make an assessment of the storeroom in the morning. With any luck, the matter will be concluded by tomorrow evening.”
    Indeed, he would begin by making a thorough investigation of the curator, Mr. Pearce.
    “Where would you sleep?”
    Gabriel pursed his lips to suppress a grin, imagining her shocked expression if he told her he would share her bed. “I recall seeing a chaise. I shall be fine on there. If you would be so good as to find me a blanket.”
    Her gaze drifted over him, lingering on his stocking feet, before advancing up over his chest and mouth. “Very well, but we shall review the terms on a daily basis.”
    Gabriel nodded. “Agreed. I shall need to go and secure the rooms downstairs.”
    “I shall go and find a blanket.”
    They walked in opposite directions, but when he glanced over his shoulder, he caught her looking back at him. “I shall meet you upstairs,” he said.
    When he was confident that all the doors were locked, he made his way back upstairs and found Miss Linwood sitting on the chaise, clutching a pillow and blanket.
    “Will you be warm enough?” she asked as she stood and offered him the items before retreating towards the door.
    “I will be fine. Oh, and please lock your door, Miss Linwood.”
    Her hands flew up to her chest. “Why? Do you think the intruder will return?”
    Gabriel sighed. “No. It’s not the intruder I’m worried about.”

 
    Chapter 7
     
    The thin streams of light shooting through the gaps in the shutters pricked at Rebecca’s eyes, rousing her from a peaceful slumber. With a stretch and a yawn, she raised herself up on her elbows and surveyed the room. Everything looked the same as it always did.
    Although it felt different — she felt different.
    It had taken hours to drift off, her thoughts frolicking in the secret place before sleep and dreams. There, she had waltzed with Gabriel Stone, strolled through meadows and kissed him under the stars. She relived the moment his lips first met hers, the way his hot mouth robbed her of her breath, the way her mind and body melted into liquid fire when held in his arms.
    In this private realm, she was free to indulge in lascivious thoughts. Her cheeks flamed at the memory of his aroused body pressed against her, desire coursing through her veins like a delicious form of agony.
    She should have been ashamed of those feelings. But how could she, when they made her feel alive and free — when they made her forget she was all alone in the world?
    Gabriel Stone drifted into her thoughts as she washed, as her fingers followed the outline of her lips. When she brushed her hair, she thought she could smell the woody aroma that clung to his skin. When she smoothed the creases from her brown dress, her stomach grew warm as she recalled the way his gaze had followed the outline of her breasts.
    Rebecca sighed and shook her head, as though the action would wake the logical part of her brain, the part still sleepy and dormant.
    When she was ready, she sauntered into the room expecting to see Mr. Stone up and dressed, too. But he was fast asleep; his large frame squashed on the narrow chaise. The blanket clung to his arms and had bunched up around his torso, leaving his bare feet poking out