“I needed time to think.”
“I can understand that. I can even support it. But time to think and going to someone else to talk about our problems are two different things. That was not the right thing to do, Julianne, and you know it.” His tone was reproving.
Julia stared, expecting him to explode into temper. Surprisingly, he didn’t.
(Which demonstrated, clearly, that the Apocalypse was nigh.) Gabriel continued. “I don’t share our problems with anyone. And yes, sometimes I dole out information, as you so charmingly put it, in order to protect you. But it is always, always, done with love.”
His fingers slid from her wrist to her hand. “I tried to persuade Paul not to cut off contact with you. Not because that was what I wanted, but because I didn’t want to see you hurt.”
Julia blinked back tears that had suddenly appeared. “What hurts is the fact that you don’t trust me.”
“I trust you.”
“But not with your family history.”
He clenched his teeth. “You know what I know—that my mother’s family disowned her and left me to foster care after her death. My father abandoned us. Do you want me to investigate such people? Just so I can discover more unsavory details?”
“They made you, Gabriel. There has to be something in your family history that’s worth knowing. And of course I don’t want you to be upset. But your family is part of you. If we have children, eventually they’ll ask about their grandparents.”
Gabriel dropped her hand, his face a mask of stone.
“If I could expunge them from my memory, I would. I won’t have our children so polluted.”
She lifted her chin. “A man as good and as brilliant as you came from that pollution. And so will our children.”
His expression softened. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have gone to Paul with my worries. But he was my friend.” Julia continued to fight back the tears.
He pressed her face into his chest.
Chapter Twenty-seven
At bedtime, Gabriel strode into the master suite. He was barefoot, clad only in a white shirt and jeans. When he caught sight of Julianne, he began rolling up his sleeves.
“Are you still on your cycle?”
Julia was standing by the washroom, having just finished brushing her teeth and washing her face.
“I finished yesterday.”
“Good. Take off your clothes and lie on the bed.”
She stared at him.
“Now.”
His eyes seemed to burn through her. Without argument, she undressed quickly, dropping her clothes to the floor before climbing onto the bed.
“On your stomach. Eyes closed.”
She couldn’t help trembling at the tone of his voice, but she did what he said. With eyes closed, her other senses were heightened. She felt the breath of air from the open window. She could hear Gabriel’s sure footsteps against the tiled floor.
Soon he chose music to fill the air, “The Look of Love” performed by Diana Krall. Julia opened her eyes and saw that he’d turned the lights out and lit candles next to the bed. A luminescent cloud filled her gaze.
“Eyes closed,” he commanded.
She did as she was bidden and felt the mattress move. His hands found her waist, lifting her in order to slide a pillow beneath her hips. Seemingly satisfied with her position, his lips blazed a trail from dimple to dimple before coming to rest at the base of her spine.
A single finger traced up to the nape of her neck, gliding across her shoulders. Another pillow was placed under her naked breasts before he stretched her arms above her head.
“A work of art.” He breathed in her ear before kissing just behind it, drawing the skin into his mouth. His palm traveled the length of her back twice before exploring her bottom and legs.
The bed shifted and the music changed to Sting’s “I Burn for You.” Julia felt more than a fluttering of desire.
She could feel his presence next to the bed, but she heard nothing until he set a couple of objects on the table. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, but Gabriel placed a hand over her eyes, blocking her sight.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He passed his hand over the back of her head, pulling her hair to one side. “I’ve missed you these past few days. I’ve been looking forward to getting reacquainted.”
Julia heard him straighten, and after a few moments she heard the rustling of clothing and the sound of his belt hitting the floor. Then she heard the subtle sound of his underwear sliding over his skin.
She opened her left eye, drinking in the sight of her naked husband, watching as he turned his back in order to arrange things on the table. She sighed in appreciation of his form and closed her eyes once again.
She heard something liquid and the sound of his hands rubbing together before the bed moved once again. Then he was massaging her shoulders.
She groaned.