She hadn’t seen most of them before as they had been framed after their separation. There were photographs from Belize, from Italy, and posed photographs that had served as part of her Christmas present to Gabriel. All were startlingly beautiful and amative.
“It was difficult for me to look at them when I thought I’d lost you. But as you can see, I kept them.”
Gabriel watched as Julia looked through the photographs once more before studying his favorite, a picture of her lying on her stomach on a bed in Belize.
“What happened to the old ones? The ones you had before you met me?”
“Long gone. I didn’t need or want them anymore.”
She placed the sheet over the pictures before walking to the bed. She looked conflicted.
Gabriel reached out his hand. “Relax. I just want to hold you.”
She allowed herself to be pulled into his arms so she could nestle against his chest.
“That’s better,” he murmured, kissing her forehead. “I want to earn your trust and your respect. I want to be your husband.”
Julia was quiet for a moment, holding her breath, as his words sunk into her consciousness. “I want us to take things slowly. No more talk of marriage.”
“Fortunately, I can wait.” He kissed her once again.
This time, the kiss escalated. Hands roamed to find purchase on muscles and curves, mouths connected determinedly, punctuated by sighs and almost breathless moans, hearts began to beat faster. It was a kiss to mark a reunion, to pledge the continuation of fidelity and love. Gabriel kissed her to show her that he loved her, that he was sorry.
Julia kissed him back to tell him that she could never give her heart to anyone else. That she was hopeful their shared imperfections, once acknowledged and explored, could be ameliorated in order to provide both of them with a healthy, happy life.
She pulled away first. She could hear his quickened breathing, and it cheered her that they still had this spark between them.
“I don’t expect our relationship to be perfect. But there are some things we need to work out and whether that takes a therapist or not, I know it’s going to take time.”
He met her gaze. “I agree. I want to be able to court you as I was unable to back in Toronto. I want to hold your hand as we walk down the street. I’d like to take you to the symphony and kiss you on your front steps.”
Julia laughed. “We were lovers, Gabriel. You have photographs of the two of us in bed together, just over there. Would you really be satisfied with simply courting me?”
He wove their fingers together. “I want the chance to make things up to you—to treat you the way I should have treated you all along.”
“You were always very generous in bed,” she deflected.
“But selfish in other ways. Which is why I won’t make love to you until I regain your trust.”
Chapter 47
“Come again?”
At least, that’s what Julia wanted to say, but given the context she held her tongue. Somehow, her remark didn’t quite seem consonant with his declaration.
“I’m worried that if we have sex, it will short circuit the kind of changes we need to make.”
“So you want to wait?”
He gave her a scorching look. “No, Julianne, I don’t want to wait. I want to make love to you now and for the rest of the week. I know we should wait.”
Her eyes widened as she realized that he was serious.
He kissed her tenderly. “If we’re going to be partners, there has to be trust. If you don’t trust me with your mind, how can you trust me with your body?”
“I think you said that once before.”
“We’ve come full circle.” He cleared his throat. “And so there isn’t a misunderstanding, when I say trust, I mean completely. I’m hopeful that in time your anger will disappear and you’ll forgive me. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to work out our need to protect one another, without causing another crisis.” He looked over at her expectantly.
“I should have waited until you were no longer my student before we became involved. I told myself that because we weren’t sleeping together, we weren’t breaking any rules. But I was wrong. And you’re the one who had to pay the price.” He searched her eyes. “You don’t believe me.”
“Oh, no. I believe you. But the Professor Emerson I knew and loved wasn’t exactly a proponent of abstinence.”
He frowned. “Perhaps you’re forgetting how our relationship began. We abstained the night we met and a good many nights afterward.”
She kissed his mouth repentantly. “Of course. I’m sorry.”
He rolled onto his side, looking into her eyes. “I’m absolutely aching to feel you in my arms, to be joined with you, body and soul. But when I’m inside you, I want you to know that I will never leave you. That you are mine and I am yours, forever.” His voice grew rough. “That we’re married.”
“Come again?”
“I want to marry you. When I make love to you again, I want to be your husband.”
When she gaped at him, he continued quickly. “Richard showed me the kind of man I want to become—a man who spends the rest of his life loving one woman. I want to make vows to you before God and stand in front of our families and make promises to you.”
“Gabriel, I can’t even contemplate marrying you. I need to learn how to be with you again. And frankly, I’m still angry.”
“I understand that, and my intention is not to rush you. Do you remember the first time we made love?”
She felt her cheeks flame. “Yes.”
“What do you remember?”
She paused, a faraway look in her eyes. “You were very intense, but kind. You planned everything, even down to that ridiculous cranberry juice.
“I remember that you were arched over me, looking into my eyes while you moved, and you said that you loved me. I’ll never forget those moments for as long as I live.” She hid her face against his soap-scented neck.
“Are you shy now?” he asked, tracing the symmetry of her jaw with a single finger.
“A little.”
“Why? You’ve seen me naked. I’ve worshipped every beautiful inch of you.”
“I miss the connection we had. I haven’t felt whole without it.”
“I haven’t either. But do you think you could make love to me when you don’t trust me? You forget, my love, that I know you. You are not the type of woman to place your body where your heart will not go.
“Do you remember our last time together? You told me that you felt like I’d f**ked you. The next time I have you naked in my bed, I want you to know without doubt that our union is born of love and not lust.”
“That goal can be realized without getting married,” she huffed.
“Perhaps. But if you don’t think you can ever trust me enough to marry me, maybe you should let me go.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “Is that an ultimatum?”
“No. But I want to prove myself to you, and you need time to heal.” He examined her expression carefully. “I need something permanent.”
She gaped at him. “You want something permanent or you need something permanent?”
He shifted his weight on the bed. “Both. I want you to be my wife, but I also want to be the kind of man I should have been before.”
“Gabriel, you are always trying to win me. When are you going to stop?”
“Never.”
She threw up her hands in frustration. “Withholding sex so I’ll marry you is manipulative.”
Gabriel’s expression brightened considerably. “I’m not withholding sex. If you were declaring that you weren’t ready to sleep with me and I tried to pressure you, I’d be a manipulative jackass. Shouldn’t I be allowed to wait to have sex until our relationship is repaired, and to have that choice respected? Or does ‘no means no’ only apply to women?”
“I wouldn’t pressure you if you had an objection to having sex,” Julia sputtered. “You were more than patient with me when I wasn’t ready to sleep with you. But what about make-up sex? Isn’t that customary?”
He brought his face very close to hers. “Make-up sex?” The heat of his gaze almost scorched her skin. “Is that what you want?” his voice rasped.
Welcome back, Professor Emerson.
“Um—yes?”
He took a single finger and traced her trembling lower lip. “Tell me,” he prompted.
She blinked a few times, if only to break the magnetic pull his dark blue eyes had on her. He’d rendered her speechless.
“I want nothing more than to spend days and nights devoted to your pleasure, exploring your body, worshipping you. And I will. On our honeymoon you will find me the most attentive, inventive lover. All my arts will be at your service, and I will endeavor to undo all wrongs when I take you to my bed, as my wife.”
Julia placed her head just over the place where his tattoo lay hidden underneath his crisp white shirt. “How can you be so—cold?”
Gabriel rolled her so she was wholly in his arms and on top of his chest, their upper bodies pressed together.
He kissed her gently at first, soft skin gliding over softer skin before he pulled her lower lip between his, drawing on it slightly. Then as his embrace became more heated, his hand clasped around her neck, stroking up and down until he felt her relax.