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CHAPTER 7
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The sun was starting to set, giving the twilight a pink-and-orange glow with a rapidly chilling autumn bite in the air. As a light fog blew in from the lagoon, Gabriel reached for Calleigh’s hand.
His hand wrapped around her smaller one, their naked palms pressing together, and she gave an involuntary shiver that had nothing to do with the cooling night. He paused on the walkway between the piazzetta and the canal.
“Cold?”
She nodded, because… how could she tell him the truth? How could she tell him that his every touch exhilarated and frightened her in equal measure?
“Then we should do something about it.”
Behind his head, Calleigh could see the Byzantine white domes, arches, and sharp
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She swallowed, staring at his profile, very aware of what he just said and the bed behind her.“Well, um… Not anymore…” Calleigh whispered.“You won’t be hearing me complaining…” Gabriel said and a little mischievous smile appeared on his lips.“Nope… Thank you very much. New me… new habits.” Anxious, she looked at the bed and the couch.“You take the bed,” he said and the smile was now long gone. Standing up, he closed his laptop. His dark gaze, which had been so hot when he’d nearly kissed her near St. Marco’s Piazza, had suddenly cooled.“I’ll work in the office so I don’t disturb you. I’ll sleep on the couch when I’m tired.”&n
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Calleigh had been smiling at him, but now she felt suddenly shy and kinda frightened. She put her hand to her hair, which yesterday had hung past her breasts and was now touching slightly her collarbone.“What?! What it looks like? I just had cut my hair. I felt it was time to make some changes about myself, about my image. So, I decided to start with my hair… These romantic waves caught my eye in a magazine and… here’s the result! A new wonderful haircut.”“I can see that…”“So, since it’s so obvious, why are you so mad about it? Was I supposed to ask for your permission?” she retorted pertly, squaring her shoulders. “Come on, Gabriel! Get used to it! It’s not like I cut an arm or something. It will grow back.” H
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Gabriel looked just like the dark pirate she’d imagined, the one who’d come to plunder the medieval city, to take what he wanted and burn the rest. Calleigh blinked. How had she come up with such a brutal, cruel image? Where had that come from?“I saw you coming down those stairs in a long red dress… Such a powerful, wonderful vision. Pure perfection,” he said softly. “You were on the arm of my greatest business rival, but I knew at once that I would take you away from him. He had no chance against my determination to have you as part of my life.” Slowly, he walked up the stairs toward her.“I had to have all to myself. I would have taken you from the devil himself.” As Gabriel came up the stairs toward her, Calleigh was unable to move. Un
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Kissing Calleigh was like falling into the darkest, deepest hole. It was like going straight to hell. It was fire. Sheer fire running through him. His blood was boiling in his veins, hot like a volcano’s lava. Gabriel placed his hand on the back of her head, his fingers twining in her beautiful hair, as he deepened the kiss. For months, he’d constantly hated and wanted Calleigh in equal measures. All he wanted was to have her once again before destroying her. He hungered for her, for her gorgeous body, for her sweet, plump lips. Was that why finally kissing her now overwhelmed his senses more than ever before? It wasn’t just desire that had changed the kiss, Gabriel realized. It was Calleigh herself. The kiss was different because the woman he was kissing was different. &nb
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Gabriel looked at her and kissed her forehead.“Yes, querida, we’re getting married today and are going to leave happily ever after,” he confirmed quite plainly. “And we have additional good news, hermano… We’re having a baby.”“Oh…” Lorenzo said, then. “Oh… okay… Now I see…” He cleared his throat, then suddenly smiled, as if it all made sense now.“Such great news… Congratulations to you both,” he replied giving Gabriel a pack on his shoulder and smiling at the future mother.“Thanks, Lory,” Gabriel added and took Calleigh's hand in his. “We need to go now, but let’s meet soon and talk some more… Bring Phoebs too.”“Let’s talk some more at my house, on Ravaiarina Island. W
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From the moment Gabriel saw her in the wedding dress, so lovely and sweet with her shy, happy smile, an earthquake went through his soul. Calleigh wore a simple, modest cream-colored wedding dress, with her dark hair beneath a light veil, and she held flame-colored roses in her unmanicured hands. There was no pretense about her. Just beauty… and innocence. In the brief kiss, he gave her after they were pronounced husband and wife, his soul trembled within his body. Gabriel knew he was on a razor’s edge of seducing this beautiful woman, whose fire had once burned him so badly, but who now seemed to shine like the first spring sun after a long, gray winter. His throat choked as he pulled away from the brief kiss. Calleigh, his lying ex-mistress, his hated enemy, was now his wife. Her big blue eye
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It wasn’t enough… Calleigh’s heart had to be broken even more… He’d been too gentle with her, Gabriel thought grimly. As he sat next to Calleigh on the short drive toward 'Nikki Beach', a very exclusive club, he ignored her angry, shallow huffs of breath beside him. He’d been tempted to tell her everything in the penthouse, but Gabriel had held back for the sake of his child in her belly. For fear the shock would cause a miscarriage. Which was a ridiculous idea, Gabriel thought now, grinding his teeth. Calleigh Swanson was too strong for that. His ex-mistress… His wife was as hard as steel. She was a force of nature. Ridiculous to worry about an emotional shock causing injury to their unborn child, when the Calleigh he’d known had no feelings whatsoever! But in due ti
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Five months later, Calleigh was standing alone by her mother’s grave. It was only the first week of March, but already the first blush of early spring had could be seen. The weeping willows were green and gold beside the lake, splashing the season’s first color over the graveyard of the old gray church. In her white coat and green wellies, Calleigh felt hot and out of breath after crossing the hill from the Swanson estate. Not that it was terribly far, but at nine months pregnant, every move was a huge effort. Even bringing daisies, her mother’s favorite flower, to her grave. Calleigh glanced at the daffodils poking through the cold earth nearby. Just a few weeks ago, the ground had been covered with snow. How had time fled so fast? Why was her pain still very much present in her heart and didn’t go away
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He saw the light of joy in her eyes, and was astonished to suddenly taste the salt of tears… His own. Gabriel held her tenderly, moving deeply and slowly inside her until he felt her tense. Until he felt her shake. Whatever happened, he couldn’t stop. Whatever happened, he prayed he could love her always. Closing his eyes, he thrust into her one last time. Gabriel felt her coil around him, heard her gasp.“I love you,” he cried. And as the force of his words slammed through his soul, Gabriel threw his head back and poured his seed into her with a shout of pure happiness. Collapsing back on the bed, he held her tightly. She was his love… his life. Gabriel kissed her temple, pressing his hand against her sweaty face. Praying that
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Gabriel carried her up from the beach as if she weighed nothing at all, walking back to the villa. He took the stairs two at a time as he whisked her upstairs to the master bedroom overlooking the ocean. Behind her husband’s handsome face, Calleigh barely noticed the high ceilings, the open balcony doors, and the white translucent curtains waving in the hot breeze off the Mediterranean Sea. She was shaking with longing, limp with desire. They never even made it to the bed. As they passed the balcony doors with its view of the wide blue sea, Gabriel kissed her. She twisted in his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as the kiss intensified. Pushing her against the sliding glass door, he slipped off her yellow bikini as her trembling hands pulled off his swim tr
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His assistant’s voice was too well-trained to register surprise. “Investigate Mrs. De León?” “Yes. Have Johnson find out how her real father died. See if there’s any reason it might be tied to me or to my company. Tell him to let me know as soon as he finds out something.” As Gabriel hung up the phone, his gaze lingered on Calleigh, so beautiful and natural in the pink top and short cotton skirt. Instead of stiletto heels, she was exploring this city, and her new life, in flat sandals absolutely made for walking. Her bright, happy face, once so pale, was starting to tan in the Spanish sun. He’d once thought to use her amnesia against her. He’d never imagined that her innocence and warmth would affect him so damn much. Gabriel f
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His eyes were dark as they fixed on Calleigh. It was time… “This past summer, I almost lost my business,” Gabriel said in a low voice. “A very important document was stolen from my house which suggested I might be cheating my stockholders of a great deal of money. Of course, that was a huge lie, since I wasn’t. But it cast the company’s finances in a sordid light.” Calleigh stared up at him, shocked. “Oh, God… That’s terrible! Did you find out who did it?” He looked at her, his eyes glittering. “Yes, I did.” “I’m so relieved… I hope you put them in jail! For a long, long time.” Gabriel took a sip of black coffee. “I won’t because it’s not my style.” “Okay… Still, I don’t understand what does that have to do with me…
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As Gabriel felt her body tighten, he knew he couldn’t last. Touching Calleigh was pure heaven. Her skin was even softer than he remembered. She tasted sweet, so incredibly sweet. The very first time he slid inside her, he nearly lost control. With every thick thrust, he watched her full breasts sway from the force of his possession, and he gasped out each breath. How long had he wanted her? How had he denied himself for so long? With each slow thrust inside her, Gabriel shattered a little more, until he was coming apart like a castle of cards in front of the sea breeze. His whole body shook with the agony of holding himself back when all he wanted to do was bury himself in her completely, to lose himself in the ecstasy of making love to his Calleigh.
