Page 26 of Ravishing Among the Roses

“I want that.” And he did. He had never delayed fucking before, and now it was all he wanted to do. He wanted to reward Edmund for a speech well done. He rubbed the ribbon on his wrist again. And thanks to Edmund’s gift, he wasn’t going to get distracted either. He sighed. Yes, he was. He was already distracted, but he had a solution to try and damned if that wasn’t swoon worthy too.

“Come on. I’ll get you a cup of tea and you can read over your notes while I finish everything up.” Gabby grabbed Edmund’s hand and pulled him from the room. He had a show to organise.

Epilogue

Spring

A few months later, Bennington and Mr Mardin closed the King’s Book Club for renovations. George, the new Duke of Galforth, had gone back to Eton, and he’d told Edmund to invite all his friends to Galforth House to celebrate the first spring bloom of his roses. Bennington had asked Edmund to include two other members from the Club in their little soiree, and he’d been surprised when one was Malcolm, one of the boxers who’d grown up at Galforth House.

The first evening had been a grand success. Edmund would never have imagined that Bennington could become his friend, but when he saw him with his countess and her lover and with Mr Mardin, he saw depths of emotion that weren’t obvious when they’d first met. Bennington hid it well under a veneer of wealth and class. Having two women at their dining table was a pleasant surprise too, and the pair obviously loved each other in the same way Edmund loved his Gabriel.

And to see Malcolm so happy with his Rory, after travelling all the way to Scotland, was incredible. When he’d been a child, he’d been a little frightened of the boxers, and Malcolm had been the best, and biggest, of them all. It was strange to be an adult to see Malcolm as an older man, not the Colossus he’d been when Edmund had been in short pants.

Today, they’d all lunched together with laughter filling the great dining room at Galforth House in a way that it hadn’t done for years, and now, even though it was the middle of the day and the spring sunshine was bright in the sky, everyone had dispersed to their rooms for a light sleep before dinner. Not that he planned to get much sleeping done, and from the wayeveryone gazed at their partners, sleep was the last thing on most of their guest’s minds.

“Time for bed,” Gabriel whispered as they reached the grand staircase. Edmund had a plan for Gabriel.

“Yes. I will join you soon. I have one thing to organise.” Edmund grinned because he was certain Gabriel already knew what he was organising. It had been his idea, or sorts. Edmund had made an adjustment because Gabriel’s version was impractical.

“I’ll be waiting.” Gabriel’s wink sent heat shooting down Edmund’s spine and he almost abandoned his task, but the task would be worth it. He brushed a kiss against Gabriel’s cheek, a bold move for inside Galforth House, and rushed off to the butler’s pantry before he could get distracted by Gabriel himself. Distractions were Gabriel’s biggest challenge, and yet there was something about being with him, being loved by him, that had made it harder for Edmund to stay focused on his own tasks.

He grabbed the basket of rose petals, and rushed upstairs towards his room and his Gabriel. When he threw open the door, all he saw was Gabriel, naked and strewn across his bed with his hands behind his head.

Edmund grinned. “My angel, are you ready to be ravished among the roses?”

“What do you mean?”

“I am not going to risk the thorns by doing this outdoors. I brought them to you.”

“Oh, how delicious.”

Edmund walked to the bed and began to scatter the rose petals on the bed, loving the way they caught the light as they fell on Gabriel’s body.

“I love the smell of rose petals.” Gabriel scooped up some and waved them under his nose, and Edmund couldn’t waitanymore. He flung the rest in one great handful, dropped his basket to the floor and joined Gabriel, his Gabriel, on the bed.

He’d found his forever with Gabriel, and surprisingly, through the King’s Book Club that wasn’t a book club, he’d found friends. His life had a freedom that he hadn’t known to long for, and much of it was wrapped up in his beautiful angel.

“I love you.”