we?”
“Yes, Gabriel. I suppose we are.” Derek shook his hand. “Please call me Derek.”
Gabriel waved him into a seat facing his desk and sat back down. “I’m pleased to have you here, Derek.”
“Thank you for the invitation.” Derek shifted in his chair. “It was wholly unexpected, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t welcome.”
“Yes. Grantley said you were a bit resistant at first.”
“Honestly, I don’t know why. I have no pressing business anywhere else.”
Gabriel smiled. “Yes, our estates always seem to do quite well almost without our trying.”
“My mother’s estate, but yes.”
Gabriel’s brow knit. “Isn’t her estate yours? I’d heard your mother passed away a dozen years ago.”
“She did.” Grief and anger nearly closed his throat. “I don’t think of the estate as mine, though.”
Gabriel’s Hawk eyes narrowed and Derek worried the man could see straight to his soul. “Your mother wasn’t happy, was she?”
“That is an understatement. Truth is, are any women used by Hawks ever happy? Was your mother?”
“I never knew my mother. As for my father, he went down on the Titanic.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m not. He wasn’t a true parent. Mrs. Holmes all but raised me, I’m happy to say.”
“Your housekeeper?” Derek smiled. “I like her.”
“She’s a good woman.” Gabriel studied Derek for a long moment. “Your cousin is visiting with you.”
“My third cousin, yes.”
“That’s an important distinction, I take it?”
“What? No, Diana is simply…” He shook his head. “There’s nothing simple about Diana, really.”
“She has ideas, then.”
An image of Diana on her knees in front of him, his cock deep in her mouth, flashed in his mind. She had ideas, all right.
“I suppose,” was all he would say.
Gabriel laughed softly. “Michael would say that family is very important, Derek.”
“Michael?”
“My wife’s third cousin. You’ll meet him at dinner, along with my countess.”
The affection clear on the earl’s face was astounding. “I look forward to it.”
Gabriel leaned forward. “You’re welcome here as long as you wish. I know it’s strange for you, making these connections.”
“Strange, indeed,” Derek agreed. “It doesn’t have to follow that I’m dreading the prospect.”
That made Gabriel laugh out loud. “My brother will like you. He’s coming to dinner, too.”
Derek wanted to ask him just what he thought, learning about a half brother so recently. Evan had said he was married too and lived on the estate. But dinner with two other Hawks? It would certainly beat the hell out of dinner with a bunch of Holbrooks.
“I believe Mrs. Holmes settled you in the bachelor wing,” Gabriel went on. His eyes sparkled. “It’s far enough away from the family bedrooms for your privacy.”
“Privacy?”
“You’ve been to the Inn at Helmsley a few times now, Derek. Grantley told me as much.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel’s gaze was serious. “Then you’ve heard the stories?”
Derek slid his eyes away. “Stories?”
“About my staff here at the manor.”
Derek met his gaze now. “I have, yes.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Feel free to avail yourself upon them, if you so desire and if they’re of like mind.”
Derek’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t been serious about taking the earl’s staff during his visit. “You want me to…? You can’t be serious.”
“I, as well as any Hawk, knows what it feels like to live in abstinence.”
“It’s not possible.”
“No, it’s not. And going down to the inn to get your shaft polished can only lead to…complications.” Gabriel tilted his head. “Although, if your third cousin is here with you, perhaps I have matters a bit muddled?”
“You don’t.” Derek raked his fingers through his hair. “Diana and I…Well, it doesn’t matter what she thinks she wants. You know as well as I that Hawks don’t do forever.”
“I used to
“Yes, Gabriel. I suppose we are.” Derek shook his hand. “Please call me Derek.”
Gabriel waved him into a seat facing his desk and sat back down. “I’m pleased to have you here, Derek.”
“Thank you for the invitation.” Derek shifted in his chair. “It was wholly unexpected, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t welcome.”
“Yes. Grantley said you were a bit resistant at first.”
“Honestly, I don’t know why. I have no pressing business anywhere else.”
Gabriel smiled. “Yes, our estates always seem to do quite well almost without our trying.”
“My mother’s estate, but yes.”
Gabriel’s brow knit. “Isn’t her estate yours? I’d heard your mother passed away a dozen years ago.”
“She did.” Grief and anger nearly closed his throat. “I don’t think of the estate as mine, though.”
Gabriel’s Hawk eyes narrowed and Derek worried the man could see straight to his soul. “Your mother wasn’t happy, was she?”
“That is an understatement. Truth is, are any women used by Hawks ever happy? Was your mother?”
“I never knew my mother. As for my father, he went down on the Titanic.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m not. He wasn’t a true parent. Mrs. Holmes all but raised me, I’m happy to say.”
“Your housekeeper?” Derek smiled. “I like her.”
“She’s a good woman.” Gabriel studied Derek for a long moment. “Your cousin is visiting with you.”
“My third cousin, yes.”
“That’s an important distinction, I take it?”
“What? No, Diana is simply…” He shook his head. “There’s nothing simple about Diana, really.”
“She has ideas, then.”
An image of Diana on her knees in front of him, his cock deep in her mouth, flashed in his mind. She had ideas, all right.
“I suppose,” was all he would say.
Gabriel laughed softly. “Michael would say that family is very important, Derek.”
“Michael?”
“My wife’s third cousin. You’ll meet him at dinner, along with my countess.”
The affection clear on the earl’s face was astounding. “I look forward to it.”
Gabriel leaned forward. “You’re welcome here as long as you wish. I know it’s strange for you, making these connections.”
“Strange, indeed,” Derek agreed. “It doesn’t have to follow that I’m dreading the prospect.”
That made Gabriel laugh out loud. “My brother will like you. He’s coming to dinner, too.”
Derek wanted to ask him just what he thought, learning about a half brother so recently. Evan had said he was married too and lived on the estate. But dinner with two other Hawks? It would certainly beat the hell out of dinner with a bunch of Holbrooks.
“I believe Mrs. Holmes settled you in the bachelor wing,” Gabriel went on. His eyes sparkled. “It’s far enough away from the family bedrooms for your privacy.”
“Privacy?”
“You’ve been to the Inn at Helmsley a few times now, Derek. Grantley told me as much.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel’s gaze was serious. “Then you’ve heard the stories?”
Derek slid his eyes away. “Stories?”
“About my staff here at the manor.”
Derek met his gaze now. “I have, yes.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Feel free to avail yourself upon them, if you so desire and if they’re of like mind.”
Derek’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t been serious about taking the earl’s staff during his visit. “You want me to…? You can’t be serious.”
“I, as well as any Hawk, knows what it feels like to live in abstinence.”
“It’s not possible.”
“No, it’s not. And going down to the inn to get your shaft polished can only lead to…complications.” Gabriel tilted his head. “Although, if your third cousin is here with you, perhaps I have matters a bit muddled?”
“You don’t.” Derek raked his fingers through his hair. “Diana and I…Well, it doesn’t matter what she thinks she wants. You know as well as I that Hawks don’t do forever.”
“I used to
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