Page 29 of Unforgotten
Gavin leaped forward and caught her. However, the force of her fall propelled them both back. Only the fact that Gavin twisted, so that they crashed back against the wall, saved the pair of them from tumbling down the stairs.
“The Devil’s cods,” Gavin wheezed. The lass had knocked the wind out of him. “That was close.”
And then he realized whom he was holding in his arms.
He hadn’t recognized her. It had been so many years since he’d seen Ella like this, dressed in a night-rail and robe, her hair tumbling around her shoulders. Holding her soft body in this way, crushed against his chest, made his breathing quicken.
But the desire that arrowed through his groin pulled up sharply when he saw her face.
Tears streamed down Ella’s cheeks, her mouth trembled—and her eyes held so much grief, so much pain, that whatever words Gavin was going to speak next died upon his lips.
“Ella,” he whispered. “What is it?”
“They’re dead,” Ella gasped, staring up at him with such a broken expression that it suddenly hurt Gavin to breathe. “Ma is dead … Innis is dead … why do I feel like it’s all my fault?”
“It’s not.”
The idea was ridiculous. Who had put such a notion in her head?
“They’re gone.” The pain in Ella’s voice cut Gavin deep. “And I had the chance to put things right, but I didn’t … and now it’s too late.”
Ella buried her face in Gavin’s chest, her shoulders heaving.
Grim-faced, he gathered her against him, lifting her into his arms. Ella didn’t resist, for she was sobbing uncontrollably now.
What did Lady Fraser say to her?
He carried Ella up the stairs, back to the floor where her bed-chamber was located. The hallway was empty, the cressets burning low now, for it was well past the witching hour. Most of the keep was asleep, and so had Gavin been before the healer, Farlan, had knocked on his door with the news that Cait Fraser was close to death.
Shouldering open the door to Ella’s chamber, Gavin went inside, closing it with his foot behind him. The fire in the hearth had died to glowing embers, although the chamber was warm enough.
Gavin lowered Ella gently to the ground but instantly regretted doing so. He should have carried her over to the bed instead. Letting her down like this made their bodies brush close.
And he felt every curve and contour of her body as he did so.
The Lord strike him down, she felt good. Her body was small yet lush, her breasts soft. He felt their peaks graze down his chest as he set her upon her feet. One of his hands splayed across the small of her back, steadying her. It was an intimate, possessive gesture. In an instant his groin hardened.
Fighting the lust that pulsed through him, Gavin gently hooked a finger under Ella’s chin and raised her face so their gazes met.
“Why do ye blame yerself?” he asked. “No one else does.”
Her glittering blue eyes fixed upon him. “It was so hard leaving here,” she replied, the words coming out in gasps, for she still fought her grief. “The only way I managed it was to shut myself off from my kin. I was angry at Ma for preferring Innis, and I was furious at Innis for taking ye from me.” She let out another soft sob. “I know they’re both with God now, but guilt still tears me up inside.”
“Enough.” He hadn’t meant the word to sound so angry, but it did. “No one is to blame for Innis and yer mother’s deaths. It’s just life, Ella. Cruel, callous life.”
She stared up at him, her cheeks wet with tears, and something twisted deep within Gavin’s chest. Even when she was a weeping mess, this woman was beautiful. She had a soft, earthy beauty, enhanced by that thick mane of light auburn hair that fell around her shoulders in heavy waves.
When they’d been younger, everyone had said Innis was the prettier of the two—yet for Gavin, Ella had always outshone her sister.
Their gazes fused, and Gavin could suddenly hear the thudding of his own heart.
A heartbeat later he leaned down, cupped her face with both hands, and kissed her.
No previous thought went into the act; if he’d stopped to ponder the decision, he’d never have done it. Yet a need so strong that he felt sick from it rose within him, and before he knew what he was doing, Gavin had reached for her.
And the moment their mouths touched, the last of Gavin’s restraint snapped. His lips moved hungrily over hers, his tongue seeking entrance. And when Ella’s lips parted for him, he sank into her, lost.
Ella let herself drown in him.
