Page 61 of Unforgotten
The soft firelight bathed his broad chest and the crisp blond curls that covered it. He had a couple of long, thin scars down his left side she hadn’t noticed before.
Realizing that she was staring, Ella hastily put down her cup and picked up Gavin’s before holding it out to him. “Here,” she said. “It’s good.”
He took the wine with a smile, although his gaze smoldered in a way that told her he’d seen her frank appraisal of him.
Breathing fast, Ella hurried across the room and ducked behind the screen.
Hidden from view, she raised her hands to her cheeks to find them hot. Did Gavin have any idea what he did to her? Over the past two weeks, even a glance from him made her knees go weak.
She felt eighteen years old again, a maid who had never been touched by a man.
After years of wearing so many layers of clothing, disrobing was ridiculously easy tonight. Ella pulled off her snug leather boots and unlaced the kirtle, before she reached down and pulled the léine she wore underneath over her head.
Wearing only a thin sleeveless linen shift that reached mid-thigh, she moved over to the wash bowl. The water was still warm.
Ella washed deftly in an effort to keep her thoughts from the half-naked man who awaited her on the other side of the screen. It was futile. Her body felt sensitized, every nerve on alert as she dried herself with a cloth and adjusted the shift.
Glancing down at herself, she saw that the garment left little to the imagination. Her breasts, which had grown fuller since she’d carried a bairn, thrust out before her, her hard nipples clearly visible through the thin fabric.
Ella nervously licked her lips, smoothing down the flimsy shift against her thighs.
She felt as if she were standing on the edge of a cliff. Once she jumped there would be no turning back. Aye, she and Gavin were now wed, but it was only when they lay together that their union would be real.
Was she ready for this, for the upheaval taking this step would cause?
Not able to answer the question, for her thoughts were now lost in a churning sea of want, Ella stepped out from behind the screen.
27
Unforgotten
GAVIN WAS STANDING next to the fire, leaning up against the mantle-piece as he cradled his cup of wine. He looked up when Ella emerged, and their gazes locked. Then Gavin’s gaze slid from her face, down the length of her body.
Ella watched his lips part, his gaze darken.
Slowly, deliberately, he put down the cup and walked toward her.
Reaching Ella, he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. “Ye are lovely,” he whispered. “Even more so than I remember.”
Ella had to smile at that. At eighteen her body and been unblemished and lithe; she didn’t think the same still held for her at thirty-six. Yet, his words made warmth flow through her. She was glad he found her attractive, for the mere sight of Gavin made her ache for him.
Ella reached up and cupped her hand over his, before she inclined her head so that her mouth slid over his palm. She kissed him there, gently, her eyes fluttering closed as she leaned into the strength of him.
His free hand touched her shoulder then, his fingertips sliding across her skin.
And then, with a groan deep in his throat, Gavin pulled Ella into his arms.
She sank into him, giving herself up to the moment as Gavin tangled his fingers in her hair, drew her head back, and kissed her.
The touch of his lips on hers, the feel of his tongue parting them, unraveled the last of Ella’s doubts. Just like back in Scorrybreac, being in his arms, having his mouth on hers, felt right. She’d fought it then, struggled against an impulse that was as natural as breathing, but she didn’t need to now.
She was no longer Sister Ella, but Lady Ella MacNichol.
She could give into this.
A soft cry escaped Ella, and she reached out, sliding her palms up his naked chest, before she linked her arms around his neck. Pressing herself up against him, she drank Gavin in, her tongue and lips exploring his mouth.
He groaned again, and the sound lit a fire deep within her core.
