Page 47 of Foes, Friends and Lovers
Gregory and Caitlin were the last to climb the stairs. Moonlight shone through the windows in the cupola above the front hall and lit their way.
Caitlin wobbled as she stepped off the last stair.
Immediately, Gregory gripped her elbow and steadied her.
Her breath hitched, audible in the silence.
Her gaze flew to his face, and his eyes captured hers.
Shadows and a pervading silence surrounded them and, as seconds passed, seemed to draw closer, tighter, isolating them from the world.
In that moment, there was only him and her—and the attraction that flared, hot and strong, between them.
Impulses crashed through him, pricking, prodding, pushing. His grip fractionally tightened.
Her eyes widened and darkened…
They teetered, both of them, on the brink—a heartbeat from acting.
You need her. Youneedher.
In so many ways.
He clenched his jaw and, fraction by fraction, forced his fingers to ease.
His hand fell from her arm, and finally, he hauled in a huge breath—and the alluring scent of her wreathed through his brain.
The effort to edge half a step back nearly brought him to his knees.
As he shifted, she hauled in a breath, her breasts rising dramatically. Then she nodded, the small movement graceful yet stiff. “Good night.”
The whispered words reached him, and with one last look, she turned away.
“Good night,” he murmured and watched her walk away along the corridor to her room until the shadows engulfed her and hid her from his sight.
He waited until he heard her door click shut, then he turned and walked slowly to his room.
Per his instructions, Snibbs hadn’t waited up for him. Gregory shrugged out of his coat and set it aside, then walked to the uncurtained window.
He stood and stared out, then looked inward.
On one level, he was happy. Truly happy and eager to engage with whatever the next day might bring.
He’d accepted the challenge. He was committed to succeeding.
Over the past weeks, he’d jettisoned his earlier assumptions and, instead, had wholeheartedly embraced the role the strange creation that was Bellamy Hall needed him to fill.
That was the crux of his contentment. He truly was needed there.
If he was honest, he would admit that he’d been smiling more spontaneously and more frequently over recent days. He’d relaxed and was very definitely finding his feet.
He’d started building his life, but he hadn’t yet completed the structure.
The larger part of that challenge lay ahead of him.
And he found that satisfying, too.
He reached for the curtains to draw them across the window, but paused as the lingering heat in his veins reminded him of one obvious and necessary aspect of his future he’d yet to tackle.
