‘Go to her, mo stór. It’s all right. It’s meant to be.’
Sally, his Sally, still here. It was all right. She was still protecting him, protecting this place. She had promised that she would always be there for him when he needed her. Her presence was a blessing. Sally was a joy.
He welcomed her in, feeling her sweep over and through him as he grabbed a bottle of wine from a case and turned back to the door at the top of the stone steps. The lightbulb flickered as if it was a candle.
Old house, old electrics…one desperate scrabbling thought, frantic for an explanation. He locked the door as firmly as he could.
CHAPTER 31
ALEX
The drawing room was warm and cosy now, the night cut off outside. Alex had been looking into the fire but turned at a slight noise to find Nick right behind her, so close she could feel the heat of his body. He had left the wine bottle on the occasional table but she hadn’t heard a thing. Her hand came up to his chest and stopped there, feeling the muscles beneath the soft cotton, the beating of his heart under his ribs, the way he drew in a ragged breath. It came back in a rush, that need.
Now it was different again.
Theo had ordered him not to touch her. And how dare he? Howdarehe think he had any say over her life? Theo was dead.
And she was not. Damn it, she needed to feel alive. And Nick was right here.
‘We…’ he began and then seemed to lose the words he’d been about to say.
‘We what?’ she asked. God, she wanted him. There was something so animal about it, so vital. She gazed up steadily into his eyes, illuminated in the fire, and all she could think was how much she wanted him. Her body ached with that need.
‘We shouldn’t.’
No doubt what that was. What they both wanted. This was different, she knew. No outside interference. This need came from her. And yes, part of it was fuelled by what had happened upstairs, by the voices that shouldn’t be possible. Her whole worldview was turning upside down.
Nick had come to her rescue. He’d promised to protect her. He was there for her.
‘Because of what Theo said?’ she asked. ‘My brother was never the boss of me.’ If anything, Theo telling her not to do something like that was liable to make her do it. And he should have known that. Nick shook his head, but he didn’t smile. He didn’t move away either.
Nick closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. Alex slid her hand down his chest as slowly as she could, carefully, taking in every contour. The muscles were taut as wire, stretched almost to breaking point. He shuddered at her touch and his breath came out in a long low hiss.
Her own pulse thudded through her whole body.
She wanted him. God, she wanted him so much. She couldn’t remember desire like this for anyone. So maybe it wasn’t all natural.
Did that make it wrong?
‘Nick,’ she murmured, and brought her hand up to his face. Safer, she thought, at first. Then he opened his eyes again and it was not safe. Not at all. The hunger in him made her whole body quake with answering need. ‘Talk to me.’
He shook his head and something told her he just couldn’t find words again. His mouth opened and she wondered if he still had words to use. But she had to know. She had to hear him say it because if he was losing himself, then this wasn’t right either.
He licked his lips, and she couldn’t tear her eyes off that flash of his tongue, the hint of teeth behind it. The hunger. The need.
Slowly his gaze met hers, and he nodded. From somewhere he managed to dredge up his voice. And it was his voice, ragged and wary, buthisvoice. ‘I want you, Alex. From the first moment I saw you.’
Alex gave a small laugh of recognition. She couldn’t help herself. Hadn’t she been thinking the same thing?
She pressed her palm against his cheek and felt him shudder. A fragrance of wildflowers flowed around them on the air. Something from the fire perhaps, or something else. Something she couldn’t define. But it was there, sweet and comforting.
She didn’t know what she was doing. She was still just acting on instinct but if this was wrong…it really didn’tfeelwrong. How could it be wrong?
Apart from being out here illuminated by the fire, with the curtains open, in the dark, where anyone could come by and see them… Except they couldn’t, could they? This was all private land. Her land. And he was its guardian.
The word rang around her head.Herguardian.
That meant something, something ancient and important. And this place…this place was special. Magical. It had a purpose. So did he.
