“Morgan,” she said. Then she was racing across the room to him.
His arms came around her and he held her as tightly as he could, feeling her tremble and quake as her tears fell and joined with his own, which were suddenly streaming down his face.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I caused you even a moment of fear.”
She lifted her face to his and drew him down. His mouth found hers and he kissed her, murmuring her name against her lips. She lifted against him, clinging to him as his hand came into her hair and he angled her head for better access.
He had words to say. Confessions to make if he was brave enough to make them. But right now all he could do was cradle her against his body and try to forget that there was a moment when he’d known he’d die without ever doing this again. And he’d mourned the loss of something he never should have taken in the first place.
Something that ought not be his, and yet here she was, sliding her hands beneath his jacket, unfastening this buttons to push the heavier fabric away. Her fingers bunched on his waistcoat and she deepened the kiss.
God, how he wanted her. He’d wanted her last night because it might be the last time. And today he wanted her because it wasn’t. There was hope now, dangerous, daring hope that he feared and embraced all at once. As precious to him as the woman who had sparked it.
He drew away and stared down at her. Drinking in her beauty, her sweetness, her charm. Drinking in all she was and all she meant to him. He traced the track of one tear with his thumb and then took her mouth again as his hands came around to the back of her dress.
He was ready to unfasten her. To just have this moment before he decided how to proceed. But he hadn’t loosened but one button when the door to his room opened a second time.
And the Duke of Brighthollow entered, head down as he said, “Sorry to disturb, Banfield, but I was wondering if you might want more time to—”
He cut himself off as he looked up and found Elizabeth not only in Morgan’s room with the door shut, but with Morgan’s jacket in a pile at their feet and the back of her dress gaping slightly. She pivoted with a gasp, but she didn’t step away. Of course she didn’t.
She threw her arms back as if to shield Morgan. And it was a good instinct, because Brighthollow charged forward a long step.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he shouted. Loud enough that it felt like he could bring the house down around them.
“Stop!” she called out, reaching a hand toward her brother either in entreaty or to ward him off. Perhaps both. “Hugh, look at me. Look at me.”
Brighthollow’s dark gaze flashed down at her and she flinched when she got what she required. “Lizzie,” he said, a warning, a disappointment, a shocked admonishment. And Morgan saw how it buckled her a little.
The shouting, though, had brought the others. Robert appeared first in the door to the narrow chamber and his mouth dropped open. “Christ, Morgan,” he muttered as he edged his way in. Katherine and Amelia followed, while the Duke and Duchess of Donburrow stayed in the doorway, exchanging a look that said a million words.
“Oh God,” Lizzie moaned, and reached up behind her, trying to button her gown. She kept missing the buttonhole, her hands were shaking so much, and at last Morgan stepped forward and fastened it quickly.
“Take your damned hands off of her,” Brighthollow growled as he held out a hand to her. “Lizzie, come here.”
There was a moment when Morgan thought Elizabeth might obey. This man had raised her, after all. He loved her. She loved and adored him in return and never wanted to disappoint him.
But then she straightened her spine, pushed her shoulders back and shook her head. “No.”
Brighthollow blinked at her. “No? Lizzie, you must be in jest. I know today was trying. The past few days have been difficult, and it is easy to be confused—”
“I’m not confused,” Lizzie whispered. “I know what I want. And who.” She looked back over her shoulder and her eyes found his. “I know exactly who I want.”
Morgan’s heart leapt in that moment. Because he hadn’t imagined these feelings. She did share them. This wasn’t mere passion gone mad or a mistake she would regret. She cared for him, as he cared for her.
Only he still feared if this was the right choice. Love could fade over time, after all. Leaving regret in its wake. He’d seen it before. He didn’t want to cause it or feel the sting of it.
He had to be sure she was sure.
“Elizabeth,” he said, taking her hand. “That you…want this, want me, means everything. But your brother’s concerns are valid, you must know that in your heart. He wants to protect you.”
“Protect me from you?” she said.
“Yes,” Brighthollow said through clenched teeth. “You must see why I’d be concerned. Banfield’s history, his reputation—”
“Watch yourself,” Robert growled.
The two men were distracted by each other, and the others in the room all began talking at once as they faced each other.
