That was the strangeness in his chest. The heaviness in his gut. The reason why Caro was all he could think about.
He had fallen in love with the woman who had brought him back from the dead. But he still didn’t know if he was free to pursue her, if there was another he loved as the man he had been before. The man he could not recall.
His hold on her waist tightened with possession. She belonged here with him, damn it. He could not be wrong about that. “What have you done because you must, Caro?”
He wanted to know, and yet he did not, for fear of what she would reveal and the effect it would have upon his heart.
The fingers brushing over his neck stilled, and he felt her tensing in his arms. “I have been deceitful.”
He found it difficult to reconcile his angelic butterfly with dishonesty. Impossible, in fact. “I know you, Caro. There must have been good reason.”
Her smile was sad. “Your opinion of me is far too good. I do not deserve it.”
“Yes.” He gave her waist a gentle squeeze to emphasize his words. “You do. You are an angel, and you saved my life, butterfly. I shall never forget that, nor you. Not even, I like to think, should I take another blow to the head. If I were to lose every memory I owned again, I believe you would still be there.”
She sifted his hair with a tenderness that planted itself in his heart like a seed. “Let us hope you shall never again suffer such a blow.”
“Aye, let us hope that.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead, wanting to do so much more and yet not daring.
The hour grew late, and he knew it. He was ever aware of the problems he could cause for her, lingering in her chamber. If any of her family or The Sinner’s Palace guards were to discover she was not alone, there would be hell to pay, and he did not want to cause any further troubles for her beyond what he had already done.
But when he would have moved away, she wound her arms around his neck, holding him there. Her hazel eyes were pinned upon him, and he thought again of how undeniable it was, this foreign emotion rising within him, lifting like an ascension balloon taking to the sky.
He had fallen in love with this woman.
He wanted to make her his wife.
“Is that the kiss you were after?” she asked softly.
Hesitantly.
His cock swelled at the huskiness in her voice, at her nearness, the way her scent danced over his senses. “For this evening, it is all the kiss I dare. I’ll not make any more problems for you, Caro. You’ve done enough for me by nursing me back to health.”
“You have a good heart.” She paused, as if she was about to say more, and then shook her head. “Too good.”
He released his hold on her waist and reached for her wrists, still around his neck, gently pulling her away though the movement caused pain to radiate from his wound. The bullet had done its damage, and while he was largely healed, he was not certain if he would ever move the injured arm without pain again.
Despite the agony tearing through him, he raised both her hands to his lips for another kiss, wishing he could offer more. So much more.
“My heart belongs to you.” Before he said anything more foolish, he kissed her cheek. “Sleep well, sweet Caro.”
And then he reluctantly released her and quit the room. Walking away required all the restraint he had.
Chapter 7
My heart belongs to you.
Had she truly heard those words last night? They seemed a dream by the harsh light of the morning as Caro walked to the carriage awaiting her in the mews. Pen was yet ill, and Caro had used nearly all her stores after nursing a string of wounded patients. There had been her brothers and their endless scrapes, a fit of coughing which had overtaken some of the kitchen workers and guards, and then there had beenhim.
Gavin Winter.
Her heart pounded at the thought of his name. At the remembrance of the manner in which he had gazed upon her last night, as if she were beloved to him. As if she were truly worthy of his adulation.
But she was not. Andbloody blue blazes, she needed to collect herself. To remember to guard her heart and keep her distance from him as best she could from this moment on. He would return to the welcoming arms of the Winters, and he would hate her for who she was and for what she had done. The deceit she had perpetuated filled her with guilt.
Jasper could not forever keep Gavin Winter a secret, hidden away in the private quarters of The Sinner’s Palace. Soon enough, the truth would need to be revealed, Gavin would know she had betrayed him, and he would never forgive her. Oh, how her heart ached this morning. She wanted to be filled with joy at Gavin’s confession, but all she felt was worry.
Caro was so distracted she did not realize she was not the sole occupant of the carriage until she had seated herself on the bench, the door soundly closed at her back, and she found a pair of emerald eyes upon her.
