And worse, that she was attracted to him.
His blank countenance at her query had her guilt rising once more.
“If I do have anywhere else to go, I cannot recall it,” he told her around a mouthful of bacon. “But that is neither here nor there. I’ll go wherever and whenever you wish. I owe you so much. More than I will ever be able to repay you, Caro.”
His words were akin to the prick of a knife, scoring her skin, digging into her heart.
She had found him, it was true. And she had brought him into The Sinner’s Palace and seen him tended to, his wounds cleaned and sewn shut and bandaged. However, nothing that had happened after her innocent rescue of him was worthy of Gavin Winter’s gratitude.
“You needn’t repay me,” she denied, fidgeting with the skirt of her gown.
When her fingers could not be busy, they did not know what to do with themselves.
“But I must, Caro.”
His emerald gaze called to hers, and she met it, hating the earnest tone in his voice, the absolute lack of deception.
“If you truly wish to repay me, then you will cease arguing,” she said. “I insist you need some additional time to rest and regain your strength. I am staying in another chamber, one which has not been in use in some time. You needn’t worry you keep me from my bed.”
The memory of the brother who had occupied the chamber she was currently inhabiting made her heart give a pang. Logan’s disappearance had left a great deal of pain behind. Many nights spent wondering where he had gone and what had befallen him. After a year had passed, she and her siblings had been forced to accept their brother would not be returning.
Logan’s chamber had been closed ever since he had vanished, but thanks to the size of their family, it was the only spare room in the private apartments over The Sinner’s Palace. It was also on the highest floor, which was why Caro had chosen to take over the room herself. Carrying Gavin to her chamber had required far fewer steps for the guards who had hauled him from the alley on her behalf. Given the closeness of their family, it was nothing short of a small miracle that she and Jasper had managed to keep Gavin’s presence a secret for as long as they had.
Gavin finished his breakfast and used a napkin on his mouth.
To Caro’s shame, her gaze was drawn there, to his lips. She found herself wondering what they would feel like moving over hers. And then she reminded herself why she should never allow such a longing to take hold.
The reasons were many.
“I cannot deny I enjoy being in your bed,” that wicked mouth of his said.
Bloody blue blazes.
She was hot once more, and she could not deny the answering ache between her thighs.
“Mr.—” She cut herself off abruptly, realizing that in her dudgeon, she had been about to call himMr. Winterwhen she was not supposed to know his name. “Sir.”
“Begging your pardon, Caro.” Gavin flushed—his neck going red along with the tips of his ears. “I…Hell.A man wakes up with no memory and no manners, it would seem. I hope I ain’t a scoundrel. I didn’t mean to blurt that as I did, although it’s true.”
Oh, how it pained her to keep his identity from him. She was going to have to speak with Jasper, and soon.
“You needn’t fret over it,” she hastened to assure him. “After the blows you took to the head, it is a miracle you are alive.”
“You didn’t like when I said what I did,” he observed.
How wrong he was. She had liked it far too much, and that was the problem.
Her fingers, still bereft of an occupation, clenched on the light muslin of her gown. “You surprised me.”
“Shocked you.”
Pleased me.
She cleared her throat. “Regardless of the sentiment, you needn’t worry yourself on my account. Have you finished eating?”
The longer she lingered here with Gavin, that powerful chest of his on display, those emerald eyes glinting into hers, his low voice teasing and flirtatious and like a balm upon her tattered heart, the more dangerous it was for the both of them. She was deceiving this man, and Winters were the enemy, despite the fragile truce which had been recently struck between their families. Moreover, her brothers were incredibly protective of her after what had happened with Philip.
You’ve landed yourself in enough trouble because of one man,Caro Sutton, she told herself sternly.No need to make it two.
