“Sophie!”
She’d barely cleared the back door when she heard Gray’s voice. It spurred her forward toward the gate in the walled backyard, but she didn’t make it. He grabbed her just as her fingers were grasping to pull it open and dragged her back against him. Solid arms closed around her, but she refused to be subdued so easily and fought him.
“Why are you running? Sophie, stop fighting me!”
She went limp in his arms but only because she was still struggling to breathe. “What are you doing to me?” It was more a breathless plea than the furious question she’d meant it to be.
He buried his face in her hair, his lips warm against her ear. “Sophie.” The tortured whisper burned as it rasped over the open wound of her heart.
His chest was so strong and solid against her back that she couldn’t stop herself from reveling in it. She closed her eyes, causing more tears to fall. It meant she was shameless and beyond any hope, but any chance she had to touch him was heaven to her and more than she could resist. And as his lips caressed her skin, she moved her head to give him better access to her neck. Only a moment more, she promised herself, only a moment to take with her for the rest of her life.
When he loosened his arms and moved a hand up to cup her face, she finally found the strength to pull away and bucked against him until she wrenched free and turned to face him. But he was persistent and grabbed her arms, pulling her close. Her hands settled on his chest, pushing, and stayed there deadlocked.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She was surprised to see the depth of pain in his eyes. “I can’t bear that I hurt you.”
She almost reached up to touch his face, to try to soothe the pain from his eyes, but then she remembered that she was the injured party. “You were going to let me get married,” she accused.
“No! That never would’ve happened.” To emphasize the words, he pulled her flush against him and his arms went around her. Sophie realized how useless her struggles had been. “The wedding wasn’t supposed to happen, but for the latecomers it wouldn’t have got as far as it did. We’d hoped to arrest them before you even came downstairs, but LaSalle was determined to move things on as quickly as possible and we didn’t have a chance. I hate like hell that you were there. I didn’t think Sinclair would let you come in.”
“Who are you, Gray? I don’t understand what happened.”
“LaSalle, Beaudin and a few others were supposed to be arrested. Sinclair’s been following them for years. They’ve been buying up land with mining potential, usually by forcing people to sell. Some people have gone missing or been found murdered. There’s a whole slew of charges, but the wedding was an opportunity to get them all here in one place.”
“Who are you?” she asked again, needing to know that more than anything else.
“Everything I told you I was.” He spoke slowly, his gaze holding strong to hers. “Sinclair and Brand are marshals. Cole and I are just helping out for the reward money and because I owe Sinclair a favor.”
“So you let me go all this time thinking I had to marry that monster?” She watched him swallow.
“I know. Be angry.” His fingertips touched her cheek. When she would have pulled away, they curled around the back of her head, refusing to let her. “It wasn’t just me I had to consider. Maybe you hate me now and I have no right to do this.” His questioning gaze searched hers until he moved so close, his eyes closed and his lips covered hers. He kissed her with all of the pent-up longing of the past two weeks. The second his tongue brushed her lips, she surrendered to his kiss and the yearning it stirred deep within her. Her arms went around his shoulders, so there wasn’t a breath of space between them from breast to hip. And the kiss evolved into a heated, breathing thing of redemption and desire until he was drinking salvation from her lips. Finally he released her mouth, but still held her close. “Whatever else you think of me, Sophie, know this: I had decided you weren’t marrying Beaudin, no matter what happened today.”
“When did you decide that?” she breathed against his lips.
“When I watched you sleep. I knew I needed to keep you safe. When you walked away from me that morning, I hated myself for hurting you. I never want to cause you pain, Sophie, but it’s all I ever seem to do.” He closed his eyes and kissed the corner of her mouth and her brow before letting her go and taking a step back.
The action sobered her. She felt bereft suddenly without the comfort of his embrace. When he spoke, his voice was still gentle, but his tone was all business. “You should know that your uncle was shot pretty bad, I doubt he’ll make it. And even Beaudin can’t buy himself out of the mess he’s in so he won’t be a problem for you anymore. You’ll be free now.”
Sophie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. Her heart dropped to her stomach, not because of what he’d said but because he’d seemed to imply that he wouldn’t be a part of her future. Finally, she managed to voice a portion of what she wanted. “What of you?”
His eyes opened wide in surprise. “I’ll find Alexandre for you.”
“And that’s it?” She held her breath locked tight in her throat.
He was silent, but she saw the struggle behind his eyes, saw his breath become heavy and his jaw tighten. “I don’t know how to not hurt you.” And he fell to his knees before her. “Sophie, I want you but I don’t know how.”
The breath she was holding came out as a sob and she moved forward to hold him. His face pressed to her stomach and his arms came around her. “I meant it when I said I loved you, Gray. We’ll figure this out.”
He shook his head against her.
Her fingers tangled in his hair as she raised his tortured gaze to meet hers. “I love you, mon coeur. I’ll always love you.”
Gray’s arms wrapped tight around her and she squealed as he rose to his feet, holding her above him. “Then you’re mine, Sophie. I won’t let you go.”
She laughed as she slid down his body until she could kiss him. “Always, mon amour. Always.”
Harper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel, which combined all those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.
She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two young children. Look for her short story in the first Romance Writers of America anthology. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website at www.harperstgeorge.com.
Also by Harper St. George
Harlequin Historical Undone
His Abductor’s Desire
eISBN: 978-1-4603-3838-4
HER FORBIDDEN GUNSLINGER
Copyright © 2014 by Harper McGough Nieh
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