Shifting Intentions: Shifting Hearts Book Two

by Ivy Hayes

  I will get her anything she needs, if it keeps that smile on her face.

  Our conversation is halted when Gwen stops her horse near a stream and says, “This is where we dismount. The rest we need to do on foot.”

  She slides off her horse gracefully then ties Serenity to a tree where she will have plenty of access to grass and water. I do the same, but don’t look nearly as good while I am at it.

  Gwen grabs my hands then leads me down a trail into the forest, heading towards the mountains.

  “I hope you’re not opposed to a little hiking?”

  “Not at all,” I give her hand a squeeze, urging her on.

  It is an easy walk, we don’t climb too much elevation and the path is well traveled. At one point, we came across a felled tree, which the only way past is to climb over. I go first, then extend a hand over to help Gwen. When she is up, I pull her and carry her in my arms until she is clear of the tree.

  She shrieks, “Parker, you scared me, I thought I was going to fall.”

  I laugh, “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  I still have her in my arms. Hers are wrapped around my shoulders, clutching tight from her fear. I lean my head in close to hers, my lips drawing towards her lips. She meets my gaze and does not back away, but when I am inches from my destination, she stops me with her voice.

  “Parker.” She gulps, and I freeze, “Can you put me down, please?”

  I hesitate but finally relent and slowly lower her from my arms. Once she is on her own feet, she stands upright and straightens her skirt, putting everything in its place before we continue. I am quiet as we move on, wondering if she knows how great of an effect she has on me.

  TWELVE - PARKER

  We follow the path in silence, no longer holding hands. Gwen is leading the way, I am slightly behind her trying to figure her out. We shared a steaming kiss, then everything after has been chaste. I would think she wasn’t interested in me, and was just trying to let me down easy, except she invited me riding today. I don’t know where she is coming from, or what she thinks of me.

  I’ve courted girls in the past, but I felt nothing towards them compared to what I feel towards Gwen. The longer I am with her, the more I admire and adore her. That is what makes this so hard, I am terrified of hurting her and losing any chance with her.

  Especially because there are so many lies between our happiness.

  The only hope I have of surviving the lies is getting her to trust me enough so I can tell her the truth. I can’t do it too soon, yet I can’t risk her finding it out from someone else. I try not to dwell on the fact that she is not going to take it well, instead I try and enjoy today, knowing the next few days will be trying between us.

  Gwen stops walking and looks back at me, eyes alight with excitement.

  “Are you ready for the surprise?”

  I can hear the soft roar of a waterfall in the distance and images of us swimming under it dance through my mind.

  I grin and answer her, “I am.”

  We round the bend and I see a small lake with its own raging waterfall. It’s enormous, reaching so high, I can’t see the source. Based on the sound, it is somewhere on the ledge jutting out from the mountain. Baffling, I have no idea where the water is going. The lake does not have any obvious outlets, so the water must be flowing through the ground.

  “Wow. This is the most spectacular place I have ever seen.” There is a small rocky beach on the shore of the lake, I start to walk towards it, but Gwen stops my progress.

  “Do you want to see the best part?”

  “There’s more?”

  She beams, “Follow me!”

  Gwen leads me around the lake, walking towards the waterfall. As we near, we start to get sprayed with droplets, but that does not slow her down. Soon enough, I see what she is pulling us towards, a path that will lead behind the falls.

  It’s impossible not to get drenched as we pass under the ledge, even though we are not in the direct path of the water. The falls have so much force, water is flying everywhere. By the time we make it out of the spray, we are both laughing and soggy. We were standing in a shallow cave on the hidden side of the waterfall. Enough sunlight breaks through, I can just make out Gwen standing next to me, but I can’t see the depths of the cave.

  All I can hear the is the sound of rushing water, it is beautiful. I race over to Gwen, I pick her up and spin her around. She squeals but doesn’t tell me to stop. After a few turns, I start to get dizzy, so I slow then slide her down until her feet touch the ground.

  Her body is pressed to mine, and despite the darkness, I can make out the details of her face. She looks gorgeous in this light, well in all light. She tilts her head up towards mine and I know this is the time to kiss her and she won’t stop me. I bring a hand up to cup her face then lean forward, gently taking her mouth in mine. I don’t want to rush it, I want this moment to last for as long as possible.

  Her lips part beneath mine and I dive my tongue in to meet hers. Her kiss is timid, so I let her lead, not pushing her for more than she is willing to give. She has both of her hands bunched on my shirt, holding me close, in the way I that I am learning is normal for Gwen.

  Our kiss is slow and sensational. It teases me and excites me. We are too close for me to even try and hide it, but Gwen does not pull back from the touch of my arousal, which almost makes it worse. I want to grind my hips against hers, feel her mimic my movements, but that would be pushing too far. I don’t want to risk scaring her away, so I stay still. Impossibly still.

  Much to my surprise, she pulls herself closer and moves her hips into mine, in the exact motion I was just fighting to resist doing myself. I let out a moan and this encourages her. Gwen alights under our kiss and her passion nearly breaks me. I want her so bad. I want her here, in this cave.

  I reach around and grab the small of her back, holding her close to me and she lets out the most delicate of moans. It is music to my ears and my cock pulses in anticipation. My desire for her is nearly unbearable.

  I brave a hand forward and grasp her breasts, feeling the perfect palm sized amount in my hand. I massage the mound and I hear a timid moan coming from her beautiful mouth. I trail a line of kisses from her mouth, down her neck to the exposed top swell of her bosom. The moment my lips touch the soft skin of her breast I feel her shudder under my touch.

  I want more.

  With my face still buried in her chest, I grasp her hips and pull her forward again, reconnect our contact. My arousal is straining in my pants, burning to have skin to skin contact with her. I am about to burst, and I burn to have her beneath me.

  Gwen has her hands tangled wildly in my long hair and I hear her say my name, so softly and it is a blazing reminder of her virginity. The thought snaps me out of my wild desire. I have to stop this, now or we will go farther than she should be willing to do.

  This is not how she will give me her virginity, that deserves to be done in the comfort and privacy of a bedroom.

  Raising my face to level with her I meet her eyes and trace my thumb over her cheek. Her eyes are misty with desire and her lips are swollen from our touch. Despite all of this, her innocent is obvious, and I find that is more of a temptation than anything else. I want Gwen to know only me as a lover. I want the be the only one to bring her to the heights of pleasure.

  Looking in her eyes, I burn to tell her how I feel. I don’t care how reckless it is, because in this moment, I am determined to fight for her. We will be together.

  I speak softly, “Gwen, I fear I am starting to fall in love with you.”

  She flashes that smile I love so much, “Parker, that is dangerous, telling a girl something like that, she might start to like you back.”

  “I would only be so lucky.”

  “Why?”

  “Why, what?”

  “Why do you love me?”

  “Oh,” I smile, “because I find you enchanting, enthralling, intelligent, magnificent, irresistible
,” I trail off when I see her mouth quirk up, “shall I continue?”

  She laughs out loud at that, “Are you always this smooth?”

  “Only with you.” I grin, and she gives me a quick kiss.

  Her eyes suddenly flash with uncertainty. I am confused until she says, “I am sorry I was so cold to you when you first arrived.”

  “It’s okay,” I say, “I did run you off the road, I completely understand your anger.”

  She shakes her head, “It wasn’t that. I hated you for a reason I completely made up in my head.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I ask.

  “It’s silly, when I think of it now, but I was convinced you were here solely because of an arranged marriage between us.”

  A stab of panic flushes through me. I don’t want to talk about this, not today, not when things are going so well, but I don’t want to lie to her either. I will have to redirect this conversation.

  “But you don’t hate me anymore, do you?”

  She shakes her head no, so I smile and add, “I am starting to get cold under here, what do you say we head back to the sunshine, so we can dry off?”

  “Okay.”

  After being in the dark cave, the daylight is almost blinding, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. We make it to the rocky shore and I lie down on my back, using my hands as a pillow. Gwen joins me on the ground but rests her head on my lap. We lay like that for a while, drying out and relaxing in the sun, just enjoying being around each other.

  THIRTEEN - GWEN

  Resting my head so close to Parker’s stomach, when it growls, it sounds like a small roar in my ear. I sit up, look at him and say, “Oh. You’re hungry. I packed snacks, but it’s with the horses.”

  His body shakes with his laughter, “Remind me to punish my stomach for ruining this moment.”

  “We should be thanking your stomach,” looking at the sun, I realize it is much further into the afternoon than I thought, “we should already be well on our way back home, it’s getting late.”

  “I know. I debated a half hour ago sending us on our way, but I talked myself out of it.”

  “You should have. My mother gets so upset when we are late for dinner and I don’t need to give her any more reasons to be mad at me.”

  “I will take the blame,” he proudly says to me, “she can be upset with me all she likes.”

  I laugh, “Thank you, but that won’t work. Come on, let’s get going.”

  I stand up and Parker follows. We walk at a brisk pace back towards the horses, keeping light conversation on the way. Once back, we give the horses a quick check over and begin our ride home. We move at a faster pace then I lead us at on our way out today, hopefully it will make up some time.

  Back in the stables, we were set to tend to our horses when I noticed one that wasn’t in there earlier. I point at the all black mare in one of stalls and ask Parker, “That horse wasn’t here earlier, was it.”

  “No.” He looks slightly deflated, “That is one of mine from home.”

  After finishing with the horses, we have a few minutes before dinner, so we rush to our separate rooms to change and freshen up. I quickly change into my dark blue dress, then open my door to head down. Parker is outside, waiting for me.

  “May I escort you do dinner?”

  “Sure,” I giggle, “I don’t see why not.”

  He holds out his arm, and I loop mine under his. We are laughing from a story Parker was telling me as we walk into the dining room and he stiffens beside me. I can only imagine it is due to the stranger talking to my brothers and Ash.

  “Who is that?” I ask.

  “That is my cousin, Theo.”

  “You don’t seem happy with his presence.”

  “I am not. We don’t get along, at all.” Despite this, he leads me forward and helps me into my seat. We were the last two to arrive in the room, so everyone follows our lead and sits down. Parker is seated next to me, Theo is across from us.

  He speaks up first, “Parker, it’s good to see you.”

  Parker says through clenched teeth, “I hope you didn’t find too much trouble on the road.” I reach under the table and grab his hand, he gives me a gentle squeeze and I can see some of the tension disappear from his face.

  “No trouble at all, I made great time, actually.”

  “He was just telling us about some traveling actors he rode with for a day.” Grant adds in.

  I ask, “How interesting, did you learn anything?”

  “Just that I am really glad I am not a traveling actor.”

  He bursts out laughing, like that is the funniest idea he has ever thought of. I don’t understand what is so funny, but by the mirror of confused faces around the room, I am not the only one.

  My mother, ever the diplomat tries to change the subject, “So, Theo, what brings you to join us in Cliffden?”

  “To help with the wedding planning, of course.” He looks over at me and gives me a greasy grin, “I will say Parker, she is more beautiful than I thought she would be, I am jealous.”

  “Excuse me?” My mother calmly asks, “What are you talking about.”

  Parker mutters, “Dammit,” so low, only I hear it.

  His face is full of guilt, when he meets my eyes I see the truth of what Theo just said reflected and I nearly explode. I clench my teeth and barely speak loud enough for him to hear.

  “I see my anger wasn’t unjustified, after all.” Parker stiffens, and I tear my hand from his grasp.

  My father is the next to speak, “Gwen, this is not how we wanted you to find out.”

  “Oh really, please tell me father, what is the best way for me to find out my life has been planned without my knowledge?”

  Instead of answering my question, all he said was, “Your marriage will bring peace and security.”

  I am speechless, but thankfully my mother is not. Her voice remains calm, but I can practically feel the venom in her voice, “You lied to us this entire time. You planned this behind my back.”

  My parents start arguing, but Parker’s voice pulls my attention from them.

  “I am sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

  “You’re sorry? You realize you could have put a stop to this. You could have said no, then no one would have tried to force me to do anything.”

  He shakes his head, “I couldn’t have said no.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  I stand up and storm out of the room, hot tears spilling down my cheeks. I hear someone call after me, but I don’t stop until I make it into my room and lock the door behind me.

  I am angry my father lied to me.

  I am crushed by Parker lying to me.

  He had the perfect chance to tell me this afternoon, why didn’t he? Was everything between us a game to him? He said he was starting to love me, but was that all a ploy to make me more compliant, so we could marry without a hiccup? Has everything he said to me a lie?

  I feel so betrayed and my heart is breaking. I should have known loving him was too easy. I hate him for making me love him.

  There is a frantic knock on my door, “Gwen, open up, please.” It’s Parker. His voice sounds pained. I ignore it.

  A few seconds later he pounds again, “I know you are in there. Please let me explain.”

  I stand up and yell at the door, “Go away! I don’t want to talk to you, or frankly ever see you again.”

  “You don’t mean that, Gwen. Please just let me in.”

  “No. Leave me alone.” I say in between angry sobs.

  “I am not leaving until you let me in, I will just keep knocking.”

  If he wants to play it that way, fine. It’s been a long time since I have snuck out of my room, but the trellis is still here, and I should have no trouble climbing down. It’s like riding a horse, you never lose those skills. The trick will be making it away from the house without anyone seeing me. I have a leg out the window when he pounds on the door again. I smile, thinking of him
spending hours out there, getting nowhere.

  I sneak away and finally relax when the house fades in the distance behind me. No one saw me leave. Now the question is, where will I spend my evening?

  FOURTEEN – GWEN

  I missed dinner and I could desperately use a drink, leaving Nash’s Tavern the only logical place for me to go. When I enter, it is loud and rowdy. Usually I would avoid it at a time like this, but tonight, it seems to be the perfect place for me. There is a round table near the wall that seems free. I sit down and move the empty glasses to one side.

  Being this busy, it takes Paige a few minutes before she makes it over to me.

  “Gwen, hello, it’s good to see you again. What can I get for you?”

  “Wine, please and whatever Nash made tonight. I missed dinner at home.”

  “Is anyone joining you?” She looked around, giving a quick glance to the large group of men at the table next to me. It’s obvious she is worried about me, there aren’t many women in here, and those that are, are accompanied by their partners.

  “No, it is just me.”

  “Okay. Um, if you need to get away, come find me and I can sneak you out the back.”

  “I will be fine,” I try and assure her, but I can tell it doesn’t work.

  “Just remember we are keeping an eye on you.”

  “Thanks,” I try and keep the bite out of my voice.

  She nods, “I will be right back with your dinner.”

  She walks away, and I glance around the room, catching a few eyes meeting mine. I scowl, hoping that will be enough to keep them away. I am not in a mood to be around men, or most people for that matter. With a start, I realized how little of the faces I recognize around me, I wasn’t aware the scope of travelers that come through town.

  Paige delivers my order, giving me another worried look as she sets it down.

  I grasp the glass of red wine, “Thank you, Paige,” then take a deep drink.