His mother had never shared those things with him. Life had torn her down enough that she’d kept so much about herself hidden, even from her son. He felt that gap keenly to this day.

“I would know my mother’s actual given name,” he said. “I’d know what county she hailed from, what brought her to London. I’d know what other family she had—what other family I have.”

“You deserve to have family, Baz.” She set her hands on either side of his face, holding him gently. The soft, gentle touch warmed his heart even as it sped his pulse a bit. “You deserve to be happy. You have given so many people their lives back. You deserve to claim yours.”

“Don’t you deserve happiness as well?” he asked softly.

“It’s difficult to feel something that don’t even seem possible.”

With her as close as she was, his arms wrapped tightly around her, the two of them pressed together with her hands gently caressing his jaw, he could actually believe there might be hope on the horizon. Hope. And family. And love.

“I don’t mean to give up, Gemma.”

“Give up on what?” she whispered.

“On us.”

He kissed her. He’d meant for it to be a simple show of affection, of tenderness. But the moment his lips touched hers, all thoughts fled. There was warmth. Softness. And passion. He pulled her closer. She set her palms against his chest but not pushing him away. Touching him as if holding him there.

A sudden burst of laughter downstairs broke the magic of the moment. Gemma pulled back. She smiled the tiniest bit and, without a word, rose from the pallet and slipped from the room. There was no hurriedness in her step, no indication she had been affected by their kiss at all.

But he remained behind, trying to breathe, trying to make sense of a world that had, with that one tender, passionate moment, changed in an instant.

The Bachelor and the Bride

the Bachelor
and the Bride

by Mr. King

Installment V
in which the Promise of a New Day turns to Fear!

Dawn broke, sending rays of soft morning light into the protective hollow of the tree where Duncan and Sorcha had sought refuge. The will-o’-the-wisp had not returned. Its call no longer seemed to pull at Sorcha, but Duncan could tell she was shaken by the experience. He was a little shaken himself.

Seeing her run, seeing her leave without so much as glancing back at him, had struck something more than fear into him. His heart had actually cracked, broken a little. Even before realizing what she was chasing, he’d been weighed down by the realization that she was leaving him behind. How had he come to care so deeply for someone he’d only just met? How was it his heart had grown so partial to her so quickly?