Gavin’s mood matched his gait as he led Isabelle down the hallway. She’d had two cups of wine, more than she should have, and swayed from its effects. She tripped over her nightgown as she started up the steps, forcing him to reach out and hold her waist and shoulders.

“Oops.” She giggled.

“Ah, Bella, you’re going to make me carry you, aren’t you,” he uttered, shaking his head.

She nodded, laying her head on his chest as he cradled her in his arms. Neither spoke a word as he continued up the stairs and stopped outside her door.

“Carry me inside, Gavin,” she whispered.

“Nay, Bella.” Then he shook his head again, realizing she’d not make it herself. He carried her to bed and laid her beneath the covers. Then he forced himself to turn quickly and leave.

“Gavin?”

“Aye, Bella,” he asked without turning.

“I love you.”

His entire body tensed. “’Tis the wine, Bella.”

“Nay, Gavin, ’tis not,” she whispered.

He left without looking back, slamming his fist against the wall outside of Bella’s chamber. She was all he ever wanted. And the one thing he could never have. His past would always haunt him. And his secret, if revealed, would destroy everything he’d fought so hard to achieve. The very family he’d give his life for.

His mood was no better when he returned to the study. Greylen sat behind his desk while Gwen read on the settee. He picked up the papers he’d been looking through earlier, then sat across from Greylen so they could discuss the matters which needed immediate attention. ’Twas another hour before they finished.

“First light, Gavin, we round the herd along the northern border. We’re behind schedule,” Greylen said quietly.

Still out of sorts, Gavin only nodded and dismissed himself as he looked to Gwen, who had fallen asleep. What he wouldn’t give to be as such with Isabelle. His chest tightened at the thought.

The pain was no better back in his chamber. ’Twas an empty bed he sat on as he laid his blade atop the bedside table. He stared at it for hours, wishing instead that the last of his nighttime ritual would end as he pulled the covers aside and gathered Bella in his arms.

Sadly, he knew ’twas a dream he would never have.

Chapter 17

Gwen awoke in her husband’s arms. She felt better than ever. Greylen was an incredible lover, and contrary to the nasty rumors that circulated through the hospital, she wasn’t an ice queen after all. She loved sex. She loved intimacy. She only realized now she’d never had the opportunity to experience it. Odd, she’d spent her entire life in the twenty-first century surrounded by people, and now, after only a few short weeks at Seagrave, with Greylen’s family, the difference was striking.