She was falling for him.Not just for his body, but for the way he held back. For the man who could have taken her but instead chose to wait.
She curledup into the sheets, pulling them around her like armor.
Her heart beat wildlyin her chest as the thought echoed over and over in her mind.
Ye’re fallin’for him, Gabriella. And when he makes ye beg… it willnae be just yer body that breaks. It’ll be everythin’.
21
Gabriella and Erica were deciding on the arrangement of heather and wildflowers in clay vessels that would adorn the Great Hall for the wedding ceremony.
The purple bloomswere beautiful against the rough stone walls, their sweet fragrance filling the air, but her mind kept wandering to other sensations—the heat of his breath against her neck, the way he’d held himself back even when she could feel how much he wanted her.
“The white rosesshould go on the high table,” Erica said from across the room, her arms full of cream-colored blooms. “They’ll look lovely against the dark wood, dinnae ye think?”
She could still feelHector’s hands on her skin. Every time she closed her eyes, she could hear his voice, rough with desire, telling her what it meant to be worshipped.
The memory sentwarmth spiraling through her at the most inappropriate moments, leaving her distracted and restless.
Gabriella nodded absently,her fingers trembling slightly as she adjusted a particularly stubborn stem. She could still remember the way he’d?—
“Gabriella?”Erica’s voice was closer now, tinged with concern. “Are ye all right, lass? Ye’ve been quiet all mornin’, and ye just put those heather sprigs upside down.”
Gabriella looked downat the arrangement and realized that Erica was right. The delicate purple flowers were indeed pointing toward the table instead of up toward the light. She sighed and began rearranging them, grateful for something concrete to focus on.
“I’m sorry,”she murmured. “Me mind has been… elsewhere.”
Erica setdown her roses and moved to sit beside Gabriella on the wooden bench. Her brown eyes were warm with understanding, and there was no judgment in her expression—only the kind of patience that came from a growing friendship.
“Wouldye like to talk about it?” she asked gently. “Sometimes it helps to speak our troubles aloud instead of lettin’ them fester in our minds.”
Gabriella’s handsstilled on the flowers. Part of her wanted to keep her confusion locked away, to maintain the carefulcomposure she’d built over the years. But another part, the part that had been growing stronger since she had come to this castle, yearned for the comfort of an honest conversation with someone who cared about her well-being.
“I usedto be terrified of what a weddin’ entailed,” she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Of what came after the vows were spoken.”
Erica’s expression grew serious,and she reached out to cover Gabriella’s hand with her own. “Why?”
The understandingin her voice made tears prick the corners of Gabriella’s eyes. She’d told Erica the basic facts of her kidnapping—how she’d been meant to be sold as a bed slave before Hector had rescued her—but she’d never spoken about the deeper fears that experience had carved into her soul.
“Because of whathappened to me when I was taken,” Gabriella whispered. “Nay one made me do anythin’, but the thought of a man ownin’ me for his pleasure did somethin’ to me. Ever since then, the thought of… of being approached that way, of havin’ nay choice in what happens to me body… it made me feel sick with terror. I couldnae imagine ever desirin’ a man’s touch, ever trustin’ someone enough to be that vulnerable.”
She took a shaky breath,surprised by how much lighter she felt just speaking the words aloud. “But it’s been different with Hector. He’s changed everythin’ I thought I kenned about desire, about trust. From the very beginning, he’s given me a choice. He’s never taken what I wasnae ready to give.”
A small smiletugged at the corners of her mouth as she remembered their first encounter and how he’d made her feel safe even when she’d been at her most vulnerable.
“I trust him completely,”she continued, her voice growing stronger. “More than I’ve ever trusted anyone. And I find meself… wantin’ things I never thought I could want.”
The admission hungin the air between them, heavy with implication. Gabriella felt heat creep up her neck as she remembered exactly how much she’d wanted Hector’s touch, how her body had responded to his caresses with an eagerness that had shocked her.
Erica squeezed her hand encouragingly,and the lack of shock or judgment in her expression gave Gabriella the courage to continue.
“But there’s somethin’holdin’ me back,” she mumbled. “Somethin’ that makes me hesitate even when every part of me being wants to surrender to what he’s offerin’.”
“What is it, lass?”Erica asked softly. “What’s keepin’ ye from takin’ that step?”
Gabriella’s fingerstwisted in her skirt as she struggled to put her fears into words.
“Hector toldme about his previous betrothal. About Caitlyn.” The name felt strange on her tongue, foreign and bitter. “Icannae stop wonderin’ if he compares me to her. If, when he touches me, he’s thinkin’ about the woman he was supposed to marry before fate intervened.”
