Page 42 of Beneath the Harvest Moon

The hem of her skirt appeared at the edge of his vision. “Gabriel, you did not have to do that.”

His gaze wandered over the plain brown dress, her stained apron, her delicate hands, then over her chest to her beautiful face. “I want you to be happy, Blythe.” God help him; her happiness meant more to him than anything in the world. It always had.

Blythe blew out a long breath. “I⁠—”

Unable to resist her lure, he surged forward and claimed her mouth with his. His arms wrapped around her waist, hauling her tight against him so she could not escape.

His heart soared when she relaxed and her arms encircled his neck.

Her tongue pressed forth to meet his in a delicious tangle. Her divine sweetness burst on his tongue, but the woman in his arms was no longer an innocent girl. Their tongues duelled, and her fingers dug into his scalp, holding him to her. Thank the Lord, she wanted this as much as he did.

His hands wandered up her back, tracing every contour. One hand skimmed over her hip and upward to the gentle swell of her breasts. Even with the fabric of her clothing between them, his palm tingled with warmth.

She panted, “Gabriel.”

He trailed kisses along her jaw and down the side of her neck. A mix of floral lavender, sweet hay and… cows clung to her skin. He nibbled at the slope of her shoulder, nudging aside the muslin tucked into the neckline of her gown. God, he wanted to bite into that flesh and suck the skin until it left a mark—his mark, so everyone would know she belonged to him.

She gasped, “Gabriel, we must stop.”

“I do not want to stop. I never want to stop. I want to do this with you every moment of every day for the rest of my life.”

She stiffened before clasping his head in her hands and pulling him away to meet his gaze. “Gabriel, this is madness.”

He blinked away the fog of lust.

“We should not do this.”

A familiar ache in his chest flared. “Do you not want me?”

She shook her head, then blurted, “Yes… but that does not mean we should.” Her chest heaved. “The things I have done…”

“I told you, it no longer matters. I do not care. I want you, Blythe. I love you and I always have. There is no one else for me.”

Her lashes lowered. “It is not that simple.”

One cow grumbled.

Blythe stepped closer to her bovine companions. “I do not wish to complicate things between us. Your mother offered to take me on as her apprentice again, but⁠—”

“We can still do everything we planned when we were younger.” The future he had always desired. “We can take over from my parents⁠—”

“I cannot accept your mother’s offer.” Her words echoed through the cowshed. Even the chickens remained silent.

“There are things you do not know. Terrible things that will change your opinion of me forever, and I can no longer keep them from you.”

“There is nothing you can say that will change the way I feel about you.”

She raised her chin. “I was with child.”

The earth beneath his feet shifted.

“After you left for Edinburgh, I discovered I was expecting.”

Gabriel blinked. “Elijah?”

Blythe shook her head, and liquid glistened at the rims of her eyes. “The baby did not survive long enough for me to feel the quickening. By that time, I was already married.”

Gabriel’s lungs clamoured for air. Breathe, he had to breathe.