Winterberry Spark: A Silver Foxes of Westminster Novella (The Silver Foxes of Westminster #2.5)(23)

“I did blame you for Miss Goode.” He emphasized the past tense. “But believe me, I’ve had a change of heart.”

“Why?” Ruby studied him as if she truly didn’t understand.

Gil let out a breath, running a hand through his hair. “After you left yesterday, I spoke to Clara. Or rather, Clara had a few words with me.”

Ruby’s mouth twitched into a grin. “You mean, she had a few words for you?”

Her sign of openness had him smiling as well. “And those words were delivered in a particular tone of voice,” he added, raising an eyebrow.

Ruby’s smile grew. With it, her whole body relaxed. “Clara is a wise and wonderful woman.”

“She is,” Gil agreed. He crossed to Ruby, resting his hands on her arms again so that she wouldn’t get away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t stop to realize how alone you felt. It never occurred to me that you would have seen Miss Goode as a much-needed friend and not a threat. It didn’t occur to me because my life has been so different. I’ve always had someone who I could rely on for help.”

“And I haven’t,” Ruby said, lowering her head.

Gil brushed his fingers along her chin, tilting it up so that she looked at him. “You do now,” he said. He let out a breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I shouldn’t have let you get into that situation. I should have been there for you much earlier.”

“You were there for me,” she insisted, taking his hand from her chin and squeezing it. “You gave me hope when no one else did.”

“And I let you down when I shouldn’t have,” he quickly added. He inched closer to her. “I never should have left you that night in your flat. I should have taken you home with me then and there, begged Mr. Croydon to hire you immediately, instead of throwing money at you and leaving.”

“That money kept me alive,” she said softly. “And there’s no guarantee Mr. Croydon would have hired me at all without the story of Mr. Turpin coming out.”

“But I should have taken responsibility sooner,” he insisted, feeling the truth of those words like a rock in his gut. “I could have saved you from so much pain if I’d just had the courage to act.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t know that first night how everything would turn out.”

“No,” he admitted. “But I knew from the moment I saw you that I loved you.”

She froze, her mouth dropping open. Everything within him stopped as well. He hadn’t realized the truth until he heard it.

“I love you, Ruby,” he said, just to be certain. “I’ve loved you through everything. I think that’s why I was so angry after everything that happened. I loved you so much that I mistook rage at myself for failing to protect you as anger toward you. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” she said, love brimming in her eyes. “I will always forgive you.”

“No.” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t forgive me for not being there for you when I should have been.”

“But I do,” she insisted. “Because I love you, too.”

Gil caught his breath. It was more than he could have hoped for. He wanted to shout his love from the rooftops, to drop to his knees to beg forgiveness for all his shortcomings, but his throat constricted to the point where speech was impossible. So he did the only thing he could. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and slanting his mouth over hers in a kiss.





Chapter 7





It was like a dream. Everything Ruby had ever wanted was there in her arms. The world seemed to hush around them as Gil kissed her. She’d craved his kiss for so long that, now that the moment had come, she wanted to go slow and savor him. His lips were soft, but she could feel the power of his desire underlying his tenderness.

The kiss itself wasn’t enough. She worked loose the buttons of his coat, sliding her hands against the heat of his chest, impatient with the layers of clothing that still kept him from her. She leaned into him, sliding her tongue along his lips to urge them apart. Every memory of abuse she’d struggled to forget melted away as his arms closed around her. This was what loving was meant to be—willing, yearning, mutual. She wanted Gil in a way she thought she’d been ruined for forever. Knowing that filled her with excitement.

“I love you, Ruby,” Gil repeated, shrugging out of his coat and tossing it over the opposite side of the sofa from where Faith was sleeping. “You mean the world to me.”

“Then show me,” she said, swaying easily into his arms when he reached for her once more.

He kissed her again, more demanding, more passionate. His lips parted hers, and he explored her with his tongue, with his whole heart. He tugged her blouse, already loose from nursing Faith, out of her skirt, and spread his hands along her sides. The intimacy of his touch left her breathless and eager for more.

With shaking fingers, she reached for the buttons of his suit jacket and then his waistcoat. She’d undressed men far more times than she wanted to remember, but with Gil, it was new. He broke their kiss and watched her fingers as she deftly parted the clothes she’d unbuttoned, getting closer and closer to what they were both longing for.

When at last she finished with the buttons and tugged his shirt out of the waist of his trousers, he stopped her hands. She glanced up to him in question, but instead of a frown or look of disapproval, there was nothing but desire in his eyes. He glanced to Faith sleeping on the sofa, then took Ruby’s hand and led her to the bedroom.