Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“Oh, God,” she cried.

“Elspeth,” he protested. He tried to keep her still, but she struggled and pushed at him with such determination that he had no choice but to release her.

Immediately, Elspeth raced out of the door and ran as fast as she could all the way through the house. Once out in the garden, she continued to run as though the Hounds from Hell were on her heels. The only sounds she could hear were the howling of the ferocious wind that continued to batter the county, and the pounding of her own desperate heart. She was completely oblivious to everything including where she was going. She didn’t even realise Aaron was right behind her until he grabbed her arm and yanked her around to face him so swiftly that she was almost swung off her feet.

“Stop,” he pleaded.

“I can’t do this,” Elspeth cried. “We can’t do this.”

“Why? Elspeth, it isn’t wrong,” Aaron protested.

“It is. It is wrong,” Elspeth argued. She was shouting but the winds carried her words away until they were nothing more than a faint echo of the tortured emotion she struggled with. “I am grieving for my brother. I should not feel – that.”

She pointed a shaking hand at the house.

“Why not?” Aaron countered. “Why shouldn’t you embrace life? It was Thomas you buried, not yourself. You have to live, Elspeth.”

“I can’t,” Elspeth protested. “I have nothing.”

“For now. I will help you,” Aaron told her.

He captured her shoulders and held her before him because she looked as though she was about to run away again. He knew they were in full view of his colleagues, who were all busy saddling their horses ready for their various journeys, but Aaron daren’t release her because he knew it would be impossible to raise this with her again. He doubted that Elspeth would even let him near her if he didn’t find out what made her want to deny their attraction.

“I don’t need you to pay my way in life,” Elspeth argued. She carefully ignored the stubborn voice that warned her pride cometh before the fall.

“I am helping you to find out what happened to Thomas’s fortune,” Aaron informed her briskly. “I am not going to apologise for finding you attractive. I always have, Elspeth.”

Elspeth stared at him. Some of the fight went out of her.

“You have?” she asked in a voice that was uncertain, and a little wary.

Her heart began to ache such was the misery his words brought her. She should be overjoyed and delighted that someone like Aaron found her attractive. Instead, she was perplexed and fearful that allowing Aaron into her life would bring her yet more pain when the time came for him to leave.

“Always,” Aaron said firmly.

“You never said,” Elspeth sniffed tearfully. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the sincerity in his eyes.

“I just didn’t think you would ever see me as anything more than your brother’s friend. I didn’t want to make my friendship with Thomas difficult by making my interest in you known. Besides, my work with the Star Elite has hardly left me with the time to form a proper relationship with you, the kind a woman like you deserves,” Aaron sighed.

“A woman like me?” Elspeth almost hated to ask but felt compelled to.

“You are gentle, kind, and stunningly captivating.” He grinned when she blushed. Gently, he tipped her chin up until she was looking at him. His smile slowly died. “Thomas had always said you showed no interest in finding a husband and were content with your lot in life. He had no interest in marrying either. He always joked that you would still be sharing the same house when you were old and grey because you were both set in your ways. I stupidly – arrogantly – was of the assumption that when I grew tired of my work with the Star Elite, I could come and find you and we could maybe get to know each other properly.”

Aaron had no idea why he was telling her this now. This was hardly the most convenient time or place for a conversation of such magnitude.

“I think we have to get back inside,” he murmured quietly when he noticed Elspeth shiver.

Elspeth sighed and made her way into the house on leaden feet. She didn’t want to continue the conversation. Right now, she wanted to avoid the emotions that had started to make her feel again. Ever since Thomas’s funeral she had been blessedly numb, and it had gotten her through the turmoil of the last several weeks. Now that she had started to feel again, the emotions she experienced were completely unexpected, and totally unwelcome.

There was, however, nothing she could do about the one distinct emotion that made its presence known to her, took root deep in the back of her mind, settled within the softer regions of her heart, and refused to be ignored: love. She quickly tried to deny it was possible. Aaron was, after all, someone who was her brother’s friend. While she had known him for just as long as Thomas, she hadn’t spent as much time with Aaron as her brother. As such, she knew of Aaron, but didn’t know him personally.

Where did that leave her? She had absolutely no idea. What she could be sure of was that she couldn’t allow Aaron to kiss her again until she was certain she wanted the emotions he drew forth within her and was strong enough to deal with them.

“I can’t stand the heartbreak,” she whispered, more to herself than to Aaron.

Unfortunately, Aaron heard her, and frowned at her back as she let herself back into the house.

CHAPTER SIX