Heartbeats in Moonlight

Chapter 17

Enough, thought Ella. She couldn't stay out here.

A sudden chilly breeze had Ella registering the cool night air. She shivered. So she spun around to head for her car. But her heel caught in a loose paving stone and with barely time to shriek, she found herself catapulted forward.

Before she could hit the road, she felt David grab her arm and he automatically swung her to him. Breathless she landed, with a solid thud, against him. Her hands flattened automatically against his chest. David released her arm and wrapped both arms around her as he steadied her. 

It took no more than a second.

Her forearms automatically jammed between their bodies as she came to a breathless standstill in front of him, and within his hold. Ella tried to put the adrenaline surge down to the scare she'd just had, but, in her heart she knew it was their contact that had upped her heart beat.

David held on. His arms remained bands around her back. In essence, bringing her closer to him. Seconds seemed like minutes, practically hours. Her forearms remained softly laying between their bodies. She could feel his heart. It mirrored her heart's pace.

"You ok?" He asked quietly, and his arms moved from her back. His hands left her waist to move to frame her face. His fingers tipped up her face. He looked into her eyes. Unforgettable.

"Yes." Her voice came out in a breathy whisper. She tipped her head back to look up at him. David savoured the feel of her in his arms. Extraordinary. He relished her arms resting on his chest. Remarkable. And he cherished the emotions he read in her eyes. Precious.

Without even stopping to think about what he was about to do, he leaned in, toward her, and kissed her. He wasn't sure why he did it. He just did.

Two years he'd been waiting to kiss her again, but he didn't know that until just now. Holding her, brought feelings that he thought he couldn't have with her. But holding her in his arms, showed him, it was precious. Time to recollect, definitely recollection day. And, now, it seemed was the moment to recall. And collect.

Part of him had braced for rejection. Her lashes slowly drifted lower, not quite closed. David could see her eyes darken just before her lashes shielded her from his gaze. He was surprised when her lips parted and without any undue pressure, she leaned in, to kiss him back.

 What was initially just going to be a quick taste, became a desperate need. Her uninhibited response changed his course of action. He gathered his experience. He wanted to imprint his stamp for infinity. Her head cradled in the crook of his elbow, her forearms still jammed between them, his palms flattened on his chest, his other arm banded behind her back. He drew her closer.

Ella grabbed hold of his shirt just as her legs dissolved from beneath her.

Restoration of that kiss, had waited years to form, took seconds to become incendiary. Sensations spread through his body, leaving all nerves flashing. As she clung to his shirtfront, his hand cupped her head and his mouth and tongue demanded. And received. A rush of consciousness raced through every cell. 

David lifted his head, and almost instantly descended again, except this time her mouth was open, when his lips met her lips. It was her unreserved response. He wasn't expecting that. His tongue rasped and throbbed against her tongue. Demanded and conquered. He felt her body tremble and he knew his own body was quaking too.

"Way to go Mr Mckenzie!" A young voice called cheekily as the door from the hall opened and a group of laughing teenage boys stepped out. The laughter and the statement had David and Ella shooting apart.

Shocked, David pushed away as Ella resurfaced.

He was shaking, with the effort of maintaining control. 

Ella was mortified but she looked utterly beautiful.

What was he thinking, his head questioned his heart. No half measures, no restraint, no prudence. What an idiot, he thought. His hands were now jammed in his pocket. His head reminded him that would have been a better option if he had jammed his hands into his pockets earlier, rather that frame her face.

These things passes, her head reminded her heart. What the hell had she been thinking of? She'd kissed him as if her life depended on it. What an idiot, she thought. She looked away and pinched her lips together forming a seal. Her head reminded her that would have been a better option: if she had kept her lips closed earlier rather than invite him to plunder her mouth.

The laughing boys piled into a car parked close to the entrance, still shouting advice for David and Ella. The boys got into their car, winded down the car's window and kept laughing as they continued to offer advice. Eventually, with a squeal of tires, they turned around and drove off, hooting and calling out as they left.

Ella and David studied each other warily. Both breathing hard, both saying nothing. What was the etiquette in situations like this? His pupils were dilated and her lips were swollen.

Without a word Ella looked around, she picked up her bag that she had dropped earlier, turned around and she stalked off. David tucked his tongue in his cheek as he stopped himself from making a cutting remark and then he followed, a couple of strides behind her. He followed her in silence, but when she stopped and turned toward a car, he stopped and frowned. "What are you doing?"

She knew she made a decision to leave this social event, that she was going to go to her car, and she had walked off, except she had head in the wrong direction! Her head was mince.

"Leaving." She told him without stopping, now that she knew she was going in the right direction. Gabriella was a veteran in walking in high heeled shoes, but with him walking alongside her, she felt as if she was walking clumsily on stilts. He still got to her. After all these years. He still got to her.

"You're leaving." Why would she leave so early in the evening? The night was young. He knew there were several men just waiting for an opportunity to ask her to dance. She didn't bother to reply, just used her remote to unlock the car as she approached.

"Yes." She muttered.

"Why? Because of the..." He muttered, as the taillights flashed to indicate the alarm on her car was switched off.

She couldn't let him remind her of the kiss, so she interrupted, "Because being a solo wall flower for the rest of the evening does not appeal." They both heard the doors click open as she directed the key fob at the car. She climbed into the car, "Not that it is any of your business." She closed the door and put the key into the ignition.

He rapped on the window. And to his surprise she lowered the window. Ella didn't want to, but she braced herself and lowered the window. "What?" She snapped in exasperation

"You would catch more flies with honey than vinegar, perhaps if you stopped being so acidic you wouldn't be a wallflower." Not that she had any chance of being a wallflower, there were men queuing up to dance with her. She just chose not to. She might not want to dance with him, but as he'd discovered since she'd moved into town two years ago, he didn't like her dancing with other men. And that rankled.

She looked him up and down, then said, "I'm not interested in flies." Ella pressed the switch to close the window, forcing David to move. She put the car into reverse and pulled out without a backward glance.