The Last Kiss by Sally Malcolm

Author:Sally Malcolm [Malcolm, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Male-male romance.
Publisher: Sally Malcolm
Published: 2020-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Saying goodbye was painful, the distance between them felt like an ache.

Ash’s body still thrummed with the memory of Harry’s touch when they parted at the stables with a lingering look and bland, layered words.

“Thank you for your company, West.”

“You’re welcome, Mr Ashleigh. It was my pleasure.”

Afterward, Ash felt too restless to go back to the house. What they’d done together must surely be written on his skin and he needed longer to prepare himself before facing his parents. If his father ever suspected... Well, it didn’t bear thinking about. Turning his steps away from the house, Ash followed the path that led around the lawn to the stream and the circular archway that separated the garden from the wilderness beyond.

It was late afternoon by then and the scent of roses was heady as he paused and took a breath, gazing out into the woodland beyond. It was still Dalton land, but left to run wild. As boys, he and Dodge had played there, climbing trees and charging each other in pretend battles. If he looked hard enough, he thought he could see the ghosts of his boyhood playing there still.

Bang, bang. You’re dead.

He shook off the memory, fixed his mind on Harry instead and on the soft, impossible delight of his kiss, on the heart-stopping joy they’d found in each other’s arms. Strange that something the world considered obscene could feel so unutterably right, as if the earth had been formed for the single object of allowing Ashleigh Dalton to love Harry West, as if they had been made only for that purpose and for each other.

He smiled at his own whimsy, thinking how Harry would laugh to hear it, and aching that this glowing love in his heart must be hidden like a capped candle. Reaching out a hand, he pressed it against the cool stone of the archway. The trees beyond grew tall, bracken tangling beneath their bows, shadowy in the evening light. A narrow path cut through the brush, made by deer, probably, leading into the wild. He took a step toward it. Then another...

“Ashleigh!” His mother’s voice floated across the lawn, calling him back. “Where are you going? It’s time to dress for dinner.”

He turned, placing his foot carefully so as not to stumble. “Yes, I’ll be along directly.”

She nodded and turned away, disappearing into the house. Ash watched her go, fingers curling around the head of his cane, before following. Behind him, he heard the birds singing in the trees and wished he was as free.

Dinner was stultifying. His mother looked smilingly at him and asked what he and Olive had been discussing so secretly after church. Her hope was unconcealed, and Ash took care to play along — aware that the façade couldn’t last forever. They were talking about riding, he told his mother, cheeks heating at the memory of Harry.

His mother squeezed his hand, quite misconstruing his blush. “She’s a lovely young woman. And I’m sure she’ll settle down once she has a home and a husband to care for.

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