Page 68 of Splintered Memories
“Emersyn.” Her name was barely more than a groan as I pressed my forehead against hers. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
The words sounded strangled as I forced them from my mouth. The truth was, Iwantedher. I wanted her with everything in me. I had wanted her for way longer than I would admit.
“Why not?” She pulled back enough to study my face.
I licked my aching lips. “Because I am supposed to be working for you, Emersyn. Your father employed me, and I’m already on shaky ground with him.”
Her eyes widened a fraction before they narrowed into slits. The way she pinned me with her stare made me feel as if she could see straight through me.
“No, that’s not it.” She shook her head. “Maybe that’s part of the reason, but how about you tell me the truth, August?”
She stripped me bare with her words, with her eyes. I hadn’t even realized I’d been telling myself a lie until she called it out. I winced as the pang of truth struck me.
I gritted my teeth, shame filtering through me. Her hand was still in mine, and I gripped it tight. “I’m a broken man,” I admitted, in a whisper. “I can’t say that I don’t desire you, Emersyn, because I do. But you deserve so much more than me. You deserve someone whole.”
She rocked back on her heels, taking half a step back. The absence of her touch was agonizing, but it was for the best. I’d kissed her once; that would have to be enough. It was more than I ever should’ve taken.
Her face pinched with a mixture of disgust and anger. I frowned, confused, but then, she raised her hand, striking quick and hard against my sternum with her palm. I stumbled back out of pure surprise rather than the force of it.
“You’re an idiot,” she seethed, glaring at me like I was the most ridiculous person she had ever laid eyes on.
I rubbed my chest. It hadn’t hurt, but she had put some brawn behind that blow. “What the hell was that for?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because you don’t give yourself the credit you deserve, and I’m sick of it.” She pointed a finger at me, a muscle twitching above her eye. “You are always thinking of other people before yourself, August. You wouldn’t hesitate to give your life for anyone, even astranger on the street.” Her eyes misted over, and for once, she didn’t blink them back or fight the tears as one slipped down her cheek.
“You might be a broken man but I am a shattered woman, and maybe it’s our imperfections that make us right for each other. Maybe my splintered, jagged pieces fit perfectly into the spaces between yours.”
Her little slap had nothing on the strength of her words as they crashed through my chest and into my heart. She held her head high as I stared at her in utter disbelief. Suddenly, I didn’t care that I wasn’t enough for her. I didn’t care that I was her hired bodyguard. All I cared about were the words she said and the hope that they were true.
I was on her in the next breath.
My hands cupped her face as my mouth found hers. Our lips met in a frenzied, intricate dance. She gasped and stumbled, her back hitting the wall and steadying us both. I leaned into her, my hips pinning hers as I tasted her on my tongue, exploring those full, perfect lips and that mouth I’d been dreaming of.
Her gasp turned into a deep moan that had my entire body tightening, straining to be even closer to her. I wanted to feel every inch of her.
My hands moved in a leisurely caress down her slender neck and shoulders, then the curves of her chest and hips until my fingertips grazed the exposed skin at her mid-thigh.
My mouth never left hers as my hands roamed and touched, our skin hot as she shuddered against me.
A sound came from low in my chest, something between a growl and a groan as my teeth sank into her bottom lip and sucked.
My blood roared in my ears and everything fell away but the feel of her and the taste of her and that intoxicating smell that was uniquely Emersyn.
My fingers had just slipped beneath the hem of that sparkly green dress when a small but mighty voice crashed through the haze of passion.
“Uncle Gus!”
I broke away from Emersyn so fast she whimpered. Moving my hands to her waist and nowhere else, my head turned in time to see Hailey barreling around the corner and into the hallway.
“There you are!” She pointed at me, her eyes narrowed. “The best song is playing and Daddy needed a break. Please, please, come dance with me! Just one more song. I promise.”
Emersyn and I shared a look. Her cheeks were pink, her chest heaving with breaths as heavy as mine. Her lips were swollen, her mouth slightly chapped from the scruff I hadn’t shaved in a few days.
God, I wanted her. I wanted those lips on mine, but there was a little girl staring at me expectantly.
Emersyn glanced at Hailey, and then back to me. A small smile tilted her lips. She patted my chest. “Go.” She jerked her chin toward Hailey. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”
I didn’t want to leave. It was the last thing on my mind, but Hailey squealed with delight and the pitter-patter of her shoes echoed around us as she ran toward me. She grabbed my hand from Emersyn’s hip and yanked.
