Page 54 of Never a Bride
Something inside her gave a painful wrench. “Why are you calling me that! Don’t you know how much you hurt me—how much this whole day has been a humiliating farce?”
He put his hands on her shoulders, holding her still. “There’s nothing humiliating here, Em.”
“Don’t call me that either!”
He lowered his voice, leaning over her. “You looked so sad when you first saw Roswald that I wanted to give you something else to think about. This was the first idea that occurred to me.”
“Well, it was foolish!”
She tried to push against his chest, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he trapped her hands with his own. She could feel the rapid beating of his heart beneath her palm.
“I don’t think so.”
He was so close, she could see that his dark eyes were depthless, like a pool at the base of a waterfall. Her breathing was labored, and suddenly she was too warm.
“I was able to spend the day at your side, talking to you—” He slid his hands up to cup her face, tilting her head back until her mouth was only inches from his. “—touching you, and now maybe”—his thumbs brushed her trembling lower lip—“kissing you.”
As his mouth covered hers, Emmeline surrendered to every sensation she’d been fighting and closed her eyes. He tasted of ale and wickedness. Her hands slid up his back, feeling the moist heat of him along every curve of muscle, shamelessly pulling him against her body because she couldn’t get close enough. She wanted to lose herself in him, to forget what she was, what she’d become. When her tongue entered his mouth, she felt his knees almost give way and he pressed her hard against the tree trunk.
Chapter 16
“Emmeline.”
Alex breathed into her mouth, his teeth nipping at her lower lip, his hand spreading across her ribs. The tips of his fingers brushed the underside of her breast, making her shudder. She wanted him to touch her higher, to ease the ache he’d caused.
“Let us find some place more private,” he murmured. “I want to see my ribbon adorn your nakedness.”
She was stunned at her own behavior. She was nothing to him but an afternoon’s enjoyment, and she was only usinghimto forget.
Emmeline tore her mouth away from his hypnotic kiss and turned her head. “Alex, stop!”
He pressed his mouth against her cheek, his breathing harsh in her ear. “Why is it so easy to forget myself when I’m holding you, Em? Surely ’tis magic you weave about me.”
She pushed him away and covered her hot cheeks with her hands. “No magic, but lust, pure and simple. My sister is ignoring you, so I’m convenient, aren’t I?”
“That’s not true. And I don’t care if Blythe ignores me.”
His palm flattened against her neck, sliding lower, burning wherever it touched. With the last of her strength, she ducked beneath the tree branch and headed back for the tavern. How could she keep him away from her sister, when she couldn’t even stopherselffrom seeing him?
“Well, you won’t have her, Alex! Playing your games on me will get you nothing.”
“Emmeline!”
She opened the door to the tavern and went inside. She found Clifford and his wife gathering up their children.
Clifford smiled at them. “There you are! Lady Emmeline, are you feeling better?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“My wife is taking the children to her sister’s to rest. I’ll show you where the best jongleurs will be singing, and then we’ll see the play being performed by the traveling theater troop. There is still so much to do at our little fair!”
Blythe slid her arm through Emmeline’s. “Feeling better?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad Alex went out with you. A fair does attract a dangerous sort of man.”
She was tempted to let loose with an unladylike snort. Instead, she said, “So tell me, did Maxwell keep you company?”
