Page 70 of Emma & Edmund

Whispers and stares followed them, but with his warm and comforting hand in hers, for the first time in her life, it didn't matter.

With his hand in hers, the music sounded better, the wine tasted sweeter, the jokes funnier, and the night somehow shorter.

Hours passed with them hardly leaving each other's side. Emma formally introduced William to Edmund, his blue eyes darting dubiously between the two. And even if they spent endless time at each other's side, it felt like barely a moment before Edmund reluctantly took a dance with another girl.

Watching him twirl with her, even if he was constantly looking over his shoulder to ensure Emma was still staring at him, had her lip curling in disgust.

After hours of their public game of cat and mouse, be it a combination of bodies, movement, and drink or simply how hard her heart had been beating for hours, Emma's whole body felt uncomfortably on fire. It only took one look at her face for Edmund to reach out his hand again.

"How about that walk?" Emma didn’t stop herself this time. Clutching him with a desperate grip, they made their way to the quiet balcony, deaf to any titters that followed them. The nightly breeze cooled Emma's outer fire, but the look he gave her only swelled the one within.

With a nod of his head, he gestured to the garden below, raising an inviting eyebrow.

"We shouldn't..."

Edmund, a rueful look in his eye, simply shrugged before descending the stairs. With a glance back to the party, Emma saw the shadows of those who would condemn her just beyond. They were so close, so easily within eyesight. She had acted beyond form that night, she knew full well, but not beyond redemption.

Somehow, redemption didn't seem as tempting as Edmund's retreating back.

"Wait for me!" Picking up her skirts, Emma darted down the steps, joining Edmund at the bottom with a breathless, reckless smile. Taking up his arm, she allowed him to guide her into the maze of bushes until they fell well out of sight from any window-peekers.

There, surrounded by early rose buds and young lilies, the giggle of delight that had bubbled in Emma since Edmund's arrival surfaced.

"It almost feels like a dream, having you here like this," Emma pat her reddened cheeks, feeling the crinkle of her smile under her fingertips. "You swear this is real?"

Edmund chuckled, wrapping an arm securely around her waist, drawing her in close, "As real as the day you met me."

Ensuring no others had also thought of a late-night garden walk, Emma stood on the tip of her toes and pressed a kiss onto his cheek. "Despite whatever wicked veil you have bestowed on the rest of your guests, I am happy you're here."

"Oh?" The smile on his lips was evident in his tone, but the dropped tenor captured her attention, sending a rolling ball of titillation through her gut.

It was only made worse when in one swift motion, Edmund scooped Emma off the ground, sliding her body up his as he secured her with strength that made her knees weak, eye to eye.

"Edmund!" Emma admonished, lightly slapping his shoulder, earning another laugh from him. "Put me down. We are not in the cottage right now; anyone can find us."

"Let them." He brushed a whisper of a kiss against her lips, tusks grazing her skin lightly.

"My reputation will be in tatters, absolutely destroyed."

"I'll sew it back together again."

While another protest formed on her tongue, Emma was never given the chance to say it as he crashed their lips together.

Taking her by the back of the head in one pawish hand, a simple tilt of Edmund's head deepened their kiss, pulling a pitiful mewl from Emma as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The dance was new, the steps unfamiliar, but locking his tongue with hers felt so natural, so rewarding as he played along with her. For a wonderful moment, the music dripping down the hill was nothing more than the melody of their moment.

One that was utterly shattered as a wailing laugh rained down from the balcony.

Emma ripped away from Edmund, a trail of moisture following along, rubbing furiously at her lips as if the action would make them any less bruised.

"Edmund, we-"

"I love you, Emma."

If the music had been muffled before, it was utterly muted then. The laughter from moments ago might as well have been a ghost, so forgotten as they were.

"Wh..what?" It was the only pitiful thing she could manage, a buzzing in her ears taking her thoughts. Not that there was much to think about other than the raven black staring into her own, begging her for something she couldn't name.

He loves me, Emma's mind chanted over and over again.

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