The Seduction of Sebastian St. James (House of Renwick #2)(42)

Emma flashed him a smile then went and gathered the pieces, nearly falling on her face in the process as her dress somehow managed to gather under her foot.

“All right?” Sebastian asked, grabbing at her elbow. “You don’t seem like yourself, and you’re flushed. You’re not getting ill, are you?”

No, just overheated by your touch, thank you.

“It is a bit warm in here. The scavenger hunt is to take place outside, correct?”

Sebastian nodded his head. “In the dark. It’s Rawlings’ idea of a romantic escapade, although I’m not sure I quite agree with him. I bet by the end of the game we’ll have at least three women with twisted ankles.”

Just then Rawlings cleared his throat. “I understand it is a trifle dark outside, so the scavenger hunt will be postponed. But I do have a delightful game to take its place. Gather round. We shall play blind man’s bluff!”

Squeals of delight and gasps were heard throughout the room. Emma kept quiet, but in all reality wanted to throw something at Rawlings’ head.

Blind man’s bluff was not a game for young innocents, and was surely not the best game for Emma, given her current state of mind.

With her luck, the minute Sebastian stepped in front of her, she would maul him and cause every female in the room to swoon, or worse, have an apoplexy.

One by one, the ladies approached Rawlings and wrote out their names as well as their partners across the little pieces of paper before returning to their seats.

Emma hoped he wouldn’t notice her nervousness as she left Sebastian’s side to gain participation. The last thing she wanted was for Rawlings to make a scene or to finally decide that it was in his best interest to share Emma’s secret with the world.

Finally reaching Rawlings, she stretched out her hand waiting for him to drop the tiny pieces of paper into it. His fingers barely touched the palm of her hand, but the light caress was purposeful, making her wonder yet again about his intentions.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to play, Emma.”

His eyes pierced hers. A small shiver ran down her spine. She hadn’t remembered him being so…primitive. One thing was for sure, the same boy she had grown up with and chased through the apple orchards was now a grown man.

A man she realized she would never be able to trust.

“Kindly write down you and your partner’s names before we begin.” Rawlings grinned as she scribbled the names and threw the papers back into the hat.

“What did he want?” Sebastian said angrily when she reached him. “Did he say something to you? You looked uncomfortable. Emma if he was forward with you I’ll—”

“He was merely giving instructions.” Emma cut off Sebastian’s worry but inwardly smiled at his obvious display of jealousy.

Rawlings went to the center of the room and cleared his throat. “I shall pull a name out of the hat. The first participant will sit in the chair here and be blindfolded, one by one you must march in front of he or she, giving the blind man or woman adequate time to feel and make a guess, are we all clear?”

Obnoxious giggles answered him, making Emma groan. Sebastian tapped her lightly on the side and shook his head in amusement.

“Miss Emma Gates,” Rawlings drawled from the center of the room. “Your name has been chosen. Please take your seat.”

Emma’s teeth clenched. With the stress she was under during this house party, it wouldn’t surprise her if she was grinding those same teeth every single night. How could a woman stand being so close to Sebastian at night and manage to sleep?

It was near impossible.

Emma took her seat and cast a nervous glance at Sebastian. His reassuring wink set her heart a flutter all over again.

Goodness gracious, she wasn’t some green girl on her first carriage ride. Why did it feel that way every time he looked at her?

Rawlings stood in front of her. “Ready?”

She nodded and froze as she felt his long warm fingers wrap around her head, tying the blindfold in place. And then his hot breath was on her ear.

“Remember, Emma. No peeking.”

Would it be terribly rude to kick him in the shin?

Biting back a retort, she merely said, “Of course.”

And waited.

Muffled voices and shoes scraping the floor were the only hints she was given that the men had been chosen, for wasn’t that how these games worked? If a woman was sitting in the chair, she had to touch a man and vice versa.

Scandalous, to say the least.

“You may begin,” came Rawlings’ voice.

Emma reached out and felt a hand, it was limp and not at all the masculine hand she expected it to be. There was no familiarity in the touch. It had to be someone she was not familiar with, unfortunately the only man she could think of was Lord Smythe, so she guessed it.

“Blast! How’d you know?” Lord Smythe commented in front of her.

“You have a delightful handshake. It was quite memorable for me,” Emma lied, hoping the warmth on her face wasn’t a telling blush to her fib.

“Well done!” Smythe cheered.

Another hand was given to her. It was warm, it felt—beautiful. Though she couldn’t figure out why or how a man’s hand could feel beautiful, it just did.

Its warmth reached into her soul, nearly pulling her heart out with it, and all this by a single touch.