The Earl's Entanglement (Border Series Book 5)(29)

“You said I was neither available nor desirable,” he pressed.

His eyes narrowed, giving him a predatory appearance. Nay, not predatory exactly. Just consuming.

“And you are betrothed.”

“Aye, my lady. ’Tis an unfortunate fact.”

Unfortunate?

“As for being desirable, I don’t believe it matters under the circumstances.”

Blast it! She’d just admitted she desired him. Which was not much of a revelation at all, of course.

“Perhaps not,” he said. “But that’s not what I refer to.”

Now she was confused. Emma had only come here to apologize. And she’d done that, so it was time for her to—

“You said one other thing to Alex and Clara.”

Emma tried to swallow again, but her throat was too dry. The tightness in her chest was getting worse. Why did he have to be so blasted good-looking? So self-assured yet intense.

And what else had she said? Emma couldn’t remember. She’d told Clara—

“You said there was nothing to fear from me.”

Oh. That.

“But you already know that isn’t true.”

“It’s not?” She refused to believe him. Emma had no idea what the stirring deep inside her meant, but it was certainly not fear.

“It’s not. And I mean to show you why.”



To hell with restraint.

There was only so much of it to be had, and Garrick had used up his share during that hellish meal. While it was true he had no desire to see Emma and Graeme together, it may have been preferable to imagining it.

He stopped thinking. He broke every rule of his training, both on the battlefield and off, and pulled Emma into the room. Closing the door behind her, he restrained himself enough not to kiss her at least. Instead, he gave in to another impulse and reached up to touch the hair that lay across her shoulders.

“Beautiful.” Silky, as he’d imagined. “Are you nervous?”

“Nay.”

“You’re not afraid of me, Emma?”

“Nay,” she said, her voice both strong and sensual.

“I am,” he said. “Afraid.” He’d never spoken such a raw truth in his life.

“Why?” She tossed back his earlier question.

“Because this cannot be.” He dropped the strands of hair, which fell back onto her gown.

“Then why did you pull me in here?”

Rather than wait for an answer, Emma reached up and placed her palm on his cheek. His body jolted as if it had been asleep for a lifetime. Her touch branded him.

She held her hand there for a moment longer and then moved her thumb just slightly. With that simple touch, so innocent and slight, his cock hardened as if she’d just offered to climb atop him.

God’s gates.

Nay, he’d never be allowed entry to heaven. But if hell had gates . . .

“For the same reason I kissed you before.”

Emma dropped her hand, and they stood there staring at each other. Every instinct told him to reach for her, pull her toward him. Kiss her, ravish her. Make love to her until she moaned with every pleasure he could show her. But there was a thin ribbon of restraint left in him yet.

“Why did you allow yourself to come inside?” he asked.

“You know why.”

Oh God. “Emma, this is so wrong. More so than the kiss I stole in that darkened corridor. I am to be married. You are an innocent under my protection. Not deserving of this treatment from me. If we were to be discovered here . . .”

“You’re right,” she said. “About everything, save one.”

If only that one thing were the state of his matrimony.

“I am deserving of this. Have you ever desired a woman before?”

Had he? Garrick wasn’t sure.

“Aye,” he managed.

“Then how is it wrong for me to desire a man?”

It was not wrong that she should desire him. It was wrong that he should act upon it. But rather than say as much, he found his body moving toward her.

“One kiss.”

She nodded.

Garrick reached for her then. When he wrapped his arms around her, he groaned as if he were already inside her. She fit perfectly against him, their bodies melding together as if they’d been made for each other. Garrick lowered his head then and captured her lips with his own. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe. When he opened his mouth and she followed his lead, Garrick groaned again, the feeling of her hesitant tongue touching his too poignant to ignore. He delved deeper, trying desperately to get even closer. Maddened by the taste of her.

Garrick’s hands gripped Emma’s gown at her back, pressing her more tightly to him. Their fervent pitch increased. He backed her against the door, her hands no longer around his neck but clinging to his hair. She pulled, her grip tightening as his tongue swirled in her mouth, mimicking another notion. Her mouth was soft and wet against him, her breasts pressed so tightly to his shirt that Garrick could almost feel her nipples through the fabric.

He wanted more.

He broke the contact, moving his lips from her mouth to her throat. She lifted her head as he licked and kissed a trail lower and lower. His tongue teased the soft spot between her breasts just near the fabric that kept him in check. He wanted to tear it off her, take her into his mouth, and give her more pleasure than she’d ever dreamed of.