Page 11 of Wallflower Games: Lady Be Vengeful
“Not yet, love,” he told her.
He grasped her wrists in one hand and lifted them above her head. She wiggled against him and he groaned. His cock hardened almost painfully. The little minx had him acting like a young cub, about to get a taste of his first woman. He had to slow down, seduce her. Somehow, he would find his finesse and give Emma pleasure. Because only with her pleasure could he find his own. Blake prided himself on never being selfish with women.
He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. Gentle, coaxing, and sweet… He forgot everything around him. The cold disappeared. It was just her and him, and this moment. Blake licked at her lips until she opened for him. Then he pushed his tongue inside and tasted heaven. He moaned and deepened the kiss. Emma was all in with him. Her passion overtook her as she brushed her tongue over his. They were lost in that kiss, and he could have her. He wanted her. But he would not take her. Not like this out here in the cold. But, oh, he wanted to. It would be so easy to lift her skirts and take her against the tree.
Somehow, he found the strength to pull away. His breathing was heavy, and she panted just as hard. Her lips were plump and her cheeks red. He doubted that had been from the cold. Her blondehair had come undone. He didn’t even remember mussing it. She had never looked more beautiful. He let her hands go. Emma stumbled and almost fell, but he caught her in his arms. Blake was tempted to kiss her again.
“I suppose that was my forfeit,” she said. Her tone was husky and reminded him of a well pleasured woman. What would she sound like after she climaxed? He would bet it would be even more arousing to hear her then.
“Perhaps,” he said. “I have not decided.” Blake didn’t know what he was going to do from one moment to the next. His every waking thought had been consumed by him. She had even started to haunt his dreams. He didn’t know what hold she had over him, but he didn’t like it.
“How about I decide for you, then?” She lifted her hands and pressed them on his chest. Emma didn’t push him away as he had expected her to. Instead, she lifted her hands and pushed them through his hair, then grabbed on to them and yanked his head forward. She pressed her lips to his, then slid her tongue into his mouth. She had learned what he liked quickly and used it to her advantage. Blake was once again lost to her.
He slid his hand up to cup her breast. If shewanted to play with fire, then he’d ensure she burned. He tweaked one of her nipples, and she moaned into him. Blake took off his glove. He had to feel her flesh beneath his fingers. He pulled at her skirts and slid his fingers over her things. Blake pressed his knee between her legs and spread them for him. Then he found her core and started to stroke as he kissed her.
Emma squirmed beneath him. She was close. He lowered his head and sucked one of her earlobes into his mouth. Her gasps grew louder as he stroked her. When she reached her peak, she opened her mouth to scream. Blake covered her mouth with his and swallowed her cries. They didn’t need the other guests to hear her reach her pleasure.
He had thought her beautiful after a kiss, but this… It was so breathtaking he almost forgot how to draw air into his lungs. He gasped for breath. His cock was still so hard that he never thought he’d know any other feeling. If they were in any other place, he might have taken her innocence. Blake wanted to make her his, but that was impossible. He wasn’t the marrying kind and she deserved so much more than he could ever give her.
Pleasure, he could easily offer her, but nothing else. He wished he were a better man, but he neverwould be, never could be, anything other than what he was—a rogue, a scoundrel, a consummate rake.
“We should go back inside. I think the battle has been won.”
Her lips twitched. “Yours or the snowball fight?”
He grinned at her. “Can’t it be both?” She was still so utterly beautiful.
She shrugged. “You may have won this time, my lord, but I promise, I’ll prevail in our next skirmish.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. Blake suddenly had the image of her riding him as she climaxed, and he desperately wanted to have that. Life was cruel because she could never truly be his. He put his gloves back on and led her out of the woods. They had to get back inside. Blake needed distance from her and the sooner, the better. It was time that he left her alone. Because if he spent any more time with her, he would have her, and that would be disastrous.
Six
Emma strolled into the conservatory to grab some supplies. To be more specific, the mistletoe she’d had the gardener grow for her. It hadn’t been done specifically for this house party. Emma had requested it be grown years earlier. Back when she had romantic notions and believed she would one day fall in love. How naïve she had been. She knew better now. Love was for the lucky few that managed to find it. Emma had never been that fortunate, and had doubts she ever would be.
Passion though… That was possible. She had found that out rather abruptly the day before. Never would she have imagined she would find it in the arms of the Marquess of Ardmore. The things she had allowed him to do to her… She closed her eyes and muffled a groan remembering how he’d touched her—how she longed for him to caress her again. Emma wanted him. Almost desperately. The way he had kissed her had left her nearly mindless. The desire he had stoked within her had left her reeling. She wanted him then. Would have allowed him to take her innocence. A part of her still did, even away from his mind-numbing kisses.
She gathered the mistletoe and headed to the library. There were several places that she wanted to hang the mistletoe throughout the house. Emma had plans for the mistletoe. The snowball fight had served its purpose. The two ladies and gentlemen, she had targeted, continued to glare at each other. The next step was to have one gentleman kiss one of the ladies—but not the one that the lady in question preferred. That would only ensure the continued discord between them. With the added benefit of creating animosity between the two ladies. By the time they all left there would be a stream of loathing all around.
In the library, she found the ladder that she had asked a servant to bring into the room. She wanted to hang the mistletoe in a few places, but in the library, she needed something to climb. Shearranged the mistletoe on a long red velvet ribbon, and then settled the ladder over the part of the ceiling where she wanted it hung. Emma climbed up and then tied the ribbon over a hook that was already embedded in the ceiling.
“Don’t you have servants that can do that for you?” Ardmore asked.
The sound of his voice startled her and she lost her balance. Fear spiked through her and her heart began to beat rapidly. She flailed her arms in an attempt to stop her impending fall. Her efforts were not successful. Her foot slipped and then she plummeted toward the floor. She never hit the ground. Instead, Ardmore’s warm arms wound around her and he held her close to him. Her breathing was ragged and her heart continued to race.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She shoved at his chest. “Put me down.”
“You’re welcome, love,” he drawled. “Not that you bothered to say thank you.”
“I wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t startled me,” she told him. Emma knew she sounded churlish but damn him. She had been fine until he sneaked up on her. “Now put me down,” she ordered him again.
“I don’t think I will,” he said. “I like having youin my arms. It’s much easier to keep you from doing something foolish.”
Emma gritted her teeth. Ardmore was insufferable and she wanted to hit him. Perhaps she should. She considered it for a brief moment but held back. Violence never solved anything. Revenge however was always a possibility. She could make him pay for his misdeeds in a much cleverer way. “I do not need your assistance with anything, my lord. You are nothing to me. Why are you even bothering to follow me around to ascertain what my activities are? Please explain to me why you care.”
“You intrigue me,” he said. Then he smiled at her. That tilt of his lips that warned any female with clear vision that he had wicked intentions. She had to get him to set her down so she could put some distance between them. Emma did not need him to explore the building passion between them. That would be disastrous. She might even beg him for more. Hell, she was tempted to do that regardless. “And I still have not uncovered your master plan.”
