Page 12 of Wallflower Games: Lady Be Vengeful
“You do not need to know that.” She sighed. “It has nothing to do with you.” Emma needed him to go find some other mystery to occupy himself with. She would not be able to finish herplans if he insisted on inserting himself into everything she did. “Just leave me be. Is that too much to ask?”
“Yes,” he said. “Three of my friends have attended house parties and fallen in love. They are all blissfully happy, and that disturbs me.”
“Let me see if I understand this,” she began. The audacity of this man… He still held her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. “Three of your friends are now happily married and because they found that love at a house party, you are disturbed?” She rolled her eyes. “I can promise, my lord, that as far as I’m aware, no woman here has designs on you. If you fear marriage and love, you may rest assured—you are quite safe.”
He narrowed his gaze. “I never said that I was worried about that.”
“You didn’t need to,” she said. “Now can you please let me down? There is no reason for you to continue to hold me.”
“I beg to differ.” He flashed her that sinful grin again and she almost caved and begged him to give her pleasure again. “There is one very good reason for me to keep you in my arms.”
“Your reasons are senseless,” she nearly whined.
“Not this one.” He gestured to the ceiling. “We have to honor the tradition, don’t we?”
She glanced up at the ceiling and groaned. They were directly under the mistletoe that she had just hung, and the rogue intended to take advantage of it. The sad part—Emma didn’t blame him. If she were in his shoes, she’d have done the same, and to make it worse—she wanted him to.
Blake knewhe shouldn’t be doing this. Especially after he had pleasured her in the forest the day before. That had been beyond foolish. He had lifted her skirts in the frigid weather and stroked her until she climaxed. That passion he’d tasted on her lips had been like nothing he’d ever felt. He wanted to experience it again. Surely it couldn’t be that good again. It had to be all in his imagination.
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. The first taste was his own version of ambrosia. Decadent and consuming. A taste that he would never be able to forget. He held her against him and he plundered her mouth. Desire heated his blood and the temptation to walk her out of the library and straight up to his bedchamber filled his every thought. He wanted tostrip the gown off of her body and worship her with his tongue.
Her moans only encouraged him to continue to savor her. He lowered his head and trailed kisses around her neck, then kissed up until he reached her ear. “You’re so lovely,” he whispered in his ear. “I could kiss you over and over again. I’d like to do more than that. I want to taste all of you.”
“No,” she said huskily. “You can’t.”
“I could,” he said. “Just say yes. I promise you pleasure that you’ll never forget.”
She shook her head. “I don’t doubt that. But it would be a mistake, my lord.”
“Blake,” he said. “No more my lord, or formal titles. I am Blake. Say my name.”
“That’s not wise either.” She sighed. “We cannot do this. This will ruin me if even one person walks into the library. You need to put me down.”
Blake didn’t want to agree with her. He wanted to continue to persuade her that she would love for him to pleasure her. His desire for her was consuming him beyond all ability to reason. He wanted her and the lure of her beauty and taste… Damn it all. Blake inhaled sharply as he did his best to regain control. He took a few more deep breaths, then set her down.
She slid against him until her feet touched the floor. It was equal parts agony and ecstasy. Blake had every intention of letting her go, but he had to taste her one last time. He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. A light press of his lips that shouldn’t have stirred his blood. He should have known better, though. Everything about her made him run hot. He slid his hand over her waist and pulled her against him. Blake deepened the kiss and slid his tongue against hers.
The day before he had brought her to climax. He was tempted to do that again, but he couldn’t. She had made a valid argument against their continued passion. Just by kissing her this way, he had compromised her, but no one had witnessed it. They both could deny he had ever touched her or kissed her. But the moment they were caught, there would be no turning back.
Slowly, Blake let go of her and stepped back. Emma drew in some shallow breaths. Her lips were plump from his kiss and her eyes were a little glazed. “You should not have kissed me,” she told him. She brought her hand up and touched her lips tentatively. “It was a mistake.”
“I do not make mistakes,” he said. “That would imply I have something to regret.” He leaned in andwhispered, “Remorse is the last thing I feel when I think of how you felt in my arms.”
“You are wicked,” she said breathlessly.
“But you like it.” He tilted his lips up into a sinful smile. “And you like me. Admit it.”
Blake didn’t know why he was insisting on this. Did it matter how she felt about him? He didn’t even understand his own feelings regarding Emma. She meant something to him. But what exactly he felt—he couldn’t answer that. A part of him wanted to explore it and uncover the deeper meaning of it all. He wouldn’t, though. Because he wasn’t prepared for the answers.
“I never disliked you.” She rolled her eyes. “But youarea nuisance. One I do not need right now. So, if you would kindly leave me be, I’d appreciate it.”
“I might consider it,” he said. “If you answer one question.”
There were several things he wanted to know about her. She didn’t know it yet, but she wasn’t going to get her way. He had every intention of seeing this wager through. For some reason, he had to know what she was up to and why. Emma fascinated him.
“And what would that be?”
“What do you have against Lady Arabella and Miss Harriett?”
