She stared at him, dumbfounded. Although his actions during the previous weeks certainly demonstrated his possessive nature, this was the first time he had actually verbalized the sentiment. His green eyes were blazing with anger and desire, but there was something else there, too. Desperation.

Emma was suddenly very uneasy. “Alex, I don’t think you know what you’re saying.”

“Oh, God, I wish I didn’t!” Alex suddenly crushed her to him, his strong hands sinking into her fiery hair.

Emma gasped at the sheer force she felt in his body. He held her this way for a few long moments, nose to nose. His breathing was harsh and uneven, as if he were lost amidst some internal struggle. “Oh, Emma,” he finally said in a ragged voice, “if you only knew what you do to me.” With that, his mouth slowly lowered that last inch to cover hers.

The first touch was unbearably sweet, and Emma could feel his body shiver as he fought to contain his passion. His lips brushed softly over hers as he waited for a response. Emma couldn’t help herself, and her arms snaked up to encircle his neck. That was all the encouragement Alex needed, and his hands moved down to her back, pressing her even more tightly against him. “I have waited so long to hold you like this,” he murmured against her mouth.

Emma was lost in a sea of newfound passion. “I—I think I like it,” she said shyly, entwining her fingers in his thick black hair.

Alex’s low growl was a sound of pure masculine satisfaction. “I knew it would be perfect. I knew you would be this responsive.” He kissed these words against her jaw, then trailed his lips down to her throat.

Emma arched her head back, not understanding all of these new feelings yet unwilling to stop them, as she knew she should. “Oh, Alex,” she moaned, clutching him tightly.

Alex quickly took advantage of the soft sound that escaped her lips by capturing her open mouth with his once more. His tongue darted in, caressing her deeply. His intimate touch brought such pure pleasure, Emma was amazed that she could still stand. She simply hadn’t thought it was possible to feel with such intensity. Even their earlier kiss, illicitly shared in her bedroom, could not remotely compare to this one. That first kiss had been exciting because she hadn’t known Alex. But now she did. She knew him well, and the knowledge that it was him holding her close made the intimacy all that much more spectacular. All she knew was that she wanted to get closer to him, much closer. She wanted to touch him in the ways he was touching her. Hesitatingly, she rubbed her tongue against the roof of his mouth. To her delight, Alex’s response was immediate. Hoarsely moaning her name, he swiftly pulled her to him so that she was pressed intimately against his aroused manhood.

Emma was startled by the evidence of his rampant desire, and this realization of his urgency broke through her passion-induced haze. She was suddenly aware that she was swiftly heading into a situation she probably could not handle. “Alex?” she questioned softly.

Alex took her question to be another moan of desire. “Oh, yes, Emma, yes,” he responded. His lips had traveled to her earlobe, which he was sucking gently, and one of his hands had covered her breast. Everything he was doing felt terribly perfect, and it was all Emma could do to say his name again, this time a little more forcefully.

“What, darling?” he asked, cradling her face in his hands as he prepared to tease her lips with his own again.

“I think it’s time to stop,” Emma said shakily.

Alex was agonized. He knew that she was right, but his body was throbbing, demanding release. But then again, he couldn’t very well make love to her in the middle of the Lindworthys’ garden. He released her slowly and turned away, his hands on his hips as he fought to regain control of himself.

“Alex? Are you angry with me?”

He didn’t move. “No,” he said slowly, his breathing still labored. “Just with myself.”

Emma touched his shoulder comfortingly. “Don’t blame yourself. I was as much at fault as you were. I could have stopped you at any time.”

Alex turned around to face her. “Could you?” His smile was wry, and it didn’t reach his eyes. He took another deep breath. “Well, Emma, you do realize that this changes things?”

Emma nodded, thinking that his words were an understatement if she’d ever heard one. She did, however, wonder just exactly how things were going to change.

“Perhaps you should sneak around to the washroom before you reenter the ballroom. Your hair is mussed,” Alex advised, afraid that he’d once again lose control if he allowed himself to speak of anything other than the most mundane of matters. “I’ve been here before. If you go around the corner, there is a side entrance that leads to the main hallway. From there, you should be able to find a washroom without trouble.”

Emma’s hand reflexively flew to her head, and she quickly tried to assess the damage. “All right. If you go back now, I’ll go fix my hair and won’t show up for another fifteen minutes.” Her voice sounded breathy, unnatural. “That should quell the gossip.”

“It seems we have made a habit of orchestrating separate returns to ballrooms.”

Emma smiled at him weakly before she turned and fled around the corner.

Chapter 9

Emma slunk along the side of the Lindworthys’ home, muttering ungraciously to herself all the while.

“Of all the stupid things to do. Letting him drag me out of the ballroom into a deserted garden. I should have known something like this was going to happen.”