There was truth to those words and yet...
She had seen enough of his kindness to know he was a good man. And though he may not know what he needed, she did.
His words to the odious pair with Reinhold earlier that day came to her mind.
Stiffening her spine in determination, she narrowed her gaze on where he had vanished. “There is no corner you may find, milord, where I will not seek you out. You’re going to learn what my father has long known. I’m as stubborn as the day is long, and when I set my mind to something.... Well, iron will you may have, but ‘tis no match for my own. I will protect my father and save you. See if I don’t.”
She touched her lips with the back of her fingers. Draven had responded to her with passion and longing. Even a virginal maid could tell that. And if he desired her, then he held some feeling for her.
Lust wasn’t the only feeling she wished to stir within him, but it was a beginning. A beginning she needed, and one she could most definitely use.
Draven ground his teeth as pent-up emotions swept through him. Anger, torment, shame. He had broken his word to Henry, but worse than that was the stinging desire flooding his body.
“For husband.”
The words echoed in his head as his lips burned, branded by her innocent kiss.
Why had she done it?
What could she possibly be thinking?
Her father would perish in shock if he knew her thoughts. Indeed, ‘twas almost worth telling Hugh just to have the earl out of his way.
Well, she could think those foolish thoughts all she wanted. Wishing didn’t make something reality. Of all men, he knew that for truth. And now that he knew her game, he would guard himself even more closely.
She had tricked a kiss from him, but he would not touch her again. Not her hand, not even the hem of her sleeve. Aye, from this moment on, he would avoid every part of her.
The next morning as Draven made his way down the stairs, Emily fell fully against him, torching every part of his body from cheek to toe. The weight of her body pressing him back against the wall was more than enough to make a mockery of his will.
“Are you all right, milord?” she asked, her breath tickling his throat. “I didn’t see you there.”
Yet there was a light in her eyes that made him question her sincerity. Especially combined with the fact that she had yet to withdraw from him and her lips remained dangerously close to his own.
“I’m so glad you were here, else I would have stumbled the whole way down the stairs, and like as not broken my neck.”
Draven still couldn’t speak. Not when his arm was trapped between her breasts and her legs were entwined with his own. He could feel her heart pounding beneath his forearm and when she moved back, her hip brushed against the part of him that ached the most to possess her body. A tremor shook him.
And by the hot look on her face, he could tell she’d felt his erection plainly enough.
An attractive blush darkened her cheeks, making her eyes glow. “Thank you for your chivalry, milord. I think henceforth I shall call you the hero of my heart.”
At last, he found his voice. “You credit me too much.” After all the last thing he needed was for her to misinterpret his actions. “I didn’t even know you were there until you fell into me.”
“Oh, then forgive me.” She adjusted her kirtle around her.
Draven watched suspiciously as she drew the material tight against her body, highlighting the curves of her hips. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she bent over, exposing the tops of her breasts to his starving gaze.
His groin tightened even more.
Straightening, she gave him a charming smile. “I was trying to hurry so as not to keep you waiting this time.”
“How courteous.”
Better she should make him wait the next fortnight than reignite his blood with this inferno.
He moved away from her.
“Milord,” she said, her tone chiding. “You act as though you are afraid of me.”
