“No. I had run away. He offered me food and a smile. I trusted neither.”
Patrik remained silent.
Spinning the options in her mind, she chose the dream she’d never dared to speak, a notion that would never be. “He remained in town several days. With each one, he’d come to where I worked and talk to me. Nothing more. Just talk.”
“About?”
“The day. The scents coming from the market. Where the ships in the port would travel.” A wisp of her dreams crept into her voice, the longing for them to somehow come true.
“You wished to travel?”
A cold laugh fell from her lips. “At the time, my vision was more to escape.”
“Because of your life in the orphanage.”
The bubble of her imagination burst. “Yes.”
“So you married him?”
Emma hesitated. “What?”
“When the stranger asked you to be his wife, you agreed?”
“Yes,” she lied.
“But you never loved him?”
That answer was simple as a husband didn’t exist. “No.”
He exhaled. “I am glad.”
Confused, she turned. Within the moonlight she found him watching her. “Why?”
“Love is something one should not easily give.”
Mouth dry, she stared at him, too aware, wanting him too much. “Have you ever loved a woman?” Why had she asked? This night, once he fell asleep, she would steal the writ, then leave, break the trust she cherished. Still, she found his answer important.
Patrik stared at the sky, but she caught the shadows of sadness on his face. His gaze met hers. “Never has a lass made me feel a heart’s tender yearnings.” He lifted her chin with his thumb, gave her a gentle smile. “But then, never have I met a woman like you.”
His breath, whisper soft, teased her, his gentle hold as if a caress. Emma shuddered.
“You are cold?”
“ No.”
Satisfaction shimmered in his gaze. “Tell me what you feel.”
“You know.”
“Do I?” He skimmed his mouth along the curve of her jaw. “Tell me.”
Her pulse raced. “I want you to kiss me.”
Slowly he lifted his head, his gaze hot and his mouth but a breath away.
God in heaven, he’d not kissed her lips, but Emma’s body burned as if tossed into a fiery pit. As he stared at her, the desire in his eyes fed her own.
“Now,” he whispered, “I will taste you.” He covered her mouth, his kiss, hot, hard, erasing all coherent thought. In a deft move, he lay back and pulled her on top of him, drawing her body flush against his.
