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“Emily,” his voice held a strain she’d never heard before. “Don’t say that. I do not want to disappoint.”
She brought her hand to his chest even as her breasts pressed into his side. She wasn’t embarrassed, in fact the intimacy felt wonderfully right. “You won’t, Jacob.” She meant the words. This man had been a shield for her through the worst part of her life. “You’ve already done so much more than I could ever hope or imagine. I will be forever in your debt.”
And while she held no illusion that he’d provide for her distant future, he kept her safe here and now and that mattered to her.
He looked down at her, their breath mingling as his thumb lifted to stroke along her cheek. “Emily,” he whispered and then he bent closer, his lips brushing across hers.
Every nerve ending tingled at the light touch. He pressed his mouth close once again, touching his lips against hers.
She’d wanted experience, and in this moment, she was not sorry. This was everything she’d ever imagined a kiss might be and more. A comparison for every future suitor.
Jacob had been clear that man wouldn’t be him, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret anything as he pressed his mouth close a third time, the intimacy between them only growing thicker as his lips lingered over hers.
They were soft and yet masculine, his mouth guiding hers in how to move, how to touch, until kiss after kiss, their breath, their mouths, their tongues were tangled together. Her fingers threaded into his hair, pulling closer even as his hand slid up her side, his thumb grazing up the underside of her breast and brushing across her nipple.
Emily lost herself in that kiss. She wanted more of all of him. More of the press of his body, his hands, his mouth. The way he smelled, soap and cologne and underneath, a masculine musk that made her ache.
Her fingers slid down his neck, feeling his skin, rougher than hers, under her fingertips as he groaned into her mouth.
“Ah-ah-ahem,” Clara coughed from the other side of the bench, causing Emily to start away.
Jacob held her firm, his gaze staying on her for another moment before he looked at his aunt. “Just tossing in her sleep,” he whispered.
Emily relaxed. “Thank goodness.”
He held her against him still, his palm rubbing small, soothing circles along her back. “Don’t worry. Clara is on our side anyhow.”
“Our side,” she repeated under breath. She liked that they had a side.
“Emily, I have always been on your side just as your brother was on mine when so few people were.”
She nodded, understanding. She’d always known this was about Ash and while that reminder hurt the slightest bit after the way they’d just kissed, she reminded herself these were the people she could trust.
And what Jacob was doing now, he was helping her to find not only herself, but a life on which she could build. Safe with her friends, she would find the right suitor, the one who would allow her to be his partner. For a moment, she glanced at Jacob again, hope rising in her chest, but she squashed that feeling back down.
He didn’t want to be her future. But she’d help him aid her in the present…
With that in mind, she reached into her dress, under her corset and began pulling out her tiny bundles that were wrapped in her stockings.
His brow furrowed as she dumped the bracelet in his palm first. “That one you’ve seen already.”
“What one?” He closed his palm about it.
“It’s the bracelet I was going to give to Clara. To be honest, it likely belongs to the barony. But these…” She began to unwrap the ring, a diamond so large and bright, she’d never seen its equal. “This one I’m certain is mine.”
It slipped from the fabric, bouncing into her hand and catching the dim light of the lantern that swung on the side of the carriage. Even in that tiny ray, it sparkled and gleamed.
“Emily,” Jacob rumbled. “What the devil…” And then his hand touched hers, covering the ring.
Jacob could not quite believe his eyes.
Before him, in Emily’s palm, lay the most brilliant stone he’d ever seen. He could see its size, its shine, even in the dark of night.
“I have the paperwork in the crate,” she whispered into the night. “It was my mother’s. From her mother, passed down to me.”
He blinked, trying to process. This stone alone must be worth a small fortune. But there were more.
Two more bundles that Emily slowly and carefully unwrapped, revealing first a pair of spectacular earrings and then a necklace that might steal one’s breath with its splendor. “Emily,” even he heard the roughness in his voice as he attempted to process this new information. “These are…”
