Chapter 6

Six

E mma strolled into the conservatory to grab some supplies. To be more specific, the mistletoe she’d had the gardener grow for her. It hadn’t been done specifically for this house party. Emma had requested it be grown years earlier. Back when she had romantic notions and believed she would one day fall in love. How na?ve she had been. She knew better now. Love was for the lucky few that managed to find it. Emma had never been that fortunate, and had doubts she ever would be.

Passion though… That was possible. She had found that out rather abruptly the day before. Never would she have imagined she would find it in the arms of the Marquess of Ardmore. The things she ha d allowed him to do to her… She closed her eyes and muffled a groan remembering how he’d touched her—how she longed for him to caress her again. Emma wanted him. Almost desperately. The way he had kissed her had left her nearly mindless. The desire he had stoked within her had left her reeling. She wanted him then. Would have allowed him to take her innocence. A part of her still did, even away from his mind-numbing kisses.

She gathered the mistletoe and headed to the library. There were several places that she wanted to hang the mistletoe throughout the house. Emma had plans for the mistletoe. The snowball fight had served its purpose. The two ladies and gentlemen, she had targeted, continued to glare at each other. The next step was to have one gentleman kiss one of the ladies—but not the one that the lady in question preferred. That would only ensure the continued discord between them. With the added benefit of creating animosity between the two ladies. By the time they all left there would be a stream of loathing all around.

In the library, she found the ladder that she had asked a servant to bring into the room. She wanted to hang the mistletoe in a few places, but in the library, she needed something to climb. She arranged the mistletoe on a long red velvet ribbon, and then settled the ladder over the part of the ceiling where she wanted it hung. Emma climbed up and then tied the ribbon over a hook that was already embedded in the ceiling.

“Don’t you have servants that can do that for you?” Ardmore asked.

The sound of his voice startled her and she lost her balance. Fear spiked through her and her heart began to beat rapidly. She flailed her arms in an attempt to stop her impending fall. Her efforts were not successful. Her foot slipped and then she plummeted toward the floor. She never hit the ground. Instead, Ardmore’s warm arms wound around her and he held her close to him. Her breathing was ragged and her heart continued to race.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She shoved at his chest. “Put me down.”

“You’re welcome, love,” he drawled. “Not that you bothered to say thank you.”

“I wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t startled me,” she told him. Emma knew she sounded churlish but damn him. She had been fine until he sneaked up on her. “Now put me down,” she ordered him again.

“I don’t think I will,” he said. “I like having you in my arms. It’s much easier to keep you from doing something foolish.”

Emma gritted her teeth. Ardmore was insufferable and she wanted to hit him. Perhaps she should. She considered it for a brief moment but held back. Violence never solved anything. Revenge however was always a possibility. She could make him pay for his misdeeds in a much cleverer way. “I do not need your assistance with anything, my lord. You are nothing to me. Why are you even bothering to follow me around to ascertain what my activities are? Please explain to me why you care.”

“You intrigue me,” he said. Then he smiled at her. That tilt of his lips that warned any female with clear vision that he had wicked intentions. She had to get him to set her down so she could put some distance between them. Emma did not need him to explore the building passion between them. That would be disastrous. She might even beg him for more. Hell, she was tempted to do that regardless. “And I still have not uncovered your master plan.”

“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 her plans 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 knew he 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 to strip 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 and whispered, “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 you are a 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?”

She glanced away from him. He’d been correct. Something about that snowball fight had to do with those two women. What had they done to her? Emma didn’t seem like the spiteful type of lady. If she was scheming against them, then she had a reason for it. He just didn’t know what it was.

“They’re perfectly respectable ladies,” she said. “I don’t have any difficulties with them.”

He leaned in and said, “Liar.”

“Believe what you will,” she said defiantly. “I don’t owe you any explanations.”

Blake grinned. “Then you can count on me following you around until I discover everything.” He winked. “I must thank you for continuing to make this house party inherently more interesting. I so feared I’d be bored.”

“I do not do anything with your entertainment in mind.” She glared at him. “And from this moment on.” Her tone was irate as she ground out the words. “You had best be prepare for disappointment.”

Emma turned and left him alone in the library. He allowed her to leave because he doubted that she had any nefarious plans. At least not yet. She still had some mistletoe to hang and he had a sneaky suspicion that nothing would happen until sometime after she finished. That gave him some time to make some plans of his own.