Could she accept a devil’s bargain? Godric’s kisses robbed her of rationality. But if she didn’t prove she could best him, even at a kiss, then he would win. But this question transcended a game. Kissing him was a dare she wanted to accept. Part of her yearned to show him she was a woman who desired him and that she could kiss as well as any woman he’d been with before.
Heart waltzing in her chest, she spoke: “I agree then. One kiss.” She felt compelled to offer her hand to shake on the deal but she knew he’d only laugh, so she refrained.
Emily took the book and set it aside. Godric restedhis palms on the tops of his muscular thighs. He ceded control to her, allowed her to take action. For some reason this both comforted and aroused her, and she found the courage to reach up and take his face in her hands.
The ghost of a beard that shadowed the line of his jaw was rough beneath her palms. Her skin tingled and her breath quickened. His eyes fixed on hers, lacing a spell around her with their magic. He was too far away, and she needed him closer. Her fingertips slid back to curl around either side of his neck so she could pull his mouth down to hers. He dipped his head, the tendons of his neck taut beneath her hands, vibrating with tension, energy, all focused through one single place—his mouth.
Just before they kissed, his warm breath danced over her lips, mixing with her own. The intimacy of that instant seared her inside. No wonder women were compromised so often, it was impossible to resist something like this. The excited breaths, that delicious moment right…before…a kiss.
Godric’s lips met hers in a soft yielding blossom of tender heat. He didn’t respond right away, but let her explore his mouth without resistance. She grew bolder, wanting more from him than she really understood. She mimicked some motions he had used on her. Her tongue teased his lips, enticing him to open his mouth to her, and when at last he did, a thrill of triumph struck deep in her belly.
She gave into the pure physical senses. That masculine aroma of sandalwood and spice, uniquely his, imprinted itself in her. Emily’s heartbeat doubled as histongue finally danced back with hers, but he did not invade her as he’d done by the lake. It seemed he meant to keep his promise that she was to kiss him.
She moved her fingers into the roots of his hair at the nape of his neck, ruffling the dark glossy hair, enjoying the breathlessness that it stirred in Godric as his mouth mated with hers. He shivered beneath her touch and excitement flowed through her to discover she’d found a weakness in him.
Ashton’s stories about Godric’s abuse at his father’s hands added tenderness to her kiss that she hadn’t expected. Leaning into him, she raised herself up, pressing her chest against his, wrapping her arms tight about his shoulders to hold him. She spoke without words, telling him she wished she could erase the darkest of his memories.
When Emily’s kiss changed,it shook Godric to his core. He felt something beyond curiosity and innocence. A storm of emotions flowed from her—tenderness, protectiveness, ferocity, but also another emotion, one that ran deeper than the seas.
Something impossibly wonderful was born between them in that breathless kiss, and it terrified him. His heart thudded painfully as her fingertips caressed his neck again. His body tensed with desire, but her lips stilled him.
She tempered his impulse to take her with primal violence with a mere swirl of her tongue and her bodypressed against his in a way that meant to comfort and not entice. Somehow, his hands wound around her, fingers digging into her lower back to urge her closer. How could a kiss soothe and excite all at the same time? That had never happened before in his life, and it scared him. He had to free himself of Emily, had to sever the invisible gossamer strands that connected his heart to hers. He couldn’t do this, couldn’t fall for her. It was wrong. They were wrong for each other.
He reached up, disentangling her hands from his neck, and pulled his lips out of reach. Emily’s eyes fluttered open, as startled as a butterfly caught by a sudden breeze.
He wanted to apologize, but words were beyond him. He’d been struck speechless. That kiss was more dangerous than she could possibly know. It had cut him open, exposed his soul. If she ever kissed him like that again, he’d be lost…
“Godric?” Worry tainted Emily’s beautiful face.
Something had to be done before he lost himself in the storm that brewed in her violet eyes. Before he sought to calm it and return to the comfort.
“I’m sorry. I should not have asked a child to kiss me.” He stood and turned his back on her, leaving her alone in the room with her book.
A child?Godric’s words had wounded her, a clawing pain in the center of her soul. Tears sprang toher eyes and she buried her face in her hands, burning with shame.
She looked up to the sound of soft-booted footsteps across the carpet.
Ashton stood at the doorway, eyes dark as sapphires. He came to her without a word. Silent sobs wracked her body as Ashton held her close to his chest.
How could Godric just walk away? He thought she was a child still? After everything? She was a woman, with a woman’s heart and woman’s pride and she was trying to learn—she wanted to learn everything from him—but he’d scorned the first true kiss she’d ever given anyone. The agony in her heart was so great she felt sure it had shattered into a thousand glittering pieces.
Emily cursed her foolishness, her belief that she could be desired by a man like Godric. She was the last woman on earth someone like him would ever love.
Love… Did she want his love?
Did she love him? When had her anger and frustration with him changed into something deeper and softer? Lord help her, she couldn’t love him.
But surely only love could cause pain like this.
Ashton wasn’tsure what transpired between his friend and Emily, but her tears moved him more than anything had in years.
Since Emily had come into their lives, parts he had thought long dead were reawakening. The urge to protectwas the strongest now, to punish the source of her tears, even if it was Godric who paid the price. They had all vowed to ensure her well-being and that, in his eyes, included this.
Despite her tender years, Emily was a strong woman, and until now he hadn’t seen her cry. Godric must have done something terrible to leave her so inconsolable.
“Hush now, my dear, shh.” She quieted at his words. “There, now. Can you tell me what happened?” Ashton cupped her chin and lifted her face up towards his.
“I don’t know if I can say…” Her cheeks warmed with a soft peach blush.
