“No—” She tried to push him away, but William was not budging. “Get away from me.”
“I won’t,” he said tightly. “What is wrong?”
“N-nothing,” she said. “Nothing, just leave me be.”
“No,” William said, as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and tugged her into his chest. “You would not be out here at the break of day, cold and shivering if it weren’t something grave. Tell me, what is it? I want to help.”
“You can’t help!” She replied tightly. “No one can. They already made my bed, and now I must lie in it. I—I c-cannot escape. The ball is tonight, and I must meet, and d-dance will all the men they tell me tonight. If I do not charm the men that they want to m-marry me, I will never hear the end o-of it.”
She was shivering, and William held her even tighter. “And you—” she whispered. “Why did you have to come, and m-make feel things I n-never expected to feel?”
He peeled his head away from where it was resting on top of her head, “What?”
“You!” She did a miserable job at glaring at him. “From the day you arrived, I have felt things I never expected to feel. You tried to kiss me—”
“And?” William cocked his head to the side while allowing his voice o drop.
She looked so hopeless and lost. “And I would have let you.” Her whisper was so faint that he would not have heard it if he had not been inches away from her.
He should have moved away; instead, he curled a finger under her chin. The rasp of his toughened skin made her breath hitch—a welcoming sound to his soul.
His eyes searched her, “So you feel it too…may I kiss you now?”
She closed her eyes and titled her head up, lips trembling and lashes fluttering. As adorable as her innocent motion was, he would have to tread carefully. She did not know what a kiss was or how potent it could be.
With his hands gently cradling her head, he lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips were as soft and plump as they looked, and at the first light brush of his lips across hers, the moon and sun could have collided, and William would never been any the wiser.
The attraction inside him blazed awake and felt a tremble of awareness pass through her as well. Singing flames ignited from their single point of connection, spreading through his veins like wildfire. He could feel her responding to the fire, too, because with a tremulous sigh, her lips parted.
Instead of taking what she was offering, he lifted his head. He had to find out how comfortable she was with going further. He did not want to scare her more than he knew she already was.
As he mastered over the hot swell of desire inside him, her eyelashes fluttered open to reveal stunned emerald eyes. He did not ask a word, the pleading emotion told him all, and he lowered his lips again.
Then the kiss deepened the undercurrent of lust stirred within him. Her arms circled his neck, and he pressed her hand to his chest. She gave him entrance to her mouth, and he explored her warmness as if he were searching for gold. His tongue slid against hers, and he felt pleased when she hesitantly reciprocated.
He moaned, and the kiss grew hotter when she sunk her fingers into his hair. His lungs burned, but he could not get enough, so when he pulled away to let them breathe, his lips traveled to suck her earlobe and to lick his way down her neck.
A whimper left her mouth, and though it sounded like a whimper of want, William was not leaving it to chance and pulled away. But not too far.
He held her face tenderly. “You are stunning, Rachel. I wish I could be the one you would choose.”
He did not mean to sadden her, but his words did. Her eyes brimmed with tears again, and he cursed himself for putting her back in the same grief he had tried to pull her away from.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured while tucking her head under his chin and running his hand from the base of her neck to the small of her back. “I did not mean that. I hate to see you cry.”
“I-I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she whispered. “I feel so trapped.”
Unable to offer a solution, William could only hold her. He dropped light kisses on her hairline, trying to soothe her, but soon found that it was not helping. He dropped a light kiss on her eyes, her cheeks, and the tips of her ears.
He whispered comforting, soothing, and encouraging words into her ears, hoping with all his heart that they did not sound hollow. By the time the sun was a smidge over the horizon, Rachel was quiet in his arms, but her breath still hitched here and there.
While she had calmed, William knew that she was not comforted. Still, he was dually worried—not only because of her distress but about her parents finding her outside, in her nightclothes, with him. No matter how it would be interpreted, it would not look good for her to be discovered.
He hated having to leave her when she was so vulnerable, but he knew it would be worse for her if her parents caught them.
“Sweetheart,” he said tenderly. “I do not want to leave you, but I think it's best if you head inside. It's after dawn, and I think your parents might be summoning you soon.”
She sighed against his skin; the gentle stream of her breath against his skin evoked a prickle of gooseflesh on his neck. Rachel nodded and pressed the back of her hand against her eyes. “I know.”
