Gently, he slipped his hand under the dress, moving up until he felt where the clip had gotten tangled in the fabric. He held it in place as she stood still, then used his other hand to pull off her dress.
As he dropped the dress to the ground, she lowered her arms, releasing a breath.
Then, she looked up at him. His hand was still in her hair, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. They were standing inches apart, and he could feel the warmth of her body. His stomach burned. Before he could stop himself, his gaze dropped to her mouth.
He couldn’t remember what they had been talking about. Both of them were quiet, entranced. Until he took another step forward, their knees bumping into one another’s. Her sharp intake of breath filled the hushed space between them. The blood quickened in his veins.
“Em,” he whispered, voice soft as he lifted a hand to cup her face.
She leaned into his touch, brows furrowed. A troubled expression came over her face, as if she was warring with herself, but in the dark depths of her eyes, he saw an undeniable truth: she wanted this.
Perhaps just as badly as he did.
Desire beat through him as she lifted up onto her tiptoes, and he leaned in—
A knock sounded on the door, making them both freeze.
“Everything okay?” It was Ola. “I heard a commotion.”
Reality came crashing down. Emmeline jumped back, and Luke turned around, his face hot. He felt weak in the knees, unsteady.
“I’m fine, thank you!” Emmeline called out as Luke clutched a hand over his chest, willing his heart rate to steady.
It was so easy to forget about everything else when he was around Emmeline.
He couldn’t think straight.
Chapter 16
On Torch, Emmeline flew through the freezing evening air, trying to calm her blood and the desire beating through her.
They had been so close to kissing. It was so easy to lose herself around Luke, to forget about all of her carefully thought-out plans and ideas. It was perhaps the only time she felt so in the moment—entirely untethered from everything but him: the scent of his skin, the soft pad of his fingers cupping her face, the warmth of his body.
“Get a grip,” Emmeline scolded herself. Torch turned her head, concerned, and Emmeline cleared her throat. “Nothing, girl.” She patted Torch’s scales, and her dragon faced forward again, soaring through the air to take her to her parents’ place.
There, she wanted to collapse on the couch the moment she entered, but she knew that if she did, there would be nothing stopping her thoughts from focusing on Luke, and she could not handle that right now.
Instead, she strode with purpose to her father’s office, where wood was burning in the hearth. Her father was sittingat his desk, reading a book, and the familiar sight helped ease some of the edge off her nerves.
“Hi, Dad,” she said.
He looked up from over his glasses, his face lighting up. “Emmy!” Charles said, closing his book. “When did you get here?”
“Just now,” she replied, going over to kiss her father’s cheek. “How are you doing? Where are the boys? And Motu?”
“Oh, they’ve all gone out,” Charles replied.
Emmeline’s eye twitched. Why had her mother made her feel guilty for working on a Sunday when neither of her brothers were even home?
“Up for a game of chess?” Charles asked, setting his book to the side. She let out a long breath, giving her dad a smile.
“If you’re prepared to lose,” she replied. “Then, of course.”
Charles laughed, pulling the chess set out from his desk drawer as Emmeline sat on the chair across from him. They started the game, which she had always been good at. Chess was all about planning ahead, mapping out how the game would go and adjusting accordingly.
Comfortable silence filled her father’s office as they played, interrupted by the occasional sound of pieces moving across the board. She inhaled the sweet scent of woodsmoke, listening to the fire crackling in the background.
It was enough to distract her for a little bit, but as she waited for her next turn, her focus frayed.
