A thrill raced through her as the distance between them shrank and she took a deep breath, reminding herself that she couldn’t cross the line. “Just do your job,” she repeated over and over in her head. “Do your job, just your job.”
She was feeling strong and in control, and she was sure she could handle the night with Taylor until he spotted her by the door, waiting for him, and their eyes met. A look of surprise appeared on his face, then his eyes swept over her body from head to toe, and pleasure slowly spread across his face. For a second, she could have sworn his eyes were glowing just a little bit, but then he stepped into the light, and she couldn’t tell anymore, but she still found herself shivering even though she wasn’t the least bit cold.
“You look amazing,” Taylor said, his eyes traveling over her body again, this time making her begin to tingle all over. “That dress is incredible.”
“Thank you,” she said, unable to stop herself from being pleased at the look of appreciation in his eyes. “I was afraid it might be…I don’t know…too much or something.”
“I think it’s perfect,” Taylor said, then held out thecorsage. “I got this for you. Hattie said that I was supposed to and we always listen to Hattie.”
She laughed, “Well, it’s still nice even if you didn’t think of it,” she said, taking the flowers from him. “They’re beautiful, and they go perfectly with my dress.”
After slipping the white roses over her wrist, she held out her arm and then looked up at Taylor, reminding herself she was working; this wasn’t her real life. “You have good taste,” she said. “Thank you, Taylor. This is a side of you I’ve never seen before.”
“Don’t get used to it,” he said, grinning at her. “I’ll be back to the old me tomorrow.”
“So, this is my only chance to take advantage of you,” she said, then realized how it sounded and slapped her hand over her mouth. “That’s not…I didn’t…”
Taylor burst out laughing, “You’re adorable when you’re speechless. I’ll have to see that it happens more often, but just let me say, I might not mind it too much if you tried to take advantage of me tonight,” he said, then held out his arm when she just looked at him color seeping into her cheeks, her body responding instantly to the invitation in his eyes. “For now, maybe we should settle for going into the dance. Dinner will be served in just a few minutes. We don’t want to be late.”
Telling herself to get control, she forced a smile, and wound her hand through his arm. “I’m ready when you are,” she managed to squeak, wondering if she’d already lost control of the situation.
CHAPTER 12
***TAYLOR***
Taylor knew the instant that it happened what a huge mistake it was to let the creature inside him awaken, but the sight of Emily in the slinky little black dress had been more than he could handle. Before he could control it, desire was pumping through his veins and the beast was chanting mine, mine, mine, blocking out every other emotion. He hadn’t meant to flirt with her, he hadn’t meant to almost kiss her, and now that he finally had control again, he was a bit shaken up by how close he had come.
Locking his magic up tight, unable to trust it or the instincts of the creature that made up his other half, he fought the frustration that welled up inside him. He didn’t have time for all these feelings. He didn’t want to get involved with anyone, especially a smart-mouthed pain in the butt like Emily. And he couldn’t let himself forget that he caught her snooping through the desk in the study. He still remembered the guilty look on her face when she’d practically run away from him.
When he’d talked with the guys about it later that afternoon, they’d all told him he was making a big deal aboutnothing, but he knew better; he could tell that she was hiding something. He wasn’t about to trust her now, not with the Kappas out there gunning for them. She could be one of them sent to infiltrate their house. It wasn’t that crazy an idea, no matter what his friends said.
In control again, he breathed a sigh of relief as they walked through the door. The trick was to keep reminding himself that Emily might be the enemy and focus on that instead of how good she smelled. Catching himself from going down the wrong road, he glanced over at her, then realized that was a mistake when his body began to tingle. He quickly looked away, cursing under his breath.
She glanced over at him, a questioning look on her face, but the crowd swept them into the grand reception hall, and her eyes widened with surprise. “Oh…” she breathed, looking around the huge room. “This is…I’ve never been anywhere like this…”
“The reception hall was one of the first additions they made to the college. It was built in the late 1800s. They’ve kept it modern, but from the pictures I’ve seen, this room has barely changed,” he said. “It feels like stepping back in time every time I come in here.”
“That’s it, that’s exactly what it feels like,” Emily said, a big smile on her face. “Now I’m glad I came, Hattie was right, it would have been a mistake to miss tonight.”
“Wait until you taste the food, they go all out for Founders Day,” he said, trying to ignore how pleased it made him to see Emily happy. “Let’s go find our table, Cooper booked one by the window with a view of the campus.”
Without thinking, he took her hand as they wound their way through the tables, he expected Emily to pull away, but she held on instead. For that brief time, he let himself enjoy the feeling of warmth that spread up his arm, even if he knew it was a mistake. All too soon they were standing at thetable, calling out their greetings and he reluctantly dropped her hand to help her into a chair, then sat down next to her.
It wasn’t long before they were swept up in the conversation around the table and he began to relax, then it was time to get their dinner. He helped Emily to her feet, then followed her toward the buffet table, suddenly very aware of the glances other men were giving her as they crossed the room. Annoyed that he even cared, he tried to ignore it, but it wasn’t long before the frustration was replaced by a burning anger tinged with a huge layer of jealousy.
Giving them all a dirty look as they passed, he put his hand on the small of Emily’s back, guiding her to the end of the line, hoping his message had been received. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” he said, not moving his hand. “I hope this line moves quickly.”
He was more pleased than he should have been when Emily didn’t move away, and he stepped a little closer to her even though he knew that he shouldn’t, unable to resist taking a deep breath of her scent. Suppressing a groan when his body began to tingle and tighten, he told himself to move away, but then Emily looked up at him, a strange look in her eyes. He knew in that instant that she was feeling exactly what he was, and that was enough to make him put some distance between them, shocked at how close he’d come once again to giving in to the desire pulsing through him.
Emily’s hands shook as she picked up a plate, but she didn’t look at him, and he was relieved to let the moment pass in silence. Telling himself to get a grip, he put food on his plate but wasn’t really paying attention to what it was. Then, he saw Emily’s plate and couldn’t help but smile. She’d heaped it with a small portion of almost everything on the buffet and was trying to add one more thing to the pile.
“I think we should get you another plate,” he said, unableto hide his amusement. “You could have come back for seconds, you know.”
“I know, I just…well, got carried away,” she said, a blush appearing on her cheeks. “I want to try everything; it all looks so good. I didn’t mean to look like a pig.”
“You don’t look like a pig, you look like a woman who enjoys her food and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it,” he said, deciding that he was pleased with that. “Too many women eat like birds in public, then binge in private. Food should be enjoyed.”
“I’ll pay for this later this week,” she said. “I’ll have to add a couple of extra workouts to my routine to work it off, but it’s worth it.”
