“Something’s wrong,” she whispered. “I don’t want things to change between us just because our secrets are out in the open.”
With her hand still upon his cheek, he lifted his hand to her face and gently grazed her cheek. “Thingsmust change.”
She leaned into his touch. “No.”
What other woman would ever tell him no? Not a single one that he’d ever known. “Oh good heavens, I love you.” The words came out a growl.
From the other room, Braun tsked happily.
At the same time, Emberly pulled back, her eyes rounding, her lashes fanning out, her beautiful features utterly confused. “What?”
He had not meant to say the words at that precise moment, but now that his declaration was out, he knew it was utterly true. He had fallen in love with this woman. T.W. had already noticed it and acknowledged it. And he had also given Max his blessing to pursue Emberly.
The truth was that he loved Emberly and wanted her in his life forever.
He lifted his other hand so that he was framing her face. “I have fallen in love with you.”
She searched his eyes, as though she could not quite believe him.
“I have never loved a woman the way I love you.”
He was moving fast. But T.W. had also been right about the timing of love. Max was old enough to know what he wanted and to know love when it came his way. Emberly might not be at the same place yet, but he could win her with the kind of unconditional love she had been talking about and that T.W. exemplified.
“You do not need to reciprocate right now,” he whispered. “But I will win you—”
She lifted on her toes and pressed her lips to his, cutting him off. There was no hesitancy on her part. She leaned in and meshed her mouth with his, hard and demanding and full of her yearning.
He could do nothing less than meet her kiss for kiss, bending in and mingling his mouth with hers in return, letting her lead as desire rushed in to swamp him, crashing over him and drowning him all in one move.
With each touch of his lips to hers, he wanted her to know how much he loved her. He adored everything about her and knew that if he searched the whole world over, he would never find another woman who fit with him the way Emberly did.
The truth was, he had searched near and far for the right woman, and he had failed at every turn... until now. She was beyond perfect for him, and he could not let her get away. He had to marry her.
He was getting ahead of himself. After all, he had just declared his love to her. He could not bring up marriage and scare her away.
Her arms slid up to behind his neck, and in the same motion, she drew closer so that her body was pressed against his. At the warmth and softness and curves, a moan reverberated in his throat, and he dropped his hands, sliding his arms around her so that he could hold her more fully.
He rested his hands at the small of her back and had to stop himself from letting his hands roam free. He loved her enough that he did not want to take advantage of their being stranded together and stuck in the cabin. He needed to end the kiss before it awoke in him strong desires that should stay dormant for the night.
With a self-control he’d cultivated over the years, he gentled his mouth against hers, tasting her sweetness slowly and languidly, hungry for all of her but reminding himself that she was so much more than her body and kisses, and she deserved to be cherished.
As he ended the kiss, he shifted his mouth to her forehead and pressed a kiss there. Her arms around him only tightened. That was a good sign, was it not? She had not only initiated the kiss, but she also did not want it to end.
“I love you, darling,” he whispered before kissing her forehead again.
Her fingers fisted in his shirt at his back.
A hot spear sliced into his gut. Oh yes, the desire between them was certainly strong.
“Max,” she whispered, then she buried her face against his chest. “What is happening here between us?”
Was she worried that he would pressure her for more tonight?
He took a step back so that he could look down into her face.
Her cheeks were flushed, her lashes halfway down, and her lips still swollen.
Once again heat seared him, and he couldn’t keep from tightening his grip on her hips. He wanted to pull her flush again and ravage her lips with another kiss. She was so beautiful, and more so because of all the things he loved about her.
