Page 56 of Prescription for Sin

“No?” His eyes darkened. “Then why does every laugh, every smile you give him feel like a knife in my chest?”

Emma’s breath caught at the raw emotion in his voice. “You are the one who ignored me.”

“I can’t bear it,” he said, his eyes boring into hers. “Watching you with others, Lex’s arms around you when they should’ve been mine… Pretending I don’t want to claim your every smile, every laugh, every brilliant observation as my own…”

“You lost that right when you betrayed me.” But she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t.

“I know.” His thumb traced her lower lip. “I know I have no right to feel this possessive, this desperate. But Emma…” His voice broke slightly. “You must know it’s killing me.”

She should step back. Should remember his lies, his theft, all the reasons to guard her heart. Instead, she found herself swaying toward him, drawn by the heat in his eyes and the promise in his touch.

“We need to talk,” she whispered, fighting the urge to close the last distance between them.

“Yes.” But his gaze had dropped to her lips. “We absolutely should discuss everything rationally…”

“Everett…”

He swiftly tossed his hat on the fresh snow and dipped his head. His mouth claimed hers with desperate intensity, and for one burning moment, Emma let herself forget everything except the taste of him, the solid warmth of his chest under her palms, the way his hands tangled in her hair as if he couldn’t bear to let her go.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he breathed against her lips. “Every minute, every hour. I can’t sleep for thinking of you.”

Reality crashed back as she remembered all his trickeries. Emma jerked away, her chest heaving.

“This changes nothing,” she said, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her. “I still don’t trust you.”

“Marry me.”

Emma staggered back. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Possibly.” His smile held a hint of desperation. “But I love you.”

“Love me?” She laughed bitterly. “You’ve lied to me, stolen from me—”

“To protect you!”

“How convenient that protecting me aligns so perfectly with your father’s interests.”

“Listen to me.” He caught her hands, his dark eyes intense. “Marriage would solve everything. You’d have legitimacy to practise medicine; the Moreland name would shield you from scandal. My father wouldn’t move against his own daughter-in-law.”

“How romantic.” But her voice wavered. “A marriage of convenience to save me from your father’s machinations.”

“No.” His hands framed her face. “A marriage because I love your mind, your heart, your kind soul. Because I haven’t known peace since the moment you saved me in that cemetery.”

“You have an odd way of showing it.”

“If you want honesty, here it is. I can’t let you continue the research. It will destroy you. But I swear I’ll pursue it myself. I’ll find proof; make it right.”

“While I sit quietly at home like a proper wife?”

“While you cure ailments freely, without fear of prosecution. While you save lives your way.” His voice dropped lower. “While you drive me mad with want every day for the rest of our lives.”

Emma’s mouth went dry at the heat in his eyes. “This… This is insane.”

“Probably.” He smiled against her hand as he kissed it. “But despite everything, you know my heart is yours.” He drew her closer, tightening his hold on her. “Meet me in the library tonight after dinner.”

“Why?”

“So I can kiss you too thoroughly for you to argue with me.”