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The sting of Lord William’s words caused Emma to momentarily freeze, but she knew he merely wanted a rise out of her. She refused to allow him such power.
She continued to stare into Lord William’s blue eyes, his huge stature towering over her. Then she stepped away and shook her head, uncertain whether she should be entertaining the thoughts that suddenly rose in her mind. Lord William was a very handsome man, and there was something that desperately attracted Emma towards him.
He made her stomach tighten, her heartbeat quicken, and warmth pool between her thighs. It was more powerful than anything she had experienced before.
“Your words are cruel, my lord, and I certainly don’t appreciate the fact that you think it’s appropriate to speak to me in such a manner,” Emma said as she attempted to swallow the lump in her throat.
Emma’s heart pounded in her chest as she glared at him, and despite the feelings of anger and disdain, there was another mixture of feelings that bubbled to the surface. An uncontrollable urge that had been building up inside her from the moment she’d first seen him.
“I have encountered many women in my lifetime, my lady, but none as stubborn and strong-willed as you,” Lord William said with a grimace.
“It is certainly not the first time, nor the last time I will hear such words,” Emma answered.
“Why is it that you infuriate me so... may I call you Emma?” Lord William asked with a furrowed brow.
Emma lifted her chin. She didn’t see why not, since they were in a heated discussion that made all the politeness of their titles seem trite. “Only if I may call you William.”
He nodded once.
Emma smiled, strangely pleased to have changed their familiarity, then returned to the question he had posed. “And as far as me infuriating you... perhaps you have not met a woman with firm beliefs and values instilled in her by her parents, my lord. My grandmother was a powerful woman, the strongest I have ever met. She fought until her very last breath,” Emma answered, striving for strength but finding her words weakened by the grief that still tugged at her heart every time she spoke of her grandmother.
Surprisingly, William’s lips tilted down. “My sincerest condolences. Losing a family member is... difficult, even if they left this world peacefully.”
His eyes were sad, and Emma’s heart yearned for him. For the pain she knew he’d already endured.
“I cannot imagine how difficult it was for you, losing both parents in such a short space of time,” Emma whispered, her angry words forgotten.
Much to her surprise, William’s fingers slid into the spaces between hers and their palms pressed against one another’s. The warmth of his skin caused her belly to tighten with need.
Emma gazed up at William, his blue eyes crashing over her like waves of the ocean and dragging her away with the current of his breath. Did he feel the same way? This strange, intense, hot desire to be closer?
There was a gentle squeeze of his hand and Emma’s lips parted in anticipation.
William reached up his idle hand and lightly traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips. She closed her eyes.
The sensation he created in her skin was electrifying and pulses of desire filled her.
William continued to lightly touch her neck and décolletage. Gently. Almost reverently, taking his time as she grew impatient for more.
Her breathing became even more ragged as Lord William’s touch grew more urgent, and as Emma opened her eyes, she glanced up at him.
William leaned in and kissed her on the lips, gently at first, as though testing her response. When she didn’t protest, and instead leaned in closer, his strong arms enveloped her in an urgent embrace. His kiss was filled with passion, and Emma relished the eruption of desire inside her.
Her lips parted and she allowed him access to her mouth at the same time that his hands ran down her shoulders, moving the fabric of her sleeves. Emma reached for the front of her bodice, which was interlaced with ribbons.
“Wait, my lady,” William whispered suddenly against her lips.
But she didn’t want to wait. She didn’t want to think or stop, only feel.
“Please, do not ruin it,” Emma sighed and kissed him once more.
But he pulled back. “I do not wish for your first time to be with someone whom you despise.” William whispered against her lips, his tone almost joking.
She backed away and smiled at him.
Her hands loosened the ribbons in the front of her dress as she gazed intently at William. “Fear not, William. It is not my first time.”
She didn’t give him the opportunity to respond. Instead, Emma wrapped her arms around William, her bare bosoms now pressed against his chest. “Now ravish me until I beg you to stop.”
The urgency in her voice was obvious even to her own ears, so she was grateful that William didn’t question her or resist.
His hands reached down and searched for the hem of Emma’s skirt, lifting the material until she could feel his fingers running along the skin of her thighs.
Emma threw her head back and his lips kissed the soft skin on her neck. She panted for breath as her heart began to pound. William’s arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground in a smooth and skillful movement.
William turned them and took a few steps, before setting her down on the desk. Emma heard something crash to the ground with a loud thump. She glanced to her right and noticed a stack of books had toppled over and was now strewn across the floor.
She ignored them and fumbled with the front of William’s trousers.
“Allow me,” William whispered.
Emma watched him with desire pulsing through her as he loosened his trousers, and bit her bottom lip.
William ran his fingers up her thighs and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, forcing him closer to her.
His lips met hers once more in a passionate kiss, as he stepped between her open and waiting thighs. His fingers stroked her flesh for several moments, making her gasp with need and pleasure while he explored her.
She threw her head back and closed her eyes, focusing on the delight each touch of his fingers brought her.
Then he was lining his hot flesh up with her body, rubbing himself against her wetness.
Oh, please.
William set himself at her entrance, grabbed her thighs and thrust himself inside her with one slow movement.
Emma gasped loudly, as William’s hand gripped her hips hard.
“Come here,” William growled and she forced herself up to meet his kiss.
The taste of his lips on hers allowed all her surroundings to fade into nothing. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered or existed was the two of them.
William’s rhythmic thrusts sped up, going deeper and faster.
Emma’s body was ready to explode into a burning inferno. Her loins quivered as William’s hands moved up to cup her bosoms, his breathing ragged against her ear.
“Do not leave me on the edge, my lord,” Emma whispered.
His thrusts became even harder and more powerful, unlike anything Emma had experienced before. The desire inside her reached a point of no return, causing her to press her fingernails into William’s back.
A loud moan escaped her throat as she was thrown into ecstasy.
She shuddered in William’s arms, enjoying the equally loud groan from her lover.
Suddenly, he moved back, leaving Emma wondering what had happened.
She opened her eyes and gazed at him, though her muscles still quivered.
He motioned to her to stand up, and she did, on shaky legs.
What did he want from her now? Had he not finished?
As she stood up, William gently turned her around and pushed on her back so that she was soon bending over the desk.
His hands ran up the back of her thighs and over her bottom. She shivered at the intimate touch, loving the feel of him.
The soft muslin of her address caressed her skin as William exposed her bottom. He lingered for a moment, causing Emma to hold her breath in anticipation.
When William stepped up behind her and finally thrust himself inside her once again, her body jolted and she cried out. Her hands grabbed the edge of the desk, her bare breasts pressed against the cool wood of the desk.
There was no preliminary this time, William’s thrusts were faster and even more powerful than before. Emma felt herself slipping over the edge once again. Her body tightened around him and she gripped the desk.
A powerful wave of desire ripped through her body as she climaxed with an unladylike scream, and William’s body jolted against hers.
His breathing was fast and loud in the room and as his hands came to rest on the curve of her lower back, his skin was warm against hers.
After a few moments of post-euphoria, William moved away from her, leaving an empty space where he had been moments before.
Emma pushed herself upright and turned around to face William. Her dress fell to the floor, softly caressing her sensitive skin.
William had already pulled up his trousers and looked at Emma with a smile.
“Emma, I—”
She reached out her hand to him and lightly pressed her finger against his lips. “There is no need to say anything,” she whispered. “Neither you nor I, are required to explain anything to anyone. We are consenting adults, and perfectly capable of acting accordingly. Do you agree?”
“Yes, Emma. I agree. But I must digress. This was rather extraordinary. Your lips,” William uttered, gently caressing her lips, swollen from his kisses, “are sweeter than honey, and I do wish I could taste them once more.”
Emma leaned in and kissed his lips in a sweet and tender kiss.
William sighed with deep satisfaction and stepped away for what felt like the last time.
As Emma watched him adjust his shirt, her euphoric feelings faded away faster than she had hoped.
Had she been naive to think that a man such as William would wish to have her any other way than he had? Bent over the desk, giving him exactly what he wished, what he thought he was entitled to.
Damn.
Despite their moment being consensual, Emma now blamed herself for falling into the trap of being caught up in a moment of passion and emotion.
Guilt came riding over her with the speed of a midnight stallion in full flight.
From the moment she had met William, he had managed to get a rise out of her, and now look what she’d gone and done.
“My lady? Emma?”
Emma glanced up.
“Is something the matter?” William asked.
“No, not at all,” she answered as she tied the ribbons together at the front bodice of her dress, covering her bosoms and her shoulders from his view.
A loud knock sounded against the door of the study. Emma jumped.
“It can only be my brother, ensuring that we have not killed one another. Although, judging from the ragged breathing I witnessed from you, I came rather close, my lady.” William smirked.
Emma, who did not find him amusing in the least, forced a smile and smoothed her hair as she approached the door.
“My lady,” William said with a smile, “shall we discuss what happened between us at a later stage?”
Emma stepped towards the door and glanced at William over her shoulder. “I already told you, we do not need to do such a thing. Also, I would request that no one knew of this.”
“I understand, Emma,” William answered. “I will tell not a soul.”
“I mean it, William.”
There was a beat of silence, then William inclined his head. “You have my absolute discretion, my lady. It will be as though it never happened.”
Emma nodded in agreement and turned to the door, knowing deep down that it had indeed happened, and it was not something she would, or could, easily forget.