She looked at her hand to distract herself from the elation rushing her blood, and her heart dropped to her stomach.
Her hand was practically unbeatable.
She won the first round, but after Roderick’s next deal, she was relieved to see cards that were a bit more manageable, and she was able to throw the round to him without undue effort. The same went for the next round.
As the game went on, Emma was forced to maintain her focus. It took all her concentration to effectively let Roderick win. Her glances at him were rare and brief, because each time her eyes met his, her grip on the game would slip a little.
After more than an hour, she found herself with seven points to Roderick’s five, and she risked a look across the table as she dealt the next hand.
He leaned back in his chair, his elbows resting on the curved wooden arms. His posture was completely relaxed. Totally confident. His blue eyes watched her. Studied her.
He was losing and he didn’t seem bothered by it. He seemed far more interested in what she was thinking. His pure attention sent tingles down her spine and caused her palms to sweat. The longer he stared, the more heated she became, and when his gaze slid to watch her hands move over the cards, desire pulsed deep inside her.
He was doing it on purpose. Seducing her with his gaze.
She fought to hold back her smile. She could play that game too.
With the round dealt, she picked up her cards and began to arrange them in her hands. She was pleased to see she had terrible cards.
As the play began, she cast him a flickering glance, her lips gently parted, her attention resting for just a moment too long on his mouth before she looked away. When she glanced up again a second later, she saw the dark dilation of his pupils and the hard pulse beating at the side of his throat.
She wanted to laugh in triumph, but held her composure through the rest of the hand. She lost as intended.
The next rounds went rather quickly as she continued to receive weak hands that allowed her to lose without much effort. And through it all they continued to cast each other subtle, smoldering looks. Emma was quite certain everyone in the room must be aware of the trembling state she had been reduced to.
As Roderick claimed another round, finally reaching eleven points, a spontaneous cheer went up about the room.
He had won.
Elation burst through her, filling her with a kind of happiness she had never experienced before.
He stood and made it around the table to Emma’s side in two long strides.
She allowed her delight to show then as he reached for her hand and drew her to her feet.
“If you will all excuse us,” he declared to the room without taking his eyes off her face, “we have a wedding to plan.”
The crowd erupted into another cheer as Roderick drew Emma’s hand into the bend of his elbow and led her impatiently toward a door at the back of the room.
Her laughter flowed freely as he rushed them from the room, closing the door tightly behind them to lock out anyone who might think to follow. Then he turned her to face him and leaned into her, pressing her back against the door. She felt his hardness, his heat, his desire along the length of her entire body. The decadent sensation coming after the hours of emotional restraint and surreptitious flirtation made her light-headed and greedy for more.
He gripped her upper arms in a secure hold as he lowered his head until his lips hovered breathlessly above hers.
Emma’s eyes drifted closed and she titled her chin, trying to bring their mouths closer. Her earlier elation settled into a fierce hum vibrating intensely through her bones.
“For weeks, I have been dying to feel your body against mine,” he whispered harshly. “I have been desperate to taste the sweetness of your lips.”
Emma found it difficult to form proper words. She curved her back in a soft undulation against him.
He responded by stepping closer and leaning more fully into her. Shivers of pleasure rolled through her. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to the side of her throat in a gentle, fleeting caress.
“I need to hear you say it,” he whispered.
Emma took a steadying breath and looked up into the amazing blue of his eyes. He revealed everything to her in that moment. His desire, his fear, his need, and most of all his love.
She lifted her hands to his face, cradling the hard lines of his jaw in her palms.
“I love you, Roderick,” she said with the ease of someone who had no doubts. “I never should have walked away. I was afraid for my sisters. Afraid for their future. I was afraid to want something I could not have. But I know now as long as I have you at my side, I can manage anything.”
A smile teased his lips. She wanted nothing more than to feel the curve against her own.
“You will honor the terms of our wager and become my wife?” he asked.