He said nothing more as he reached for the cards to shuffle and deal.
Her hand was again of poor quality, and she struggled through the first few tosses. Then things swung surprisingly in her favor as she took the next several tricks and won the round. After laying the last card in triumph, she looked up to see Roderick drawing his chair around the table toward hers.
“What are you doing?”
He grinned as he took his seat. “I cannot kiss you from across the table. Not very well anyway, and I have no intention of cheating you out of your winnings.” He gripped the arms of her chair and pulled her toward him until her knees bumped between his spread thighs.
Her body bloomed with heat.
Right. The kiss.
She didn’t know what to do and so sat stiffly in her seat, her hands clasped in her lap, her knees squeezing together to keep from pressing against his inner thighs. Her heart thudded so fiercely, she seriously considered it might escape from her chest. And when she lifted her eyes to meet his, a violent flush of yearning washed through her at the sensuality in his gaze. He was no longer concealing his thoughts. The game was over and this moment was suddenly very real.
A flutter of fear rose in her stomach, but she had no intention of backing down. This was exactly what she had wanted. She had earned her winnings fair and square.
Slowly, he lifted his hands to cradle her face, just as he had that first time. His fingers supported the back of her neck, and his thumbs brushed softly against her cheekbones. He drew her forward at the same time he leaned in. Their lips met in the middle.
The kiss started gently.
It was everything Emma remembered and more. The warmth of his mouth. The firm confidence in the way he fitted his lips to hers. The scent of him filling her nostrils. The way her body softened and ached.
He brushed his thumb over her jaw and pressed at the corner of her mouth. When her lips parted, he tilted his head and swept his tongue past her teeth. The deepening of the kiss brought a rush of tingling heat to her core. The sensation was heavy and delicious. She leaned farther into him, bracing her hands on the hard surface of his thighs.
His muscles tensed under her fingers and a low sound rolled in his throat. His tongue darted more possessively into her mouth and she curled her tongue in response. When she allowed her teeth to close lightly on his lower lip, he groaned in earnest and drew back. But it was only to grasp her around the waist as he stood, drawing them both to their feet. He wasted no time in enfolding her in a solid embrace. Her breasts pressed wonderfully against his wide chest; his hips bumped against hers.
Lifting her hands to wrap them around his neck, she surrendered completely to the kiss, melting into him. As their mouths played with growing urgency, he slid one hand down to her buttocks, pulling her hips more securely against him until she could feel the hard ridge of his desire pressing into her belly.
More heat bloomed in her body, her legs trembled dangerously, and a need akin to desperation filled her.
To her total dismay, he pulled back. Her hands fell to his shoulders and she opened her eyes, wondering why he’d stopped, wishing he would go on kissing her forever.
His head was bent over hers, and his gaze was dark and intense beneath hooded eyelids. He shifted his weight, creating more space between them. She swallowed back her protest.
“I often wonder what lies beneath your constant restraint,” he said slowly, his voice lowering to just above a whisper as he brought his hand up to finger the buttons at the throat of her gown. “There is daring in you, Emma, or you never would have come to the club, seeking a position.”
He released the first button and her breath hitched.
“What else do you conceal from the world?” Another button slid free, then another. “What passions flow through your veins?”
His warm breath caressed the exposed skin of her throat. Licking her lips, Emma replied, “I am not a passionate person. I am sensible. Responsible.”
His laugh was low and the sound of it rolled through her blood.
“Lie to yourself, sweetheart, but not to me. You are those things, but so much more besides.”
He lifted his hand to trace his fingertips across her collarbone, pausing to press against the pulse at the base of her throat. Then he continued his tantalizing exploration along the line of her sternum, until his palm flattened between the swells of her breasts, which rose and fell with every shaking breath. The warmth of his hands on her, the heat in his gaze, ignited an elemental need within her.
A kiss was one thing. The desire growing fierce in her blood urged her to far more. There was an edge of fear at the thought of how much more she wanted from this man. She imagined the smooth hardness of his bare skin beneath her hands. She yearned to feel his body against hers without the many layers of clothing as a barrier to his heat.