She moistened her lips, which were already tingling in anticipation. “I—I thought we agreed that wasn’t a good idea.”
“That doesn’t make me stop wanting it.”
She wanted it, too. So badly she was trembling. She suspected that he could feel the quivers running through her, and knew he would interpret them correctly. She’d never been very good at hiding her emotions.
“Wade—”
“Let me kiss you, Emily.”
His voice was low, silky, enticing. And she simply couldn’t help herself. With a sigh of surrender, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her lips to his incredibly sexy mouth.
9
WADE LOCKED his arms around Emily and lifted her against him, so tightly she could hardly breathe, as his mouth crushed hers. She wouldn’t have complained even if she had been capable of speech at that point
His hands ran down her back to cup her bottom through her jeans and pull her even more tightly against him. Emily quickly confirmed that he was, indeed, a healthy male with healthy male urges.
Which only fueled her own long-denied urges.
His mouth was hot. Damp. Thorough. His heart pounded against her, pumping as frantically as her own.
The hunger mounted.
Somehow her fingers found their way into the hair at the back of his head. It was short, but soft, and it showed a slight tendency to curl around her fingertips. Her breasts were flattened against his broad chest. The heat of his body penetrated the layers of clothing between them. His thighs, as solid as tree trunks, pressed against hers. And she felt a liquid heat flood her body, from her curled toes to her frantically flushed cheeks.
He tore his mouth from hers to gasp for air. “Emily.” His voice was as rough as sandpaper. It grated pleasantly in her ears. “I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw you—even though I knew I should stay away from you. Every time I’m with you, I only want you more.”
She knew it was pointless to deny that the attraction was mutual. Wade would see right through her.
She tried to remember why this was such a bad idea, when it felt so very good. “It can’t go anywhere, Wade. I’m leaving soon.”
“I’m not asking for promises of forever,” he replied gruffly. “Only a night or two, if that’s all you have to give.”
“People would talk.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Does that bother you?”
She shook her head, trying to shake the images of Sam Jennings and April Penny out of her mind. “I’m used to it. All the McBrides are,” she added with a touch of bitterness. “And it doesn’t matter to me any longer what the people of this town say about me or my family. I’m leaving. But you’re staying. And you’re in a very public position. You don’t know how vicious they can be.”
“ I’m not sure you’re being fair. Most of the people I’ve met in this town have been very nice.”
“Most of them are,” she agreed. “But the ones who aren’t so nice seem to be the most vocal.”
Wade’s eyes were entirely too perceptive as they studied her face. “You’ve been badly hurt.”
“Yes,” she answered candidly. “But I’m not going to let them hurt me any more.”
“You’re running.”
“I’m leaving,” she corrected him, a bit piqued by his choice of words. “Because I want to, not because anyone is making me. And that’s why I think it’s better if you and I don’t let this go any further. There’s no point to it.”
“That’s the reason you keep giving.” He sounded openly skeptical.
“What other reason could there be?” she asked, lifting her chin.
“Maybe you’re afraid that I could tempt you to stay.”
Her heart tripped. “That’s ridiculous,” she said, trying to pull herself out of his arms. “And conceited,” she added.