The Engagement

Chapter Nine

Alex followed her into the shop. Emme couldn't recall for certain, but she didn't think he had been here before. The place wasn't as big as she would like. She and Nici made do, but she knew that her inheritance would help a great deal in growing the business. It would help her cousin have a full-time job, too. Since Nici was always there for her, regardless, she felt  she owed her cousin a lot.

Besides the Winston wedding, she had a few other smaller ones she was working on. She didn't want them to fall by the way-side simply because Lenny Winston took up impossible amounts of her time. Though she tried not to work on the weekends, she felt she owed her other brides the same consideration. It wasn't as if she had plans. Most of her friends were happily married, and Kate needed to work. Nici was out of town, and Alex... Well, she didn't want to spend anymore time with him that she had to.

Grabbing the files, she twisted to say something to Alex, and nearly ran him down. His hands went to her shoulders to steady her. Pushed up against his chest, she felt the heat of him, caught the scent of him, and realized just why she needed to keep away. He posed a threat, a temptation she didn't want to sample. This marriage needed to remain sexless, for more than just her sanity. She didn't want to be pulled under, charmed and cast aside when it was all over.

She made the mistake of looking up.

His blue eyes held her prisoner, something intense swirling in the depths. Though he said nothing, she felt like a wealth of words was conveyed without his voice. The spreading warmth was like a punch to the gut. It swept through her, traveling lower. She felt every inch a woman against his masculinity, and hated that it made her knees weak.

He dropped his eyes to her lips, and she unconsciously opened her own in response. She felt him stiffen, and then mutter a curse before covering her lips with his own. Stepping, her arms went around his neck and clutched in the back of his hair. It was as if every banked emotion burst forward in flames, pulling her under with him. She couldn't heed the warning that exploded in the front of her brain.

Alex's hands grasped her hips, caging her in as he backed her into her desk. She felt like a whirlwind blew over the top of her, kicking her where it hurt most to breath. Heat spread from where his hands gripped her, and every part of her wanted to lean up to him. Everything she ever heard about him, whispered from conquest to conquest, rose up and confronted her. He was skilled, lining his body up with hers, as his tongue rubbed against hers, pulled back and dove in to assault her senses.

Emme met him on a whimper, rising on her toes to give him better access. One arm went around her, hauling her up until a whisper couldn't separate them. She wanted to be ashamed, that she almost wanted to let him have her on her desk. Here, where anyone could walk in and see. How could this man make her forget who she was, where she was, and only know she needed?

Drowning in him, she could only hold on while he plundered. She couldn't recall a time a man made her lose herself, forgetting all else. And that proved Alex was a dangerous temptation she didn't need.

Pulling back abruptly, she stumbled away from him, using her folders as a shield. The way he looked at her, as if he barely held onto the control she now knew he possessed, raised the hairs on her neck. It was like being swallowed by a black hole, the magnetism sucking her in before she knew what was happening. She should just tell him no, not marry him and risk losing something in the process.

He dragged his hand through his hair. "Emme-"

She held up a hand. "Just, don't."

Frustration edged his next words. "You can't keep giving me mixed signals."