Tempest of Passion (4 page)

“
I have no other option. My
mother insists that I must attend.”

“Perhaps then…”

“
No.”

“
I haven’t even asked you,”
William protested.

“
I don’t need you to.” Emily
turned her dark gaze on him. “You are going to ask me to dance and
I am going to decline, so let’s save us both the embarrassment.”
She hastened her footsteps as her house came into view. It was a
modest brick house with a dirt path lined with flowers that led to
a columned entrance.

“
May I inquire why you will
decline my request?”

“
I am not fond of
dancing.”

“
Why?”

William
gaped in wonder as she broke into a full grin that showed
her teeth. She had a straight denture, with the only flaw a
slightly larger gap between her two front teeth.

Nimbly, she
took her items from his hands.
“You are indeed a very persistent man, Mr.
Dalton, but my reasons are my own.” She curtsied, dismissing him.
“Have a good day.”

Willia
m grasped her wrist before she could walk away from him. A
harsh current raced across his arm and he almost released her from
shock. Her loud gasp indicated that she had also felt the
connection between them.

“
Since you will not give me any
reasons, and I have, as your mother likes to say, saved your
reputation from social shame, I demand two dances with you on
Saturday.”

Pulling her arm away from his
grasp, Emily stared at him, her eyes dancing over his features as
they searched for something he could not name.

“
No,
”
she finally said.

William raised an eyebrow.

“
Very
well, then I shall
accompany you to your house.”

“
Egad, no! Mr. Dalton…” Emily
huffed his name in exasperation. “Do you want my mother to believe
that you’re interested?”

William’s lips twitched as he
contained his laughter at her outburst.

“
I am glad you find this
amusing. I do not.” Emily gave her house a fleeting look. “I will
dance with you if only to avoid you seeing my mother on this day,
for she surely will request not two dances, but twenty.”
“Then I shall indeed walk you to your doorstep,” he declared,
taking a step toward her house.

Emily’s palm flattened against
his chest, burning right through his clothes. His wolf panted in
excitement. Lust rushed over his body, slamming hard between his
legs.

“
Don’t you dare,” she said
slowly. “Two dances it will be and not one more. Have a good day,
Mr. Dalton. You’ve certainly found a way to spoil mine,” she
murmured the last bit under her breath.

William
took in a shaky breath as she turned on her heel and made
her way to her front door. He made sure she was safely inside
before beginning his journey toward his own home, grinning and
looking forward to Saturday evening.

Chapter Four

Emily tried
to keep her gaze from wandering across the packed room. Had he
arrived? Had he decided not to attend
, after all? A rather strange sense of
disappointment wound its way into her and she frowned at the
unwelcome feeling. She should not feel any sort of sadness that Mr.
Dalton had chosen not to come.

Emily
gazed at the
dancers about the room, following their effortless moves,
mesmerized as gazes and pleasantries were exchanged. Dancing was
not merely an activity, like gardening…it was much more. It brought
about flirtation, and that in turn could result in the most
undesirable event she could think of: marriage. Emily shuddered.
Forcing her eyes away from the swirl of moving couples, she
observed her mother, who sat nearby, animatedly chatting with her
aunt. That was what her mother desired for her: a good marriage, to
a well-off man. It was no secret in the Bunsbury household that
Emily’s parents were quite eager to be rid of her, even if they did
love her.

Emily smiled at her cousin as
she skipped by with Mr. Brunswick. The foolish girl had tried on
several occasions for them to become closer acquainted, but their
speech had not progressed further than a comment on the current
weather. Brunswick only had eyes for Elisa … thank goodness for
that.

Balderdash.
Snapping her fan open, she fluttered it across her face and
scanned the room for any sign of him. He was nowhere to be seen.
Her heart fluttered, whether in dismay or gaiety she wasn’t
certain.

William
Dalton
, it
seemed, had a tendency to appear in the least likely places.
Throughout the week he’d surprised her in town more than once. If
they didn’t meet each other by chance, then the stubbornly
tenacious fool would call on her at home, much to her mother’s
delight. Of course, she would reject his advances, every single
day. Yet, he returned undaunted, with a smile on his lips and a
roguish glint in his eyes. Eventually, she was forced to speak to
him, for otherwise he would sit in her presence, merely content to
watch her. It was almost as if he knew he had an effect on her and
was biding his time until she admitted it.

Emily pressed
her lips together.
That would never happen. She had learned her lesson well
with men like him, many years ago. They had no interest for a woman
with brains and wit. If they chose to marry, it was because they
wanted some slaving ninnyhammer, who would give them heirs and take
care of a household … nothing more. Wives were little more than an
extension of the household, and that was not the future Emily
wanted. Other women did, of course, and she’d gladly leave men like
William Dalton to them.

Had
they met ten years
ago, she might have fallen prey to his advances with the same
nervous jitters and eagerness that her cousin Elisa was exhibiting
with Brunswick, but today she cared little for such matters. She
desired freedom and no man could give her that. What’s more, even
if her mother still hoped that she could capture a suitable
husband, she was long past marrying age. Emily was more than happy
to go live with her elder sister and watch over her nieces and
nephews, if her parents tired of her.

But that’s
not what you
truly want.

Emily
toyed with the lace
trim at the top of her gloves, as the little voice in her head
rebuked her and the disturbing dream she’d had the previous night
swam before her. She’d been with Mr. Dalton. They’d stood in
silence atop a moonlit hill, gazing into each other’s eyes. Gently,
tenderly, he’d cupped her cheek and she’d leaned into his warmth
instinctively.

“
I fail to understand why men
are not lining up to request your hand for a dance.”

Emily’s mouth
opened with an audible
pop
as William Dalton appeared before her. His gaze
swept over her in obvious appreciation and her cheeks
warmed.

“Mr. Dalton,” she said, scowling
at her breathless tone.

“
Ms. Bunsbury, I believe
you promised me two dances?”

William
’s teeth flashed pearly white in the dim light, the scar on
his cheek stretching and making his smile positively predatory.
Emily shuddered and looked away.

“
Are you cold?”

She shook her head, her vocal
cords apparently useless as she tried hard not to stare at his
broad chest. He was dressed fashionably in a midnight blue vest and
matching long coat, white ruffled shirt and tanned trousers, but
the way the cloth fit his physique had her devious mind envisioning
what lay beneath. Damn her cousin for passing her all those
inappropriate novels.

“
What crosses your mind,
Ms. Bunsbury?” William’s husky whisper brought her head up. A
shiver of desire racked her body at the bold intensity in his brown
eyes.

“
You are cold? I know just the
remedy for that.” Emily bit back a gasp. There was no mistaking the
flirtatious overture of his tone. William’s smile deepened and he
held out his hand. “We must dance.”

With a deep breath, Emily forced her
treacherous body to calm down.

“
I had hoped
you had forgott
en,” she replied. She started to stand without his help,
but he was suddenly upon her, grasping her hand in his. The touch
sparked a wild flame that raced across her flesh and landed hard
between her legs.

“
I would never
forget, Ms. Bunsbury,” he said quietly. Emily made no
comment,
choosing to ignore the promise that seemed to hang in his
words.
Never
forget what? A dance? Her?

He led her to
the space reserved for dancing, where they took their positions.
Emily dropped her gaze as a fleeti
ng surge of embarrassment made her blush.
She hadn’t danced in ages and doing so escorted by one of the most
eligible bachelors in town was sure to get tongues wagging.
Let them.
Throwing back her
head, she couldn’t stop her brows knitting together as she caught
sight of her mother, already pointing in her direction and no doubt
boasting about her dance partner.

William’s
sudden movement caught her eye and she hurried to curtsy as
the musicians struck a cheerful tune.

“
You seem embarrassed by your
mother…?”
Emily started, surprised by his direct approach. “She is a good
woman, but gossip and an excessive love for chitchatting have
gotten her into trouble more than once.” She pressed her lips
together as she realized that she had spoken openly and without
thought about her mother’s character flaw.

The dance steps drew them apart for a
few instants and Emily took the chance to gather her wits. William
Dalton was close to becoming a thorn under her flesh that she could
not remove. She needed to distance herself from him.

“
Perhaps you can enlighten me.
You’re an accomplished dancer as far as I can see, and you seem to
enjoy it, even if you did tell me you didn’t particularly like it.
Why don’t the other men ask you to dance? Must I be on the lookout
lest you do something outrageous?”

They reunited on the floor.
Emily extended her right foot forward, allowing her weight to rest
on it before closing her other foot and hopping. She bit back a
smile.

“
I think most men in town
surrendered in their pursuit for me to dance,” she admitted after a
moment. “I refused all of them for what I spoke was the truth. I am
not fond of dancing.”

“
Yet, you’re not chewing on your
lips or pulling them in as you have a habit of doing when carrying
out unpleasant duties.” William chuckled. “Just like that. Why
always so serious, Ms. Bunsbury? Is my company such a heavy weight
on your shoulders that you cannot gift me with a smile?”

“
Life is serious business, Mr.
Dalton,” she replied, going around him in a circle. “There is
nothing more odious than being forced to smile.”

“
Of course, I know it well.” His
friendly smile vanished, his eyes losing their luster.

“
I did not
mean to upset you,”
Emily hurried to clarify, suddenly desperate to see the gay
light present in his eyes again.

William’s lips curled upwards,
though the gesture did not reach his eyes. “It was not your fault,
Ms. Bunsbury. You inadvertently awoke some sad memories. Life is
serious business,” he conceded, twirling her, “but that is
precisely why we must enjoy the precious good moments such as
these, for we never know how long they will last.”

“
Your opinion of good moments is
definitely low if you count this to be one,” Emily teased. By God,
she was teasing him and though it seemingly took him a moment to
realize it, she was glad at the sound of his rich laughter. Her
lips twitched and she found herself smiling in response to his
boisterous mirth.

“
Of course I
do,” he said after a few seconds. “
I am dancing with a beautiful woman on a
fine autumn day. It cannot get much better than that, surely?” He
winked, reminding her of his ulterior masculine motives and causing
her cheerfulness to vanish. “Though you probably think
differently,” William added.

“
Indeed.”

The melody having come to an
end, Emily curtsied and turned to walk away from William Dalton.
She’d barely removed herself from the center of the room, when he
gripped her elbow. Emily bit back a gasp. Every time he touched her
something inside her awoke with a hunger that could not be
appeased. Tilting her head back so she could look him in the eyes,
she chose to ignore the way her heart leapt.

“
That was only
one dance, Ms. Bunsbury. You promised me
two.”

“
Surely, you
wouldn’t want to waste your good moments dancing another tune with
me, Mr. Dalton.” 
She made to leave but his fingers on her arm
tightened. Anger flared in his eyes and his good-natured smile
vanished.