Tempest of Passion (5 page)

“
You think little of
yourself, Ms. Bunsbury. I am surprised.”

“
You are in the wrong,
Sir,” she said as politely as she could muster. “I simply believe
that another woman would enjoy your attentions much more than
myself.”

Pulling her
arm from his grasp, she veered around, desperate for some fresh
air. Faster than she could muster, he stepped in front of
her
,
blocking her path. With her hands curled into fists, she fought
against the urge to shove him out of the way.

“
Mr.
Dalton
—!”

“
Ms. Bunsbury.”

Emily’s eyes
flew to his face at the
warning in his tone, her wroth vanishing and
scattering into the wind as their gazes clashed.

“
I don’t take kindly to
broken promises,” he whispered gruffly.

Her breath caught as he reached for her
hand, his fingertips sliding sensually over her gloved wrist. Her
pulse raced, urging her to move or succumb to the persistent
throbbing between her legs.

 “
You may think
yourself fast as a rabbit or cunning like a fox, Ms. Bunsbury, but
I am a hunter and catching prey is my favorite sport.”

Reality
slammed into her with all the force of a wave during a storm at sea
and she snatched her hand away from his grasp. He was a man and
thus incapable of respecting a woman’s decision, incapable
of seeing a woman
as more than a distraction.

“
Mr.
Dalton
.”
Emily took a deep breath. “I will not dance with you
again.”

“
You will dishonor
me?”

Her jaw dropped as her
words from the previous day were thrown back at her. William’s eyes
gleamed with a sinister glow and his lips stretched into a devilish
grin.

“It is not the same
situation.”

“
I don’t see the
difference.”

“
Are you implying we stand as
equals?” she asked, astounded. “You cornered me in the path and are
doing so again here, in front of everyone, I might add, and yet you
have the audacity to suggest that we stand as equals?” Emily threw
her hands up in the air in frustration.

“
I am not implying anything, Ms.
Bunsbury. I am saying it outright. I consider you my equal in wits,
intelligence and up until a moment ago, in honor. You promised me
two dances and you have only delivered once. If you think that
because you are a woman you can go back on your word, then so be it
… but do not, I repeat, do not ever accuse me of not considering
you an equal. For by backing off now you will be the one guilty of
doing so.”

William’s eyes blazed with
righteous anger, the specks of gold in his orbs seeming to gleam
even brighter under the candlelight of the ballroom. Emily stumbled
backwards, letting his words sink in. She tasted blood and realized
that she had bitten down on her lips too hard.

“
Very well,
Mr. Dalton,” she conc
eded. “I will dance with you one more
time.”

Chapter Five

William
didn’t give her a moment to change her mind. Firmly grasping her
hand, he led
Emily back toward the space reserved for dancing. He gave
her a sidelong glance. Her cheeks were scarlet and she kept licking
at her bottom lip like a wounded pup. He watched mesmerized as a
crimson drop rose to the surface and she licked at it
again.

“
Would you like a
handkerchief?”

“
No, thank you.” Her tone was
icy, and his brief sense of victory vanished––to be replaced with
horror. What had he done? He was a Dalton. He had been taught
better manners than those he had exhibited. He knew how to keep his
temper in check, and yet, he’d lashed out at Emily and forced her
to dance with him. Shame burned in his gut. He would apologize to
her immediately, and retreat his chase of her. His wolf stirred
inside of him, distressed. She was his mate. A brief moment of
panic made the sweat gather on his brow. She was his, and his
alone, and if he gave her up...

William
gulped. What difference would it make? He was already
forsaken. Just as he was about to speak and beg her forgiveness,
the master of ceremonies announced the next dance, to much cheering
from the crowd. He froze, his heart thundering as she automatically
bowed to him and assumed her position with her hands on his
shoulders. Without thinking, he encircled her waist with both
hands. Neither of them spoke as the waltz began. He kept his grip
light, though the urge to pull her close until they were chest to
chest and hip to hip stirred his loins. However, her stiff posture
and the anger rolling off her in waves, kept his mind
clear.

“
I am sorry,” William whispered.
Emily’s head snapped up from where she had been staring at his
buttons. Her gaze softened and her scent changed almost
imperceptibly. Encouraged, he plunged ahead.

“
I did not mean to––”

“
You’re right,” she
interrupted.

Taken aback, he remained silent,
waiting for her to continue. She averted her gaze and nervously
licked at her injured lip, but said nothing more.

“
Right or not, I shouldn’t
have done it,” he said.

Emily shrugged. “You listened to
me when I spoke. Your words were justified,” she added after a
moment’s hesitation.

“
Of course I listened. I
meant what I said earlier, Emily.”

Her eyes widened as he
accidently blurted out her given name. Her cheeks flushed a
delightful pink just as her lips disappeared into a thin line.
William’s lips quivered as the emotions she was trying hard to hide
came afore for him to read in her eyes. She felt something for him.
Curiosity, sympathy, desire. It was nowhere near love, but it was a
start.

She
was yielding in his
arms, her fragrance once more a palatable thing of flowers and
longing. He had managed to redirect her anger, but he had to tread
carefully from now on, or he would lose her. The thought made his
heart clench painfully. He already loved her, but she had to fall
in love with him or else there would be no true wolf mating.
Deftly, he spun them around.

“
Mr. Dalton, I
appreciate your
attention toward me,” she said suddenly. “But I am not what
you’re looking for.”

William’s eyebrows shot upwards
in question. “May I ask why that is and how came you to know what I
am searching for?”

With bashful valor, she met his
eyes. “You have called on me every day this week, walked me home,
even listened to me speak, though I have dismissed you,
repeatedly.” She gave him a fleeting smile. “You search either for
a quick dally or a wife, Mr. Dalton.” Her gaze hardened even though
he could feel a slight tremble in her body. “I am
neither.”

“
You presume
much, Ms. Bunsbury,
” he said, his manner brusque.

“
Am I
wrong?”

William cocked his head and
stared at Emily. Her eyes danced with feigned innocence, waiting
for him to deny her deductions.

“
You are not
wrong,” he answered at length. Her eyes gleamed with victory, the
ends of her lips curling in a smug smile. “Yet, you are also
mistaken.” He grinned as her brow wrinkled in confusion. “I search
for a woman that I can wed
and
dally with.”

“
That is not possible,” she
countered.

“
According to whom?” Dropping
his voice so only she would hear, he said, “I can have a sexual
tryst with my wife at any place, at any moment.” William’s grip
tightened as she tensed in his arms. “Just imagine the
possibilities in this house alone … there are so many empty rooms.”
William pulled back to find a stricken look in Emily’s eyes and a
flush creeping down her neck.

“
No man wishes to dally with his
wife. He searches for other women to fill that purpose.”

“
I did not realize you had such
extensive knowledge on the subject of marriage and dalliance, Ms.
Bunsbury. Pray, do enlighten me. If a man has a commendable woman
as his lifelong companion, why would he search for
another?”

“
I take insult
upon your words, Mr. Dalton, but I will answer your question
regardless
,
for clearly you are in urgent need of illumination. You seem to
harbor a romantic view of marriage and romance, when in this day
and age if you are to look about, you shall see that most if not
all holy unions are brought about by economic and practical ideals.
A man marries a woman out of need for a slave for his household and
a producer of an heir, whilst a woman marries a man so that she may
live a comfortable life and not be stigmatized by
society.”

“
You do not believe in
love, then?”

“
Love?”

Emily’s eyes widened and
softened, pity in their depths. William tensed. Out of all the
problems he had envisioned in his pursuit of Emily Bunsbury, the
fact that she did not believe in love was appalling. From his
visitations he had glimpsed that she had an aversion to the
institution of marriage, but to love itself? A yawning depth opened
inside of him and his animal cried somewhere in its solitary
confines.

“
Love, Ms. Bunsbury. That
intense feeling of affection mingled with passion that leaves you
breathless and yearning one moment––and content and sated the next.
That heart-wrenching emotion you think you can exist without, but
in truth you are nothing without.” The music stopped, but William
kept his hands on her waist, the need to make her understand
urgent. “Love, Ms. Bunsbury, is that feeling you can’t shake off no
matter how hard you try. It finds you and holds you in its thrall
and when you look upon your loved one your heart soars, for there
is none like her.”

Emily gaped at him.

“
I beg you to never call on me
or my family again, Mr. Dalton,” she whispered. “Have a good
evening.”

William
swallowed, struggling to keep from pulling Emily into his arms and
kissing her until she understood the meaning of love.
“I will do no such
thing,” he called after her. She ignored him as she averted the
crowd and hurried out of the room. William followed close by. “I
will continue to see you, Emily, whether you want to or
not.”

“
I ask you, Sir, to please
refrain from the use of my first name. You do not have the
right.”

Irrational fury slammed into him
and a growl slipped past his lips. He did have a right. His wolf
had a right. She was his mate … his and his alone, and he would
call her given name again and again, as many times as he pleased.
Without thinking, he reached out, grasped her wrist and pulled her
into the nearest room. Her loud protest never made it past his lips
as he slammed them into hers, pushing his tongue into her warm
haven. Emily’s fists battered his chest thrice, attempting to shove
him away even as her tongue wrestled with his in overt heat.
William drew her closer, desperate to feel her body against his, to
make her understand the primeval urge rushing through
him.

“
Emily,” he said hoarsely. She
threw her head back, trembling in his arms as he kissed a path down
her neck. Her body arched as he cupped her breast while pressing
his lips to her collarbone and her fingers tangled in his hair,
holding him there in a silent demand for more. William’s jaw ached,
his inner wolf calling for him to claim her.

“
We need to
stop,” he ground out
, and pulled himself together with effort. Emily looked at
him, confusion swirling in her eyes darkened by passion. Slowly,
she blinked. Her sultry mouth popped open and then closed quickly,
almost disappearing as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
Her hands dropped to her side and curled into fists. William braced
himself as her right hand shot out and her palm made harsh contact
with his cheek. Without a word, she slammed the door open and
hurried out of the room. Dragging in a shaky breath, William
hesitated, uncertain if he should follow or return to the dance.
His wolf bade him to pursue, for the scent she had left behind was
tinged with aggression but also desire.

“Ms. Bunsbury.” Someone called
out her name as she hurried to the front door, but William waved
the person off.

“
She is indisposed. The air is
too stuffy in the room,” he said as means of an
explanation.

William’s brow furrowed with
concern as he stepped out into the gloomy street. A rambunctious
group of servants were out and about, chatting and eating while
their masters enjoyed the party inside. There was no sight of
Emily. William breathed in deeply, searching for her fragrance and
finding it a little ways off. He hurried across the dirt road, his
guts tying into knots as another odor seeped into his lungs. She
shouldn’t be out here. The panicked whinny of a horse sounded in
the distance. William’s blood curdled. He sprinted in the direction
of Emily’s aroma, spotting her just as a stallion appeared at the
other end of the street hurrying toward them at breaking speed.
William lunged. Emily cried out as they dropped to the ground and
rolled to one side in a tangle of limbs. Cocooning her against him,
he covered her body with his, the utmost thought in his mind to
keep her safe at all costs. The horse raced past them, leaving
behind a scent he recognized and one that set his wolf on edge.
William growled.