***
As Emma grasped Michael’s hands, her heart flipped about in her chest. Excitement came over her, for she would finally be able to tell him what she truly desired. First, however, she needed to tell him something else.
“When I first called over to your home, my intentions were not pure. I saw you as a man who had something I wanted - your land.”
“I am well aware of that,” he said with a smile. A large snowflake landed on his shoulder, and she brushed it away even as another took its place. “I believe that neither of our intentions in the beginning were honorable.”
“I suppose not,” she said with a sigh. “As the days went by, I started to see something not only in you, but in myself, as well. You were right the day you named me as selfish, for in many ways I am.”
“No,” he said. “Those were words spoken in anger from the mouth of a drunken man.”
“Yet they were wise words,” Emma said in a quiet voice. “I spoke of that hero from my dreams, a man who is handsome and possessed other qualities I had come to adore.”
Michael looked down at the ground between them. “I know I fall short of that man.”
Emma took a step forward and leaned down to see his face. “No!” she whispered. “You exceed them.” She ignored his attempt to argue and continued. “I once thought that offering myself to you would confirm that I loved you, but I also thought it would prove that you were the hero I needed. What I learned is that you were always the hero, for you captured my heart. You see, the hero in my dreams is you, Michael, a man who saved my life on numerous occasions and who found the strength to save his own. You were right. Together we can do anything, and nothing can stop us.”
He smiled before he dipped his head to kiss her. It was a beautiful kiss, filled with hunger and more importantly, filled with love, and that all too familiar fire ignited inside her.
She was breathless when the kiss ended. “You say you have a new wager to make?” When he nodded, she said, “I will match that wager, and I know it is one neither of us will lose.”
Chapter Thirty
It had not been a week since the party when news of the death of Lord Whisken spread from cobbler to noble. Apparently, the man had signed a document confessing to years of cheating and was found dead in the very room in which Emma had seen him last. Dead by his own hand.
Yet, that was many months ago, and since that time, Emma had been focusing on her new life with Michael. And three hours earlier, she and Michael exchanged vows of love and commitment, exactly one year to the day when Michael had rescued her from the icy waters of the beck that ran through his land.
Now, with their vows complete, Emma was excited to begin their new lives together in Bracken House. She had not returned there in the past year - Michael had insisted that she wait as he made improvements on the house - and she could not wait to see what he had done.
“Lady Emma Bracken,” Michael said as he sat beside her in the carriage. “How do you like the new name?”
Emma giggled and leaned against her husband as the vehicle moved at a steady pace. “I like it very much,” she replied. “I believe it is the surname of a hero.”
This caused Michael to smile, and he leaned in to kiss her. “You must stop calling me that. I will become an arrogant fool.”
She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. “No, it is a worthy name. And to your arrogance, your heart exceeds that and more.”
Though it was only early afternoon, the day had been long thus far. The night before, she had remained awake with Mary and Constance, talking into the late hours. They had risen well before sunrise to begin preparations for the glorious day.
Her eyes grow heavy, but it seemed that as soon as she closed them Michael was whispering to her. “My love, we are home.”
Emma rubbed sleep from her eyes and smiled. When Michael helped her alight from the carriage, she could do nothing but stare in awe at Bracken House.
“Oh, Michael, it is lovely! The windows are no longer cracked.” She turned to look at the building beside the house. “And I will no longer fear entering the stables!” She gave him a tight embrace. “It is wonderful!”
“It is the sign of a new man,” Michael said, taking her hand in his. “So much needed repair, but the greatest repair that has been made has been my heart, which you, Lady Emma Bracken, have done.”
Emma’s heart soared, and Michael led her to the house. The door opened to an older man, perhaps fifty, who stood in an impeccable suit.
“Lord Bracken, Lady Bracken,” he said with a deep bow.
“Emma, I would like you to meet Branson, my butler.”
Emma had to stifle a giggle remembering a time when Michael had no servants. “It is very nice to meet you,” she said to the man.
“The pleasure is all mine, my lady,” the older man replied.
When they walked through the door, Emma halted mid-step. The old chair that had once sat along the wall had been replaced by a new one. Fresh paint coated the walls, and a painting of a field hung above a well-polished table.
“Is something wrong?” Michael asked. “Have I upset you in some way?”
“No,” Emma replied as she wiped away the tears that fell. “Everything is perfect. All is made new, much like our hearts.”
“Well, this is just the foyer. Let me show you the parlor.”
In awe, Emma allowed Michael to lead her away to explore their new home. And the first day of their new life together.
***
Emma sipped at her wine as she looked out the bedroom window of her new home. The fourposter bed lay empty, and with a nervous smile, she knew it soon would not be so. Placing the wine on the windowsill, a smile played at her lips and she pulled the sheet tight around herself as Michael entered the room.
She had asked for time alone to prepare for their first moment together. A fire burned in the fireplace, candles glowed around the room, and she stood in nothing more than a sheet.
She kept her back to the man who was her husband, her hero, and said, “It was a year ago when you taught me about the three kisses of midnight. It is nearly midnight now. Do you wish to teach me again?”
Her heartbeat quickened as Michael came to stand behind her. He pulled her hair back to expose her neck and brought his lips to her ear. “I will show you them and more,” he whispered, sending delightful shivers down her spine.
Emma went to speak, but her breath caught as he lifted her arms to allow the sheet to fall to the floor. Her first reaction was to reach for the covering once more, but when he pressed his lips to her wrist, she found she could not move.
“There are many kisses a woman should enjoy.”
Her knees weakened as he left tiny kisses all along her arm, slow, languishing kisses that pebbled her skin. She moaned when he grasped her by the hips and pressed his hardness against her as he kissed her neck.
“I feel nothing but desire for you,” she whispered, and he lifted her chin to place a kiss on her lips from over her shoulder. She could not help but push back against him as heat and passion consumed her.
Her body tingled when his hands moved to her breasts, his palms moving in small circles that made her moan. As his hands and lips explored, Emma turned to face him and found him as naked as she. She traced fingers over the scars on his broad chest as his lips teased her ear and neck.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I want you.”
He tilted her chin up and their lips met again. This time the kiss was hungrier and more urgent, and as his hands continued their exploration, a heat between his legs radiated against her thigh.
“And I love you,” he said, his voice husky with desire.
A small moan escaped her lips as he picked her up and carried her to the bed, his strong arms holding her as if she weighed nothing. His grip was possessive, but it was also caring, and it was no more than she would have expected from her hero.
Michael lowered her onto the bed, and her gaze trailed down his mus
cular chest as a heat built inside her, threatening to consume her very soul. He joined her on the bed, and as he looked down at her, their eyes met. He placed his hands on her thighs, pushing apart her legs, never breaking his gaze.
Excitement, curiosity, and a bit of fear entered Emma, but when Michael kissed her stomach, the fear vanished. He proved to be a gentle lover as his kisses trailed from her stomach up to her breasts. And as promised, his kisses continued, hungry yet not greedy.
She placed her hands on his well-muscled arms as he positioned himself above her. Her heart and soul were ready to give herself to the man she loved. As with the kisses, he embraced her in a new way. A moment of pain gave way to an ecstasy she never thought possible as he moved inside her. Their bodies moved as one in a new rhythm guided by love.
Their lips danced together as the candles flickered around them, and Emma found breathing difficult as desire built inside her.
“Michael, I am…” She could do nothing more than gasp, feeling as if she stood on the edge of a precipice as the passion grew, threatening to send her tumbling over.
“It is fine,” he assured her. “It is normal.”
Emma trusted her husband and soon she found herself matching his movements, the sensations building until she thought she could no longer endure. How a woman’s heart, soul, and body could come to such a height, she was unsure, but as her own body trembled beneath his, as fireworks danced behind her lids and she cried out in ecstasy, it was Michael’s loving embrace that guided her through.
When they finished, and as they lay there spent but fulfilled, Emma came to a familiar place with her head resting on his chest. At times they simply shared a kiss or two. At other times they shared their hearts. And after a while, they once more came together as one, this time taking time to explore one another and to express what they had built between each other - Love.
Epilogue
Six months after their wedding, Emma accompanied Michael into town as they had done before, and she could never have been prouder. Much had changed since they had exchanged vows.
The first great change was that Michael had mended his relationship with his sister – Emma had not allowed him to leave the two as they were. No siblings deserved that!
When she had finally met Susanna, Emma had found her to be a kind and outgoing woman. Her husband was the opposite – not that he was unkind but that he was quiet and reserved. Regardless of his modest demeanor, the man proved to be a worthy member of the family.
Yet it was not just his family associations Michael had mended, but his reputation, as well. He was now seen as a man who own profitable businesses, one who could be trusted and who always dealt fairly. His reputation increased tenfold, and though he thanked Emma more than once for her help, she had always replied in kind.
For Michael had shown Emma who her hero truly was, and he was a man who loved her. And though Michael had done many brave things, it was how he captured her heart that was the greatest.
The shops were busy as many people moved to and fro and carriages rolled past them on the street. Emma ignored them all, for Michael was taking her to purchase a new hat while he met with a banker. By his incessant finger strumming, he was nervous.
When they arrived at the millinery and alighted from the carriage, Emma stopped and Michael smiled down at her.
“I should be no longer than an hour,” he said. “Will you be safe here alone?”
“Of course I will. Afterward, we will celebrate your success.”
Michael laughed. “Are you so sure I will finalize this deal?”
“I am certain of it,” she replied.
Michael had sold the estate that had belonged to Lord Whisken, and with that money he was investing in a new bank, one he deemed would be very profitable.
“That is because barons always win wagers,” he said with a wink before walking away.
Emma sighed. “No,” she whispered to his back. “it is because you are Lord Michael Bracken, the man I love. The man who can do anything because that is what heroes do.”
Other Books
Regency Stories Series
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Duke of Chance
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Barons Always Win Wagers (Forbidden Kisses Book 3) Page 21
