Epilogue #2
With a practiced, subtle grace, he steered her away from the edge of the dance floor and toward the shadowed corridor that led to the library. The moment they stepped past the heavy oak doors and into the quiet, dimly lit hallway, the roar of the ball vanished.
Theodore didn't wait. He pulled her into the first deep alcove they reached, his arms wrapping around her with a desperate, crushing strength.
He squeezed her into him, his face buried in the crook of her neck as he inhaled the scent of her skin. Emily clung to him, her arms locked around his neck, as he began to rock them slowly from side to side. For those few seconds.
Emily began to soften into him, her tension melting away as she surrendered to the steady strength of his embrace. She wasn’t even sure she was standing on her own anymore.
Then Theodore pulled back just enough to look at her, his eyes dark with a hunger that stole the breath from her lungs. He reached up, his large, warm hands framing her face. Before she could speak, he leaned in, capturing her lips in a kiss.
It was deep and intoxicating, a slow burn that quickly flared into an intense flame.
He moved gently, relentlessly, guiding her back until her silk skirts rustled against the stone wall.
The cool surface at her back only made the heat of his body more overwhelming.
His thumb traced the line of her jaw before hooking under her chin, tilting her head back to deepen the kiss, while Emily’s hands found their way into the thick, dark hair at the nape of his neck, her fingers digging in as she pulled him closer.
“Wait,” she gasped, forcing a momentary break in the kiss, her chest heaving as she sought air. “Wait, Theo... my hair. Peggy spent hours on this. She will have my head if I return to the ballroom looking like I’ve been caught in a gale.”
Theodore exhaled, his breath hot on her skin. “I shall do my best to leave it undisturbed,” he murmured.
He didn't pull away. Instead, he brought his hands down from her face, settling them firmly at her waist, his fingers gripping the silk of her bodice as he drew her back into the heat.
He kept his vow, his hands staying low as his lips reclaimed hers with a renewed fervor.
This time, the kiss was slower, more rhythmic.
Emily lost herself in him, her fingers curling into the fabric of his coat, until the sound of a distant, muffled laugh from the ballroom reminded them of the world they had left behind.
Reluctantly, they broke apart for the second time, their foreheads resting against each other as they both struggled to find their composure in the quiet hallway.
Theodore pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, his hands still anchored firmly at her waist.
"I love you, Emily," he whispered, peering into her eyes.
"I know you must have felt it in the way I look at you, the way I hold you, but I need you to hear it.
This house was a museum of cold stone before you.
Now, every room feels full of you. I don't ever want to remember a version of my life where you aren't the center of it. "
Emily felt her heart swell until it was almost painful. She reached up, her thumb grazing the corner of his mouth. "I love you too, Theo. I love you more than I ever found you annoying, which, as you know, is a very significant amount of love."
She felt him vibrate with a low, soft laugh against her, and she stepped even closer, her voice dropping to a serious, tender note. "I love you more than anyone I have ever known. I would do anything for you."
Theodore’s eyes darkened again, a flicker of that possessive heat returning. He looked at her, then at the doors leading back to the ball, and let out a long, ragged breath.
"If that is true..." he said, his voice strained with effort, ".
..then you must let me keep my distance for the rest of the evening.
I mean it, Emily. We shall stay on opposite sides of the room.
No dancing, no lingering glances. We shall only meet for the final dance when it is time to bid everyone goodnight. "
Emily blinked, a playful pout tugging at her lips. "That sounds like a very lonely evening, Your Grace."
"It is a necessary one," Theodore countered, a small, dangerous grin tugging at his lips. "Because I cannot guarantee my behavior if I have my hands on you again before the night is through. If I touch you, I will want to carry you upstairs and let the guests find their own way home."
Emily giggled, the sound light and bright. She patted his chest, smoothing out the lapels she had rumpled just moments before. "Very well. I suppose I can manage to be a proper, distant Duchess for a few more hours if it means I have you all to myself at the end of it."
"The last dance, then," he promised, stealing one final, chaste peck on her forehead.
Adjusting their clothes and breathing in the cool air to settle their flushed faces, they shared one last, knowing look. Side by side, but with a newfound, electric distance between them, they turned and walked back into the light and the music of the grand ballroom.
The End?