The moment she said his name, she knew it was a mistake. Touching his chest was a mistake too. Mistake, mistake, every part of her brain was screaming that this entire thing was a mistake! She should push him away and run down the hall, down the stairs, and go find a member of her family, someone she could trust to be around who wouldn't let Eric be this way with her. Preferably Mark, wherever he had gone. If she stayed with Mark, Eric wouldn't dare look at her like that, or tou--!! Her thoughts cut off as a jolt of electricity seemed to spark its way through her skin, up her veins, down her spine, and then root her feet to the floor so that she couldn't move if she tried. His fingers had moved up her bare arm to wrap around her, gliding over her shoulder, down her back, to rest on the area just over the small bustle she was wearing. It pulled him ever so slightly closer to her, and while that only brought them an inch or so more together it was close enough that Jessalyn gasped lightly, and her hand on his chest went from tense with fear and panic to curling into his shirt slightly. She had never noticed how good he smelled... how warm he was... how soft his touch could be... The tingle that had never quite left her lower abdomen surged again, only this time it started to radiate through her entire body, pooling in the most private area of her body. Oh God... this was a mistake... This shouldn't be happening... It was improper and inappropriate and sinful and... and...
... Maybe just one mistake wouldn't be too terrible to make... Maybe just... one...
But then he slowly, almost achingly, pulled his hands from her, curling them into fists and clenching his jaw so tightly that she pulled her own hand back from his chest. It was so strange. One moment she swore he was about to cover her mouth (and other parts of her) with his and then the next she felt cold and exposed and vulnerable as he moved away, saying through gritted teeth that God must give him strength against going mad if she didn't accept him soon. She shut her eyes and self-consciously crossed both slender hands over herself, hooking them onto her shoulders as if trying to add one more layer he would have to get through if he wanted her as much as he seemed to. And then when he went on to suggest that she head downstairs to greet Emily when she arrived, Jessalyn drew in a deep breath and nodded, but not to him. To herself. Reminding herself that all of this, this entire four or five minutes they had just shared was dripping in carnal, sexual heat. And carnal, sexual heat did not a faithful man make. It still wasn't proof that Eric truly cared for her, enough to marry her and spend his life with her. It just... It didn't. So when she finally opened her blue eyes, she nodded again at him and then slowly inched around him, walking sideways like a crab until she was free. At that point she broke into a fast walk, both hands pushed into that tingle in her abdomen as she tried her best not to stumble. She made it down the hall and around the corner, down the stairs and then to the front door. There she stopped, smiling briefly at the nergo doorman as he straightened his white gloves.
"Miss Emily should be arriving soon, Miss Jessalyn," he said with a big grin. She didn't respond. Oh God... she could still hardly breathe...!
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