The Forbidden Throb (Emma and Daniel) novel Chapter 122

Chapter 122

Daniel’s POV

The wo

the air between us-Hell love it-and for a moment, I thought maybe that would be enough.

ettle back into her seat, satisfied with my answer, and let the alcohol pull her into sleep.

tened around my neck, and those blue-green eyes with wine fixed on my face with an intensity that made my chest constrict.

t? Her voice carried that sweet, slurred quality that alcohol brings, but underneath it ran something raw. Something that made

in my body go taut. He probably wont even like it.”

words came out flat. Matter of fact.

My throat constricted. ‘Why would you think that?”

Emma’s fingers stilled against my collar. For a moment, she just looked at me, and I watched something shift in her expression-hurt bleeding through the wine softened edges

“Because hes…” She paused, searching for words. He’s so distant. I wore this dress at home once, made dinner, thought maybe…” Her voice

wavered. He barely looked at me. Just said it was nice and went back to his study.”

The tears were falling faster now, and Emma wiped at them clumsily with the back of her hand, frustrated and embarrassed and so

heartbreakingly vulnerable that I couldn’t breathe.

Her fingers found my collar, toying with the fabric in absent patterns.

My throat had gone completely dry.

Emma. Finally. Her name rasped like I’d swallowed broken glass. “If you think he finds you unbearable, why wear this dress for him?”

The question came out harsher than I’d intended.

Emma blinked at me. For several seconds she just stared, and I watched emotions flicker across her face too quickly to name.

‘Because I want him to look at me.” The words were simple. Devastating.

Her gaze dropped to my mouth.

“Your lips… she murmure

ey’re shaped just like his.”

Every muscle in m

Emma

But he

meet us until I could feel the warmth of her breath against my jaw.

174

1:57 am

Chapter 122

Can Eat She stopped. Started again Would you let me practice?

My brain short circuited

Practice, I repeated flatly.

Like 8.

a pre-test. She said it so earnestly, like she was proposing something perfectly reasonable. I’m probably terrible at it. And I don’t

want Daniel to be disappointed when he finally..

She trailed off, but the implication hung heavy in the air.

My fingers had gone white knuckled on the armrests.

Id been fighting the urge to kiss her since approximately the second time we’d met

Emma was looking at me with such earnest hope, and her lower lip caught between her teeth, and I….

‘You’re sure? My voice came out barely above a whisper.

Destroyed. I sounded destroyed

Emma nodded, quick and nervous. I’m sure.”

Then she took a breath and leaned in.

The first kiss landed at the corner of my mouth.

Quick. Chaste. Gone before I could fully process it.

Emma pulled back immediately, her face flaming red, lashes fluttering like she couldn’t quite meet my eyes. “Was that… okay?”

Okay.

That brief, feather light touch had sent electricity singing through every nerve ending I possessed. My lips still tingled with the ghost of it-

strawberry wine and something uniquely Emma.

I couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe.

She took my silence as permission.

This time when she leaned in, there was more confidence. Her lips found mine properly, soft and questioning and sweet enough to stop my

heart.

The kiss was inexperienced, yes-tentative in a way but there was genuine curiosity in it too. Genuine want.

Her hand flattened against my chest, right over my hammering heart.

When she pulled back, her eyes were bright. How was that? Better?”

214

3:57 am

Chapter 122

PPP

The question was so innocent, so genuinely anxious, that something cracked inside me.

And she had no idea that I was one word away from completely losing my mind.

When she leaned in again, my hand had moved to her waist without conscious thought, steadying her. Or maybe steadying myself.

‘Emma. My voice came out dark. Dangerous.

RI

Emma’s eyes widened, but before she could respond, I’d slid one hand to cup the back of her neck, fingers threading through that gold-brown

hair. My other hand moved to her jaw, angling her face up to meet mine.

This, I said against her lips, is how he wants to kiss you.”

en I closed the distance between us.

This wasn’t Emma’s careful exploration. My mouth moved over hers with focused intensity. I was mapping every gasp, every tiny sound she

made, committing them to memory with the desperate thoroughness.

Emma made a small, shocked noise against my mouth.

Then her fingers curled into my shirt, holding on.

The kiss deepened. I felt her lips part beneath mine, felt the exact moment her nervous tension transformed into something else entirely.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify