He swallowed, and she could sense that he wanted nothing more but to drop his gaze. But he did not. Instead, he squared his shoulders and accepted her challenge, offering one of his own. “Why did ye kiss me if indeed ‘twas a kiss?”
Knowing his question to be a distraction, Emma still could not keep herself from taking the bait. “Of course, ‘twas. Our lips touched, did they not?”
All of a sudden, the memory of their kiss loomed between them. Emma could see it in the green blaze that lit up his eyes, and her heart jumped into her throat when Finn’s lips curled up into a wicked smile and his gaze dropped to her mouth for the barest of moments. “Have ye been kissed since that morning?”
Emma swallowed before a triumphant smile lit up her face. “Aha! So, ye admit that ‘twas a kiss!”
Finn chuckled, and Emma could not remember ever having seen him like this. Not since that morning. Not in the past seven years. At least not around her.
Also, she could not help but wonder at what point they had come to stand almost nose to nose with little between them except thin air. “Answer me,” Finn teased, his green eyes glowing with delight. “Has anyone kissed ye since?” His gaze darkened. “Has Vaughn?”
Squaring her shoulders, Emma looked him directly in the eyes. “Ye didn’t answer me, either. Why did ye follow−?”
“Emma!” he all but growled, shooting toward her so that she had to take an involuntary step backwards to avoid collision. His hands reached for her, and before she knew what was happening, she was wrapped in his arms, his mouth a hair’s breadth away from hers. “Has he kissed ye?”
Although her knees were shaking, Emma had to admit she liked the fierceness in him. “Why d’ye think ye can−?”
“Emma!”
“No!” she blurted out. “There. Happy now?”
An amused smile came to his face, and a chuckle rumbled deep in his throat. “Aye,” Finn whispered as his eyes held hers. “Aye, I’m happy.”
Locked in his embrace, Emma felt her breath come faster as his green gaze remained on hers, his arms keeping her steady, keeping her from sinking to the ground as her knees turned to water.
“Would ye object,” Finn began, a slight quiver in the way he drew in another breath, “if I were to kiss ye right here, right now?”
The air flew from Emma’s lungs as she tried to make sense of his words. Her head spun, and her heart raced, overwhelmed by the past few minutes she had so unexpectedly shared with Finn. They seemed like something out of a dream, and her mind had trouble believing that she was indeed awake. Still, he felt so real.
Never had she seen the green in his gaze more vibrant than in that moment as he held her gaze, waiting for her answer.
Trying to ignore the lump in her throat, Emma willed her chin to remain up. “Why would ye?” she demanded, willing a touch of haughtiness into her tone even though her body urged her to simply accept his offering.
After all, it had been seven years! Seven years full of dreams and hopes…and disappointment.
Finn chuckled, wickedness gleaming in his eyes. “So ye know what a true kiss feels like.”
Emma’s gaze narrowed. “I do know,” she insisted, annoyed with the condescension that rang in his voice.
“No, ye dunno.”
Her back straightened, and she pulled away, glaring up at him. “Aye, I d−”
“’Twas a dare,” Finn insisted as he lowered his face to hers, his arms pulling her back against him. “’Twas only a dare.”
Emma swallowed. Of course, she could tell him the truth. Tell him how much she had always cared for him. Tell him that the dare had only been a welcome excuse to kiss him. Tell him that she had feared for her heart if he were to reject her. Tell him it had been a mere way to save face. Tell him all that and more.
Still, despite the past few moments which had been nothing short of heaven on earth, Emma could not. Her heart still feared that she had strayed into a dream, that she was in this very moment misunderstanding his intentions, that now he might be the one acting upon a dare. “How condescending of ye,” she hissed, steeling her voice, “to think ye know bet−”
The rest of her words were lost when his lips claimed hers, silencing her objections, her excuses, her protest.
Time stopped as they stood by the back door, his arms around her and his lips a gentle pressure on hers. Emma could hear her heart thundering in her ears and felt Finn’s beat against the palm of her hand as it rested on his chest. Stillness fell over them as it had seven years ago, freezing them in place, their thoughts and emotions overwhelmed by something they had not seen coming.
Emma sighed, counting the seconds his lips remained on hers, expecting him to pull back any moment now as she had seven years ago.
But, he did not.
Instead, his lips grew more daring, moving over hers with bold curiosity. Again, she sighed, and he walked her back against the wall, his hands brushing over her arms, her back, her shoulders before reaching for her face. She felt the tips of his fingers tracing the line of her jaw and down the column of her neck. Tingles surged across her skin, and her blood felt as though it had been set on fire.
When Finn finally did pull back, his breath came fast, and his gaze remained locked on hers. “D’ye concede?” he asked, a teasing grin curling up his lips as he held her in his arms.
Rolling her eyes, Emma chuckled. “Aye, I concede. Ye were right. Now, kiss me again.” Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt as she pulled him back toward her, enjoying the laughter that spilled from his mouth.
“As my lady desires,” he whispered against her lips, a teasing tone in
