on the wrought-iron garden setting. He was dressed similarly to her, in a close fitting white T-shirt and shorts to counteract the early heat of the day. He had recently showered, his hair was still damp and she could smell the sharp citrus tang of his aftershave as she came closer.
He turned his head as he heard her approach, his expression giving no hint of the anguish she had seen there the night before. 'There is enough for two if you would like some,' he said, indicating the coffee-pot with a careless waft of his hand.
'Thanks,' she said. 'I never feel truly awake until I've had my first caffeine hit.'
'I will go and get a cup for you,' he said, rising to his feet. 'Would you like a croissant? I jogged down to the bakery first thing this morning.'
Emma gave him a rueful smile. 'You're making me feel guilty, talking about early-morning jogs,' she said. 'I'm not normally so lazy, but I didn't sleep well last night.'
His expression was mask-like, although Emma thought she saw something flicker in his eyes as they held hers. 'I hope it wasn't something I said.'
She let out a tiny sigh. 'It was everything you said. I feel like I've totally misjudged you. You're not the person I thought you were. I'm sorry. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me.' She looked up at him appealingly and added softly, 'I'd like us...I'd like us to be friends.'
The silence stretched for a moment or two.
'Is that pity I hear in your voice, Emma?' he asked in a flint-like tone.
She frowned at him. 'No...no, of course not,' she said. 'I'm just glad I now know what happened to your brother and how it affected you and your father's relationship. Life has been very hard on you. I didn't realise how hard until last night.'
His eyes glittered darkly as they seared hers. 'So it explains why I am a complete and utter bastard, does it, Emma?'
She compressed her lips. 'That's a choice you make,' she said. 'You don't have to be that way. Lots of people have tragic backgrounds and yet manage to move on without letting it ruin their life and all their relationships.'
'I have not let it ruin my life,' he said. 'And as for my relationships, that is my business and my business alone.'
'I think you have let it ruin your life,' Emma countered. 'You lock yourself away from feeling. I suspect you've done it for years. You're doing it now. As soon as anyone gets close you put up a wall of resistance. You let your guard down with me last night and now you're regretting it. That's why you're being so cutting and unfriendly towards me now.'
He gave a mocking laugh. 'So little Emma now wants to be friends with me, does she?'
She tightened her mouth without answering.
He stepped closer and, capturing her chin between his finger and thumb, tipped her gaze to meet his. 'How far are you prepared to take this offer of friendship?' he asked. 'All the way upstairs to my bed?'
Emma felt her stomach go hollow as he brought his hard male body even closer. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, her heart beginning to ram against her ribcage as she felt his arrant maleness springing to turgid life against her. He placed a hand in the small of her back, pressing her even closer so she felt the pounding of his blood against her softness.
And then his head came down...
The kiss was explosive. Their tongues wrestled and tangled, darted and dived and submitted and conquered simultaneously. Emma became breathless with growing excitement, her body on fire as his mouth commandeered hers with bruising passion. Her lips throbbed with the pressure, she even thought she could taste blood at one point, but wasn't sure if it was hers or his, as she had nipped at his bottom lip with just as much fervour as he had hers.
His mouth was still locked on hers as he shoved aside the thin straps of her top and bra, his hands cupping the slight weight of her breasts, her pert nipples driving into the moist heat of his palm. The tingling pleasure wasn't nearly enough. Emma wanted more of his touch and leaned into him, whimpering her need into the hot cavern of his mouth.
Her breathing came to a screeching halt as he lifted his mouth off hers to suckle on each breast in turn. She arched