She blinked a few times, taking in his words. Then her hands flew to cover her face. “Oh God, I just acted like a complete and total slut, didn’t I?” Emma moaned.
“No, you didn’t.” When she peeked at him, Pesh gave her a sheepish grin. “Besides, you have your pregnancy hormones to blame. I should have known better.”
She reached out to take his hand in hers. “It’s not just the hormones that make me want you, Pesh. You’re an amazing man—handsome, strong, compassionate, giving of yourself and your heart. Any woman in my place would be willing to drop her panties for you, even if they usually had morality.”
He laughed. “All this time and who knew I was such a panty melter.”
Emma grinned. “You need to get out of the ER more.”
“If I had more evenings to look forward to like this, then maybe I would.”
At his insinuation, Emma stared down at her lap. A frustrated noise came from the back of Pesh’s throat. Unwrapping himself from her, he scooted over to the other seat and tapped the driver. “Ed, I think it’s about time you backtracked and took us back. It’s a little too cold for Emma to be out this long.”
“Yes, sir.”
For the remainder of their ride, he sat across from her, and they talked of Atlanta, not what was happening or not happening between them. Emma felt frozen solid by the time they got back to the car. She thrust her hands in front of the heater while shifting to enjoy the heated leather seats.
“I’m sorry you got so cold. I should have realized the weather wasn’t cooperating for a carriage ride.”
Rubbing her hands together, she turned to smile at him. “No, I enjoyed it. Everything about tonight has been so wonderful.”
“Hmm, should I take that for a real compliment considering you’ve been cooped up for two weeks?”
Emma laughed. “Yes, you should. Although you probably could have taken me to something I hate like a sporting event, and I would have enjoyed it.”
“Not much on sports, huh?”
Wrinkling her nose, Emma said, “My heart is with the theater and the arts.”
Pesh smiled. “I’ll have to remember that.”
They had barely gotten on the interstate when exhaustion set in. The toasty warm car and the fact she hadn’t done so much in weeks kept her fighting to keep her eyes open. It wasn’t long before she nodded off.
The car coming to a stop jolted her awake. Her eye-lids fluttered open to take in Aidan’s driveway. Yawning, she turned to Pesh. “I’m pretty rude company, aren’t I?”
He shook his head. “I’m surprised you made it as long as you did. It’s been a big day.”
“Yes, it has.”
“Here, let me walk you to the door.”
As Pesh started around the car, Emma grabbed her purse. The house was dark as they started up the front walk-way. Aidan hadn’t left the porch light on for her. She drew in a shaky breath at the thought of facing him again.
When they got on the porch, Emma turned to Pesh. “I want to thank you again for the lovely evening.”
Pesh smiled. “It was my pleasure. I hope it’s something we can do again.”
Emma nodded. “Me too.” She leaned over to kiss Pesh chastely on the cheek. When she started to pull away, Pesh quickly pecked her on the lips. And then before she knew it, his lips were moving against hers. Within a second of them being joined, his tongue plunged into her mouth, and Emma knew it was all over.
He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her flush against him. She brought her arms against his chest, but instead of pushing him away, she slid her hands up to his neck and curled her fingers into his hair.
At her actions, a growl reverberated deep in Pesh’s chest. Without warning, he pushed her back against the brick wall. As he pressed himself into her, she could feel the fabric of her dress, along with her thigh highs, snagging against the rough foundation. But she didn’t care. She couldn’t get enough of him being close to her. His smell, the way his body molded against hers, the way his tongue set her on fire as it darted in and out of her mouth.
All thoughts of any propriety flew out of her head. The very fact she was making out with another man on Aidan’s front porch should have immediately doused any desire she felt. But instead, her chest rose and fell in rapid breaths.
Pesh tore his lips from hers and started kissing down her neck. Throwing her head back, she murmured, “Mmm, oh Aidan.”
Her eyes flew open as Pesh stilled his lips. A strangled cry erupted from her throat as she pushed away from him. Oh God, she had said his name. In a moment of pure and electric passion with Pesh, she had called out Aidan. Embarrassed tears stung her eyes as she turned to flee.
Pesh grabbed her arm. “Wait, Emma.”
“Oh God, I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” she cried, as tears streaked down her cheeks. She tried pulling away from him to escape because she couldn’t bear to look at his face.
“Stop it, and look at me!” Pesh commanded.
Emma dragged her gaze off the tiled porch floor and up to Pesh’s face. “Please, just let me go. There’s nothing you can say that would make me hate myself any more than I already do.”
Surprise flooded her when he drew her into his strong embrace. “I don’t hate you, so you sure better not hate yourself.”
She jerked her head back to stare incredulously at him. “I just called out the man who broke my heart’s name while I was making out with you!”
Pesh’s expression saddened. “And when I pressed you back against that wall, all I saw in my mind was Jade, and all I wanted to feel was her.”
Instead of being angry, Emma’s heart ached for Pesh. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“I think she confirms what I’ve feared for a long time. We’re just two broken people who aren’t ready for someone else, no matter how hard we try to force it.” He pushed a strand out of her face. “We’re both still desperately in love with other people.”
“I want to love Aidan…I mean, I do love him, desperately at times, but I’m afraid to let myself feel what I do. Your wife was always true to you. She would have never left you.”
“I’ll admit that what Aidan did still infuriates me to where I want to inflict bodily harm on him. But he loves you, Emma. He’s been working his ass off the past two weeks to try to get you to see that.”
“But he can’t even say the words. Every time he tries, he gets interrupted and then he never makes an effort again!”