After several minutes, she pulled back as far as his arms would allow, which wasn’t very far. “Sam, we can’t do this,” she said, but her arms slipped higher to hold onto his shoulders.
Sam shook his head slightly, just before bending to kiss the corner of her mouth, her check, her jaw. “Just kiss me, princess,” he said and deepened the kiss, his hands moving up her back to touch the bare skin revealed by her black dress.
She obeyed his order and lifted her head so she could feel his lips better. That was all the invitation he needed. He pulled her higher against his body and his mouth moved more roughly against hers. Sam rubbed his tongue against her lips and as soon as her mouth opened, his tongue moved in, mating with hers and doing what his body was now aching to do with hers.
Marabeth felt his body harden against her stomach and a small, inner voice told her that she should stop this insanity. She didn’t even like Sam and he didn’t like her. So why were her arms wrapping around his neck and her body moving against his? Why was she feeling things she had no right to feel for a man she didn’t really like and had been trying to avoid for the past two weeks?
She couldn’t answer those questions since his hand moved from her back around to her side, then slid slowly up her waist. One hand stopped right under her breast and she almost moaned with the pain her body felt when his hand didn’t move higher.
The noises off to the side were like a bucket of ice water on Marabeth’s feelings. As the first sound punctuated the haze of passion within her, she moved back a step. Sam allowed it, only because he was so involved in the kiss himself and he wasn’t thinking right either.
The slap came a moment later. If it hadn’t been so dark and she hadn’t responded so willingly in his arms, he might have expected it, or at least seen it coming out of the corner of his eye. But he was dumbfounded.
His hand went to his cheek and both of hers went to cover her mouth in horror. “I can’t believe I did that,” she said.
Sam chuckled. “Neither can I. What happened? One moment you were a passionate woman melting in my arms and enjoying the kiss, and the next…” Sam stopped for a moment and shook his head. “Well, why don’t you just explain what happened next and I won’t assume anything?”
Marabeth stepped back again, horrified when he articulated what they’d been doing, as if the action wasn’t bad enough. Shaking her head in denial of her feelings as well as his request for an explanation, she said, “No. We have to go. I’m so sorry I slapped you. That was inexcusable and I’ve never done that before in my life. I promise you that it won’t happen again. But more importantly, we can’t be like this. We can’t kiss like this again. I don’t even like you,” she said, pacing around the veranda in her confusion as she spoke. “This can’t be happening. I don’t do things like that,” she said, dumbfounded that she’d actually resorted to violence.
“Marabeth, come here,” he said but she only walked farther away.
He reached out and pulled her towards him, not painfully. In fact, his grip was very gentle. But it was firm and, although she resisted, he had her right where he wanted her within seconds. “Why are you so upset about this? Because you slapped me or because I kissed you?” His eyes took in her pale skin and round mouth swollen from his kiss and revised his opinion on her actions and what caused the unexpected slap. “Or is it because you kissed me back?” he asked, his voice deep and husky.
Marabeth was shaking her head before he even finished the last sentence. “Don’t say that,” she said, covering his mouth as if her hand could stop the words and the feelings his kiss had generated within her. “I didn’t kiss you back! This is ridiculous. We’re opposites on too many issues. We need to get back to the ballroom and you need to finish what you came here to do.” She stepped out of his arms quickly, grateful that he let her go without a struggle this time.
“Marabeth stop,” Sam said firmly and reached out to touch her arm, holding her from stepping off the veranda.
She struggled against his grip, terrified that he might pull her back into his arms and knowing she might not be able to pull away a second time. “No! Please, we can’t be out here alone. Too many people will talk and that will lead to rumors. Neither one of us want those rumors to start so we have to get out of here immediately.”
Sam looked at the fear on her face and decided to relent this once. They had been out here for too long for the rumors to not have already started. But he didn’t mind. In fact, for the first time in his life, he had actually encouraged the rumors to start. He imagined that the papers would be full of speculation tomorrow morning on their relationship. And they wouldn’t be very far off.
“Okay. Let’s go back and get something to eat,” he said and tucked her hand back into his arm.
“Do I look okay?” she asked, patting her hair to make sure it was smooth and still in place.
Sam couldn’t see very well in the dim light, but he could tell that her lips were swollen from his kiss and the color was high in her cheeks. She looked like she had been kissed. “You look lovely,” was all he said a moment before they stepped back into the light of the ballroom.
Sam led her over to the buffet table set up in another room and they continued to talk. He noticed that she worked very hard to keep several feet of space between the two of them but she still worked the guests around him with impressive social skills.
It was after two o’clock in the morning when the party finally fizzled down. Sam noticed that Marabeth was tired but she kept smiling at someone he hadn’t talked to yet.
“Excuse me,” he interrupted the person who was speaking at the first opening, “I need to talk to you, your highness,” Sam said, turning to Marabeth. “Will you excuse me for a moment?” he asked the man standing to the left of him.
The elderly man smiled and shook his head. “No problem. I’m on my way out,” he said and kissed Marabeth’s hand. “Thank you for a lovely conversation, your highness,” he said and turned to leave.
“Who was that?” Sam said as he guided Marabeth out of the ballroom and out into the hallway that would eventually lead them to the private area of the palace. He put a protective arm around her shoulders and was pleased when she didn’t pull away. In fact, she leaned into him letting his strength guide her down the hallway. She trusted him when she was completely wiped out. Now if he could only get her to trust him when she was fully awake.