Chapter 8

Emma sat on her bed. She couldn't believe this. She wasn't some common hussy. She wasn't any man's plaything. And she could never enjoy being forced. Those were all things Burke had implied that she liked. Oh, how she wished she could slap him again.

What did he know?

She was a good girl, from a good family. Granted her father had always been poor, but he had raised her right. So maybe she got a little more freedom than most girls got. So what if she was 19 and still an unmarried virgin. Her father had wanted her to have the choice.

There was a knock her door.

"Who is it?" she called quietly. She knew they could hear her.

"It's me." She sighed a great big sigh. It was Burke. She really did not want to deal with him again tonight.

"What do you want?" She wouldn't admit it, even to herself, but she was rather afraid that he would come in with his leather tawse and whip her for slapping him.

"Can I talk to you?" his voice rumbled through the room, even muffled by a wooden door.

There was no use putting it off. "Come in." she said quietly.

She heard the door open, heard the boot steps, heard them pause a few feet away, heard them start again, and felt more weight sagging the bed, but through this all, she didn't look up.

"Emma, I'm sorry." An apology? Her head snapped up in surprise. She knew better than to think that an apology from him meant nothing. He was one of those people who said nothing more and nothing less than what they mean.

And then her eyes widened in surprise. He had taken off the mask to come into her room. Why did he do that? Did it mean he trusted her? She was almost afraid to hope.

"Why did you say that to me?" Her voice trembled the slightest bit, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.

Burke sighed and looked away. She caught sight of a small scar on the back of his neck. Emma wondered for a moment, just exactly how many scars did he have? Burke looked back at her again. "Emma..." She just realized he had been calling her by her name since the attack, without adding on the word "Mistress." It gave her a funny little feeling in her belly. "This is very hard for me to say. I said that to you because I was...well, quite frankly, I was jealous." Were her ears working right? What did he have to be jealous about? "...so friendly with all my staff, but you seem to have an aversion to me..."

Emma cut him short, "Didn't you think spanking and whipping me would create an aversion? I have an aversion to pain, like any normal person would."

" I apologize for that too," he said softly.

"Why do you do it?"

"It's a simple matter of respect."

"You think by hurting people, you get respect?" That was it. She had had enough of his nonsense and he was going to hear about it. "You idiot." His head snapped up in surprise. "The only thing I feel for you when your hurting me is loathing and pity. Is that what you want? I don't respect you for hurting me. I'm sure no one else does. You just have no idea. No one in their right mind would respect you for that." There was anger in his eyes now, bur she wasn't finished. "I do respect you but not because you hurt people. I respect you because you survived a harsh childhood, while mine even though I didn't have a mother, was rather cushioned. I respect you for being a man other men look up to. Those are things you should be respected for, and believe me, you have respect for them. It's not my fault that you can't see it, you big oaf. And I would appreciate it, if you would refrain from hitting me."

She saw Burke move, and Emma cringed, expecting a blow. But instead, strong arms wrapped around her torso and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Emma." he said against her hair.

Emma was so surprised by the sudden embrace that all she could do was sit there, frozen.

Burke let go of her, and for the first time, she saw him smile as he headed for her door. His smile literally took her breath away. He had even white teeth, but that wasn't what affected her. It was the way his eyes warmed up when he smiled.

She was quite confused. Why did he hug her and thank her when she just called him names and yelled at him?

Rather than staying awake and torturing herself puzzling it, she lay down on her bed, fully clothed, and slept.

In her dreams, his smile kept making an appearance.

Reviews

[a]

awww. can't wait for the next chap.