A Lesson in Desire: Season of Desire Part 3 (Seasons Quartet) by Sadie Matthews Read Free Book Online

into me. ‘It’s not that easy,’ he says. ‘Things are different outside the place.’
    ‘They don’t have to be,’ I say quickly.
    ‘But they are. You’re Freya Hammond here. I’m your bodyguard. That’s not a situation I find conducive to… instruction.’
    ‘Please,’ I say weakly. ‘I… I must… I want…’
    His expression changes at once and he says roughly, ‘I don’t obey orders like that, you ought to know that by now.’
    ‘I’m sorry!’ I look up at him beseechingly. ‘I didn’t mean to express it like that! I’m not ordering you, I promise. I would never do that now.’
    He turns and walks away from me, going over to the bedside and switching on a lamp. The light from it is warmer than from overhead; it touches his skin with a golden glow. ‘Good,’ he replies. ‘Because it will get you precisely nowhere.’
    ‘Please, Miles. I…’ I lick my lips, looking for the right way to express myself. ‘If you would be kind enough to consider it, I’d like to continue what we started. I would like to carry on learning what you can teach me.’
    He comes back towards me, his expression softening. ‘You know what? You surprise me. I thought when we got back here, it would be like it was before. You’d go back to being haughty Miss Hammond and you’d look right through me. When your dad started questioning me, I even wondered if it was at your instigation, so you could get me fired and not have to remember the humiliating episode where you made the mistake of fucking the staff.’
    I gasp. ‘No,’ I say quickly. ‘It’s not like that. I’ve done everything I can to persuade him that the crash was my fault.’
    That eyebrow goes up. Oh God, it slays me. A rush of pure desire courses through me so fast it almost knocks me off my feet.
    ‘Really?’ he says in a low voice. He looks sceptical.
    ‘Yes. I promise. I don’t know what my father is thinking but I told him I owe you my life. I’ve made it clear that you’ve been nothing but honourable.’
    Miles walks towards me again, sending my senses soaring. ‘I don’t know about that,’ he says in that sexy deep voice, the Scottish accent rolling off his tongue. ‘Maybe “honourable” isn’t quite the right word…’
    I turn my face up to his, desperate for him to kiss me.
    ‘You really want this, don’t you?’ He’s scrutinising my face as if trying to read my mind.
    I nod.
    He seems to let his guard down just a fraction more. ‘You are a very hot girl, Freya Hammond, in more ways than one. A man has to be careful before taking you on. You have a protective cordon around you like a concrete fence.’
    ‘They know nothing,’ I say vehemently. ‘They can’t stop me getting hurt, no matter how much they try. Besides, they have no right! I don’t need them. I want to make my own choices, live my own life. I’m damned if I’ll let them control me.’
    He seems amused by my outburst. His face is close to mine now. I can see the gorgeous angles of his cheekbones, the long straight line of his nose, the dark stubble bristling on his chin. And those beautiful lips are so near, it’s driving me mad with need. Then, suddenly, he takes my head in his hands and pulls me to him, landing his mouth on mine with an unexpected ferocity. My nerves sing out with the delirium of his touch, and everything responds to the pressure of his mouth, the taste of his tongue as I open to it and he pushes deep into me. My eyes close as I surrender to the wonder of his kiss and the feel of his hand on my skull, his fingers twisting in my hair while the other hand clasps my waist. I put my own hands up to his jaw, caressing the roughness of his stubbled skin as I pull his mouth as deep into mine as I can.
    We kiss for a long time and when at last his lips slowly leave mine, I can read his desire in the way his eyes have turned a darker blue. I’m panting for more, wanting only to return to the exquisiteness of his mouth, but he shakes his head