The Earl's Secret by Kathryn Jensen Read Free Book Online Page A

down she felt a pleasantly urgent tingle. Oh, my, she thought. What a pity I won’t be around for more kisses like that!
    â€œJennifer. Are you all right?”
    She stared up at him, feeling suddenly impish. And in the mood for taking risks. Big risks. “I’m fine. But I think it only fair that I should prove the same to you.”
    He looked intrigued. “I don’t find you particularly threatening, but if you like…”
    She stepped forward, lifted her arms and reached up around his neck. Quickly she tugged him down to her level and centered her mouth over his. Then she did something she hadn’t planned. She parted her lips on a blissful sigh as they kissed.
    Christopher took advantage of the invitation and ran his tongue across her teeth. He tasted marvelous. An intoxicating mixture of heather, smoke and wine. He tasted like a man she wanted to touch and be touched by. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone; her last boyfriend had been only the second of her entire life. They had broken up over two years ago when he had been transferred across country by his employer.
    She had missed the touch of a man’s hands. But she also missed the practical aspects of a relationship, like having someone with whom to share a meal, see a movie or kiss on New Year’s Eve. However, she hadn’t deceived herself into thinking she had ever been in love.
    But now…now Christopher Smythe, a man she’d known less than two whole days, was kissing her in delicious ways she’d never been kissed before, doing things to her heart that felt as perilous as they were delightful. And there was no promise, not even a fool’s chance of extended companionship to follow a night of intimacy.
    As if Christopher had just had the same thought, he suddenly pulled away.
    No, she pleaded silently, not yet. Don’t stop yet! His arms…his mouth, they had felt so amazing.
    â€œCome on,” he whispered against her ear, the touch of his breath sending little shivers down her spine as he clasped her hand in his. “You’ll like the view from the top.”
    She liked the view just fine right here! Midnight-blue eyes, muscled jaw set against a backdrop of weathered gray stone. Just fine.
    Still in a daze, she let him pull her up the graceful swirl of granite. She could no longer feel her legs, and barely noticed when each step came up beneath her foot. Her heart beat faster the higher they climbed. Her palms grew moist, slipping along the iron rail bolted into the curving wall.
    Jennifer stopped being afraid halfway to the top. Why was she fighting herself? She wanted him to touch her; needed to learn what the hand that held hers would feel like caressing her body. Nothing else seemed to matter.
    The final step opened into a circular floor covered with thick crimson carpeting. The walls had been paneled in mahogany, and leather-bound books were arranged neatly on shelves that curved halfway around the single room. She turned, taking in the entire space. It was furnished as a suite, with a bed in a sleeping area, desk near the bookshelves and a lamp table and love seat opposite. An open door revealed a small, private bathroom that, from a glimpse of shining modern fixtures, must have been added in the last few years.
    Tall window casements looked out across the night.She moved to the nearest one and gazed into the darkness, feeling profoundly alive—aware of every detail around her, every sound, every scent. Every beat of her own heart.
    The sky was black and sparkling with more stars than she ever had seen in a Baltimore sky. In the distance she glimpsed headlights creeping along an invisible road. Farther away the electric glow of Edinburgh pinked the night sky.
    â€œWe’re far enough from city lights to get the full effect of the stars,” Christopher murmured.
    â€œYes. I can see that. It’s lovely.” She felt him step up behind her.
    His strong arms