The Sweet Caress by Roberta Latow Read Free Book Online Page B

somewhere grand. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. There was something royal about his stance. It reminded her of the way the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, most of the men of the house of Windsor stood.
    Jessica felt the bite of the cold autumn wind and said, ‘Maybe we had better take this dance inside before we both catch a chill,’ realising after she had said it how provocative her words sounded. She stepped aside and he entered the hall.
    ‘Let’s start again. Good evening, Jessica.’ His smile was broad and there was warmth in it. In his eyes was a look of real pleasure at seeing her.
    ‘Hello, Luke,’ she answered, delighted that he wanted her, she guessed, as much as she wanted him.
    ‘I’ve brought you a present,’ he told her.
    So he had not, after all, been taking the stance of an English royal but had been hiding a gift behind his back. Jessica was enchanted by the gesture.
    For Luke, this was part of the courting game, the chase, the fun of seduction. When Jessica took the violet-coloured box from his hands, he felt a thrill rush through him. For years women had given him enormous pleasure, and not only sexual, but it had been a very long time since he felt about a woman the way he felt about Jessica. His feelings for her were certainly not the same as those he had for his beautiful, sexy students. Their youth and intelligence, the fire of young passion, the joy of seeing them change into sensual, vibrant women during their love affairs with him were the things he loved most in them. He sensed Jessica had all of those things and much more – mystery, secrets locked away from him that she would never reveal even when her memory returned – that is, if indeed she had ever lost it in the first place.
    He had a gut feeling that she was lying about having lost her memory. Luke had not expressed this to anyone and had no intention of ever doing so; after all, he had no proof that Jessica had not lost her memory. But Jessica Johnson struck him as a woman of inner strength who still had control of her life. Her appearance in Newbampton, the money, the key, Rose Cottage, and above all her stability and courage all convinced him she was no victim of amnesia. The quiet contentment and joy he saw in her eyes were reason enough not to distress her with accusations of lying, but the fact was he was already in love with her. If her fondest wish was to live without a past, then he would grant her that wish.
    These thoughts were running through his mind as he watched her reaction to his bold gift. He somehow knew that she was used to men courting her on rather a grand scale. She had about her an aura of a woman used to men’s attention.
    She did not disappoint him when she finally spoke. ‘You’re full of surprises, Luke. Most men would have brought flowers.’
    ‘Well, I couldn’t very well take you out to dinner wearing roses and nothing else, now could I?’
    ‘Not really,’ she answered.
    ‘And you would have charmingly declined my invitation, telling me you have no evening dress, now wouldn’t you?’
    ‘Yes, I would have had to.’
    ‘And now you see there’s no need.’
    ‘But there is,’ she told him as she placed the unopened dress box on the table in the hall. Turning back to face him, Jessica went directly to him, undid the belt of his coat and drew the garment open.
    ‘A dress suit for you, an evening dress for me. You’re inviting me to a dinner party this evening. But I can think of reasons other than having nothing to wear to decline your invitation. Too many people, for example, too many curious eyes, too many questions lingering on their tongues,which good manners demand they swallow,’ she told him.
    ‘Jessica, none of those reasons is good enough to deprive us from having an evening out together with company that I am sure you are more used to than not. Reclusiveness is admirable and very rewarding, I know because that’s a part of my nature I cultivate and