The Earl's Outrageous Lover (8 page)

William was more than eager to dance and Jessica looked back at Edward as if he’d lost his mind.  He was actually thinking she could be attracted to a man like this?  Maybe if he gained fifty pounds of muscle and had a fabulous orthodontist!  The man’s teeth had gaps and angles that just shouldn’t be in a grown man’s mouth!

William took her hand and tucked it into his elbow, excited to be leading her out onto the dance floor.  He chatted on about so many subjects it was hard to keep up but at least it was better than standing next to Edward as the other women flirted outrageously with him.  Even the older women were batting their lashes in his direction and she really hated that.

Besides, she found that there was something wonderful and interesting about everyone.  She looked at William and smiled, trying to keep up with his almost stream-of-consciousness conversation.

Dancing also gave her a chance to look around at the other guests.  Standing next to Edward, he was so tall and his shoulders so broad that it was hard to see around him.  He also protected her, consciously or not, by placing her against the wall and his large body to the side of her so the only people she could see were the ones directly in front of her.

She was startled when she looked around and found Edward.  That in itself wasn’t so strange since he was so much taller than everyone else in the room.  It was the fact that he was standing with that pretty brunette woman and they were having a very heated discussion.  The woman appeared to be just as angry as he was but Edward’s body language was much more intimidating.  When the woman gestured towards Jessica’s direction, she felt a strange sense of tension float her way.  What was going on between those two and why were they arguing in this crowd?

Jessica felt mildly reassured when the other woman walked away, storming out of the ballroom with her head held high.  She had no idea who had won the argument, but the brunette was leaving with her dignity intact.

She had lost the thread of what William was saying but, when the other woman was gone, she turned back to the younger man and tried to listen.  Thankfully, his conversation didn’t really require any kind of response from her end, so she surveyed the other guests, smiling to some that she knew and nodding to any of the handsome men she passed by.  When the song ended, she was flattered when a handsome, dark haired man approached.  “May I have the next dance?”  he asked.

Jessica immediately put her hand into his outstretched one and agreed, leaving the chatty William behind.  “I’m Jerry,” he said as he swung her out into the crowd.

“Jessica,” she replied with a smile.  The man was only about two inches taller than she was so it was easy to look at him while they danced.  She found out that Jerry was an up and coming lawyer who was in town on business, staying with his aunt and uncle.  While they danced, she heard about his case load and several of his family members and Jessica laughed with him about some of his stories about growing up with a large family.

They were talking about their latest vacations when someone tapped Jerry on his shoulder.  “I’m sorry, but she’s with me tonight,” Edward said with finality.

Edward didn’t wait for the man to respond, but simply took Jessica’s hand and spun her around so that she was in his arms.

Jessica gasped as he pulled her close and she tried to focus, but her mind was spinning out of control.  Being this close to the man was shocking and she absolutely loved being in his arms.  His spicy aftershave made her heart race and her nostrils tingle.  She worried that he would notice her breathlessness, but tried to hide it by staring straight ahead, which happened to be the middle of his chest.  Not good, she told herself.  She wanted to pull her hand out of his and rest her palm against his chest, to smooth her fingers down the front of his silk tuxedo shirt, feel his muscles.

Her mind whirled with the possibilities and she almost stumbled as he turned unexpectedly.  He didn’t let her though, his strong, muscular arms tightening around her waist and pulling her closer, exactly where she wanted to be.  And unfortunately, exactly where she shouldn’t be.

“Relax,” he said softly, his voice deeper as he held her slightly closer.

She tried, but it was impossible to relax in this particular man’s arms.  He was too strong, too muscular, too overwhelmingly male for her to relax.  And she’d longed for this moment for so long, she wanted to both savor the feeling as well as move closer and revel in the way his arms wrapped around her.  She wanted to remember every moment so when she was married to a man she only liked, and was barely attracted to, she could curl up in the dark and re-live this moment.

As the music ebbed and flowed, she loved the way Edward held her, moved her and guided her through the steps.  She knew exactly what he was going to do moments before he did it and she felt as if they were somehow connected.  Their dancing was so perfect, so smooth and wonderful she didn’t want to ever leave this ballroom.  She could be happy for the rest of her life just dancing in his arms and feeling like she was dancing on a fluffy, white cloud.

“I should introduce you to Michal Fitzhugh,” Edward said, his deep voice vibrating against her body.

His words were so counter to what she’d been thinking that they snapped her out of her dream and her wounded eyes looked up to his.  “Michael?”  she asked, not sure how he could possibly bring up another man at a time like this.

“He’s the son of Lord Fitzhugh, a very old and distinguished family,” Edward continued.  He cleared his throat and looked over her head.

Jessica was more hurt than she wanted to admit.  She pulled back, her face trying to hide the pain she was feeling.  The music stopped at that moment and she stepped out of Edward’s arms, giving herself space and time before she reacted to Edward pushing her back into another man’s arms.

“Michael,” Edward called out and Jessica was startled that the introduction was going to take place immediately.  She’d assumed that there would at least be time for her to recover while Edward found the gentleman in question but apparently the man had been standing directly behind them.

A younger man with blond hair and a bright smile turned to face Edward.  “Good evening, my lord.  It’s a pleasure to see you again,” the man said as he took Edward’s hand, bowing to ingratiate himself.

“Good to see you again.”  Edward paused and looked down at Jessica.  “I was hoping you could do me a favor.  I need to discuss something with an acquaintance I just saw but would you mind dancing with Ms. Mallory in my place?”

Michael looked over at Jessica and his eyes lit up even more brightly.  “It would be my honor, my lord,” he said and extended his hand to Jessica.

Jessica looked up at Edward and realized that he was already moving off, not even looking at her so she turned back to Michael and placed her hand in his.  “I guess you’re the unlucky sap who gets the chore of dancing with me next, eh?”  she joked, trying to make light of the way she’d basically been dumped unceremoniously onto another man.  She glanced at Edward’s retreating back and wished she had something to throw at him.  Wouldn’t that be embarrassing, she thought with a secret smile?

“I consider it a huge honor to dance with such a beautiful lady,” he replied, smiling and bowing over Jessica’s hand in a very old fashioned manner.

He took her into his arms and held her about as far away as he could while still touching her and she almost laughed at how ludicrous they looked.  “So what do you do, Michael?”  she asked, trying to put him at ease.

“I…uh…manage my family’s estate,” he finally said, reacting as if she’d just thrown him off of his count.  Which she had, she realized a moment later when the man stepped on her toes, then bent down to apologize profusely.

Jessica felt sorry for the man and smiled, pretending that her toe wasn’t in pain.  “And where is your family’s home?”

“In Westchester,” he nodded.

“Do you like it out there?”

“Lovely area,” he replied succinctly.

Jessica finally took the hint and stopped talking.  The man really did need to count to the beat of the music in order to dance.  She liked him in a sort of wounded puppy sort of way.  When the dance ended, Jessica took his hand assertively and thanked him for the dance.  “You’re wonderful and I sincerely appreciate your time.  I’m off to find Edward again,” she lied and left before he could argue with her, or start up a conversation that might cause him to lose count of his toes this time.

She was heading towards the bathrooms, wanting just a few minutes alone to check on her toes when a man stepped out in front of her.  “Michael is an idiot,” the handsome man said.  “I’m Jacob Maloney,” he explained and took Jessica’s hand in his warm one.  “I apologize for my classmate and hope that you’ll give me the chance to help you recover from his ineptitude.”

Jessica laughed and shook her head.  “Whereas Michael might be a wee bit awkward, I believe you might be too smooth for my taste, sir.”

He took it with good humor, and slapped a hand against his chest.  “Say it isn’t so!  You’re too gorgeous to just ignore though.  So give me a chance and maybe I’ll bumble along for a few steps.  Will that make you feel better?”

Jessica laughed again, delighted with his charm even though she wasn’t falling for it one little bit.  “If you step on my toes, I get to stab yours with my heel,” she warned, putting her hand into his in a non-verbal agreement to dance with him.

He glanced at her feet and viewed her spike heels with trepidation.  “You drive a hard bargain but you’re beauty is too amazing for me to not risk personal injury.  I accept your terms,” he said and tucked her hand on his elbow, leading her out onto the dance floor once again.  They had gone only one circle around the dance floor when Jacob looked over his shoulder.  Once again, Edward stood there, looming over the smaller man like a furious mountain.

“Your father is looking for you Jacob,” Edward said and didn’t even wait to be polite but took Jessica’s hand.  Without another word, he took Jessica into his arms and danced away from the stunned younger man.  No explanation, no teasing to ease the situation, just an abrupt end which left the man standing in the middle of the other dancers, leaving him to awkwardly make his way to the side of the dance floor.

“That was rude!”  Jessica snapped at him.

“Jacob is a notorious flirt.  He’s completely wrong for you.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She pulled out of his arms and left him standing there just as he’d done to Jacob a moment later.

Edward wasn’t the same kind of man though and she should have known better to try it with him.  Edward grabbed her arm and pulled her right back into his arms, locking her in place and continuing the dance.  They were getting curious stares from the other dancers, but Jessica didn’t care.  She was so furious with him she couldn’t speak for a long moment.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”  she demanded when he pulled her closer to him.

“Keep your voice down.  And realize that we’re dancing if it’s such a mystery to you.”

“We are not dancing!  You are dragging me around against my will.  I’m sure there’s an issue with kidnapping here.”

“In public?”  he laughed and shook his head.  “Be real, Jessica.”

Jessica tried to pull out of his arms once again but he pulled her tighter, molding her against him and she gasped, looking up into his eyes.  She saw the fire in his eyes and shook her head.  “You’re not playing fair.”

“I never play fair.  I play to win.”  He glared right back at her and finally said, “Please explain to me why I leave you with a perfectly acceptable man and every time I turn around, I find you with a man who is the complete opposite of who you should be conversing with?  The two men I’ve pulled you away from would be more than happy to share your bed, Jessica, but they won’t marry you.  Not even for all of your father’s money.  So focus on the assignment!”

The music ended and in typical Edward fashion, he turned to politely applaud the musicians.  She took that moment to escape, walking away from him as quickly as she could in the opposite direction.

Before she could get more than a few steps, Edward was right beside her, guiding her over to the edge of the ballroom.  “What’s going on with you, Jessica?”  he asked, his face a mask of indifference but she could see the anger in his eyes.

She stared up at him for a stunned moment, then it came to her.  He really didn’t get it.  He had absolutely no clue what kind of man she was interested in.  She was twenty-five years old, forced to marry or have thousands of people lose their jobs and the only part of this situation that can make it palatable is to find someone she’s attracted to.  And he was intent on shoving boring or irritating men in her direction.

“Do you honestly believe that either of the men you’ve pushed on me might be interesting companions for the rest of my life?”  she asked, wondering what he might think about marriage and her prospects in general.

“I think they are good, solid men who would be happy to have you.”

She blinked.  “Okay, do you think I would be happy to have them?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging slightly.  “I honestly have no idea what kind of man interests you.  But I think you should stick to probable candidates instead of the ones who are just out for an easy conquest.”

She was fed up with him and his obtuseness.  Poking him in the chest with her forefinger, she leaned up to him, trying to emphasize her anger.  “Why don’t you just leave me alone and let me go about this my own way.  I refuse to let you convince me that I’m some sort of horrible leper or an ugly bug that needs to be married off to the first available man who can stomach me.  I put more value on myself than you do and think that my prospects are much better than men who step on my toes and can’t dance and talk at the same time, or some guy who has mother issues.  So just stay out of this!”

She started to turn around and walk away, but once again, he stopped her and turned her back so she was facing him.  This time though, he had her back up against the ballroom wall and he was looming over her.  She tried to pretend it didn’t impact her, but this side of Edward was downright intimidating.  “No, Jessica.  This is the way it’s going to work.  I took on this task and I’m going to see it through whether you like it or not.  We’re going to get you married to someone who will treat you well and who you have a small amount of affection for and you’re going to go about your life making babies or traveling or whatever else it is that you want to accomplish in this world.  While that is happening, you’re going to listen to my advice and honestly assess the men I introduce you to.”