The Earl's Outrageous Lover (9 page)

“And if I don’t like them at all?”

“You mean after you’ve given them a fair chance to represent themselves?”

She bristled at the implication that she hadn’t given the previous two men a chance to show off their best sides.  But she didn’t think either of them had a good side so she had no qualms about dismissing them.  “I think I give everyone a fair chance before I know whether I am attracted to them or not.”

He looked at her lovely features, those soft, brown eyes looking up at him like he’d just kicked her new puppy and he felt like an absolute heel.  Relenting slightly, he stepped back and rubbed a hand over his face briefly.  “How about if we get through tonight and I’ll introduce you to as many men as I know?  You can also point out any men who look interesting and if I know them, I’ll make the introductions.  If I don’t know them, I’ll find out who they are, do some research on them and get back to you.  Tomorrow, I’ll pick you up for lunch and you can go into more details about the kind of man you find attractive and we can continue this search.  Is that acceptable?”  he asked wearily.

“No!  That’s not acceptable!  I refuse to be a charity case, Edward,” she hissed.

She started walking out of the ballroom, grateful that most of the other guests were already in the dining room so her exit was easier since the crowd had thinned so much.

She made it all the way out of the building before Edward stopped her.  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”  he demanded.

Jessica glared right back at him, but refused to answer him.  Instead, she stepped to the curb and raised her hand, intending to catch a cab and go home.  A good book would be more pleasurable than this kind of treatment.

“Stop it,” Edward growled.  A moment later Tim pulled up and Edward almost pushed her into the back seat.  When the limousine was pulling away, he turned to face the spirited woman beside him.  “Now explain to me why you’re so upset!”

Jessica wasn’t sure how she could explain it if the man really were that obtuse.  “I can’t believe that you could kiss me one moment, then shove me into the arms of another man the next.  Doesn’t that seem like a bad sort of evening to you?”

He rubbed his hand over his face in frustration and nodded.  “You’re right.  I apologize.”

She was so livid, she didn’t even see the warning signs.  All she knew was that she was hurt and confused and she wanted to be away from the man who was causing these feelings to overwhelm her.  “Just leave me alone, Edward!”  she snapped and turned away from him.

“That’s just the problem, isn’t it?”  he snapped right back at her.

Jessica was just about to turn back to him and ask him to explain but she felt his hands on her upper arms.  The next thing she knew, she was on his lap, his hand dislodging the pins in her hair as he grabbed her and kissed her as if there were no tomorrow.  Jessica wasn’t sure what was going on.  She just knew that he was kissing her and everything else was secondary.  Her own hands reached up and held his head, needing something to steady herself while the hurricane of Edward’s kiss hit her full on.

While one hand stayed in her hair, pulling her head back so he had better access, his other hand reached down, his arm circling her waist.  She gasped when she felt his body against hers once again.  It was one thing when they were dancing but when she had the double hit of him kissing her as well she was breathless and that crazy desire swelled up within her, almost choking her with the need to touch him as well.

She moved her hands from his head to his shoulders, sliding underneath the black dinner jacket, feeling his muscles move and flex against her hands.  Down his back, his chest, she felt him everywhere but it wasn’t enough.  She unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and slid her hands inside, stunned by the heat of his skin and the light layer of hair spread across his chest.

Suddenly he was no longer kissing her.  The air around her was cooler and she didn’t understand.  They had arrived back at her house apparently.  But she didn’t need to think about it too much since Edward practically lifted her out of the back of the car, carrying her inside.  He unlocked the door for her, then slammed the door as soon as they were inside.  He didn’t stop there though.  He lifted her into his arms, bringing her back up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Jessica should be embarrassed by the mess of dresses all over her bedroom, but he didn’t give her a chance for anything other than himself, his touch and his kiss.  He slammed her bedroom door as well, then carried her over to the bed, placing her beside it and then pulling her against him as he kissed her once again.

This time, he didn’t stop at her waist when he touched her.  His hands deftly found the zipper on the side of her dress and lowered it, looking into her eyes the whole time as if he were waiting for her to tell him to stop.  But she couldn’t say a word.  Of all the times he’d touched her in the past few days, there had been some crazy feeling that swamped her, made her cry out and she wanted him so painfully despite how different they were.  Those issues didn’t rise up to her consciousness.  All that she knew was that Edward was touching her, kissing her and making her mind more than a little crazy.

When her dress fell to the floor, she stood before him in just her underwear and her gold, strappy sandals.  Initially, she was embarrassed but as she looked up at him, the heat in his eyes changed her feelings to pride.  He wanted to look at her, his eyes were touching her and the feeling was almost physical.

And then his hands were on her, his fingers sliding up her stomach, along her ribs and his palms cupped her breasts.  She gasped when his thumb gently rubbed over her already hardened nipple and she swayed, her hand reaching out to hold onto the bed post.  “Don’t stop,” she whispered, her eyes closed and her mouth open slightly in amazement that one’s body could feel so incredible.

“No chance of that,” he growled and lifted her into his arms, placing her in the middle of the bed and his hands slid down her sides, touching her everywhere along the way.  She wiggled as he smoothed down her stomach and gasped as his fingers left a trail of fire along her legs.

Edward couldn’t believe how incredibly sexy Jessica looked right at this moment.  She was perfect, her long, slender legs, her tiny waist and those breasts that a man could happily die for a taste.  He didn’t hesitate a moment longer, leaning down and taking the nipple in his mouth, sucking, biting, loving the hard nub.  He didn’t relent until she was groaning and her fingers actually knotted in his hair.  But he stopped only long enough to move to the other breast, giving it equal attention.

She was rocking her hips slightly, her legs moving along his sides and he quickly realized that this whole process would be much more enjoyable if he didn’t have this dinner suit on.

He lifted himself up and tore his clothes off, adding them to the colorful rainbow that was already scattered about the room although his landed on the floor while at least her dresses were on the chair and the other furniture.

As he looked down at this amazing beauty, his hand slid up her leg starting at the arch of her foot, across her calf, higher and higher until he reached his goal.  “Open for me, Jessica,” he commanded with his deep voice, made huskier with the lust surging through him.  “I need to touch you everywhere.”

Jessica didn’t think about his command, she reacted to it.  Her legs opened slightly, almost embarrassed by what he was asking of her but she’d read enough to know how this works and she was so turned on by the way he was looking at her and the way he touched her that she soon became more confident.  She gave him the access, then arched her back, closing her eyes as his fingers slid inside her body.  When his thumb rubbed against that nubbin, she gasped and her hands fisted on the thick comforter below her.

As his fingers worked their magic, Jessica’s mouth dropped open again.  She tried to make a sound, but she wasn’t sure if anything came out.  Her body was in control and everything seemed to be spinning, every particle focused on his fingers and the movement, the friction as he slid them in and out and her legs widened to give him better access.  As soon as she tilted her hips, pressing against that magic thumb of his, her body exploded shooting sparks of fire and electricity to every cell in her body.  The throbbing went on and on, nothing in focus, just pure bliss.

When the wave slowed to a dull throb of pleasure, she opened her eyes and looked up, only to see Edward’s face looking down at hers.  He wasn’t smiling.  In fact, he looked just as grim as he normally did but with small beads of perspiration forming on his upper lip and forehead.  She reached her hand up and curled her body into his side, smiling at him despite his grouchy expression.  “That was incredible,” she sighed and kissed his neck.

The feeling of their naked bodies pressed together made her previously sated self feel no longer quite so sated.  Her fingers flew across his chest, exploring the textures that had been out of reach just moments ago as he’d stood beside the bed looking down at her.  Now that he was on her level, she was taking her pleasure in discovering what he felt like and the interesting sounds he made as the air slipped through his teeth when she pressed a kiss to the center of his chest.  Hmmm…she thought and moved to another place on his chest.

When her mouth closed over his flat nipple just as he’d done to her, he groaned and rolled on top of her, grabbing her hands and holding them above her head.  “No more, Jessica,” he said and moved so that his hips were between her legs.  “Lift your legs, honey,” he told her and when she didn’t move fast enough, one hand slid down to her knee and pulled her legs up so that he was cradled by her hips.  He tore the foil wrapper he’d grabbed out of his pocket and sheathed himself quickly before moving right back to where he wanted to be.

As he slid inside her, he watched her face, seeing the wonder as he stretched her.  She shifted her hips slightly to accommodate his size and he gritted his teeth tighter, dropping his head down to her forehead and resting there for a moment.  “Don’t move, honey.  If what I suspect is true, then you can’t move at all.”

“I’ll try,” she gasped out but she wasn’t feeling very blissful or comfortable right at the moment.  “Just hurry, okay?”  she said and her free hand went to his shoulder, her hand gripping the muscles there.  She wasn’t liking this part too much at all.

“You’re just so tight,” he said and took a deep breath, sliding in and out, then in again a bit deeper.  When he felt the resistance of her body, he shuddered and released her other arm.  His strong hand reached up to touch her cheek.  “I’m sorry,” he said a moment before he plunged into her.

Everything in her tightened and her eyes were wide with the pain as her virginity became a thing of the past.  Her nails were biting into his shoulders.  It took only a moment and the pain was gone, leaving her left with a fullness and a wonder, the likes of which she’d never experienced before.  She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and looked up at him.

What she saw melted her heart.  Edward was completely still, his eyes concerned as he waited for her to open her own eyes.  “I’m okay,” she said with tenderness.  Her hand reached up and touched his face gently.  “I’m really good, in fact,” she said and laughed because it was true.

“You’re not,” he growled but his face turned into her palm, kissing it right in the middle.  His mouth then took her finger in his, biting the end gently before taking it into his mouth.

When Edward sucked on her finger, a jolt went through her, right down to her core and she gasped, shifting beneath him.  That actually caused him to move deeper inside her and her eyes rolled back.  Her legs wrapped around his waist and she wiggled, wanting him to move.

He got the message and shifted slightly, watching her face for signs that he should stop.  But she smiled, biting her lower lip in that sexy way while her hips rose up and pressed him deeper, back inside her.

He could only hold back for a few strokes before he had to release his control.  She just felt too incredibly good like this and he let himself go, watching her face the whole time while he moved inside her tight sheathe.  When he felt her coming closer, he reached down and helped her over the edge, and when her throbbing took him over as well and as he pounded into her body, he couldn’t believe how perfect she felt.

A long time later, Jessica curled up and laid her head against his chest, her fingers playing with the light hair scattered across that fascinating expanse of skin.  “That was unexpected,” she sighed and kissed his chest.  If her mouth just happened to be close to that fascinating male nipple, was she to blame?  She laughed when he rolled her over onto her back again in reaction.

“Are you saying you are expecting something now?”  he asked, his hands shifting her so that he was right back where he wanted to be.

Jessica yawned.  “I just wanted to explore,” she said, her eyes wide and innocent.

He shook his head.  “Go to sleep, Jessica,” he said and lay back down.  His long arm reached out and turned off the bedside light.

“What if I don’t want to sleep?”  she said, but the question was ruined by yet another yawn.

He pulled the comforter up and over them, then pulled her closer to him, pulling her bottom against his stomach and holding her in place.  “Sleep now,” he told her gently.  “You’re too sore for anything else.”

Jessica had to admit that she had a certain amount of discomfort in areas she hadn’t really known existed before.  But she doubted she could get to sleep.  The whole night, especially these last few hours, had been just too exhilarating and she wanted to think about everything, to relive the excitement.

Next thing she knew, the sun was coming up over the horizon, spilling onto her bed.

Jessica looked around, wanting to talk to Edward, to question him about last night.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t there in bed with her any more.  Nor were his clothes still scattered among hers on the floor.

With a sigh, she laid back down in the bed, her mind furious that he could be so horrible after all the tenderness he showed her last night.