Free Say You Love Me by Johanna Lindsey

have a house in the country near there. Was due for a visit anyway, and there is a cottage nearby that I believe is empty, which you should be quite comfortable in for a week or two, until I can make arrangements for something for you in London.”
    “I’m sure it will do nicely.”
    They fell silent for the next hour. Kelsey was warm, and comfortable, and nearly falling asleep when she heard…
    “Kelsey?”
    “Hmmm?”
    “Why did you put yourself up for sale like that?”
    “It was the only—” she started, but stopped abruptly, realizing that she’d been so relaxed and off guard that she’d nearly blurted out the truth. She quickly corrected that blunder with, “That is to say, I’d rather not talk about it, if it’s all the same to you.”
    He tilted her chin up until her eyes met his looking down at her. They were most definitely green, and curious, and something else was there that she couldn’t define.
    “I’ll accept that answer for now, love, but Ican’t say that I will next time I ask,” he said gently.
    And then his head bent, and she felt the soft caress of his lips on hers, nothing threatening, nothing alarming, just the barest touch. She sighed in relief. This wasn’t so bad, was certainly nothing to be frightened of.
    She’d had several young men courting her in Kettering, but none had ever dared to kiss her. Her mother’s eagle eye was always upon them, as was proper. And for a first kiss, this was very nice indeed. She certainly couldn’t see the harm in it, or why parents frowned on their daughters’ participating in such sport.
    His thumb was still rubbing soothingly against her cheek. After a while, though, it moved to the corner of her mouth and tugged very slightly until her lips parted. Then she felt his tongue tracing a path over her lips first, widening them still more, then over her teeth, then beyond.
    This wasn’t the least bit relaxing. In fact, her insides were suddenly rioting with sensations, but as it continued, she realized that they weren’t unpleasant sensations, far from it, just like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
    She tried frantically to recall some of May’s advice. Never lay there like a wet blanket. Caress him at every opportunity when you are alone. Make him think you want him constantly, whether you do or don’t .
    Kelsey had no idea how to make Derek think she wanted him. But caressing him was a simple enough matter—if she could get hermind off what she was experiencing and onto what she ought to be doing. She brought her hand up to his own cheek, spread her fingers up into his hair. Soft and cool it was compared with the heat from his mouth…
    His mouth. It was working magic on hers, keeping her from concentrating on what she was doing. She was gripping his hair without realizing it. Her other hand was digging into his back, pulling at him, as if she could get him any closer to her, as close as he already was. And it was getting so hot she was feeling faint.
    And then his mouth left hers abruptly. Kelsey thought she heard a groan, but whether from her or him she wasn’t the least bit sure.
    But before she could come out of her daze and get her eyes open, she heard him say in a strained tone, “Very well, I can see this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”
    She hadn’t quite grasped his meaning. He was setting her back on the seat across from him, his hands leaving her rather quickly, so she assumed her sitting on him had something to do with it. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as she struggled to regain her composure and combat the blush that she just knew was staining her cheeks.
    When she did finally glance up, he didn’t look too composed himself. He was loosening his cravat and fidgeting on his seat as if nails had suddenly poked through the velvet upholstery under him.
    And then he met her gray eyes and musthave detected her confusion. He made an effort to explain, “When I make love to you, Kelsey, it will be in a