Free The Earl's Secret by Kathryn Jensen Page A

having sex with a near stranger? About his motives for bringing her here?
    Still frantically turning over possibilities in his mind, he felt her clasp his hand and bring it timidly to her breast, as if asking him to take up where hehad left off the night before. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, searching for the strength to tell her no. No, he wouldn’t make love to her.
    But his willpower was depleted.
    Holding her trusting gaze, he unbuttoned her blouse and slid his hand inside, beneath the lacy cup of her bra. Her nipple was warm and flat, but hardened immediately against his palm. Low in his own body, he felt a familiar tightening sensation.
    Christopher looked down at her breast, naked and white against his sun-bronzed hand. “How beautiful,” he murmured, and bent to touch his lips to the quivering rosy circle beneath his thumb.
    She arched against him and shuddered. He licked the tight nubbin, then drew it between his teeth and savored her flesh. As if the bones in her lovely limbs had dissolved, she started to slide from his grasp. He supported her, not wanting to move, not wanting to stop doing what he was doing as he took her other breast and warmed it in his mouth. If ever there was a woman he wanted to bed, this was the one. He’d have plucked her from among thousands.
    Through the heavy, steamy haze of his desire, Christopher told himself he should move slowly, not expect too much from her too quickly. He must give her a moment to look into her heart and stop him if she had second thoughts. Although, he prayed she would not. She hadn’t touched him at all yet, and he longed to feel her hands over him.
    Taking her fingers, he gently pressed them suggestively between their hips. She turned her palm toward him, shaping it over him through his trousers. Even through the textile barrier, the effect of her touch shocked his system. He groaned at the insistent throb.
    â€œIf you mean to change your mind,” he whispered hoarsely, “please be kind enough to do it very soon.”
    Jennifer stared up at him, her eyes wide. They were the most sincere and innocent he’d ever seen in a grown woman. “I can’t tell you why…but I want this,” she whispered.
    He closed his eyes briefly in thanks. He didn’t know what he would have done if she had told him to leave her, now that she’d driven him so high.
    His hand trembling, he moved it toward his belt buckle but she stopped him. “Let me?”
    He smiled. She was perfect: curious, frightened, eager, shy and daring…all wrapped up in one delicious woman. If his emotions were in a whirl at this moment, hers must be in a maelstrom. Selfishly he decided he liked his storm, and he would let her weather her own.
    She slid down his zipper and slipped her cool fingers inside but hesitated at the edge of his briefs. “It’s all right,” he said softly, “if you don’t want to.” He would survive, he supposed.
    His words seemed to give her courage. Her hand moved beneath the stretchy waistband, and she found him.
    â€œOh, my,” she breathed as she wrapped her slender fingers around him.
    He grew in her grip, but steeled himself against taking his own pleasure, for the time being. First he must see to hers. He felt her hand moving tentatively along him, as if she was testing to make sure she was doing it right.
    If you only knew, luv, he thought, gritting his teeth with the effort. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on.
    He ran his hand up her thigh, beneath her skirt. She was wearing his least favorite feminine garment—panty hose. Ignoring the nylon web, he molded his hand over her and pressed gently, learning the shape of her, planning his path. She whimpered again, softly, rested her head heavily against his chest and returned the pressure against his palm.
    â€œPlease…”
    â€œWhat do you want, Jenny?”
    â€œMy knees feel… I can’t stand