Free The Earl's Secret by Kathryn Jensen Page B

up any longer.”
    He swept her off her feet and strode with her in his arms to the bedroom. It seemed an endless journey, although it was only twenty-five feet and seconds away. Depositing her tenderly on the bed he stood over her impatiently as she pulled off layers of clothing, her eyes wide and just a little bit fearful even as they sparked with excitement. So many emotions within her, so many within him. But the last thing he wanted to do now was discuss feelings.
    â€œCome,” she whispered, moving over on the bed to make room for him. Her eyes were a vivid emerald, beckoning.
    She was so lovely. She didn’t have a model’s figure. Hers was far better from his perspective. An alluring pair of pert breasts with tiny nipples, a waist that was trim but not starved, hips that rounded to coax a man’s palms to them. He wanted to flip her over and study her reverse side, knowing he’d find it as enchanting and erotic and irresistible as this view of her.
    She reached toward him, her eyes pleading as if she feared his hesitation was a sign he might bolt. Then he was stripping off his own clothes, tossing them wherever, heeding only the inner voice thatdrove him to her alone, for reasons he couldn’t understand. He barely had the presence of mind to retrieve his wallet and a crucial item from it before joining her on the bed.
    Christopher lowered himself over her, supporting the weight of his torso on his elbows, letting the fullness of his manhood rest against her. Just rest there for the moment…as he enjoyed the anticipation, caressed her smooth shoulders, absorbed the light in her eyes, understood her female cravings—which were demanding but delicate and still wary. She couldn’t know after so short a time that he would never do anything to hurt or embarrass her.
    She trusted him. How amazing.
    All the more so because, he sensed, it hadn’t been like this for her with other men. Jennifer was that rare woman who guarded her intimacies, cautiously dispensing them. All the more reason to live up to her trust. He took a moment to open the sealed foil envelope that he’d carried nearly forgotten in his wallet for months.
    â€œTell me if I do anything you don’t want me to do,” he said solemnly after he had taken care of protecting her.
    She nodded, her eyes enormous, glistening, fixed steadily on his.
    Easing her silky legs apart with his knee, he shifted his body to find her. Gently, he moved himself around the tender lips protecting her feminine center, until he felt her moisten and blossom. Her eyes closed in concentration and her fingers curled into his shoulders as she pressed herself upward to meet him.
    Christopher slid within her, telling himself he must hold on, hold on, hold on …until the smooth undulations of his hips coaxed her to climax. She bit down on her lower lip, shuddered with each slow thrust and, at last, let out a gasp of surprise and delight, her eyes wide. He watched with satisfaction as pleasure washed over her sweet features.
    After that he remembered few details. His touches, her responses, all wove a blazing tapestry of passion. He might have shouted out her name before giving himself permission to share her ecstasy, or perhaps that urgent plea had only come from his own fevered mind. He felt her beneath him, buried himself hard and deep within her, and gave himself up to the flames.

Four
    J ennifer woke, her body still tingling delightfully from Christopher’s lovemaking. In all her life she had allowed only two men to touch her intimately. Her first experience had been the summer after she had graduated from high school, with a boy she had known since fourth grade. They had lost their virginity together.
    Her second lover had been her only serious boyfriend. They had dated in college and after, for a total of three years. Then he had been transferred by his company to Chicago. Eventually the long-distance telephone calls and cuddly