Free The Earl's Outrageous Lover by Elizabeth Lennox

going to learn to box, Jessica,” he commanded.  He took her arm and led her over to the back of the limousine, Tim already holding the door open for the two of them.
    Jessica tried to pull her arm away but he held her firmly.  “And just why am I not going to learn to box?  Lots of men box which means there will be plenty of men at the gym to meet.  I think boxing is a very manly sport and it would be exciting to box even if I don’t meet any men.”
    Edward sat down and rubbed his forehead, wondering how he was going to get through the next two weeks if she continued to come up with ideas like boxing and shooting.  What might she come up with next?  Sword fighting?
    “Jessica, can’t you just take the traditional route and meet me at social functions?”  he asked, his concern for her safety and well being causing a pain to run through the bridge of his nose.
    She put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him, but the intensity of the electricity that shot through the two of them was instant and powerful.  She immediately pulled her hand back, but not before Edward looked down at her hand, then into her eyes.  The heat was there once again, passionate and obvious and it terrified her.  She quickly pulled back and looked out the window, not sure of what was happening between the two of them.
    “Of course I can,” she said softly, still reeling from the impact of her simple touch on his arm.  “But as you’re so quick to point out, I have a deadline.  I can’t mess around with this issue, Edward.  I need to meet as many men as possible.”
    “Not boxing,” he countered.  He was determined to keep her from going into a boxing ring, his mind already picturing her soft, gentle skin with black and blue bruises all over the lovely surface caused by some idiot trying to show her how to box.
    Jessica crossed her arms over her chest and sighed heavily.  She wasn’t sure what she should do about Edward.  Just sitting here next to him was distracting and she couldn’t come up with an argument for why boxing would be a good idea.  All the things she’d thought about this morning were out the window because he was nearby.  Maybe she shouldn’t tell him what her plans were each day.  He looked a bit anxious about her ideas.
    Besides, she had liked him showing her how to shoot the pistol too much.  She liked the way he came close, his body almost pressing against hers as he wrapped his arms around her.  She moved in her seat and looked out the window, sighing at the scenery passing by.
    She wanted to question him, to see if he felt any of the tension she was feeling or if it was all one sided but in the end, she didn’t want to know.  She might have the courage to pick up a conversation with a complete stranger, but she didn’t have that kind of courage when it came to Edward.  He was just too big, too intimidating and she cared too much about his answer.
    The luncheon was a total waste of her time.  The men at the meeting were older, the youngest being in his late fifties.  It was a meeting of chief executive officers of various companies around the city who congregated occasionally to talk shop.  There were several other wives that Jessica could talk to while the men discussed business, but even Edward realized that the meeting wasn’t a productive atmosphere for her purposes.  She smiled to him each time he looked in her direction, but for the most part, she sat and talked with the women, listening to their stories about their grandchildren and the issues of being married to a man with so much responsibility.  Many of the women complained that they rarely got to see their husbands, and some even relished the nights he was gone or the weeks when their husbands were out of town.
    Jessica looked over at Edward, surrounded by several other older men, none of whom were even close to his height or had his air of confidence.  All of them seemed to be asking his advice and she admired him for his