imagine a dozen responsibilities, duties, and worries and multiply that by a thousand, extend it to a lifetime, and you’ll have some idea of what being an earl is like. I spend most of my time worrying over issues in Parliament and my estate. I have to worry not only about my own needs but those of whom I employ.” He raked his hands through his hair and then planted his elbows on the counter and continued in exasperation. “It’s like running a bloody miniature country. Frustrating as hell,” he growled. “The only time I ever was able to focus on something outside of my duties to my lands and title was when I was away at university.”
Comprehension flooded Jane, and visions of the websites and news articles she’d read about him flashed across her eyes. A piece of the puzzle of Bastian Carlisle fell into place at last.
“That’s why you pursued such extensive studies. I wondered at the number of degrees and the depth and complexity of your education.” She slapped her hands over her mouth when she realized her words sounded like an insult.
His lips kicked up in a wolfish grin as she blushed to the roots of her hair.
“I mean to say…that is…most people in your position wouldn’t waste time…” That didn’t come out right either. She felt like an idiot.
He reached out and brushed an errant lock of her hair behind her ear, still grinning that devil’s grin. “I know what you meant.”
His touch made her skin tingle and her body flush, as his fingertips coasted over the sensitive shell of her ear.
They were so close on their bar stools. If she moved an inch, their knees would touch.
“Learning was my only solace, my only freedom.” He bit his bottom lip, appearing equally thoughtful and bashful, which turned out to have the most devastating effect on her body. Little shivers and heat flared and fired beneath her skin like sparklers on the fourth of July. She moved without thinking and reached for his bare forearm. His muscles jumped at her touch but he didn’t draw back.
I shouldn’t touch him. She knew it. Her head knew it, but her heart, still bruised and bleeding wanted so badly to connect to him, even if it meant risking itself for more hurt.
“It sounds very silly when I say it out loud,” he mused and shook his head. The action was so disheartening that Jane acted on pure instinct.
She caught his face in her hands and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him. For a long second, only her lips moved, enticing his to respond, and then it was as if she’d unleashed a wild creature. Bastian caught her by the waist with one hand and by the nape of her neck with the other as he dragged her off her stool and onto his lap, forcing her to straddle him. The stumbling action of their coming together had him laughing against her neck as he steadied her. Then he took possession of her mouth again.
She was alone inside her head; no phantoms chased her and pushed her away from her own body. This wasn’t like the drawing room. There was only this wild, raw kiss that felt as old as the stones on the cliff and as unceasing as the waves battering the rocks. Each nibble, each lingering lick and feathering of lips was alluring and dangerous. The need to be with him, to get closer even when their bodies touched everywhere, wasn’t enough. And it was only a kiss. When had time shattered and the universe shrunk to just two bodies pressed together, two mouths fused as one? Never in her life had Jane experienced such a moment. It terrified her. Being with Tim hadn’t felt like this, not even close. But like Tim, the earl thought she was nuts. I need to stop. I need to break away from him before I lose myself.
But it was too late; she was lost. His kiss would haunt her more than any spectral woman in white or leaping shadows. Her feelings, the ones she had refused to accept existed, were now forced into the light and could never be buried again.
As their lips parted reluctantly, he brushed her hair back
Comprehension flooded Jane, and visions of the websites and news articles she’d read about him flashed across her eyes. A piece of the puzzle of Bastian Carlisle fell into place at last.
“That’s why you pursued such extensive studies. I wondered at the number of degrees and the depth and complexity of your education.” She slapped her hands over her mouth when she realized her words sounded like an insult.
His lips kicked up in a wolfish grin as she blushed to the roots of her hair.
“I mean to say…that is…most people in your position wouldn’t waste time…” That didn’t come out right either. She felt like an idiot.
He reached out and brushed an errant lock of her hair behind her ear, still grinning that devil’s grin. “I know what you meant.”
His touch made her skin tingle and her body flush, as his fingertips coasted over the sensitive shell of her ear.
They were so close on their bar stools. If she moved an inch, their knees would touch.
“Learning was my only solace, my only freedom.” He bit his bottom lip, appearing equally thoughtful and bashful, which turned out to have the most devastating effect on her body. Little shivers and heat flared and fired beneath her skin like sparklers on the fourth of July. She moved without thinking and reached for his bare forearm. His muscles jumped at her touch but he didn’t draw back.
I shouldn’t touch him. She knew it. Her head knew it, but her heart, still bruised and bleeding wanted so badly to connect to him, even if it meant risking itself for more hurt.
“It sounds very silly when I say it out loud,” he mused and shook his head. The action was so disheartening that Jane acted on pure instinct.
She caught his face in her hands and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him. For a long second, only her lips moved, enticing his to respond, and then it was as if she’d unleashed a wild creature. Bastian caught her by the waist with one hand and by the nape of her neck with the other as he dragged her off her stool and onto his lap, forcing her to straddle him. The stumbling action of their coming together had him laughing against her neck as he steadied her. Then he took possession of her mouth again.
She was alone inside her head; no phantoms chased her and pushed her away from her own body. This wasn’t like the drawing room. There was only this wild, raw kiss that felt as old as the stones on the cliff and as unceasing as the waves battering the rocks. Each nibble, each lingering lick and feathering of lips was alluring and dangerous. The need to be with him, to get closer even when their bodies touched everywhere, wasn’t enough. And it was only a kiss. When had time shattered and the universe shrunk to just two bodies pressed together, two mouths fused as one? Never in her life had Jane experienced such a moment. It terrified her. Being with Tim hadn’t felt like this, not even close. But like Tim, the earl thought she was nuts. I need to stop. I need to break away from him before I lose myself.
But it was too late; she was lost. His kiss would haunt her more than any spectral woman in white or leaping shadows. Her feelings, the ones she had refused to accept existed, were now forced into the light and could never be buried again.
As their lips parted reluctantly, he brushed her hair back
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