What an Earl Wants by Kasey Michaels Page A

She wasn’t used to that. Her stature had always been a blessing, she’d
thought. Why, she was taller than at least a quarter of the men in this room,
including Richard.
    “I rather thought I was being serious. You do know it’s
inevitable, don’t you? You and I, that is. I won’t even point out it was you who
began this intriguing dance of ours.”
    “I apologize for that,” Jessica said quietly, shooting her eyes
from side to side, praying no one could overhear them and this damning
discussion. “Profoundly.”
    “Ah, but not profusely. Profusely would be nice.”
    “In that case, Gideon, I most profusely apologize for apparently goading you into the ridiculous
display of ungentlemanly behavior I was so unfortunate as to witness this
morning. You must feel so ashamed.”
    He tilted his head to one side as he contemplated her, seemed
to be measuring her in some way. “You’re not lacking in intelligence, are you?
Or brass. There are few who would dare to speak to me so.”
    “Perhaps if more did, you wouldn’t be so insufferably smug. I’m
not afraid of you, Gideon. As to this absurd idea of anything between us being inevitable, I should point out that I have
absolutely no interest in— Let go of me.”
    “Don’t cause a scene,” he said, his grip on her arm looking to
the casual observer to be one of easy familiarity, when in fact she swore his
fingertips were crushing her bones as they walked straight cross the room to the
doorway leading to her apartments. “We don’t want to rouse Richard’s suspicions.
He’s got thirty years on me—it wouldn’t be a fair fight. And I’ll remind you,
Seth is mine, not yours. Smile, Jessica. Let everyone know you’re just
fine.”
    “This is absurd. You...you’re kidnapping me in my own house,”
Jessica whispered angrily, even as she saw the sense in not alarming
Richard.
    Richard paused in the act of drawing in the cards for a
reshuffle. “You’re going upstairs?” he asked worriedly.
    “We’ve some business to discuss, yes. I shan’t be long.”
    “Very good,” Gideon complimented as she concentrated on
inserting the key in the lock she’d earlier made sure was engaged this evening,
which wasn’t a simple matter considering he had hold of her right arm and her
left hand was shaking with nerves.
    Once the door was open and he was forced to release her arm in
the narrow hallway, she lifted her skirts and ran up the stairs, thinking to
slam the upper door in his face.
    Which he appeared to realize, as he stayed so close behind her
it was impossible to implement her admittedly less than hopeful plan.
    Once inside the small sitting room he took hold of her arm
again, swinging her about so that her body was fairly slammed against his, his
face not two inches from hers.
    “Now, you were saying?” he asked her smoothly.
    She was? She’d been saying something? What had she been saying?
Dear Lord, she couldn’t remember! He was so close. His smile was so...intimate.
Mocking. Inviting. Infuriating. Intriguing...
    “Can’t remember?” he asked her, his arms somehow having slid
around to her back, holding her in place, one hand high, between her shoulders,
the other lower...provocatively lower. “Let me refresh your memory. I had been
saying what will happen between us is inevitable, and you were protesting that
you disagree, you harbor absolutely no interest—in what, Jessica? In this?”
    He swooped in like a bird of prey, capturing her mouth just as
she opened it to say—what? What could she possibly say?
    Oh, my. She could say that. If his
tongue wasn’t in her mouth, she could say that. If his right hand wasn’t so
skillfully cupping her bottom, bringing her into intimate contact with the
evidence of his arousal. If her eyes hadn’t closed on all remnants of sanity
left to her, if her heart weren’t beating so wildly, if her arms hadn’t entwined
themselves about his neck...if the world hadn’t suddenly gone mad.
    She was left gasping for