She stood back abruptly to find him looking amused at the “such as you,” and as he was unwilling to relinquish her, she leaned back into the cradle of his arms.
“But wait…we are to be married?” she asked, forgetting to consider whether she ought to have waited for him to ask.
“I should think so. Don’t you? Should I have issued a more romantic proposal?”
“No. We’re not romantic,” she breathed.
“Not romantic at all,” Flint murmured about an inch from her lips. “But I may die if I don’t kiss you right this—”
His lips just took hers, and their kiss was, quite frankly, savage.
She reveled in it. It was new, because it was a promise, and precious and humbling, and bogglingly erotic. He kissed her like a man starved, like a man intent on taking her in just a few minutes, and she gave like she thought she’d never give to anyone, her hands tangling in his hair, his hands and arms wrapping her tightly.
“But your home in America…” she said against his lips when they decided they needed to breathe. “All the things you wanted…”
“You’re my home. I’ll go wherever you like. Whether it’s by land or sea.” He moved in for more kissing.
“Truly?” She stood back for a moment. Bit her lip.
He looked worried. “You’re thinking, aren’t you? Don’t.” He leaned in again.
She remained just out of reach of his lips. “But I might like to live in America. Or perhaps you’ll like Sussex. And you have your own properties in England, too. I suppose it depends on whether you want your baby to be born an English or American citizen.”
His expression went as blank as though she’d clubbed him in the head. His arms loosened.
She hadn’t meant it to happen quite like that.
“You’re…we’re…” He stopped.
She would never forget his expression for the rest of her life.
This is what joy looks like. She nearly wept. She could feel the tears burning at the back of her eyes.
“Going to be a family.” And now she was shy again. “Are you going to faint?” She held onto him. “You’re very pale.”
“It’s the color of bliss.”
She smiled a small smile. She was, in truth, afraid. The future dizzied her. But someone needed to look after the Earl of Ardmay, and she would have the privilege of it for the rest of her life. She had no doubt he was equal to the task of looking after her.
He saw something in her face. “Are you going to faint, Violet? Do we need to move over to the settee?”
Before she could answer he’d swept her up in his arms. Taking command.
“Yes, we do need to move over to the settee if you want to kiss me and…otherwise…properly. The door is locked. See if you can kiss me until I at least see stars.”
And Captain Flint, always equal to a challenge, complied.
They both saw stars, of course. The sort by which they would navigate the course of forever.
Acknowledgments
My gratitude to the people who make my dream job even more of a pleasure: my delightful, clever editor, May Chen, and wryly brilliant agent, Steven Axelrod; to all the talented, hardworking people at Avon who helped create the book in your hand; to Kim Castillo for priceless (and fun!) assistance; to all the warm and wonderful and passionately opinionated readers who spread the word about books they love; and deepest appreciation to romance booksellers the world over.
About the Author
San Francisco Bay Area native JULIE ANNE LONG originally set out to be a rock star when she grew up (and she has the guitars and fringed clothing stuffed in the back of her closet to prove it), but writing was always her first love. She began her academic career as a Journalism major, until she realized Creative Writing was a better fit for her freewheeling imagination and overdeveloped sense of whimsy. And when playing guitar in dank, sticky clubs finally lost its “charm,” Julie realized she could incorporate all the best things about being in a band—namely drama, passion, and men with unruly hair—into novels, while also indulging her love of history and research. Since then, her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the RITA®, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, the Holt Medallion, Bookseller’s Best, and The Quills, and reviewers have been known to use words such as “dazzling,” “brilliant,” and “impossible to put down” when describing them. Visit Julie at www.julieannelong.com, www.julieannelong.typepad.com, or www.myspace/julieannelong.
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Romances by Julie Anne Long
I KISSED AN EARL
SINCE THE SURRENDER
LIKE NO OTHER LOVER
THE PERILS OF PLEASURE
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
I KISSED AN EARL. Copyright © 2010 by Julie Anne Long. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
First Avon Books paperback printing: July 2010
EPub Edition © MAY 2010 ISBN: 9780062000187
Version 09282012
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