by Amelia Grey
He really wanted to kiss her?
Katherine’s hand tightened on the handle of the cane. Her breath seemed to collect and pool in her throat.
A knowing smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “You’d rather I kiss you than give up your walking stick?”
Would she? Tension like she’d never experienced swirled and sparked between them.
Silently she digested what he said as a tingling awareness gripped her. She hoped the turmoil she was feeling inside didn’t show in her eyes or on her face. From the moment she looked up and saw him standing in front of her, there had been an inexplicable, unrelenting attraction between them.
Finally, she drew in a long uneven breath and said, “I’m not afraid of a kiss, my lord.”
Continuing to watch her carefully, he said, “So you’ve been kissed before?”
Her chin lifted defiantly. “No, but the thought of it doesn’t trouble me. I’ve always expected to be kissed one day.” But she had never expected to dance.
“Afraid to dance but not frightened to be kissed by the man they call ‘the beast’? That makes you very intriguing, Miss Wright.”
He moved his face so close to hers Katherine thought for sure he was going to kiss her. Shivers of dread and anticipation coursed through her and mingled together so rapidly that she didn’t know which emotion would be the victor.
Instead of placing his lips on hers, he hesitated and said, “How can I refuse such a tempting invitation?”
Tightness bound her chest. For a fleeting second she felt close to swooning for the first time in her life. Her knees were quivering but not from the cold or from standing for so long. Was he or wasn’t he going to kiss her?
And did she want him to or didn’t she? All she really knew was that she’d never met a gentleman who stirred her senses the way Lord Greyhawke had.
She took in a shaky breath and managed to say, “That wasn’t an invitation.”
His lips hovered so close to hers it was as if she could already feel them. Anticipation had won.
“It was. You are seducing me and I accept that. What I haven’t decided is whether or not you know you’re doing it.”
Lord Greyhawke threw his hat toward the front gate, and with one fluid motion circled her waist with his hands, lifted her off the ground, and trapped her against his chest as his lips came down on hers with firm, mounting pressure that startled her at first. It was a powerful sensation. Katherine swallowed a small shivery gasp and closed her eyes.
His lips molded impatiently, eagerly, to hers. It was as if he were starving and only the taste of her lips would satisfy him. Caught up in the shelter of his embrace, she felt safer and more whole than she’d ever felt in her life. The warmth of his body and the strength in his arms seemed to sink into her soul and nourish her. Spirals of wonderful sensations curled tightly in her abdomen and then seemed to shoot through her body as she surrendered to the first stirrings of passion that had awakened within her.
Time seemed to be suspended. Katherine relaxed and concentrated on the pleasure soaring within her.
The thrills that swept through her were shattering all she had ever imagined a kiss would be. Thoughts, dreams, and wishes were no comparison to a real kiss delivered passionately by a real man. Their kiss gathered intensity once again. Katherine felt as if she had been waiting for this experience all her life. She welcomed it with open arms and open mind to explore it all.
His lips left hers and he kissed her cheek, under her eye, and down to the corner of her mouth before returning and melting his lips to the contours of hers once more. As they kissed, the movement of his lips upon hers became more languorous and less frantic. It was as if he treasured what he was doing and how he was feeling.
Lord Greyhawke lifted his head a little and looked down into her eyes. “What do you think of your first kiss?”
She moistened her lips and inhaled a deep shaky breath. “That I expected it to be softer and shorter. Much like when Papa used to kiss my forehead or my cheek.”
He chuckled and then said in a reassuring tone, “Miss Wright, a gentleman’s kiss to a lady is not supposed to be chaste like a father’s buss to his daughter.”
“I think I understand that now, and I’m wondering why I’ve never allowed any of the gentlemen who’ve wanted to kiss me to do so. Surely I’ve been missing many opportunities to experience these wonderful feelings it causes deep inside me.”
He gave her a rueful grin. “That’s not the answer I expected from you, but do not think that every man will produce the same response in you that my kiss did.”
She eyed him curiously and watched shadows of moonlight play across his handsome features. “Why not?” she asked.
“I’ll just say that every man kisses differently.”
“How do you know this?”
His lips twitched with a little humor and so did hers. Katherine could tell he was considering how to answer her question so she playfully goaded him by adding, “Have you kissed many men?”
The earl laughed. It was an easy, natural sound that was pleasing to her ears.
“I have never kissed a man. Since no two ladies kiss alike, I will assume it’s safe to think no two men do either.”
“And have you kissed many ladies?”
His gaze feathered down her face and back up to her eyes. She could tell he appreciated her curiosity.
“Enough,” he answered.
Katherine stared into his golden brown eyes and said, “I like the way you kiss.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Miss Wright. I liked your kisses, too. Immensely. Perhaps we should do it again.”
“That would be lovely, but dangerous. We are standing out in the open on my front lawn.”
“It won’t be the first time I’ve done something dangerous. And for reasons I don’t begin to understand and have no desire to contemplate, I am of a mind to tempt fate one more time tonight and kiss you again.”
His words tempted her and eased her fears. “I think I would like that, too, my lord.”
The earl bent his head to hers and sought her mouth once again. Katherine knew what to expect and began to kiss him back. She dropped her cane and wound both her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, urging him to kiss her harder. And he did. She skimmed her hands along the width of his shoulders and down the breadth of his back.
He trembled beneath her searching hands. His arms tightened around her possessively, pressing her breasts against the firmness of his powerful chest as if he were trying to bind her to him.
“Open your mouth,” he whispered against her lips. “Let me inside to taste you.”
She followed his instructions without hesitation and his tongue flicked across the inner surface of her lips and around the corners of her mouth, surprising her. Shivers of exquisite pleasure soared through her. She had never experienced anything as wonderful as being held tightly in Lord Greyhawke’s arms and kissing him.
She wanted to taste him too, so she eased her tongue forward, slowly at first, until she heard him moan softly. That spurred her to respond to his kisses with the same aggressive eagerness he exhibited and their tongues teased and played.
Katherine knew she was the one being seduced, but she didn’t care. She was enjoying every moment of it. She answered every gasp, every moan, and every breath that fell from his lips as they kissed long, deep, and savoring. He slanted his lips over hers again and again. She welcomed the feel of him, the smell and taste of him to all her senses.
“Am I doing it right?” she questioned breathlessly.
“Perfect,” he answered, kissing his way down her chin to her neck and around behind her ear.
Her breath trembled in her throat, but she managed to whisper, “Are—are you feeling the same unexplainable things I am feeling?”
“Oh, yes,” he murmured on a shaky gasp. “And probably many more than you are enjoying right now.”
An unexplained wanting grew low in her abdomen. She had no idea that two
people could create such long, delicious, and wondrous feelings of delight by their lips and bodies touching and coming together so intimately. Now she knew the meaning of all the love poems she’d ever read. What she was experiencing with Lord Greyhawke was the reason they had all been written.
Katherine felt as if she could go on kissing him forever until suddenly the front door opened. She felt the muscles in the earl’s arms jerk and flex with tension. She twisted around and saw the duke, Uncle Willard, and three other gentlemen standing in the doorway, gawking at her and the earl.
Don’t miss more delightful stories from Amelia Grey!
THE DUKE IN MY BED
THE EARL CLAIMS A BRIDE
WEDDING NIGHT WITH THE EARL
(Available in March 2016)
Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
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from St. Martin’s Press!
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About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Amelia Grey read her first romance book when she was thirteen and she’s been a devoted reader of love stories ever since. Her awards include the Booksellers Best, Aspen Gold, and the Golden Quill. Writing as Gloria Dale Skinner, she won the coveted Romantic Times Award for Love and Laughter and the prestigious Maggie Award. Her books have sold to many countries in Europe, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia, and most recently to Japan. Several of her books have also been featured in Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs. Amelia is the author of twenty-five books. She’s been happily married to her high school sweetheart for over thirty-five years and she lives on the beautiful gulf coast of Northwest Florida. Visit her at: www.ameliagrey.com. Or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Begin Reading
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Teaser
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“The Duke and Miss Christmas” copyright © 2015 by Amelia Grey.
Excerpt from Wedding Night with the Earl copyright © 2016 by Amelia Grey.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Author photo © Marcia Reynolds
Cover design by Kerri Resnick
Cover photograph by PixelWorks Studios
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
eISBN 9781250085153
First eBook Edition: October 2015