she said, hissing the words through her teeth.
Her chin lifted and, before Anthony could comprehend what she was about, she opened her mouth and called loudly, “ Hawk— ”
Anthony grabbed her. His only thought was to keep her from making such a racket that she brought the entire household into the sitting room. But the frustrating events of the morning and the sudden, enthralling feel of her full breasts pressed against his chest cracked the veneer of Anthony’s calm logic and released a torrent of pent-up emotions, emotions that flared to life all too quickly around the fiery-headed woman he now held in his arms.
Thus it was that Anthony Elliot, the always proper ninth Earl of Greyley, did something he never did. He lost control of his carefully contained anger and kissed the woman he wanted to hire as a governess.
Chapter 4
I will never again play cards with Lord Greyley. There is no lower feeling than dealing to a man who never loses .
Lord Brevenham to Miss Devonshire, over an ice at the Waltham musicale
O f all the stolen kisses Anna had been made to suffer since becoming a governess, Greyley’s was different. It wasn’t apologetic or furtive, but forthright and passionate. It stormed the frigid barriers she’d erected about herself and shattered her illusion of control, burning a way past her shocked defenses before she could do more than gasp.
Anna responded immediately, though not in the way she should have. Instead of doubling her hands into fists, she found herself clutching Greyley’s lapels, pulling him closer. As he deepened the kiss, his mouth searing across hers, she moaned softly, the sound delicious and wanton, urging her on.
And why not? the heated part of her wondered. Why not taste just this one, tiny bit of pleasure? She deserved it. The part of her that lusted after the feel of raw silk, that reveled in the glitter of a diamond pin, that unabashedly desired finery and pleasure and fun—it wound its way through her, heightening her senses, and completely silencing the other, morelogical part that mumbled a warning of some sort, the incoherent thought lost as Greyley’s tongue slid across Anna’s lower lip. The erotic gesture sent a shudder of delight straight to her toes.
One of the brass buttons that adorned his waistcoat brushed the bared skin at her throat. The cold metal chilled her reactions, and Anna broke the embrace. Here she was, kissing a man as if she—and it was Greyley, which made it all the worse. “Heavens!” she heard herself say. The room was awhirl with color and silence, her mouth and cheeks tingled as if they’d both been assaulted by the earl’s talented lips.
“Heaven, indeed,” Greyley murmured. His gaze was fastened on her mouth, a disturbing glint in his dark gaze. “Congratulations, Thraxton. You are indeed as fiery as you look.”
Anna thought she could hear a dismissal in his tone and she stiffened, her heart lurching. By God, she wouldn’t be made a fool of—not this time. “Fiery? I only wish I could say the same of you,” she managed to puff out. “I’ve been better kissed by the footman.”
The statement shocked her as much as it did Greyley. His brows snapped down. “Been kissing the footman, have you? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Anna didn’t know about that— she was certainly surprised at the information, especially as they didn’t even have a footman. She ran her fingers over her bottom lip and tried to clear her mind. When had Greyley learned to kiss in such an expert manner?
She burned to realize what he must think of her wanton response. She’d never allowed anyone such liberties before. It must be because he was Sara’s brother. Anna had known Greyley for years, and though their discourse had never been easy, they had always managed to ignore the heated discordthat echoed between them. Until now. “I don’t know why that happened—”
“I do,” he said. “I know exactly why it happened.”
To
Her chin lifted and, before Anthony could comprehend what she was about, she opened her mouth and called loudly, “ Hawk— ”
Anthony grabbed her. His only thought was to keep her from making such a racket that she brought the entire household into the sitting room. But the frustrating events of the morning and the sudden, enthralling feel of her full breasts pressed against his chest cracked the veneer of Anthony’s calm logic and released a torrent of pent-up emotions, emotions that flared to life all too quickly around the fiery-headed woman he now held in his arms.
Thus it was that Anthony Elliot, the always proper ninth Earl of Greyley, did something he never did. He lost control of his carefully contained anger and kissed the woman he wanted to hire as a governess.
Chapter 4
I will never again play cards with Lord Greyley. There is no lower feeling than dealing to a man who never loses .
Lord Brevenham to Miss Devonshire, over an ice at the Waltham musicale
O f all the stolen kisses Anna had been made to suffer since becoming a governess, Greyley’s was different. It wasn’t apologetic or furtive, but forthright and passionate. It stormed the frigid barriers she’d erected about herself and shattered her illusion of control, burning a way past her shocked defenses before she could do more than gasp.
Anna responded immediately, though not in the way she should have. Instead of doubling her hands into fists, she found herself clutching Greyley’s lapels, pulling him closer. As he deepened the kiss, his mouth searing across hers, she moaned softly, the sound delicious and wanton, urging her on.
And why not? the heated part of her wondered. Why not taste just this one, tiny bit of pleasure? She deserved it. The part of her that lusted after the feel of raw silk, that reveled in the glitter of a diamond pin, that unabashedly desired finery and pleasure and fun—it wound its way through her, heightening her senses, and completely silencing the other, morelogical part that mumbled a warning of some sort, the incoherent thought lost as Greyley’s tongue slid across Anna’s lower lip. The erotic gesture sent a shudder of delight straight to her toes.
One of the brass buttons that adorned his waistcoat brushed the bared skin at her throat. The cold metal chilled her reactions, and Anna broke the embrace. Here she was, kissing a man as if she—and it was Greyley, which made it all the worse. “Heavens!” she heard herself say. The room was awhirl with color and silence, her mouth and cheeks tingled as if they’d both been assaulted by the earl’s talented lips.
“Heaven, indeed,” Greyley murmured. His gaze was fastened on her mouth, a disturbing glint in his dark gaze. “Congratulations, Thraxton. You are indeed as fiery as you look.”
Anna thought she could hear a dismissal in his tone and she stiffened, her heart lurching. By God, she wouldn’t be made a fool of—not this time. “Fiery? I only wish I could say the same of you,” she managed to puff out. “I’ve been better kissed by the footman.”
The statement shocked her as much as it did Greyley. His brows snapped down. “Been kissing the footman, have you? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Anna didn’t know about that— she was certainly surprised at the information, especially as they didn’t even have a footman. She ran her fingers over her bottom lip and tried to clear her mind. When had Greyley learned to kiss in such an expert manner?
She burned to realize what he must think of her wanton response. She’d never allowed anyone such liberties before. It must be because he was Sara’s brother. Anna had known Greyley for years, and though their discourse had never been easy, they had always managed to ignore the heated discordthat echoed between them. Until now. “I don’t know why that happened—”
“I do,” he said. “I know exactly why it happened.”
To
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