The Earl's Outrageous Lover Page 0,22

He too changed from amusement to understanding and her body felt his reaction. She knew she should pull away, but they were the only ones in the area this early in the morning and it was ominously quiet after all the shooting moments ago.

“Yes….well…” she said, stepping back and smoothing her skirt down over her hips. “That was quite….exciting,” she said awkwardly. She wanted nothing better than to stay in his arms, maybe have him bend lower and kiss her gently. To feel his arms tighten around her. But he wasn’t the man for her and besides, he also wasn’t a free man and Julianna was a nice woman.

She cleared her throat and stepped back, letting her hands fall to her sides. “I guess that’s enough for today,” she said and glanced down at her watch. “Goodness! It’s already eleven o’clock. Where is this luncheon?” she asked.

Edward also looked down at his watch, wondering how they could have spent two hours shooting this morning. Time had definitely gotten away from him.

“We need to get out of here,” he said and slid the magazine out of the pistol, ensuring that there weren’t any rounds chambered before he took both pistols back to the front of the store. He handed them back to the manager who inspected them, then led Jessica out into to the autumn sunshine.

“I’ll follow you?” she asked.

Edward looked at her Mini Cooper and considered their options. “How about if Tim drives us to the lunch? I’ll have someone bring your car back to your house. That will save a bit of time.”

Jessica wasn’t sure how it would save time, but worse, she had other activities tentatively scheduled for the afternoon. “I’m not coming back to my house this afternoon. I have plans,” she replied, not looking up at him now.

Edward looked down at her with something akin to trepidation. “What kinds of plans do you have this afternoon?”

She smiled up at him, feeling proud of her next idea. “I’m going to learn to box.”

Edward groaned and shook his head. “You are not going to learn to box, Jessica,” he commanded. He took her arm and led her over to the back of the limousine, Tim already holding the door open for the two of them.

Jessica tried to pull her arm away but he held her firmly. “And just why am I not going to learn to box? Lots of men box which means there will be plenty of men at the gym to meet. I think boxing is a very manly sport and it would be exciting to box even if I don’t meet any men.”

Edward sat down and rubbed his forehead, wondering how he was going to get through the next two weeks if she continued to come up with ideas like boxing and shooting. What might she come up with next? Sword fighting?

“Jessica, can’t you just take the traditional route and meet me at social functions?” he asked, his concern for her safety and well being causing a pain to run through the bridge of his nose.

She put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him, but the intensity of the electricity that shot through the two of them was instant and powerful. She immediately pulled her hand back, but not before Edward looked down at her hand, then into her eyes. The heat was there once again, passionate and obvious and it terrified her. She quickly pulled back and looked out the window, not sure of what was happening between the two of them.

“Of course I can,” she said softly, still reeling from the impact of her simple touch on his arm. “But as you’re so quick to point out, I have a deadline. I can’t mess around with this issue, Edward. I need to meet as many men as possible.”

“Not boxing,” he countered. He was determined to keep her from going into a boxing ring, his mind already picturing her soft, gentle skin with black and blue bruises all over the lovely surface caused by some idiot trying to show her how to box.

Jessica crossed her arms over her chest and sighed heavily. She wasn’t sure what she should do about Edward. Just sitting here next to him was distracting and she couldn’t come up with an argument for why boxing would be a good idea. All the things she’d thought about this morning were out the window because he was nearby. Maybe she shouldn’t tell him what her plans were each day.