The Earl's Outrageous Lover Page 0,57
and he’s not letting go and enjoying the fun, is that it?”
Jessica raised one shoulder. “Well, I’m pretty sure he enjoys everything, just not with the kind of…wild abandon he used to have.”
“And you want the crazy lover instead of the controlled one. Am I right?”
“Exactly.” She sighed, enormously relieved that James finally understood even though she’d completely jumbled the explanation. “So what can I do to change this?”
James sat back and stared at the lovely, vivacious woman who was nervously playing with her fork. He had gotten to know Edward over the past couple of weeks and was already working on a business deal with him so he had a great deal of respect for Jessica’s husband. He didn’t want to intrude, but he also knew that he had to help Jessica with her problem. And hopefully help Edward as well.
“Not to get into details, but have you thought about doing something to get him into that crazy passion before he touches you?”
Jessica thought about that for a moment. “No, not really. There’s not much of a chance to do that,” she explained carefully. She didn’t want to reveal too much about her personal life, but she wanted James to be clear about what was happening.
James nodded, having the same issue whenever he was around Julianna. And he really loved breaking her out of that cool, composed façade she liked to portray to the world. When he got beneath her control, she was like a different woman and he loved it!
He thought of all the things that might work, ideas that she could actually do without too much embarrassment or inhibitions. “Be more suggestive from a distance. Tease him more. Get him to a place where he can’t maintain the control he constructs around his whole life. You want him to be the man he is underneath that rigid control, right?” he asked, knowing he wanted the same thing with Julianna.
“Right.”
“So do things he’s not used to. Things he won’t expect. And do it at a time when he can’t control the situation so that when there’s more privacy, he’s already to the point that you want him to be.”
Jessica laughed, her mind already going into overdrive as she thought about different ways to push Edward over the edge. She’d done that over and over again in the beginning but she hadn’t even been aware of it. But to do it on purpose?
She took a bite of her salad and her shoulders relaxed. “I like the idea. I think I’ll stop by the book store and get some specifics.”
James raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “I have a funny feeling that you could come up with ideas all on your own. I shudder to think of what crazy ideas books might give you. They have the basics, but you tend to put your own spin on everything.”
Jessica was about to take another bite, but his comment stopped her and she smiled, tilting her head to the side. “James, that’s probably the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me.”
James rolled his eyes. “Shut up and eat, you strange woman. And tell me what else is happening in your life.”
She did as he said and explained her job search, the strangeness of living in Edward’s house when she’d been living in her father’s house her whole life except when she’d gone away to school and the events coming up this weekend.
By the end of the meal, Jessica was so eager to come up with different ways to drive Edward crazy so that he would lose that horrible control of his she practically jumped up once the bill was paid, gave James a huge hug and hurried out of the restaurant.
She went directly to a bookstore and bought several titles that seemed like a good start, then headed back to Edward’s house to read them. Ensconced in the middle of their bed, she read through one idea after another, becoming more and more turned on as she read through their suggestions. She couldn’t wait for Edward to come home so she could try out some of their ideas.
When he walked in that night, she jumped off the bed, unaware that the afternoon had passed by so quickly. She smoothed down her grey dress and slipped her red shoes back on, then gathered up all the books that were scattered over the bed, hiding them in her closet way in the back so he wouldn’t find them.
She hurried down the stairs, smoothing