Page 19 of The Beauty and the Boxer
“I’m not terribly excited to return myself,”she said quietly. “Thank you for letting me walk you out. Goodevening, Mr. Archer.”
She curtsied and was about to go, onlysomething in Jack couldn’t let her leave just yet. Against hisbetter judgment and indulging in a baser instinct, he reached forher wrist. Meredith stopped immediately at the gentle gesture.
“I wasn’t consciously aware that you weren’teating,” he said honestly, confused at his sudden wish to explainhimself. “It was something like a sixth sense. An instinct.”
“An instinct?” Meredith repeated softly, herattention on the spot where his hand held her wrist. “Howcurious.”
“Meaning?”
She gazed up at him.
“Only that I shouldn’t know why you would beso aware of my actions or rather, my inactions.”
“I don’t know why either.”
She smiled at him, and for an instant Jackthought he saw a flash of pain in her eyes.
“Goodnight, Mr. Archer,” she said again.
Only Jack didn’t release her wrist. For thelife of him, he couldn’t seem to relax his fingers and release her.Jack had long since been a man of simple truths. A poor workmanwould always blame his tools, all good things come to an end, andthe like. Such proverbs he lived by. He also knew that actionsspoke louder than words and while he wasn’t exactly sure what hewas trying to say, he knew what he wanted to do.
Leaning forward, Jack’s mouth dropped toMeredith’s soft lips and he kissed her.
He had only meant for it to be a fleetingsort of kiss, something that would suggest a farewell, yet it wasanything but. Time and space around them seemed to stall and in thenext instance she moved towards him, kissing him back with a fervorhe hadn’t expected. Jack’s mind went suddenly blank as instincttook over and his hands moved up to hold her face. He wanted tohold onto her, to this moment, for all eternity, as his tonguesearched her mouth. She tasted like sweetened tea and for somereason Jack felt both unreasonably comfortable with her, whilesimultaneously becoming uncomfortable himself, hardening at thetaste of her. There was something devastating about this act and hewas suddenly desperate for it, for her.
Shocked at the realization momentarily, hepulled back, only to stare at a woman whose semi-closed eyesfluttered open. She was breathing heavily, which only pulled hisfocus to her breasts as he tried to quiet the sudden rush of heatthat swarmed his body.
His hand came up to cradle her cheek as hekissed her again, with unfettered furor and she met his eagerness.Her small hands came up to his arms as her fingers flexed, clawinggently at his biceps. It was almost as if she were just asdesperate to taste him, to feel him, almost as if she knew what itwould lead to, but did she?
Did she?
He pulled back to observe her once more, histhumb gently moving over her bottom lip. Jack stared at her with asort of disbelief and she was staring at him with an equalastonishment. After a long moment, her hands dropped from his armsand she took a step back. He didn’t want to leave, but somethingwarned him to pace himself.
“Carbolic soap,” she said softly, her toneoddly erotic, her words less so.
“Excuse me?”
She shook her head as a blush came to hercheeks, her eyes intent on his. She could recite words from adictionary and he’d find himself hot and agitated.
“Goodnight, Miss Taylor,” he said in ahusky, dazed voice.
And without waiting to hear her response, hehopped onto the back of Drachma and disappeared into the night.
Chapter Five
Meredith was in a thoughtful mood all thenext morning. So much so that everyone seemed to believe that shewas feeling under the weather. In truth, she hadn’t been able toform a coherent thought since the night before, due to the factthat she could think of little else other than Jack’s kiss.
What a devastating, earth shattering kiss ithad been.
Every worry, every ounce of guilt she hadever felt about the physical act of lovemaking had drained out ofher when Jack held her in his arms. The moment his mouth touchedhers, a searing sort of appetite she had never known consumed herand the only thing that would sate it, was more kisses.
Oddly, she had also felt protected while heheld her, as if she had always belonged just there, in his arms.Like nothing bad could happen to her when he held her, almost as ifhis guard had dropped and she had crossed into his sentinel. Herskin had tingled all over for want of being touched by his handsand she had barely registered him pulling back and climbing ontohis horse before her senses came back to her.
It had been the single most amorous thingshe had ever experienced and it had only been a kiss.
Sarah must have noticed that she was beingquieter than usual at breakfast, for Meredith kept ignoring herinquiries about the dinner party.
“Hmm?” Meredith asked after the secondattempt at questioning.
