Sarah's Surrender (Novella) Read Online Free Page B

longed for more, pressed forward in demand, but her mind held back, observed. She felt the power of his body, the strength inherent in his every movement and the grip of his fingers as they pushed her back against the tree. The bristle of his light stubble rubbed against her cheek, although she would have guessed his valet had shaved him within the last couple of hours. Jonathan’s cheeks had always darkened quickly as the day progressed. She remembered when he’d been seventeen and had grown a beard as full as the local hermit’s. It had taken less than two weeks. And then his mother had grabbed him by the ear and demanded its removal.
    He pulled back. His dark eyes stared deep into hers.
    Her eyes fixed on his lips, red and swollen from even the brief kiss. She was glad she could not see her own. Her face was probably flushed and her lips equally puffy. No, she did not want to see herself. The back of her hair probably curled out like a bird’s nest from rubbing against the tree.
    “What are you thinking?” Jonathan’s voice was gruff.
    “What?”
    “You never used to think when I kissed you. It was one of the things that I adored about you.”
    Adored about her.
Her mind stuck on the phrase. He’d adored things about her. She’d always thought he had, but after that last night, she’d been filled with nothing but doubts. “I am not really thinking about anything.”
    “Yes, you are. Tell me.”
    A slight sigh. “If you must know, I was thinking about how awful I must look. My hair probably looks like creatures are living in it. I am unsure if they be birds or mice.”
    A brief smile crossed his lips. “Actually, I think you look better than you have all evening. Even in the darkness I can see the color in your cheeks and a flash of sparkle in your eyes. You are far closer to the girl I used to know than you were when you walked out here.”
    Was that a compliment or not? It was hard to tell. And who trusted a man’s opinion anyway? She’d never known a man who understood the importance of hair. “I will have to trust you.”
    “And have I so lost my touch that you are truly thinking of your appearance as I kiss you?”
    “How do I reply to that? I do not want to damage your image of yourself.”
    He smirked. “When have you ever known me to be so fragile?”
    “But I do not know you anymore. I believe we have already established that.”
    “I do not quite recall such a conversation.”
    “You know it was implied.” How had she ended up sounding the belligerent one? Fiery words were surely no way to seduce a man. Although strangely Jonathan seemed far more interested now than he had a few moments before. There was a gleam in his eyes and they kept dropping to her lips.
    “I admit no such thing. Although I would admit that you never before had problems thinking too much when I kissed you. We will need to work on that.” And then he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers once again.

Chapter 3
    What was he doing? He’d certainly had no plan to kiss her when he followed her out—and he was always careful to never muss a woman when she could be seen in public. He was careful to stay far from any scandal. And yet, he’d wrecked her hair without a thought. Sarah was not far wrong that it looked as if small rodents had been scurrying through her hair. And he found it adorable.
    He never found such things adorable.
    Hell, he wasn’t sure he found anything adorable—not even kittens.
    But Sarah, even this new lifeless Sarah, was somehow adorable. It made no sense. It was alien to him. This was not the man he was. It was better to concentrate on this moment only, to concentrate on the kiss.
    Her lips were hot, firm, wet beneath his own. Her small puffs of breath filled his mouth and then withdrew. Lemonade. Honeysuckle. God, she’d always smelled of honeysuckle, even when she’d been barely a sprout.
    His mind filled with images, a confusion of past and present.
    Sunlight, moonlight, winter chill