Page 35 of The Beastly Earl

“A topic that isn’t your concern,” he said through clenched teeth.

“As his governess, it is my concern.” Louisa’s voice held a defiant note as she glared at him. “All he wants is to be loved, Ewan. He wants to be loved so desperately.”

“You clearly don’t understand what a boundary is, Louisa,” he snarled.

With an angry noise of frustration, he lost his head and did the only thing he could think of at the moment to silence her. Her eyes widened as his hand curled around the nape of her neck then tugged her close so his mouth could taste the heat of hers.

A small sound of surprise vibrated against his lips as he kissed her hard. In the back of his head, he heard shouts of warnings, but ignored them as he experienced the first hot taste of her. Sweet and succulent as a summer strawberry, her lips singed his in a way that cautioned him to release her.

The warning went unheeded as he plundered her mouth as a man who’d just found a forbidden treasure. Beneath his kilt, his cock hardened and jutted outward in a silent demand for satisfaction. The soft murmur whispering out of her gave him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth until it mated with hers. The sugary confection they’d had for dessert still lingered in her mouth, and he couldn’t remember a tablet tasting any sweeter than it did at this precise moment.

The scent of roses filled his nostrils with every breath he took. It was an aroma he knew he would recognize even in the dark. Until now, she’d been passive against the assault of her mouth, but with a quiet mewl of pleasure, her tongue hesitantly twirled around his. With each passing second, her response grew until it was an uncontrolled, heated response that fired his blood.

Every stroke of her tongue against his made his cock throb. It was an unfulfilled ache he’d only experienced in the dark when dreaming of her or remembering her beautiful lush curves. He wanted to explore every inch of her with his hands and mouth until he’d committed all of her to memory. Desire pounded against his body as the need to drag her off to his bed surged through him.

The thought pierced the red haze of desire engulfing him, and he jerked away from her. Her hazel eyes fluttered open, and his heart slammed into his chest at the desire flaring in her gaze. Christ Jesus, what the fuck was he thinking to kiss her like that. A knot formed in his throat as he retreated from her completely. Determined to avoid something like this ever happening again, he narrowed his gaze at her.

“As I indicated earlier, if you continue to act as if you were mistress of Argaty House then I’ll assume you’re willing to perform all the duties that accompany the role.”

For a moment, she stared at him with a mixture of mortification and disbelief. The impact her expression had on him was no different than if someone had landed a hard blow to his stomach. A split-second later, anger flushed her sweet face. If he’d thought she would retreat, he’d been wrong. The woman was hopping mad, and he knew Louisa Morehouse well enough by now to know she wasn’t about to let him have the last word.

“You kissed me, you arrogant beast. And I am most certainly not trying to act like the mistress of your house,” she snapped. “I’ve become quite attached to your son, and the least you can—”

Louisa froze in mid-sentence as her eyes widened and her gaze focused on the wall behind him. Despite knowing he wouldn’t see anything, he instinctively looked over his shoulder to confirm the fact. When he faced her again, he saw pain and guilt cross Louisa’s features as the color drained from her face. She quickly averted her gaze from his, but not before he saw tears shimmering in her lovely eyes. Certain the an dara sealladh had shown her something, he moved quickly around the desk to catch her if she were to faint.

“What is it lass? What did you see?” he asked quietly as he touched her arm. She immediately jumped away while keeping her head turned so he could only see her profile.

“The past. I saw the past.” The words were less than a whisper as he saw her fingers brush across the cheek she kept half-hidden from him. “If you’ll excuse me, my lord, I’ll bid you goodnight.”

Before he could stop her, she spun away from him and hurried toward the door. He started to follow, but she was gone before he was halfway across the room. Whatever she’d seen, it had raised memories of a painful past. The emotions he’d seen on her face just now, were the same as those he’d seen the night he’d asked if she’d driven her man to drink. He returned to his chair and sank down into the smooth wood seat as he continued to stare at the door Louisa had closed behind her.

What in the name of all the saints had he been thinking to kiss her? Ewan hit the arm of his chair with his fist. With a groan of self-disgust, he closed his only eye as he remembered how he’d tried to silence her with a kiss. Even now the sweet hot taste of her lingered on his lips.

He’d seriously miscalculated the depth of his desire for Louisa. A snort of contemptuous laughter escaped him. It hadn’t been an error, it had been nothing short of denial. Every time he was near her, he’d convinced himself to believe his attraction nothing more than the length of time he’d been without a woman. His refusal to admit the truth had brought him to the brink of insanity.

Christ Jesus, it was far worse than insanity. That kiss had only increased his desire for her. It made him want much more than another taste of her lips. No, he wanted the woman in his bed, and that was madness. He needed to stay as far away from Louisa Morehouse as possible.

Another groan escaped him the instant he admitted that action would likely prove to be a futile effort. Even if he tried to keep his distance, he had no doubt Louisa would make it difficult for him to do so.

§ § §

Louisa swayed as she closed the door of Ewan’s study behind her. Asadi, sitting in his usual place outside the door, was on his feet in a flash of movement to hold her steady.

“You are ill, Morehouse sahibah?” At the concern in the young man’s voice Louisa shook her head. She patted the young man’s hand on her arm in a reassuring manner.

“I’ll be fine, Asadi. I’m simply tired.”

“I will walk you to your room.”

“There’s no need to—”

“I will take you.” Asadi’s face had assumed an expression that said she wasn’t to argue with him.

“I think you’ve been working for the earl too long. You’ve acquired his stubbornness,” she murmured with irony at the idea anyone could be as obstinate as her.

“Argaty sahib would want me to do this.” The determined note in his voice made Louisa acquiesce with a nod.

The sorrow and shame consuming her was making her queasy, and it was impossible not to be grateful for the young man’s insistence to walk her back to her room. Caleb’s appearance in Ewan’s study and subsequent condemnation of her behavior, had shaken her to the core. Eager to put off the inevitable reckoning as to her flaws and self-recrimination, she glanced at the boy beside her.