Page 64 of Earl

Earl stared at her in mute admiration and wonder. She was unique of course, it was safe to say that he had never met anyone like her, and he wanted her so much, he was on edge.

“Perfectly.” The anger had dissolved, and his lips were quirking. “Shall I share something with you?”

“Of course.”

“It has never been that way with anyone else.”

“I don’t believe you.”

His breath escaped in a longsuffering sigh. “Are you going to be constantly doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Doubting everything I say?”

“Possibly.” She grinned, her eyes twinkling.

“As I was saying, I have been having sex since I was thirteen- “Her gasp made him pause.

“You have been having sex since you were thirteen?”

“Did I not mention that?”

“No,” she sat up, unconsciously letting go of the blankets. “You were a baby.”

“I was fully developed when I was twelve.” His amusement deepened as he stared at her. “And I had a very sexy and willing French tutor who was nineteen. She taught me… a lot.”

“She was a pedophile.”

He laughed huskily. “I suppose she was.”

“Were you in love with her?” Cathy could not believe she was jealous, but there was one word for the heat coursing through her body.

“I thought I was.”

“How long did it last, this nastiness?”

He bit back a laugh at her outraged expression.

“A year.”

“One year! What about your parents? They didn’t know?”

He shrugged. “I suspect my dad did. He was also screwing her.”

“Oh.”

He nodded and reached for his glass of OJ. “I discovered them one night in his study. She was naked and, on all fours, with him behind her. He saw me standing just inside the doorway and just kept on going.”

“That’s…, that’s…”

“Sick?” He supplied. “I thought so too. My fourteen-year-old heart was crushed. I got my revenge by screwing one of his mistresses. But I doubt he would have cared.” His eyes met hers bleakly. “Are you shocked and disgusted with me?”

She shook her head.

Picking up the blankets, she covered herself again and looked over into the fire. What he told her had indeed shocked her. But she also felt sorry for the boy who had had to endure all of it.

“Do you want to leave?” His harsh tone had her whipping her head around to discover that his face was tight, his lips thin. He expected her to leave and suddenly she realized that she loved him.