Read Online Sharing Adam by Madelynne Ellis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Madelynne Ellis
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warmth into his arms causing the fabric of his coat to bunch around his biceps.
“How’s the wine?” Alastair asked, trying not to stare at his companion. He glanced about at their surroundings, but it was damn difficult to keep his gaze from straying back to Jude.
“Good.” Jude’s hazel-green eyes shone brightly in the gloomy half-light. As he passed the bottle to Alastair their fingers briefly brushed, evoking a jolt of arousal in the pit of Alastair’s stomach.
I can’t do this , he thought as he swallowed. But he had to. There really wasn’t much choice. How pitiful he would seem if he fled the temple now.
Reining in his instincts, he passed the bottle back to Jude then led the way forward, beneath a gothic archway, into the folly’s central chamber. Here, light streamed in from three high-set, stained glass windows. A balcony encircled the wall just below them, providing access to the upper floors of the three strutting towers. The mingled effect of the austere walls and the light created the temple’s grand illusion of majesty. Alastair recalled standing here the first time, peering up at the rainbow of lights and feeling awestruck. The years hadn’t dimmed the effect. He reached out and caught a handful of the whirling dust motes, which spun and flashed in the light. It was all as he remembered. Exactly as he remembered, down to the dust upon the rug and the bloodstain where his sister had fallen.
Alastair turned away from the brown smear. He couldn’t dwell on the past tonight, not if he wanted to get through it.
A huge tapestry encompassing the lower wall of the west tower depicted the fall of man. To its sides lay two iron-pinned doors, which he knew led one to the privy and the other to the stairs. “That way is up.” He pointed to the east tower and let Jude lead the way.
“Which way?” Jude asked as they emerged from the top of the spiral staircase onto the balcony. The tower itself continued up into spiked obscurity.
“Sinister, of course.”
Jude’s voice rang with laughter. “I’ve long had my suspicions about you, de Vere. That sort of statement isn’t doing anything to quell them.”
“What suspicions?” Alastair frowned.
Jude laughter merely subsided to a wide grin. “I think you know.” He jolted forward into the stream of light pouring through the stained glass.
Alastair rested his back against the iron railing, the unease in his guts further stirred by Jude’s words. He thought he’d been discreet, but if the other man was beginning to suspect…
Jude stood bathed in ocean-blue light, basking, his head tilted towards the sun’s slowly fading radiance. Alastair inwardly groaned. This was torture already, how was he supposed to endure a whole night of it with no means of escape?
The rich light bounced off Jude’s wild curls, streaking the dusky blond with gleaming shades of ruby and hyacinth. Jude, typically unable to keep his coat on for more than a moment outside of a formal engagement, had already shrugged it off. It swung now from his fingertip, while the maroon back of his waistcoat pulled taut across his back, emphasising his broad shoulders and the ridiculous perfection of his arse.
Twice now, Alastair had run his hands over that muscled rear, the first, as he’d helped Jude drunkenly mount his horse, the second after a hay-fight. Both incidents had left his pulse racing and his cock hard. He had yet to savour the full delight of having his palms curved to Jude’s cheeks, or of feeling him tremble with passion as he held him, although nightly, for months now, he’d promised himself both.
Such desires were merely a dream. He knew his unnatural feelings of desire for the other man weren’t reciprocated.
Fate was so damned cruel. He still remembered the thrill he’d felt when their eyes had first met across the village assembly room. Most of the evenings he’d spent there had rolled into gregarious monotony. But not that night. Jude’s arrival,
“How’s the wine?” Alastair asked, trying not to stare at his companion. He glanced about at their surroundings, but it was damn difficult to keep his gaze from straying back to Jude.
“Good.” Jude’s hazel-green eyes shone brightly in the gloomy half-light. As he passed the bottle to Alastair their fingers briefly brushed, evoking a jolt of arousal in the pit of Alastair’s stomach.
I can’t do this , he thought as he swallowed. But he had to. There really wasn’t much choice. How pitiful he would seem if he fled the temple now.
Reining in his instincts, he passed the bottle back to Jude then led the way forward, beneath a gothic archway, into the folly’s central chamber. Here, light streamed in from three high-set, stained glass windows. A balcony encircled the wall just below them, providing access to the upper floors of the three strutting towers. The mingled effect of the austere walls and the light created the temple’s grand illusion of majesty. Alastair recalled standing here the first time, peering up at the rainbow of lights and feeling awestruck. The years hadn’t dimmed the effect. He reached out and caught a handful of the whirling dust motes, which spun and flashed in the light. It was all as he remembered. Exactly as he remembered, down to the dust upon the rug and the bloodstain where his sister had fallen.
Alastair turned away from the brown smear. He couldn’t dwell on the past tonight, not if he wanted to get through it.
A huge tapestry encompassing the lower wall of the west tower depicted the fall of man. To its sides lay two iron-pinned doors, which he knew led one to the privy and the other to the stairs. “That way is up.” He pointed to the east tower and let Jude lead the way.
“Which way?” Jude asked as they emerged from the top of the spiral staircase onto the balcony. The tower itself continued up into spiked obscurity.
“Sinister, of course.”
Jude’s voice rang with laughter. “I’ve long had my suspicions about you, de Vere. That sort of statement isn’t doing anything to quell them.”
“What suspicions?” Alastair frowned.
Jude laughter merely subsided to a wide grin. “I think you know.” He jolted forward into the stream of light pouring through the stained glass.
Alastair rested his back against the iron railing, the unease in his guts further stirred by Jude’s words. He thought he’d been discreet, but if the other man was beginning to suspect…
Jude stood bathed in ocean-blue light, basking, his head tilted towards the sun’s slowly fading radiance. Alastair inwardly groaned. This was torture already, how was he supposed to endure a whole night of it with no means of escape?
The rich light bounced off Jude’s wild curls, streaking the dusky blond with gleaming shades of ruby and hyacinth. Jude, typically unable to keep his coat on for more than a moment outside of a formal engagement, had already shrugged it off. It swung now from his fingertip, while the maroon back of his waistcoat pulled taut across his back, emphasising his broad shoulders and the ridiculous perfection of his arse.
Twice now, Alastair had run his hands over that muscled rear, the first, as he’d helped Jude drunkenly mount his horse, the second after a hay-fight. Both incidents had left his pulse racing and his cock hard. He had yet to savour the full delight of having his palms curved to Jude’s cheeks, or of feeling him tremble with passion as he held him, although nightly, for months now, he’d promised himself both.
Such desires were merely a dream. He knew his unnatural feelings of desire for the other man weren’t reciprocated.
Fate was so damned cruel. He still remembered the thrill he’d felt when their eyes had first met across the village assembly room. Most of the evenings he’d spent there had rolled into gregarious monotony. But not that night. Jude’s arrival,
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