Read Online Vintage Pride by Eilzabeth Lapthorne - Free Book Online Page B

have one to ourselves.”
    “Ethan, I only meant that if one of you had left the room, Marcus’ little party must be breaking up.” Jean-Luc caught hold of Ethan’s arm.
    Heat seemed to rise between them at the contact. Ethan looked into Jean-Luc’s eyes. In the low light they seemed to shine like gold and their pupils were dark, fathomless pools. He felt his grasp on his surroundings slip a little.
    “I regret that I was so abrupt with you earlier.” Jean-Luc made no move to release his grip. “But it doesn’t mean I’m any happier with the fact you and your team will be carrying on your investigation around my home.”
    “So why—?” If Jean-Luc was trying to apologize, he was going the long way around it.
    “This may sound crazy, but since we met I can’t stop thinking about you. I know it was only a matter of hours ago but…”
    He said nothing. The Frenchman’s words echoed his own thoughts so closely it scared him.
    “Come up to my room, Ethan.”
    “But I thought you said that part of the château was off-limits.”
    “To your production crew and your cameras, yes, but not to you. Please.”
    Ethan knew how much it must be costing Jean-Luc to issue this entreaty. More than anything, he wanted a glimpse into the private domain of this strange, secretive man. But he sensed that if he accepted the invitation, he’d be crossing a line—going to a place from where he might not be able to return unchanged.
    We have an early start. I need to get some sleep. The excuses hovered on his lips. He glanced again at the man he’d pictured as some great wounded beast and something in him melted. “Okay.”
    Before he climbed the stairs, Ethan took off his sneakers. He didn’t know why—stone steps didn’t creak and even if they did, he doubted Leon would still be awake to hear the noise. It just felt like the right thing to do. Clutching the shoes in one hand, he followed Jean-Luc up to his quarters.
    Stepping into the room only heightened his sense of being in some Baroque fairy tale. Its only concessions to the twenty-first century were the sleek iMac on Jean-Luc’s desk and an expensive-looking telescope that had been placed by the window. Every other item of furniture appeared as though it had been there since the days when the revolutionary mob had tried to storm Château LeBlanc. Thick animal pelts covered the floorboards and moonlight shone through the half-open drapes. A small part of Ethan wondered about the practicalities of living here. How did Jean-Luc heat the room? Did the door on the far side lead to a bathroom? Why would anyone choose to shut themselves away in here when they could have the whole run of this incredible building?
    “This is wonderful,” he said, regarding everything in more detail. The wooden-framed bed, which had the family crest carved into its footboard, was big enough to accommodate two people with ease. Ethan thought back to Agathe’s mention of Benoît and wondered whether that was who’d once slept alongside Jean-Luc. If so, there seemed to be no reminders of him in the room. The only photo he spotted was one of a younger Jean-Luc with what Ethan took to be his parents.
    “Thank you. You see now why I’m not keen for anyone to intrude on my sanctuary.”
    “So why I am here?”
    “Because you’re not just anyone, Ethan.”
    The kiss seemed to take Jean-Luc as much by surprise as it did Ethan. He thought he saw a momentary flicker of doubt cross the Frenchman’s face, as if he felt it would be more prudent to pull back from the brink than press on any further.
    Are we making a mistake here? If so, Ethan didn’t care. Right now, this was just what he needed to wipe away the last traces of his failed relationship with Boyd. He let his sneakers drop from nerveless fingers.
    Jean-Luc pulled Ethan into his arms, planting his mouth hard on Ethan’s in a swift, demanding fashion.
    He’d never been claimed in such an assertive manner before and he found his body