She pulled him closer and kissed him harder as his hands started to roam over shoulders and down to cover her breasts. He broke away and looked down i...to her face. Joanne’s pulse was racing and she was already gasping for breath. “Let me do this?” Jake asked. Joanne couldn’t do anything but nod. Jake stood and pulled her up against him. He kissed her again as he walked her backwards down the short hallway to her room. He pulled her sweatshirt over her head and made quick work of her bra. Then. The safety and security of Château Blanchard and its residents had been left in the safe hands of the steward Francois Truffaut and his trusty assistant Joseph Hainaut. The measures installed to thwart any attack on the château, after receiving the unwelcome ‘birthday gift’ from Eloise de La Zouche, were maintained. The main gate, together with the postern gate, bolted and barred at night; men trained in the use of firearms, and the cackling, squawking, night guard of a flock of geese, were. Neither had foreseen this eventuality when Sharon made her offer. Even when she had fallen for him she had promised never to stand in his way. Easier said than done. Perhaps both of them secretly believed that he never would fall in love again. And he hadn't yet — quite.He would have to come clean with Deborah too. That could really put the cat among the pigeons. He wondered whether she had remained chaste since her divorce. Almost certainly. However there was no need to get wound up about that. My queen….my heart…”Once the queen settled back down flat on her feet, the king backed away. She could hear him behind her but the pounding of her heart in her ears caused every other sound to pale.She heard the king step in front of her. She concentrated on his breathing, trying to match his deep and even breaths.His hand reached out and began to caress her right breast. Running the front of his fingers across the outer edge then the back of his fingers. Fully cupping it in his hand and.