Page 59 of Rejected
Laurie laughed—a low, astonished sound—and kissed her again, deeper, hungrier. Her hands went to his shoulders, his waist, his shirt. She pulled him closer by the lapels, and he groaned as he pressed her against his chest. His body hollowed out to make room for hers: they fit perfectly.
“You taste…” she began to murmur into his mouth, and then forgot what she was about to say, because his hand was trailing a path down her collarbone that made her absolutely lose all control.
“Feral? Starved?” Laurie murmured as he buried his face in the hollow of her neck, his voice muffled as he placed kiss after delicious kiss there. “Because that’s what I am.”
Me too, Jo thought, but there was no more time for words.Me too. Starved for you. For years.
…
He only let her go for a second, to look searchingly into her eyes and drawl:
“You are not going to meet any more men.”
Jo was so disoriented by all the kissing and touching and feeling andwanting, that she was sure she had misheard him.
“Did you say ‘men’?” she asked.
“Gentlemen suitors… Sir John’s Penelope suitors.”
“Penelope?” She had definitely lost her mind. Words no longer made sense.
“From the Odyssey,” Laurie was getting impatient. No, not impatient. Jealous. The boy wasjealous. Oh, this was so delicious, she could barely contain herself. “Don’t pretend you don’t understand.”
He was positivelysullen.
“Stop laughing!” he said through gritted teeth.
“It is too funny, I can’t help it.”
“You won’t meet any more of them. Say you won’t.”
“What on earth are you going on about?”
His hand disappeared into his hair. It looked as if he were tugging it with the intention of ripping it out entirely.Definitely funny. Laurie shut his eyes tightly.
“I heard about the s-suitors Sir John has been bringing to the house.” Laurie was having difficulty even saying the word ‘suitors’. “You are not going to see any more of them, you hear?”
Jo could barely suppress a giggle. He looked so comical—so fierce. So desperate. If she did not laugh,she would swoon. She could not decide which was worse—or more delicious.
“Since when do you tell me what to do and what not to?” she asked, pretending to be in a huff. “I haven’t seen you foryears.”
“Jo, It was barely seven months,” he swallowed as if the words hurt.The poor man is in genuine pain; I should not make him suffer so.But oh, what excellent fun it was to have a man so jealous over her. Almost made her feel extremely beautiful. “I am serious, Jo. I was going out of my mind. Some were scholars, for pity’s sake! A professor… What was his name? Bear something.”
“Lord Baer,” Jo supplied helpfully. “Chairman of the German Institute of Mathematics.”
Laurie visibly shuddered and somehow managed to look affronted and confused at the same time at the idea that she knew the man’s name and profession. Jo was enjoying herself hugely.
“You won’t see him anymore. Or anyone else,” Laurie said, his body as tense as a rod. “You will not see any other gentlemen. Anyone other than me.”
“Oh that’s rich coming from the man who has every female eye trained on him wherever he goes,” Jo said, straightening what was left of her robe. There was no hope for her hair—besides, Laurie’s fingers were still buried in it, and she had no intention of letting her move them anytime soon.
“What are you talking about?” Laurie sounded completely at a loss.
“You always have a women or two hanging off each arm. They fawn over you, and they…”
“I haven’t noticed,” he shrugged.
“You haven’tnoticed?” She was beginning to sound desperate and she did not like it one bit. The days of being desperate and angry and afraid were long gone. Or at least they should be.
