Brutally Beautiful (24 page)
GEN SNUGGLED CLOSE to Nick’s warm body. One of the things she loved about her big, bad poetry professor was the way he retained body heat. “I thought I’d lost you,” she confessed.
He turned his head, kissed her, sweet and gentle. “You’d never have done that. Not completely. I don’t know if I could have stayed away.” He kissed her again, tasting her in the leisurely way they’d had no time for earlier, caressing her mouth with his tongue. “I was lost without you, trying to break away long enough to go abroad. I meant to leave this country.”
“I guessed.” Seattle meant the Pacific, a step closer to—where? Australia, Hawaii? Wherever, he wasn’t going there now. “I would have followed. I’d have sold the contents of the DUMBO apartment piece by piece to get the money.” She bit her lower lip again, doubt entering her eyes. “Actually, I sold something already. The flight here and booking a hotel cost more than I thought, and I’m not in gainful employment anymore.”
“What was it?” He didn’t care. She could sell anything, even his treasured and battered copy of Palgrave.
“That horrible painting in your bedroom.”
He touched his lips to hers. “Your bedroom now.”
“Our bedroom.”
He smiled against her lips. “That sounds good.”
“Do you mind that Mick is dead?”
He went up on one elbow to lean over her, gaze at her breasts, making her want to flaunt herself for his pleasure. “I’ve been trying to kill the bastard for years. It’ll be fun getting Larry to call me Nick.”
“About as much fun as persuading you to call him Lawrence.”
His laughter warmed her. After so much anxiety, to come to this. “We’re Mick and Larry on our birth certificates. Not Michael and Lawrence.”
She traced a line down his chest. “That’s Nicholas now. Dr. Nicholas Taylor, soon to be Professor Nicholas Taylor. I’ll be married—” She broke off, lifting her gaze to his face, fearful she’d gone too far.
He bent, kissed her fears away, only surety in his caress. “That will make you Mrs. Taylor. Of course we’re getting married.” His eyes took on a tinge of surprise. “Doctor? It came through?”
“I opened the letter. I couldn’t wait to find out. And the one offering you the professorship, but not at DUNY. Another New York university.” She whispered the name in his ear, and his eyes widened in response. He’d hit pay dirt with the offer. “You’ve not even missed the awards ceremony.”
“I’ll probably be on my honeymoon when that happens.”
He kissed her again, and she pulled him closer. “As far as I’m concerned, the honeymoon’s already started.” And she proceeded to prove it to him.
Brutally Beautiful
Stripped Bare
Texas Heat
Unlaced
* * * *
The DEPARTMENT 57 Series
Cat’s Eyes
Topaz Delirium
Liquid Crystal
Chemistry of Evil
Crystal Captive
Treasure Laid Bare
Crystal Tides
Jewel of the Dragon
Griffin’s Treasure
Bloody Crystal
Rubies of Fire
Diamonds of Ice
Lynne Connolly lives in England with her family and her mews, a cat called Jack. She spends her time writing and filling her collection of doll’s houses. After acceptance by her first e-publisher she hasn’t looked back. She has over 30 books out, and plans for more. She writes in the paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and historical romance genres and she likes to add a lot of steam!
Go to
http://lynneconnolly.com
to read up on the latest news about Lynne.
