A Whisper Of Wanting
Page 17
He took her hand and pulled her toward the pub on the corner. It was a place he had good memories of, the sort with a pleasant yeasty smell and a funky little four-piece band that played every afternoon and evening. As they entered, the band was in the middle of a midtempo song he didn’t recognize, something Irish-sounding.
They found an empty booth and slid in across from each other. Ethan’s palms grew damp with sweat, and he suddenly recalled what it was like to be a virgin. Here he was, embarking on something new, something untried, something profound and huge and life-altering.
If she said yes.
They should definitely have a beer first though—or five.
“I highly recommend the house ale,” he said to Nicole, who was looking around the place, a vague smile on her lips.
She looked at him then, studied his face. “You look like you’re scared out of your mind. What’s wrong?”
“I, um, I…”
She raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”
“Well…um, you, and me, we’re, ah…” Oh, bloody hell. He was sounding about as articulate as a sixteen-year-old trying to score his first lay, too. Smooth, Ethan. Real smooth.
“I’ve, um, been meaning to ask… Will you marry me, Nicole?” he blurted.
He’d planned an elegant lead-up to the question. He was supposed to tell her how she was the center of his life, the best thing that had ever happened to him, the most amazing person he’d ever known, and instead, he’d gone and flubbed the whole thing. No elegant lead-up, just the awkward question hanging in the air like the smell of day-old beer.
But she was smiling. Really, hugely smiling. He blinked at the brilliant sight.
“Really?” she said.
He nodded dumbly.
“Of course I will!” She grabbed his hands in hers, then leaned across the table and kissed him as though she meant it.
When they broke the kiss, he sighed.
“You’ve been poking me with that damn ring box all day, every time we get close. I was wondering when you were finally going to break down and ask,” she said and laughed.
“You knew? You knew I was planning this?”
She shrugged. “Trip to Europe, meeting the family, the past nine months of dating bliss. I’m a detective. I know how to follow the evidence.”
“I can’t get anything past you,” Ethan said. “I guess that’s the danger of dating a cop.”
A mischievous look crossed her eyes. “Oh? I thought the real danger was what I can do with a deadly weapon.”
“My dear Nicole, your body is the deadliest weapon of all.”
And he was so grateful that she used it on him. Day after day, she conquered him the best way imaginable.
She flashed a devilish smile. “I saw a nice-looking hotel next door. Might be a refreshing change from your childhood bed.”
“What? You don’t like screwing on my rocket-ship sheets?”
“I want you, Ethan. Right now,” she said, and his cock stood up like it always did.
He tossed some bills on the table, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the pub lickety-split, toward the hotel. Toward their new life together, where he knew he would take any risk to keep Nicole happy, to keep her satisfied. To keep her, period.
Don’t miss the next book in the
LUST POTION #9
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A SCENT OF SEDUCTION
by Colleen Collins
coming in November 2006 from Harlequin Blaze.
ISBN: 1-55254-641-1
A WHISPER OF WANTING
Copyright © 2006 by Jamie Sobrato.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
Coming Next Month