Page 84 of Jane Deyre
“BLANCHE!”
“Jane, she means nothing to me!”
“Mr. Rochester, please don’t bullshit me. Eyes don’t lie. I saw you with her in the library.”
“Jesus.” I throw my head back. The rain pellets hammer my eyeballs.
“You were all over each other!”
“Don’t believe what you saw.”
“Seeing is believing.”
“Well, you saw wrong.”
She doesn’t relent. “I saw the way she looked at you all night. Touched you. What happened in the library was the last straw. Adele even told me she saw you kissing earlier in the great room.”
I curse again. “There’s nothing between us.”
“I don’t believe you.” She looks away from me.
“Look at me, Jane Deyre.” I squeeze her cheeks with one hand and force her to face me. “Yeah, we have a history, but that was a long time ago. She’s toxic for me. I want nothing to do with her. In fact, I’m firing her as my agent tomorrow.”
“You are?” The tone of Jane’s voice is softer. Incredulous.
“I have to after tonight. She tried to seduce me. Force herself on me in the library. I tried to ward her off but was afraid of hurting her. Finally, after I dumped a glass of champagne over her head, she got off of me, and basically, I told her to go fuck herself. I’d had it with her. Her noxious behavior. Her heartless, cruel comments. Every time she insulted you at dinner, put you down, a knife stabbed my heart. I should have stood up for you, put her in her place. I deserved that slap.”
I take a short break. Let her process my words. She gently runs her fingertips down my stinging, wet cheek, giving me all I need to go on.
“Maybe Blanche’s poisonous eyes were on me, but I only had eyes for you. You,onlyyou.” My voice is cracking up. My desire for her so great I can’t control myself. Neither my actions nor my words. I gather her close to me. “Jane, I swear on my life what I’m telling you is the truth. There is no one I love as much as Adele... except you.”
Her eyes flutter, her lashes wet and thick.
“Y-you love me?”
“Yes! I fucking love you.”
Silence. Only the clamor of the rain. Finally, she breaks it. Her voice small. Repentant.
“I’m sorry I slapped you.”
I give her a wry smile. Wipe away a few teary raindrops. “Apology accepted.”
She casts her eyes down and then meets my gaze again. “Mr. Rochester, I ruined your dress. Can you forgive me?”
I can’t help a little chuckle. My Jane. So sweet. So humble. So selfless. I draw her closer to me. “Jane, I don’t give a shit about the dress. I only cared about seeing you in it. And ripping it off you.”
“You did?” Her voice is so tiny I can barely hear it.
On my next breath, I lift her into my arms and hold her so that we’re face to face, her limbs wrapped around me. Skin glistening, breaths mingling. Our slick, wet bodies melded together. The rain like liquid cement.
Feverishly, I lick the rain off her everywhere I can. Her arms. Her shoulders. Her neck. Those adorable pointy ears. Her eyelids. Her face. Mixed with her tears, the droplets taste salty. Warm against my tongue. My mouth moves to hers and I capture her lips. Crushing and consuming them. She moans into mine, fisting my hair as I coax her lips apart with the tip of my tongue. My tongue finds hers and they do a slow dance. Tangled and sweeping. She tastes so delicious, feels so sensuous I almost forget about the downpour.
She cups my wet face, looks into my eyes. There’s a fire behind her orbs. It’s burning as bright as mine. My heart’s beating a hundred miles a minute, sending a rush of blood to my groin. My cock is throbbing. Heating. Pulsing with need.
“I want you, Jane,” I breathe out.So goddamn bad.
“Mr. Rochester, please take me,” she pants back. “Take me right here. Right now.”