See Jane Love - By Debby Conrad Page 0,55
scent.
Gabe set her on her feet. “I have to go get the bags. And then I have some phone calls I need to make.”
Janie stood at the front door and watched as her husband headed toward the car. He’d promised this would be a real marriage and that he’d pretend to love her. But they’d only been married four days and already he was tired of her. She felt the tears coming on and willed them away. It was silly to cry. It’s not as if the fact that Gabe didn’t love her should come as any real surprise. It’s just that she hadn’t realized how badly knowing it would hurt. Quietly closing the door, she headed upstairs alone.
* * * * * * * * * *
Janie was missing for the second night in a row, though Gabe knew he’d find her in her study clicking away at her keyboard. What the hell was so damn important that it couldn’t wait until morning?
He’d already grown accustomed to sleeping with his arms wrapped around her the entire night, so it would be impossible to fall back asleep without her beside him. Sighing, he tossed back the covers and got out of bed. After stepping into his boxers, he headed across the hall. But Janie wasn’t typing; her head was tipped back and she was staring up at the ceiling in deep concentration.
“Maybe I should start writing in the middle of the night, too,” he said. “Then we could both sleep all day.”
Obviously startled by his presence, Janie immediately escaped from her word processing program. What was it she didn’t want him to see? Yesterday, he’d asked to read her work in progress and she’d flatly refused him. And not only that, but she wouldn’t even discuss the story.
“I’m sorry. Was I being too noisy?” she asked, spinning her chair around to face him more fully. She was covered from neck to ankles in a flannel gown, although he knew she was naked underneath. He’d never thought of flannel as sexy until now.
“No, you weren’t being noisy. But all this secrecy about your book has me more than curious.”
“You wouldn’t be interested.”
“Uh, huh. Try me.”
Reaching behind her, she flicked off the desk lamp and stood. “I’m having a problem writing my love scenes. Something my agent insists I have to get better at. Once I get it all figured out, I’ll let you read it. I promise.” He saw her silhouette moving toward him in the dark.
“Janie,” he said, reaching for her hand, “be true to yourself. If you’re not comfortable writing sex scenes, then don’t.”
“But I have to--”
“You don’t have to do anything. You’re a very gifted writer, and you have a talent for making people laugh.” Having finally read all her books this past summer, he knew. “Write a romantic comedy, or a cozy mystery series with a comedic female sleuth. It may take a while, but eventually your fans will follow you if you change paths.”
“Do you really think so?” she asked, her voice soft and tentative.
“Sure, I do.” In fact, he planned to have a little talk with Marcy Polk at J & B Publishing. If Sassy Books didn’t appreciate Janie’s talent, then maybe J & B would. Not that he had any intention of mentioning his plan to Janie. “Let’s go back to bed,” he said, steering her across the dark hallway and into their bedroom.
Once he’d stripped off his boxers and they were settled under the covers, Janie turned in his arms to lie face to face. “Gabe,” she whispered. “Remember when I handcuffed you to the bed?”
His manhood sprang to attention. “Vaguely,” he said. Like he could forget that! Reaching for her hand, he placed it around his erection and glided it along the length of him. “Maybe you could refresh my memory?”
“I plan to do much more than that,” she purred, squeezing and fondling him so that he nearly lost it.
Sucking in a breath, he said, “Janie, I’ve never made love to a woman wrapped in flannel.”
“Well, then, it’ll be a new experience for you. Besides, I didn’t plan for you to make love to me. I’m going to make love to you.” With that, she slithered under the covers and kissed her way down his abdomen.
He kept telling himself this was wrong. He wanted more than just sex from her. But when she wrapped that tantalizing mouth around him, he didn’t even try to stop her.
He’d promised her that he would pretend