Not Even for Love(55)

She could only shake her head dumbly.

“I didn’t think so. I was walking down the Champs Elysées yesterday and nearly stumbled into a kiosk. Recently I’ve been drinking quite a bit, you see, and have developed a wavering gait,” he added in a confidential tone. “Anyway, there was this scandal sheet with Helmut’s picture on the front page. His arm was around the waist of an Italian contessa whose financial assets receive almost as much acclaim as her physical endowments. I invested a few francs and bought the rag. After five cups of scalding black coffee and an icy cold shower, when I was sure I was sober, I read the story. It seems that Helmut and the contessa are going hot and heavy all over Europe. So I figured that you were free to marry me. I think we’ll wait till we get back to the States to tie the knot. I know your parents and my mother—”

“Reeves!” she cried. When his running chatter finally wound down she said calmly, “You can’t just come in here and announce that we’re getting married.”

“Why not? We love each other, don’t we?” Then he smacked his forehead with his palm. “Of course! You prefer me to ask you. Okay.” He shrugged. “Will you marry me, Jordan? I’m easy to live with. I’ve got all my teeth and I don’t need root-canal work. I’m strong of body. Fairly sound of mind. I’ve stopped smoking—twice. I drink only in moderation—the past few weeks don’t count. I shower at least once a day. I have a charming personality. I’m devastatingly handsome and—”

“Humble.”

He nodded in solemn affirmation. “And humble.”

That was her undoing. She began to laugh. He was beside her in one giant step. His arms went around her, entrapping her against his chest. Her hair became tangled between his fingers as he pulled her head back so he could look down into her face. His amusing mien had disappeared, to be replaced by an earnest frown of anxiety.

“Does that mean yes?” he asked.

She didn’t think of her unhappy marriage to Charles. She didn’t think of her determination to live independently. Her only consideration was that Reeves had come back into her life. After these miserable weeks of living without him, she wasn’t about to let him leave again. “How could I possibly refuse such a romantic proposal?”

“You can’t. I won’t let you.” His eyes ravished her face, touching each feature with scorching green eyes. “I’ve been in hell, Jordan. That night I groped my way to your door through that thunderstorm, I never really thought of being struck by lightning. But I was the moment I saw you. I never counted on falling in love, but when I did it jarred me all the way up to my brain. I’ve got to have you in my life.” His mouth hovered a mere fraction over hers. “God, I’ve missed you.”

Her lips were parted by the urgency of his. His tongue touched hers with that rare familiarity that had stunned them since their first shared kiss. She felt utterly helpless under its tender quest and surrendered to the mastery of his mouth. The desire that she had kept banked for the past few weeks flared to life with this merest fanning of the embers.

Her mouth matched the passion of his, and she delighted him by moving closer and reminding him of the interlocking way their bodies fit together. He responded with a gentle thrust of his hips.

Pulling away from her after long minutes of ravenous kissing, he cradled her head in his palms and looked deep into her eyes. “Jordan, why did you run to Helmut when he met us coming down the mountain?” His soft voice only intensified the magnitude of the question and his need to hear her answer.

“I couldn’t let you see how much I loved you, Reeves. You had just said that you were leaving, going to Paris. I thought you were making a clean break and didn’t want me to read any lasting significance into what had happened between us.”

“I asked you if you knew what you meant to me. You said you did.”

“I thought I had been a pleasant pastime, that you were leaving me with no strings attached.”

“You goose,” he chided. “If you’ll recall, it wasn’t a very opportune time or place for me to tell you that I wanted to be with you forever. As soon as I had seen to my business in Paris, I intended to come back for you. I hoped you would infer that. Instead, the next thing I knew you were tearing down the hillside toward Helmut and accepting that damned diamond ring that I had come to loathe.”

“Oh, Reeves. Next time don’t be so cryptic.”

“There’ll never be a next time. You’ve got to marry me now, Jordan,” he said insistently as he curved his hands under her hips and drew her to him.