Excerpt from AvonRomance.com -- Saja

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 22:20:18 07/08/01 Sun
Author: J again
Subject: Excerpt from AvonRomance.com
In reply to: J 's message, "Julia Quinn's An Offer From A Gentleman" on 22:10:22 07/08/01 Sun

Benedict polished off another biscuit, brushed a few crumbs off of his sleeve, and reached for another. "And how have you spent your day?"

"Since I last saw you two hours earlier?"

Benedict shot her a look that said he recognized her sarcasm but chose not to respond to it.

I helped Mrs. Crabtree in the kitchen," Sophie said. "She�s making a beef stew for supper and needed some potatoes peeled. Then I borrowed a book from your library and read in the garden."

"Really? What did you read?"

"A novel."

"Was it good?"

She shrugged. "Silly, but romantic. I enjoyed it."

"And do you long for romance?"

Her blush was instantaneous. "That�s a rather personal question, don�t you think?"

Benedict shrugged and started to say something utterly flip, like, "It was worth a try," but as he watched her face, her cheeks turning delightfully pink, her eyes cast down to her lap, the strangest thing happened. He realized he wanted her. He really, really wanted her. He wasn�t certain why this so surprised him. Of course he wanted her. He was as red-blooded as any man, and one couldn�t spend a protracted amount of time around a woman as adorable as Sophie without wanting her. Hell, he wanted half the women he met, in a purely low-intensity, non-urgent sort of way. But in that moment, with this woman, it became urgent. Benedict changed positions. Then he bunched the coverlet up over his lap. Then he changed positions again.

"Is your bed uncomfortable?" Sophie asked. "Do you need me to fluff your pillows? Would you like me to read to you?" Benedict�s first urge was to reply in the affirmative, grab her as she leaned across him, and then have his wicked way with her, since they would, rather conveniently, be in bed. But he had a sneaking suspicion that that particular plan would not go over well with Sophie, so instead he said, "I�m fine," then winced when he realized his voice sounded oddly squeaky.

�Are you certain you�re all right?" she asked, looking far more suspicious than concerned.

He smiled tightly. "Just fine."

"Very well," she said, standing up. "What would you like me to read?"

"Oh, anything," he said with a blithe wave of his hand.

"Poetry?"

"Splendid." He would have said, "Splendid," had she offered to read a dissertation on botany in the arctic tundra.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]