WhatLiesBeneath by Margo Diamond Page A

blue-haired women whose maids serve them tea in the garden.”
    She didn’t know whether to scream or cry or laugh. So she
wasn’t the only one guilty of stereotyping. The irony struck her, and she
suddenly realized where Jericho’s faulty reasoning had led him.
    “Let me get this straight. You think because I live in a
multimillion-dollar home and work for a prestigious university—which, by the
way, is not the same thing as a college—and because I wear pearls that I’m some
kind of uppity bitch who wouldn’t give you, a mere tattoo artist, the time of
day unless it was for the thrill of slumming.” The rambling accusation left her
breathless.
    “Yeah. That sums it up pretty good.”
    “Well. Sums it up well , not good.”
    “Whatever.” He started walking away again.
    “You’re wrong.”
    “Blame it on my English teacher. She sucked.”
    “You’re wrong about me .” Her words hung in the air.
    “Tell me something I don’t know. I was wrong when I thought
you cared.”
    “God, Jericho. You are so fricking dense.” Amanda ran up and
grabbed his sleeve. “That’s the only thing you have right. I do care. Hell, I
love you. All those other ideas you have about me are wrong.”
    “What did you say?” He froze.
    “You’re wrong. I’m house-sitting. And these pearls belonged
to my grandma. She died two months before I finished my doctorate. I wear them
because they make me feel close to her.”
    “No. Before that.” His voice was thick with disbelief.
    She smiled in the dark. “You’re dense?”
    His arms came around her and she burrowed into his chest.
    “After that.”
    “I love you.”
    He sighed, his breath warm on her skin. “I never thought I’d
hear you say that. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” He kissed her
long and hard to prove how much.
    It was like putting a match to kindling. In seconds, Amanda
was hot and wet and achy. She pushed Jericho into the wall, twining herself
around him. He propped a foot on the wall and nudged her atop his bent knee.
She rocked back and forth until a shuddering orgasm overcame her. He captured
her moans in taunting, open-mouth kisses that promised more pleasure.
    “Your hair.” She threaded her fingers through the short
strands. “Why did you cut your beautiful, sexy hair?”
    “You just got yourself off by rubbing up against me in the
library of an upstanding, well-respected university and you’re worried about my
hair?” His chuckle reverberated deep in his chest.
    “Well…yes.”
    “I chop it every three years. On whatever day my mom gets
another all-clear from her oncologist. I donate it to be made into wigs for
cancer patients.”
    She pulled back and looked up at him. “What other wonderful
things do I not know about you?”
    “We both have a lot to learn about each other. Now that
we’ve straightened out the basics, there’s probably just one other vital piece
of information you need.”
    “Can you tell me on the way to your place?” She wanted more
than a hallway quickie with her tux-wearing, clean-cut, make-your-panties-wet,
world-class bad boy, and he had promised her a king-size bed and big-screen TV.
    “Let’s go.” He wound his fingers through hers. “The money
doesn’t matter.”
    People had begun leaving but there was still a crowd in the
library. Jericho ignored those waving at him. Amanda saw Will, who gave her a
thumbs-up.
    “What money?” she asked.
    “Your money.”
    “I don’t have any money.”
    “I know. I love you anyhow.”
    At the edge of the parking lot, in front of Benbine
University’s Adelsperger Library and several curious reception guests, Amanda
Fine, a not-so-traditional literature professor, and Jericho Creegan, a
not-so-unconventional tattoo artist, took their first breath together.
    Love without passion is life without breath.
     

About Margo Diamond
     
    Margo Diamond is a multi-published, award-winning author who
enjoys writing contemporary romance featuring sexy heroes