That seemed to please him. “And you needed to have faith in yourself, too,” he added. “I love your beautiful curvy figure and your brilliant mind.” He grinned and dusted a kiss over her cheek. “There is nothing sexier than a nerdy science girl,” he teased. “From now on, I’m on a carrot-free diet.”
She laughed as her heart began beating wildly with excitement.
He loved her.
He looked down sheepishly. “Of course, I’d be lying if I said that when I saw you naked in the tub, I didn’t think of sex. Wet sudsy sex.” His brow rose a fraction of an inch.
She touched her tongue to her bottom lip. “Hmmm, wet sudsy sex. Never tried that.” She was so completely overcome with joy, she felt giddy. A happy haze of tears began blurring her vision.
He wiped away the water pooling on her lashes. “Well, you have no idea what you’re missing.” His bad-boy grin returned. God, she loved that grin.
A shiver tingled all the way through her body. “Perhaps you’d better show me.”
He gathered her into his arms and whisked her down the hallway. “My pleasure.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve never had sex in the shower, or on the kitchen table, in an elevator, on an airplane…”
He chuckled softly. “Slow down girl, I’m only one man. We have the rest of our lives to do all those things.” She saw love shining in his eyes.
She planted a warm kiss on his lips as her heart fluttered with emotion. “And you’re the only man for me. I love you, Jay Cutler.”
“I love you, too, Laura Cutler.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Jay—”
“And you’re the only woman for me. Will you marry me, Laura?” The depth of love in his voice brought on a new wave of happy tears.
“One condition.” She thought her heart was going to burst as it overflowed with the love she felt for him.
He cocked his head. “Really?”
She grinned. “We never, ever try the real libido suppressant on you. I don’t want to spend one single night without making love.”
“Deal.” He mirrored her grin, closed his mouth over hers, and carried her off to a sudsy tub to show her once again exactly how much he loved her.
Chapter 12
Smoothing her hands over her knee-length black skirt, Laura paced nervously around the lab. She and Jay had presented their findings to the board only hours earlier and were now anxiously awaiting the results. Just knowing the members of the Grant Governing Board were three floors down in the conference room discussing their funding and future proposals made her nervous as hell.
She pulled her hair from the plastic clip anchoring it in place, shook it free until her curls spilled over her shoulder, and then glanced at Jay. Sitting on his stool, relaxed, he leafed through a magazine. He looked so handsome in his navy blue suit. The color brought out the warmth and depth in his gorgeous baby blues.
Her heart filled with love when he lifted his gaze to hers. To think a little over a week ago, they had simply been lab partners and nothing more. And now, in less than six months they were going to walk down the aisle and become life partners. Her heart leapt with joy as she relished the romantic mental image of Jay dressed in a form-fitting tuxedo standing at the altar waiting for her.
He gave her a slow, sexy grin. “Relax, Laura. They loved it.” God, she couldn’t believe how easily he could read her every emotion, her every expression.
She knew he was right. The board members appeared to be quite impressed with their findings, but still she couldn’t help fretting. Their future careers depended on the funding.
“Do you think they’ll approve our grant based solely on Bonnie and Clyde’s results?”
“They’ll approve our grant based on your brilliant formula, Laura,” he assured her.
She smiled at his endorsement.
A knock sounded on the lab door. She glanced up to see Erin poke her head in. “The director wants to see you two right away.”
“Time to go,” Jay said, his blue eyes bright with excitement and anticipation. He stood, crossed the room to stand before her, and clasped her hand in his. He arched a brow. “All set?”
She blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Let’s go.”
Erin wished them luck as they passed her in the hall. A few moments later they stood outside the director’s office. Laura starched her spine, drew a deep fortifying breath, and knocked.
“Come in,” Reginald called out.
Since they had been keeping their relationship a secret until after the results were announced, she eased her hand out of Jay’s. Reginald didn’t approve of office affairs and they didn’t want anything interfering with their funding, their future proposals, or their ability to work together on those future projects, should they be approved.
Jay twisted the knob, pushed the door open, and motioned for her to enter.
She glanced at the director’s expressionless face in an attempt to read him as she padded across his polished floor and took a seat in a plush chair across from his mahogany desk. Jay followed suit, and sat beside her in a matching chair. To stop herself from fidgeting, Laura linked her hands together and sat up straighter in her seat.
Reginald leaned back in his brown leather office chair. It creaked under his weight. His brows knitted together. “Just to keep you two up to date, Max has been arrested.” Nodding his head, he gestured to a spot on the floor. Laura glanced over to find her duffel bag.
“They found your bag at Max’s apartment. That and the print found at your apartment were enough to formally charge him.”
Reginald lowered his voice, shook his head, and went on to explain. “Ad-Tech got wind that you two were working on a top secret project, so they planted Max here on an information-seeking mission.
