“Liar,” her mother teased and Nora laughed. Laughed? Laughed with her mother while talking about a guy? So shit like this did happen in real life, not just movies. Who knew?
“I have to go,” Nora said. “Things to do. People to beat. It was good to see you again.”
Her mother clasped her hands in front of her in a posture of resigned piety.
“Of course. Try not to let another six years pass without coming to visit again.”
“I didn’t think they’d let me back in after all I pulled.” Nora grinned, remembering all the trouble she’d caused back here behind the gates where no men could come.
“Are you kidding? They still talk about you. You’ve given us six years of dinner conversation.”
“I live to serve.” Nora bobbed a curtsy before heading back toward the back doors. She walked quickly, wanting to be out of this world and back into hers as soon as possible. All these celibate women freaked her out. She couldn’t imagine giving up sex for a higher power. Even her Wesley had given up waiting and had surely slept with his sexy older girlfriend by now. The thought of another woman laying her hands on her Wesley put almost murderous thoughts in Nora’s head, thoughts she had no right to have.
They walked through the motherhouse toward the gate. Her mother opened the door that led back to the real world, to the unconsecrated ground where Nora lived.
“I’ll come visit again. Soon, I promise,” Nora said. “Can I bring you anything? Smuggle in anything? Pizza? Swedish fish? Pot? Anything?”
Her mother smiled.
“Just my daughter, happy and in one piece.”
Nora indicted her body with a sweeping gesture of her hands.
“One piece,” she said.
“And happy?”
“Believe it or not, yes. Maybe not by your definition, but by mine.”
“Then I can live with that.”
Nora paused and looked at her mother. She wanted to say something more, say something else, but she couldn’t find the words. Or she knew the words but didn’t have the courage to say them.
“I’ll see you later, Mom.”
“Oh, Ellie?”
“What, Mom?” Nora turned back to her and gasped as her mother slapped her hard and quick across the cheek.
At first Nora couldn’t speak from shock alone.
“That seems to be the only way you let someone tell them they love you. So be it,” her mother said, lowering her hand.
Nora stood up straight and smiled.
“That didn’t feel like love to me,” Nora said, stepping through the gate. “Just felt amateur. Next time I visit, we’ll work on your technique.”
Nora strode to her car and fought tears the entire way. She refused to believe her mother was right. She wasn’t going to give up Søren simply to satisfy her mother and society’s restrictive, vanilla, f**king boring definition of what love was supposed to be.
Didn’t matter anyway. The only vanilla guy she’d ever loved was Wesley, and she would never see him again. Søren surely wouldn’t allow it. Not if she told him the truth that her feelings for Wesley crept along inside her heart like the snake in the garden. Life with Søren was paradise, a dark, dangerous paradise but still, a perfect naked Eden.
“Almost perfect,” she whispered to no one as she sat behind the wheel of her car. She stuck her key into the ignition but before she turned the car on, she heard the ominous sounds of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
Nora snatched her phone out of her bag.
“Søren…” she breathed with relief. “God, I’ve missed—”
“Tell me the truth, little one. Have you made your peace with Wesley?”
Nora exhaled. She and Wesley would never be together. And she could live with that. For this man and what they had, she would live with that.
“Yes, sir.”
He then spoke the words she’d been waiting all summer to hear.
“Come home to me.”
24
Nora nearly broke the sound barrier driving back to Griffin’s estate. Once there she took only three seconds to listen at the door to Griffin’s bedroom. She heard Michael laugh and then silence, heavy silence. She’d let the boys have their privacy. Scribbling a note, she pushed it under the door, letting them know Søren had given her the all clear to come home.
She packed fast and hit the road faster. After nearly two months apart, Nora couldn’t wait another minute to see Søren. She had to touch him, kiss him, let his arms remind her that she belonged to him and him alone. Once she felt him inside her again, Nora could let go of those traitorous thoughts about Wesley and her regret that she’d let him go too easily, too soon.
When she arrived at the rectory, night had already fallen. She parked her car in the copse of trees that shielded her and the house from prying eyes.
Into the house and up the stairs she ran, her shoes clicking loudly on the hardwood. Her heart thudded against her rib cage, her blood burned in her veins. After almost twenty years, Søren could still stir her passions like no one else she had ever or would ever love.
She didn’t even get all the way to his bedroom. He must have heard her shoes on the hardwood because he stepped into the hallway and met her halfway. Without any words they came to each other, arms holding, hands grasping, lips and tongues seeking and finding. She dragged her fingers through his hair. His shirt tore in her frenzy to get to his skin. Søren bit at her collarbone and gripped her thighs so furiously she cried out. Pain…of course pain. He had to hurt her before he could make love to her. Søren didn’t have a vanilla side. He had to play hard to get hard, as she’d told Kingsley years ago. And she was okay with that.
“I have to go,” Nora said. “Things to do. People to beat. It was good to see you again.”
Her mother clasped her hands in front of her in a posture of resigned piety.
“Of course. Try not to let another six years pass without coming to visit again.”
“I didn’t think they’d let me back in after all I pulled.” Nora grinned, remembering all the trouble she’d caused back here behind the gates where no men could come.
“Are you kidding? They still talk about you. You’ve given us six years of dinner conversation.”
“I live to serve.” Nora bobbed a curtsy before heading back toward the back doors. She walked quickly, wanting to be out of this world and back into hers as soon as possible. All these celibate women freaked her out. She couldn’t imagine giving up sex for a higher power. Even her Wesley had given up waiting and had surely slept with his sexy older girlfriend by now. The thought of another woman laying her hands on her Wesley put almost murderous thoughts in Nora’s head, thoughts she had no right to have.
They walked through the motherhouse toward the gate. Her mother opened the door that led back to the real world, to the unconsecrated ground where Nora lived.
“I’ll come visit again. Soon, I promise,” Nora said. “Can I bring you anything? Smuggle in anything? Pizza? Swedish fish? Pot? Anything?”
Her mother smiled.
“Just my daughter, happy and in one piece.”
Nora indicted her body with a sweeping gesture of her hands.
“One piece,” she said.
“And happy?”
“Believe it or not, yes. Maybe not by your definition, but by mine.”
“Then I can live with that.”
Nora paused and looked at her mother. She wanted to say something more, say something else, but she couldn’t find the words. Or she knew the words but didn’t have the courage to say them.
“I’ll see you later, Mom.”
“Oh, Ellie?”
“What, Mom?” Nora turned back to her and gasped as her mother slapped her hard and quick across the cheek.
At first Nora couldn’t speak from shock alone.
“That seems to be the only way you let someone tell them they love you. So be it,” her mother said, lowering her hand.
Nora stood up straight and smiled.
“That didn’t feel like love to me,” Nora said, stepping through the gate. “Just felt amateur. Next time I visit, we’ll work on your technique.”
Nora strode to her car and fought tears the entire way. She refused to believe her mother was right. She wasn’t going to give up Søren simply to satisfy her mother and society’s restrictive, vanilla, f**king boring definition of what love was supposed to be.
Didn’t matter anyway. The only vanilla guy she’d ever loved was Wesley, and she would never see him again. Søren surely wouldn’t allow it. Not if she told him the truth that her feelings for Wesley crept along inside her heart like the snake in the garden. Life with Søren was paradise, a dark, dangerous paradise but still, a perfect naked Eden.
“Almost perfect,” she whispered to no one as she sat behind the wheel of her car. She stuck her key into the ignition but before she turned the car on, she heard the ominous sounds of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
Nora snatched her phone out of her bag.
“Søren…” she breathed with relief. “God, I’ve missed—”
“Tell me the truth, little one. Have you made your peace with Wesley?”
Nora exhaled. She and Wesley would never be together. And she could live with that. For this man and what they had, she would live with that.
“Yes, sir.”
He then spoke the words she’d been waiting all summer to hear.
“Come home to me.”
24
Nora nearly broke the sound barrier driving back to Griffin’s estate. Once there she took only three seconds to listen at the door to Griffin’s bedroom. She heard Michael laugh and then silence, heavy silence. She’d let the boys have their privacy. Scribbling a note, she pushed it under the door, letting them know Søren had given her the all clear to come home.
She packed fast and hit the road faster. After nearly two months apart, Nora couldn’t wait another minute to see Søren. She had to touch him, kiss him, let his arms remind her that she belonged to him and him alone. Once she felt him inside her again, Nora could let go of those traitorous thoughts about Wesley and her regret that she’d let him go too easily, too soon.
When she arrived at the rectory, night had already fallen. She parked her car in the copse of trees that shielded her and the house from prying eyes.
Into the house and up the stairs she ran, her shoes clicking loudly on the hardwood. Her heart thudded against her rib cage, her blood burned in her veins. After almost twenty years, Søren could still stir her passions like no one else she had ever or would ever love.
She didn’t even get all the way to his bedroom. He must have heard her shoes on the hardwood because he stepped into the hallway and met her halfway. Without any words they came to each other, arms holding, hands grasping, lips and tongues seeking and finding. She dragged her fingers through his hair. His shirt tore in her frenzy to get to his skin. Søren bit at her collarbone and gripped her thighs so furiously she cried out. Pain…of course pain. He had to hurt her before he could make love to her. Søren didn’t have a vanilla side. He had to play hard to get hard, as she’d told Kingsley years ago. And she was okay with that.
