She watched in her side mirror at the sleek black sports car wove almost swiftly through traffic. It coasted over the highway with a smooth suspension that almost made her jealous. She wasn't surprised when it snuck in the empty space of the jam-packed road. She shifted her head faintly, giving the vehicle the side eye through the dark tinted visor of her helmet. Beneath her, the jet-black Ninja purred as she choked back on the throttle and instantly shot the two-wheeled machine around the car in front of her. She had known who was behind the wheel of that eye-catching car. She had caught a glimpse of him when he had stopped beside her at a red light. That had been nearly five miles back. She knew he was following her now. He would always find her if he wanted to and apparently right now, he was desperate. She could hear the blaring of horns as he wove his way again through traffic in his haste to catch up with her, but she didn't dare take her concentration off the road. Horns blared louder as Laurent drove foolishly through the other people. Suddenly, her cell phone rang, the headset in her right ear beeping loudly.
"Answer." She ordered in a voice command. When the phone opened the line of communication, she nearly laughed when she heard rapid fire French growling in her ear. Some of the words were crude, others down right imaginative. "I never realized you had such a mouth, Lau." She couldn't help tease him.
"Are you insane, belle?!" He yelled, watching as she wove expertly through the cars that were dead locked on the exit. "Pull in the nearest gas station parking lot please." He ground out through clenched teeth. He wanted her safe and sound. In his arms, writhing beneath him in pleasure. She had looked so damn sexy sitting casually on her bike waiting for the red light to change. He had known it was her, even beneath the black helmet with its darkly tinted visor.
"Why?" She questioned, noting the heavy sigh of relief when she slowed down.
"I wanted to see you. I need to speak with you about something."
She was silent for a moment.
"Please, Amanda."
He never begged, and he especially hardly ever used her real name.
"Alright, Laurent. There's a coffee shop a few miles from here. Meet me there." Without waiting for a response, she ended the conversation. He watched from several cars behind as she took a right at the end of the exit ramp. He knew she was going to be the death of him.
A few minutes later and he pulled into the coffee shop he had spotted her bike parked in front of. He pulled his car into the spot beside it and unfolded his tall, lean form from the driver's side. She watched him from the window of the booth she had claimed. He was still as beautiful as always, a picture-perfect package that any woman would have killed to claim. She would have certainly done it, hell, she still would. He looked so sexy and suave, moving with a natural fluid grace that almost automatically drew everyone's attention to him. He still had that air about him, a commanding presence that dominated virtually anyone it came in contact with. It was no wonder that his nickname was Beast. When he stepped through the door, she felt her breath hitch almost painfully as his eyes scanned over the interior. The full weight of them hit her a second later, burning over her as he found her among the other patrons. She lifted her plastic cup filled with ice and a pumpkin flavor black coffee that she had yet to take a sip of. Across the table from her sat another one. She had remembered.
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Lau felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips as he moved with dancer-like precision towards her. He slid into the opposite booth with a jangle of the same rings and chains that he always favored. Automatically, he reached across the table to take her smaller hand in his much larger one, his long slim fingers keeping her in place as he brought the back of her hand up to his lips.
"You look absolutely stunning, belle."
She had cut her hair, the dark nearly black strands swept unruly to the left. It looked as though she had taken a Scarlet Johannsson undercut and had mussed it up. She looked almost as though she had rolled from bed. The sight nearly aroused him. If she looked this sexy deliberately, she would undoubtedly look even sexier afterwards. He would know, he had seen her like that beneath him on several occasions in the past.
"Thank you, Lau." Amanda replied and her voice was like calming music to his broken soul. "How have things been? Busy I hope?"
"Always, but lately, it seems as if I'm always alone, even surrounded by hundreds of other people. Even with Lar."
She tilted her head faintly to one side, taking a sip of her coffee almost thoughtfully. "Oh?"
"I miss you, belle." His voice had grown so soft that she had almost missed it.
She gave a soft sigh. "I can't say that those words don't touch me, Laurent but I have waited nearly a year to hear them. You're the one who pushed me away. I'm not blaming you at all. I knew how you felt from the beginning and I have always appreciated that. But I could not help falling in love with you. Not Laurent, one half of Les Twins. I fell in love with Laurent Bourgeois, the man behind all that. Rejection hurts, Lau, but I don't fault you for it. I fault myself for allowing me to fall that hard when I had made the promise not to. But, I couldn't help it."
"I know, belle. As hard as I tried to let you go, I can't. Our connection is far too strong and powerful for that. When you hurt, I hurt. I wasn't sleeping, I was barely eating. I was existing, I was surviving but when you stepped into my life, that was when I truly started living. You made me realize how much I truly want everything that comes with having a family. I can't live without you, Amanda. I've tried, but I can't. It hurts something inside of me to not be able to see you, hear you, to taste you. I swear you have made me addicted to you, bebe."
A single tear slid down her cheek and she hoped it was hidden behind the dark tinted glasses she still wore to hide her eyes. She glanced away when he reached up to pull them down off of her.
"Look at me, belle."
For a moment, it seemed as though she wouldn't. But then she slowly turned those beautiful chocolate brown eyes towards him and as soon as they met his, he felt his word snap back into focus. It was as if a veil of darkness had been lifted from him. He could breathe normally again.
"I love you, Amanda."
"Laurent..." She warned. She was surprised when he stood up from his side of the table only to rejoin her on her side. He slid into the booth next to her, sliding the tips of his fingers over her cheekbone before delving into the short strands of her silken hair.
"I was afraid. I never wanted to feel this way about anyone. I thought it wasn't for me, that I didn't deserve it." He admitted, his lips mere inches from her own and he so desperately wanted to taste them again. "But I fell in love with you the instant we met, belle. I am so sorry that it took me this long to come to my senses. I need you, bebe."
