Spellbound

Intimacy Part 8 (Larry)

Laurent placed his large palm against the wall. His fingers seemed to clank with the rings that adorned them. She stared up at him, her fingers wrapped securely around her plastic cup of iced coffee as if she was protecting it from his wandering hands. Or she was holding it like a shield in front of her for protection. He reached out with his free hand, fingers toying absently with the black diamond skull that Larry had given her off of his own necklace. It seems his brother had made her one as it hung suspended on a black metal chain, resting comfortably at the hollow of her throat.

"I see mon frere has staked his claim of you, belle." He purred, his voice barely above a whisper and dangerously low.

That wasn't all he did. Amanda thought to herself, but kept from stating it out loud. It would only cause more trouble and they all had enough of that as it was.

"You had your chance several times over, Lau. I don't share well with others so I don't expect anyone to share me nor do I want to place myself as an object to be shared. I'm a human being with feelings. I deserve to be treated with respect and love just like the next person. You'll find what you're looking for someday, Laurent. At one point I thought I could have been that for you, but I was wrong. I'm not her. I love you dearly, but it can not go further than friendship."

"Hmm. We'll see about that, bebe. Lar may have won this round, but the game isn't over yet." He let his thumb trace over the curve of her lower lip. "I'm not giving up on you. Not this time."

Amanda shoved his hand aside with a firm slap to his wrist. "I'm not some fucking pawn in a game of chess, Laurent. You toyed with my feelings and I foolishly allowed it but this ends today. I don't want to cause a rift between you and your brother. Your family, but for fuck sake, back off. You will lose one of the best friends you could ever hope to have."

He stared after her in awe. It wasn't every day that a woman rejected him and he was surprised that she was. She had been around them for a long time, practically hanging onto his every word. He knew she was a tough cookie, but this was a side of her he hadn't seen before. This was the side of a queen coming into her crown and damn it if it didn't turn him on like crazy. He was determined to get her no matter the cost, but did he really want to ruin his relationship with his brother? He loved Larry more than himself, more than life. That was his Twin, but this woman drove him past the brink of sanity. It wasn't that he had never been in love before. He had, but now he was in love with a woman that he couldn't have and that was what grated on his nerves the most. Was this how she had felt about him? If so, he regretted ever having treated her like that. Perhaps it was time for a different approach since attempting to seduce her was getting him no where. Perhaps it was time to actually woo her. Laurent ran his fingertips over his lips in thought. He groaned softly. The scent of her clung to his skin, the smell of Egyptian Musk zinging straight through his veins like lava. All he wanted was a taste, but deep down he knew that once he did, he wouldn't be able to stop the craving.

"You just don't know when to quit do you, Lau?"

He practically jumped at the sound of his brothers voice from behind him. He been so captured in his thoughts that he hadn't heard, nor sensed him.

"Do you blame me, Lar? She's a rare diamond."

"Nice of you to notice that now." Larry stated, leaning back against the kitchen counter with his arms folded across his chest. "All the signs were there for you to follow. You ignored them. You shoved her aside like trash, flaunting your women under her nose as if you had no care in the word to her feelings. I forgave you for Melissa, Lau because I knew that my relationship with her was over long before then, but I still have not been able to forgive you for hurting Amanda." He pushed himself away from the counter, stepping closer to his older Twin. "I was there for her when she needed someone the most. I was the shoulder she cried on every single time you hurt her. I was the arms that held her until she passed out from exhaustion. I was the chest she slept on when she finally did sleep. Do you even realize how much torment you put her through?"

Laurent didn't know how to respond. What his brother said was exactly right and it hit him hard in the chest.

"I didn't think so. You were too busy with your models and actresses to even consider what Amanda could have been to you. She could have been the best thing that happened in your life, but guess what, Lau, she's mine now and I'm not going to let that go. I know she's the best thing that happened in my life and I've treated her with the respect and adoration she deserves." He leaned forward, pitching his voice low enough so that only the two of him could hear his words. "I'm the one who loves her the right way." Larry took a step back. "Maybe you should go home now, Laurent and seriously think about everything because I can guarantee that if you keep going down the path you're going, you're going to lose a lot of people."