Ivory Tower Read Online Free Page B

mouth, tasting the mingled scent of both of them. She nudged
his tongue and he pushed back, his mouth moving over hers, capturing her,
telling her she was his for now and for always.
    They lay as one on the bed and Josh toyed with her long,
foiled hair. “I wonder what you’d look like as a brunette.”
    “I could change it.”
    “Damn it, Jenna. That wasn’t why I said that.” Josh sat up
and ran his hands through his hair. Fuck. He hated it when Jenna slipped into the puppet-mode her mother had conditioned
her to. He wanted his passionate Jenna. The one with her own opinions. The Jenna
who was willing to try new things, and the one who would fight with him, and
for him. “Stop trying to be what others want you to be.”
    Josh hated the sheen of tears in her eyes, but it was past
time for this to be said. He cupped her face in his hands. “Do you have any
idea how special you are? You are beautiful, no matter what your hair color is.
You think of others before yourself, to a fault. When are you going to think
about yourself? When do you come first, Jenna?”
    “I—I don’t know.”
    “I don’t want to marry someone who plays chameleon depending
on whom she currently needs to please. I want to marry you . Jenna Louise Wilton. The woman who loved her father so much,
she got past her grief and stage fright to speak at his funeral about what an
amazing man he was. The woman who made all the arrangements for that funeral,
and who called me a month later, asking me to meet her for coffee. I want to
marry the strong, self-sufficient woman I fell in love with. More importantly,
I want you to know that woman.”
    Jenna shrugged. “I’m not sure I know how to find her
anymore.”
    “You’ve let your mother dig in too far and I think we need
to exorcise her.”
    “That’s pretty harsh, Josh.”
    “Yes, it is,” he said. “But there’s some truth in it.” He
stared at her, daring her to disagree with him. He also hid the worry over what
he’d done to break her away from her mother’s clutches. Sending that obscure application
in had been an act of desperation. He really needed to talk to Jenna. About the
application and the business changes. She wasn’t going to be happy with either
situation. Later, he thought. Right now, they needed to settle this thing about
her mom.
    Jenna nodded. He knew she couldn’t disagree with him.
    “Good. I tell you what. Let’s start right now. With
something simple.”
    Jenna raised her head and stared at him for a long moment. “All
right.”
    “So, what color would you like your hair to be?”
    She pulled a few strands in front of her, running them
through her fingers. “I like brunette.”
    “You don’t get to pick what I just said.”
    “Wait a minute. Just because you said it, doesn’t mean I
don’t want it. I’m a natural brunette and I liked my hair color. Mom figured it
looked too Irish, with the blue eyes and all.”
    He frowned. “What does Irish have to do with it?”
    “Dad was Irish. He went prematurely white.” She gulped. “But
I always liked my hair color.”
    Josh grasped both her hands. “Then that’s who I want to
marry.”
    When she looked at him quizzically, he touched her hair and
explained. “I want to marry a natural brunette. Since you probably can’t grow
this out in the few weeks we have left, any chance you can get close with a new
color?”
    Her eyes shone as she nodded. “I can try. No. I will do it. And I want my hair longer, too.
This...” Jenna fluffed her hair. “This makes me look like I can’t decide
whether I want it short or long.”
    So Jenna’s hair and eye color, as well as her complexion,
took after her father. Josh thought of her mother with her blonde, shoulder-length
hair, and realized the woman was trying to mold Jenna to look more like her.
    “I'm glad you like long hair. I do, too.”
    She grinned. “Then we both want the same thing.”
    “And this is only the start. I envision a whole list of ‘I
like’