Page 51 of The Miracle of Love
“We do?” He cast her a rakish smile…well, he may not have been trying to look rakish. But he was naturally irreverent and too handsome for words even in his unkempt state. It was obvious he’d merely run his fingers through his hair when first waking instead of properly combing it. But even those wayward curls looked wonderful, some of them swirling behind his ears and giving him a boyish appearance.
But he was all man, and she dared not forget it.
“Two brains, Grace?”
“Yes, but it is not because you are smarter than women. Quite the opposite. You need two brains because one of them is very stupid and will often lead you into trouble.”
He shook his head and emitted a genuine laugh. “Sorry, do go on. This is fascinating.”
“You could read the book for a better explanation.”
“No, I want to hear it from you.” He glanced toward the bed. “Shall we sit?”
“Not on your life. You’ll get ideas.”
“I already have them when it comes to you. You may think I am brash and too forward, but I have been holding myself back. You have no idea how much of a struggle it has been to keep myself on a very tight leash. I spent last night in agony because I could not peel those layers off you.”
She gasped. “How could you?”
“What kind of a question is that? Obviously, I could not. Nor did I touch you because I gave you my word of honor and will keep to it. However, do not goad me. I am quite adept at the game and could seduce you into willingly taking those layers off all by yourself. I could, you know.”
“You could not.”
“Do not test me, Grace. I am too experienced and you are a novice. You will lose your clothes and your virtue.”
“That is a horrible thing to say.”
“Why? It is true. But the question remains. Why am I so fascinated by you?”
“Because this is your low brain at work, as our conversation obviously points out. You also have a high brain, but that is something I shall talk about later since you are still trapped in your low brain and cannot seem to get past it.”
“Is that bad?”
“Depends on how trapped you remain. Your low brain is the instinctive brain that propels you to…um…mate with as many desirable females as cross your path. Desirable is defined in the book as women who appear fertile to you. You are grinning again.”
“I promise you, I am not. Pray, continue.”
“This is why men are so fascinated by a woman’sbreasts,” she said in a whisper, as though whispering would make the word less shocking. “Probably because they are the source of nourishment for their young.”
“We like them for other reasons, too.”
“Your eyes are gleaming wickedly. Stop it. My point is, any man will looktherefirst, then move on to regard the shape of her body in general, especially her hips. He needs to know they are wide enough to safely bear his children. Afterward, his gaze will move upward to look at her face. All this will occur within a matter of seconds. It is instinctive and most men will not even realize they do this.”
She thought he would toss a smug remark at this point, but he was now surprisingly serious. “It all happens on instinct,” she said, hoping to sound authoritative, “and the man has ruled out hundreds of women in those few seconds, but he has also kept hundreds ruled in. Here is where he faces a dilemma. He cannot possibly protect all of them along with the offspring they will produce after a successful mating.”
“So what does he do?”
“He must settle on one. She is the one who will bear his children and she is the one he will protect, along with their children, of course. If he abandons them to fend for themselves, they will be left vulnerable and likely be eaten by wolves. Well, we are no longer out in the wild and in danger of being eaten by actual animals. But hunger, poverty, sickness, these are the wolves at her door.”
“Serious concerns,” he said with a nod.
“Yes, this is why she needs the man to stay close, especially during periods when she cannot defend herself or their little ones. He has a vested interest in remaining by their side in order to ensure his children will survive.”
“Take a step back, Grace. I understand about the necessity of picking my battles and selecting only the one woman to defend. But I still do not understand my response to you. Why does your body in particular fascinate me?”
“I am getting to that next. It is precisely because I am bundled up from head to toe that you cannot stop looking at me. Your low brain has selected me as a possible mate, but you have not managed a close enough look at my body, especially my…um…” She glanced at her breasts. “You get the point. You are frustrated because your assessment of me is incomplete and you cannot make a final determination.”
He arched an eyebrow. “How do I complete it without undressing you and looking my fill?”
