by Nora Roberts
He lost his head. Lost himself. Her mouth was a banquet of flavors—the tart, the sweet, the spicy—and he was ravenous. There was so much there—the scent and taste and texture of her, so much more than the expected, so much richer than dreams. All of it opened for him, invited him to feast.
He didn’t think of who they were, or who they had been. There was no thought at all, only a desperate leap of emotion that consumed him, even as he avidly consumed her.
More. The need for more slashed through him like a whip. He pressed her hips into the edge of the counter, then lifted her up onto it so that his hands were free to touch and take.
He heard her raspy indrawn breath when his fingers streaked under her sweater and closed over her. Then his own moan—part pain, part pleasure—when he found her, firm and soft, her nipples hard with desire against his thumbs, her heart pounding out an erotic rhythm against his palms.
She began to tremble. One quick shudder that grew and quickened until she was vibrating like a plucked string.
Shame washed over him, a cold gray mist over red-hot lust. Staggered by what he’d done, by what he’d wanted to do, he dropped his hands and slowly stepped back.
Her breath sounded more like sobbing, and her eyes, he noted, furious with himself, were glazed. As he watched, she gripped the edge of the counter for balance, and her knuckles went white.
“I’m sorry, Fred. Are you all right?” When she said nothing, nothing at all, he used his temper to combat the shame. “If you’re not, you’ve nobody to blame but yourself. That’s the kind of treatment you’re opening yourself up to,” he shot at her. “If it had been anybody but me, things would have been worse. I’m sorry I scared you, but I wanted to teach you a lesson.”
“You did?” Though her heart was still thudding, Freddie was recovering, slowly. Nothing she ever imagined had come close to being as wonderful, as exhilarating, as the reality of Nick. Now he was going to spoil it with apologies and lectures. “I wonder—” hoping she could trust her legs, she slid slowly from the counter to the floor “—who taught whom. I kissed you, Nicholas. I kissed you and knocked you on your butt. You wanted me.”
His blood was still humming. He couldn’t quite silence the tune. “Let’s not confuse things, Fred.”
“Oh, I agree, let’s not. You weren’t kissing your little cousin just now, Nick. You were kissing me.” Now it was she who stepped forward, and he back, in a reversal of the dance. “And I was kissing you.”
His throat had gone unbearably dry. Who was this woman? he wondered. Who was this devilish sprite with eyes full of awareness and knowledge, who was turning him inside out with a look? “Maybe things got out of hand for a minute.”
“No, they didn’t.”
The smile was entirely too smug and female. It was a look he recognized, and on another woman he might even have appreciated. “It isn’t right, Fred.”
“Why?”
“Because.” He found himself fumbling over reasons he knew only too well. “I don’t have to spell it out for you.” He picked up his neglected coffee and drank it down stone-cold.
“I think you’re having a hard time spelling it out for yourself.” Empowered, Freddie tilted her head again. “I wonder, Nick, what you would do if I were to kiss you, right now.”
Take her, he was certain, without thought or conscience, on the floor. “Cut it out, Fred. We both need to cool off.”
“You may be right.” Her lips curved again, sweetly. “I’d say you need some time to get used to the idea that you’re attracted to me.”
“I never said that.” He set down his cup again.
“It isn’t always easy to accept changes in people we think we know. But I’ve got plenty of time.”
She was standing perfectly still, but he could feel her circling him. “Fred.” He let out a long breath. “I’m trying to be reasonable here, and I’m not sure it’s going to work.” He frowned down at her. “I’m not sure any of this is going to work. Maybe some things have changed, and whatever those changes are, we don’t seem to get along as smoothly as we once did. If working together means risking our friendship—”
“You’re nervous about working with me?”
No button she could have chosen could have been more effective. Whatever he had made of himself through the years, there was still a remnant of the rebellious young man whose pride was a point of honor.
“Of course I’m not afraid of working with you, or anyone.”
“If that’s true, then we don’t have a problem. Of course, if you’re thinking you might not be able to stop yourself from— How did you so poetically put it? Oh, yes, sampling me—”
“I’m not going to touch you again.”
The gritty fury in his voice only made her smile sweeten. “Well, then. I suggest you make the best of the breakfast you’ve let get cold. Then we’ll get to work.”
He was true to his word. They worked together for hours, and he never made any physical contact. It cost him. She had a way, he discovered, of shifting her body, tilting her head, looking up under her lashes—all of which seemed designed to make a sane man beg.
By the end of the day, Nick was no longer sure he was sane.
“That’s good, good,” Freddie murmured, scanning notes even as Nick played them. “Someone with Maddy O’Hurley’s range is going to really kick on that.”
“I didn’t say this was Maddy’s solo,” Nick snapped. But that wasn’t the point, he thought. The point was that Freddie was reading his mind, and his music, much too clearly. He had an odd and uncomfortable vision of himself as a fish nibbling at the bait. And it was Freddie holding the rod.
“Maybe I was thinking of using it for the second leads. A duet.”
“No, you weren’t,” she said, calmly enough. “But fine, if you want to play it that way. I’ve got some ideas for lyrics for their number.” She slid him a sidelong look. “They don’t really fit this music, but I can adjust. Maybe if you pick up the tempo.”
“I don’t want to pick up the tempo. It’s fine as it is.”
“Not for the second leads’ duet. Now, for Maddy’s solo, it should go something like…‘You made me forget, today and tomorrow, if you—’”
Nick interrupted her. “Are you trying to tick me off?”
“No, I’m trying to work with you.” She made a quick note on one of the sheets of paper propped up on the piano, then shifted enough to smile at him. “I think you need a break.”
“I know when I need a break.” He snatched a pack of cigarettes off the top of the piano, lighted one. “Just shut up a minute, and let me work on this.”
“Sure.” With her tongue in her cheek, Freddie slid off the bench. She rolled her shoulders, stretched as he fiddled with the notes. Changing them, she noted, when they both knew they needed no changing.
He was fighting her, she noted, and realized nothing could have pleased her more. If he was fighting, that meant there was something there he had to defend against. Testing, she laid her hands on his shoulders and rubbed.
His system shot immediately into overdrive. “Cut it out, Fred.”
“You’re all stiff and tight.”
His hands crashed down on the keys. “I said cut it out.”
“Touchy,” she murmured, but backed off. “I’m going to get something cold. Want anything?”
“Bring me a beer.”
She lifted a brow, well aware that he rarely drank anything but coffee when he worked. As she stood in the kitchen opening a beer and a soft drink, she heard the quick rap on the door, the shout of greeting.
“You’re busted,” Alex Stanislaski called out from the other room. “For keeping my niece chained to a piano all afternoon.”
“Where’s your warrant, cop?”
Alex only grinned and caught Nick in a headlock. “I don’t need no stinking warrant. Where is she, LeBeck?”
“Uncle Alex! Thank God you’ve come!” Freddie dashed into the living room and jumped into his arms. “It’s b
een horrible. All day long, half notes, sharps, diminished ninths.”
“There, there, baby, I’m here now.” He gave her a quick kiss before holding her at arm’s length. “Bess said you were prettier than ever. This guy been giving you a hard time?”
“Yes.” She slipped an arm around her uncle’s waist and smiled smugly at Nick. “I think you should haul him in for impersonating a human being.”
“That bad, huh? Well, I’m here to take you away from all this. How about dinner?”
“I’d love it. Then you can tell me all about the promotion Bess was bragging about.”
“It’s nothing,” Alex muttered, causing Nick to stop playing long enough to look over his shoulder.
“That’s not what I heard.” The sneer was automatic and friendly. “Captain.”
“It’s not official.” Alex gave Nick a punch on the shoulder.
“Police brutality.” Since Freddie hadn’t brought it out, Nick rose to get his beer, and one for Alex from the kitchen. “He’s always had it in for me.”
“Should have tossed away the key the night I caught you climbing out of the window of that electronics shop.”
“Cops have memories like elephants.”
“When it comes to punks.” Comfortable, Alex leaned against the piano. “That was a nice sound you were making. You two really collaborating on this musical thing?”
“That’s the rumor,” Freddie answered. “Only Nick’s having a hard time splitting his energy between being my partner and my surrogate father.”
“Oh?”
“He trailed me on a date last night.”
“I did not.” Disgusted, Nick took a swallow of beer. “She has delusions of adulthood.”
A little wary of the vibes scooting around in the air, Alex cleared his throat. “She looks pretty grown up to me.”
“Why, thank you. Same time tomorrow, Nick?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“You can come on to dinner too, you know. The invitation was general,” Alex said. “Bess is calling in Italian.”
“No, thanks.” Nick set aside his beer and ran his fingers over the keys. “I’ve got stuff to do.”
“Suit yourself. Come on, Fred, I’m starved. I spent a hard day catching bad guys.”
“I’m out the door.” Deliberately she leaned over and kissed Nick’s cheek. “See you tomorrow.”
Alex waited until they’d gotten outside before he went for the subject. “So, what’s going on?”
“On where?”
“Between you and Nick?”
“Not as much as I’d like,” Freddie said without any preamble, and, since Alex merely stood there, stepped to the curb to hail a cab herself.
“Ah, are you speaking professionally, or personally?”
“Oh, professionally, we’re clicking right along. He should have something to take the producers early next week. Why don’t we take the subway?” she suggested after scanning the street. “It’s going to be hell catching a cab this time of day.”
He walked along with her toward the subway station. “You’re talking…personally, then?”
“Hmm? That’s right.” She smiled approvingly over at him. The dimming sunlight haloed around his dark hair, making him look, to her, like a knight just out of battle. “It’s so good to be here with all of you, Uncle Alex.”
“It’s good to have you. What kind of personally?” he asked, not allowing himself to be sidetracked for an instant from the subject at hand.
She sighed, but there was humor in it. “Exactly what you’re worried about. I love you, Uncle Alex.”
“I love you, too, Fred.” He hurried after her as she started down the steps to the station. “Look, I know you had a crush on Nick when you were a kid.”
“Do you?” Only more amused, she dug around in her bag for change.
“Sure, it was kind of cute. We all noticed.”
“Nick didn’t.” She let her change fall back into the bag when Alex pulled out tokens for both of them.
“So, he’s slow. My point is, you’re not a kid anymore.”
She stopped on the other side of the turnstile, put both hands on his face and kissed him full on the mouth. “I can’t tell you what it means to hear someone else say that. I really love you, Alexi.”
“I think you’re missing my point here.” Taking her elbow, he guided her through the crowd waiting for the next train uptown.
“No, I’m not. You’re worried that I’m going to do something that I’ll regret, or that Nick will regret.”
“If I thought he’d have anything to regret, he wouldn’t be able to play a tune for a month.”
She only laughed. “Big talk. You love him like a brother.”
His golden eyes went dark. “It wouldn’t stop me from breaking all the bones in his hands if he used them the wrong way.”
She thought it best not to mention just where Nick’s hands had been a few hours before. “I’m in love with him, Uncle Alex.” She laughed, shaking back her hair. “Oh, that felt wonderful. You’re the first one I’ve told. Dad and Mama don’t even know.” Her laugh leveled off to a chuckle when she saw that he was simply gaping at her. “Is it really that much of a surprise?”
He found his voice with an oath, then pulled her onto the train that had stopped at the station. “Now listen to me, Freddie—”
“No, listen to me first.” Since the car was full, she snagged a pole and held on as the train jostled out of the station. “I know you’re thinking I might not know the difference between puppy love and the real thing, but I do. I do,” she repeated, with such quiet conviction that he remained silent. “I don’t just love the boy I met all those years ago, Uncle Alex, or the one I came to know. It’s the man he’s become I’m speaking of. With all his faults, and his virtues, his impatience, his kindness, and even his streak of mean. I love the whole person, and he might not know it yet, he may not accept it, or love me back, but that doesn’t change what’s inside me for him.”
Alex let out a long breath. “You have grown up.”
“Yes, I have. And I’ve had the very best examples ahead of me. Not just Mama and Dad, but you and Bess and all the rest of you. So I know when you love deep enough, and true enough, it lasts.”
He couldn’t argue with that. What he’d found with Bess only became more precious and more vital every day. “Nick’s as important to me as anyone in the family,” Alex said carefully. “Even you. So I can tell you that he’s not an easy man, Freddie. He’s got baggage he hasn’t tossed out.”
“I know that. I can’t say I understand it all, but I know it. Just don’t worry too much,” she asked, and took one hand off the pole to touch his cheek. “And I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this between us for now. I’d like some time before the rest of the family starts looking over my shoulder.”
When Freddie returned to the hotel that evening, there was a message waiting for her at the desk. Intrigued, she tore open the envelope as she took the elevator up to her floor.
Inside, Nick’s handwriting was scrawled across a sheet of staff paper.
Okay, you’re right. It’s Maddy’s solo. I want lyrics by tomorrow. Good ones. I’ve scheduled a meeting with Valentine and the rest of the suits. Don’t mess up. Nick.
She all but danced to her room.
Two hours later, she was racing up the steps to Nick’s apartment. She knew he was working the bar, and she couldn’t be bothered with him. Instead, she sat at his piano and switched on the tape recorder.
“I’ve got your lyrics, Nicholas, and they’re better than good. Just listen.”
Primed by her own excitement, she sang to him as she played his melody. The words had been swimming in her head since she’d first heard the music. Refined now, polished, they melded with the notes as if they’d been born together.
After the last note died away, she closed her eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
She jolted, turning quickly toward the doorway, where Nick sto
od. He didn’t look friendly, she noted.
“Leaving you a message. You wanted the song done before your meeting. It’s done.”
“I heard.” And he’d suffered, listening to it, watching her as she sang for him. “Do you know what time it is?”
“About midnight, I guess. I thought you’d be busy downstairs.”
“We are busy downstairs. Rio told me you were up here.”
“You didn’t have to come up. I just didn’t want to wait until tomorrow.” Her nerves came rushing back. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough.”
“Well?” Impatient, she swung her legs over the bench so that she could face him. “What did you think?”
“I think they’ll go for it.”
“That’s it. That’s all you can say?”
“What do you want me to say?”
It was like pulling teeth, she thought, always. “What you feel.”
He didn’t know what he felt. She was somehow drawing him into areas he’d never explored. Never wanted to explore. “I think,” he said carefully, “it’s a stunning lyric, one that goes for the heart and the gut. And I think when people walk out of the theater, it’ll be playing in their heads.”
She couldn’t speak. She was embarrassed when she realized that her eyes had filled. Lowering them, she stared at her linked hands. “That’s a curve I didn’t expect from you.”
“You know the gift you have, Fred.”
“Yes, I tell myself I do.” Calmer, she looked up again. Her heart did one slow roll in her breast as she watched him. “I tell myself a lot of things, Nick. Things that don’t always hold up when I’m alone in the middle of the night. But what you said will, whatever happens.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her, hardly realized he was walking to her. “I’m going to take what we worked on so far to Valentine tomorrow. Take the day off.”
“I can start on the new apartment while I’m trying not to go insane from nerves.”