by Linda Turner
“Later this afternoon,” he replied with a smile. “I’ll notify her nurse and get the ball rolling.”
He was gone before Lily could stop him, ing her sputtering in frustration. “Dammit, Tony, this is never going to work,” she told him with a frown. “Whoever set that fire yesterday knows where I live. Obviously, he’s been watching the place, since he timed the fire yesterday when you and Angelo were both out of your apartments. What good will it do to stay at your place when he’s going to know I’m there? Instead of setting my apartment on fire, he’ll burn down yours!”
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “First of all, you won’t be alone—”
“Of course I will. You have to work.”
“I’m on vacation. I have a week off from the force, starting today.”
“But what about Angelo? You still have to work at the restaurant, don’t you? You need the money for your legal fees. I can’t interfere with that.”
“You won’t be,” he assured her. “You’re still working on the mural for Angelo, aren’t you? While I’m working, you can take pictures of the customers or study for your classes or just take some time off and relax on the patio or visit with Angelo in the kitchen. Whatever you decide to do, I promise you won’t be alone.”
Hesitating, she wanted to say yes more than she had ever wanted anything in her life, even a career in photography. And that shook her to the core. When had spending time with him become so important to her? When had he become so important to her?
Shaken, she didn’t have an answer to either question. Considering that, she should have thanked him for his offer and made immediate plans to leave town before she found herself involved with him in a way she would have sworn just weeks ago that she didn’t want. But it was too late for that. She refused to question why, but she couldn’t leave. Not now. Not when he was all she could think about.
She could hardly tell him that, however. Instead, she said huskily, “You have your own problems. You don’t need another. I don’t want to take advantage.”
“I appreciate that, but how could you be taking advantage? I’m going to be at the restaurant, anyway. You might as well be there, too. And I do have an extra bedroom. You’re welcome to use it. This way, you can have twenty-four-hour police protection for the next week. I know a week’s not very long, but I want you to feel safe. I don’t know any other way to do it until this bastard is caught.”
Just that easily, he touched her heart. Her eyes searching his, she said, “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
“I’m sure,” he laughed. “Enough already. Now that that’s settled, let’s have breakfast. As soon as we get the green light from the powers that be later this afternoon, we’re out of here. Okay?”
When he smiled at her with a twinkle in his eyes, she couldn’t refuse him anything. “Okay,” she said softly.
Ten hours later, Tony unlocked the door to his apartment, flipped on the lights in the living room and welcomed her inside. “You can sleep in Quentin’s room,” he told her, showing her to a small bedroom that was decorated with sports wallpaper and pictures of Quentin’s favorite athletes. “I’m sorry the bed’s so small—”
“It’ll be fine,” she assured him. “After not sleeping last night, I’ll probably crash the second my head hits the pillow.”
“Good. You need the sleep.” Nodding toward the door halfway down the small hall, he said, “The bathroom’s the first door on the right. There are towels and shampoo in the closet, and if you get hungry, feel free to raid the refrigerator. You didn’t have dinner. If you don’t see anything you like—”
Smiling—she’d never seen him so nervous and she found that incredibly endearing—she stepped forward and stopped him with a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you—for everything. I’m not really hungry, and I’m too tired to take a bath tonight, so I think I’ll just go to bed.”
When she stepped back, she should have stepped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. But then her eyes met his, and suddenly her heart was skipping every other beat and she just wanted to step into his arms. “Tony…”
“It’s been a long day,” he said huskily. “Go to bed, sweetheart. And I don’t want you to worry about anything. You’re perfectly safe. I’ll be right down the hall, and I’m a light sleeper. If you so much as whisper for help, I’ll hear you. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said, and gave him a quick hug. A second later, she stepped into the bedroom and quietly shut the door.
Considering the pounding state of her heart, she would have sworn that she’d never be able to sleep. But the minute she stretched out in Quentin’s twin bed, exhaustion hit her. A heartbeat later, she was asleep.
At three o’clock in the morning, she woke with a start, her heart slamming against her ribs like a jackhammer. Had she heard something? She couldn’t be sure. Holding her breath for long seconds at a time, she listened, but the apartment was perfectly quiet.
Call Tony, a voice in her head whispered. He told you to call him if you were scared. You’re scared. Call him!
She should have, but the longer she listened, the more she was convinced she had nothing to be afraid of. Lying there for what seemed like an eternity, she finally accepted the fact that she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep any time soon. Sighing quietly in the darkness, she rose to her feet and padded barefoot into the living room.
Tony had left the drapes open, but the apartment was totally dark, so she didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her. From outside, the pale glint of moonlight drew her to the windows and a view of the street. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a soul out at that time of the morning.
Hugging herself, she stared out at the dark shadows of the night created by the moonlight and shivered. The man who wanted her dead was out there somewhere in the dark, possibly watching, waiting, planning. He would strike again—she knew that as well as she knew her own name—though there was no way to predict when. She’d given up asking herself why. Madness needed no reason.
“Lily? Are you all right?”
Cup in her musings, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Tony spoke in the darkness. Whirling, her hand flying to her throat, she gasped, “You startled me! I didn’t hear you!”
His teeth flashed in the darkness. “Sorry about that. Are you okay? Why aren’t you in bed? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Really,” she insisted. “I woke up and got to thinking about everything that’s happened and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Oh, please don’t turn the light on,” she said quickly when he stepped over to the lamp by the couch. “The drapes are open. Someone could be out there.”
On silent feet, he joined her at the window. “Did you see something?”
Staring out at the night again, she searched the shadows across the street. “No,” she said quietly. “But if someone’s out there watching, I don’t want him to know I’m awake.”
Tony couldn’t even imagine what it was like for her, knowing there was a monster out there who was stalking her, patiently waiting for a chance to kill her, and she didn’t even who he was or why he hated her so much. For all she knew, he could be a teller at her bank, a fellow student in one of her classes, someone who just lived down the street. No wonder she was terrified.
Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her gently against him until they stood hip to hip. “You’re safe, Lily. No one’s going to hurt you as long as I’m around.”
Her gaze, like his, still trained on the dark, empty street below his apartment, she lay her head on his shoulder. “I know,” she said. “I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t matter. I’m always on guard, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s just so tiring.”
She was worn out and Tony couldn’t believe she was still standing, considering how little sleep she’d had in the last thirty-six hours. He could feel the exhaustion in her. She didn’t even have enough energy to stand on her own.
“You need to be in bed,” he growled, and surpris
ed them both when he swung her up in his arms.
“Tony! What are you doing?”
Cradling her as if she weighed no more than a feather, he asked himself the same thing. What the devil was he doing? They were alone together in his apartment in the middle of the night and he wanted her so badly, he physically ached. The only problem was, she was a guest in his home, dammit, and there because she needed his protection. He had no business touching her.
His eyes locking with hers in the darkness, he sternly ordered himself to set her down. He might as well have ordered himself to fly to the moon. How could he release her when she felt so right in his arms?
“I’m carrying you to bed,” he said. “If that’s okay with you.”
When she hesitated, he thought she was going to say no. Then she looped her arms around his neck and looked him right in the eye. “That depends,” she said quietly.
Surprised, he arched a dark eyebrow at her. “On what?”
“Whether you’re taking me to my bed or yours.”
Already heading toward the short hallway that led to the bedrooms, he stopped in his tracks. “You’re exhausted. I should take you to yours.”
All she had to do was agree with him and she knew he would carry her back to her bed, tuck her in, then he’d return alone to his own bed. And that was the last thing she wanted. Later, she knew she would have to deal with that, but for now, she didn’t want to think about anything except the feelings he stirred in her with nothing more than his nearness.
“No,” she said softly. “I don’t want to go to sleep. I don’t want to go to my room. I want to be with you.” And just to make sure there was no misunderstanding, she lifted her mouth to his and kissed him hungrily.
Any worries that he might not want her as much as she did him died a swift death. With a groan, he kissed her back and strode quickly into his bedroom. Still kissing her, he brought her straight down to the bed with him and wrapped her close in his arms.
He kissed her again and again, and with every slow, seductive kiss, with every tender touch of his hands as he caressed her as if he couldn’t get enough of her, he made her forget…everything. He made her forget the smell of smoke in her lungs, the horror of realizing she was trapped in her own apartment and about to die, the terror of seeing a car bearing down on her as if she was a deer trapped in its headlights. And within a matter of minutes, he made her forget her own name.
Her breath tore through her lungs, the thunder of her heartbeat echoed in her ears. She wanted to tell him everything she was feeling, but words escaped her. All she could do was feel and it felt wonderful. He felt wonderful. With slow hands, he pulled her nightgown over her head, then shed his own clothes, and then they were skin to skin. Moaning, she moved against him, aching for more.
She didn’t have to say a word—he knew. Every time she moved, every time he touched her, the fire that burned between them grew hotter. Outside, the night was cool, but inside the bedroom, the air was steaming. Tony never noticed. There was only Lily and the way she made him burn with every touch, every sigh, every pounding of her heart. When she took him into her, he felt as if he was coming home. She caught his rhythm, and just that easily, they were moving in time to a melody only they could hear. Then she trailed her fingers down his chest and stroked him in a way he’d never expected. Just that easily, he lost what was left of his control. Her name a groan that was ripped from the very heart of him, he buried himself in her and felt her come apart in his arms. With nothing more than that, she took him over the edge.
Chapter 11
The thunder of her heartbeat loud in her ears and her face buried in Tony’s neck, Lily felt his arms tighten around her, cradling her close, and tried to figure out what had just happened. She wasn’t falling in love with him, she told herself firmly. Love had nothing to do with what they’d just shared. After all, how long had she known him? A couple of weeks? A month, at the most? People didn’t fall in love that quickly. They had to have time to get to know each other, to learn their likes and dislikes and what they had in common. And evenhen, what seemed like love wasn’t always. Look at her and Neil.
She pushed thoughts of that time in her life away, but pushing away her doubts wasn’t nearly as easy. True love took months to develop and grow. Anything that happened faster than that was just physical.
How many times had she told herself that in the past? she wondered. So why was she having such a difficult time believing it? She didn’t love Tony. She couldn’t.
But even as conflicting emotions pulled at her heartstrings, she had to admit that there was something different about Tony. There was something different about the way he made her feel. She’d thought she knew what need and desire were, but no one had ever stirred the emotions in her that Tony had. And every time she saw him, touched him, kissed him, those emotions grew stronger and stronger.
Still, she told herself she could handle it. She had a career to think of, dreams she’d waited a lifetime to follow. Nothing was getting in the way of that. Not Tony, not these crazy, mixed-up feelings he ignited in her so easily, not love. Especially not love! All of her life, love had held her back and kept her from being the woman she’d always wanted to be. Ultimately, it had nearly cost her her dreams. Other people could fantasize about love and their soul mates—she wanted nothing to do with either one.
Satisfied that she finally had sorted out her priorities, she told herself that whatever emotions she did feel for Tony didn’t have to ruin the time she had with him. They could enjoy each other without putting a label on things. Today—tonight—was all that mattered. Pleased, she released the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding and snuggled more comfortably in his arms. Within minutes, she was asleep.
Holding her close, Tony felt the exact moment she fell asleep. Her muscles relaxed, she sighed in contentment, and her breathing turned slow and deep against his neck. Sated, he should have closed his own eyes and gone to sleep, too, but his thoughts wouldn’t let him.
He’d only loved one woman in his life, and that was Janice. Even after they’d divorced, he would have found a way to forgive her for her betrayal of their marriage vows because he’d still loved her. She hadn’t been interested in forgiveness, however—she’d already moved on with Larry. Devastated, he’d sworn then that he’d never put his heart on the line and let himself care for another woman.
Keeping that promise to himself hadn’t been difficult. He had work and his son and that didn’t leave much time for dating. He appreciated a beautiful woman just like the next man, but the rare times that he had dated, no woman had tempted him to do anything other than flirt. Until now.
He wanted to believe what he felt for Lily was just lust, but he couldn’t be sure, and that had him worried. How could this be happening? he wondered, irritated with himself. He had a major court fight ahead of him for the custody of Quentin, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted by a woman—any woman. He wouldn’t lose his son.
Considering that, he should have been able to put his attraction for Lily in perspective. It was chemistry, lust, voodoo. Call it what you will, it certainly wasn’t something that should have dominated his every waking—and sleeping—moment. But somehow it did, and honesty forced him to admit that not even Janice had tied him in knots the way Lily had. And as much as he hated to admit it, he knew in his heart that it wasn’t just lust. He couldn’t forget the fear he’d seen in her eyes when she’d first realized that the maniac who nearly ran her down in the park really was trying to kill her. He’d never felt so protective of a woman in his life. And she was still in danger.
Just thinking about the bastard who was terrorizing her infuriated him. The guy’s days as a free man were limited, Tony promised himself. He couldn’t play this game forever—no one was that good. He’d get cocky, overplay his hand and make a mistake. And when he did, Tony planned to be on him so fast, he’d never know what hit him.
In the meantime, he couldn’t worry about the future. T
here was only now…and Lily. Feeling her against him, drawing in the scent of her, he realized nothing else mattered. Tightening his arms around her, he held her close for the rest of the night.
The sun was high in the morning sky when Lily woke with a start. Disoriented, she glanced around the bedroom and saw nothing familiar except her nightgown, which lay across the foot of the bed. Then she remembered Tony…and last night…and started to smile.
Later, she couldn’t say how long she lay there, daydreaming about last night, when she noticed how quiet the apartment was. Startled, she stiffened, listening to the silence that echoed in her ears. That’s when she realized she was alone.
No! she thought, alarmed, her heart suddenly pounding wildly in her chest. Tony had to be there somewhere. He’d promised to protect her. He wouldn’t just leave without waking her up to tell her where he was going.
Maybe he didn’t leave voluntarily, a voice whispered in her head. Maybe he was lured away, then knocked out from behind. The monster who’s trying to kill you could be coming up the stairs right now and no one knows you’re alone.
“Oh, God!” she whispered, horrified. “I’ve got to get out of here!”
The taste of fear bitter on her tongue, she jumped up and grabbed her nightgown and jerked it on. Her shoes! she thought wildly, glancing around frantically. Where were her shoes?
“Hey, sleepyhead, I brought you breakfast—” Stopping short in the bedroom doorway, a laden tray in his hands, Tony took one look at her ashen face and immediately set the tray on a nearby chest. “What is it?” he asked, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
Concern etching his forehead in deep lines, he eliminated the distance between them in two long strides. Mortified, Lily wanted to sink right through the floor. “I’m sorry,” she said. “When I woke up and saw you weren’t here, the apartment was so quiet, I thought I was alone.”