The message ended, and Violet stared at the clock. Nearly ten-thirty already! Quickly she called the museum back and confirmed the new time.
She turned to Nick. “I’ve got to get ready. Please excuse me.” She took off for her room, wondering which of her interview outfits was cleanest. Nick followed with his bags, placing them in the corner. As she changed, he did as well, pulling on the khaki pants and the dark-blue button-down shirt, belting it with a leather belt she hadn’t remembered going into the bag.
By the time she was dressed, so was he. Violet stared as Nick brushed his hair behind his ears and felt the slight hair that had erupted along his jaw line. It wasn’t stubble since he’d never shaved, but it was hair nonetheless.
“Nick, you look wonderful. How do you know so much about clothes?”
His smile was sheepish. “Chauncey and Edgar. They’re the gardeners in the park. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but they are forever talking about clothes, the latest styles, what’s in and out, what is classic and never a bad idea to buy.” He preened at his reflection in the mirror. “I’ve got to say, I like how I look.”
“Careful, Nick. That’s how you got into this fix.”
His crestfallen expression made her want to take the words back. “I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t think…”
He held up one hand. “No need to apologize, Violet. I know you meant no harm.” Chuckling ruefully, he turned his back to the mirror and ran an appraising gaze over her outfit.
His eyebrows beetled into a single line. “Violet, is that what you were planning to wear?”
Startled, she glanced down at the dark skirt, pale-green shirt, and matching sweater. “What’s wrong with this? It’s one of my best outfits.”
Now he frowned and shook his head. “Violet, both the top and the sweater are bulky and hide your shape. It makes you look much heavier than you are—and older as well.”
His words were the last thing she’d expected, and Violet couldn’t hide the tears in her eyes. She turned from him, and he caught her by the shoulders.
When she looked at him, she saw the instant regret in his face. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right.”
She dashed the tears away with her hand. “I know I’m not the most glamorous woman in the world…”
Nick tilted her head up and gazed deeply into her eyes. “That’s not true. You may not be the most fashionable lady around, but you are truly beautiful, Violet. All you need is to wear the clothes that show it.” He opened the door to her closet and eyed the contents. “Let me pick something out for you to wear and I’ll prove it to you.”
She leaned against the doorjamb behind him. “You won’t find anything in there that will make me look like a supermodel.”
“I don’t want you to look like that,” he told her as he held up a thin dark-green sweater with small pearl buttons, and examined it with a critical eye. “I just want you to look like the beautiful woman you are. Here, try this on.”
She took it from him. “I thought you wanted me to get rid of my layers.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “I don’t want you wear it over your top. Put it on instead.”
“Instead!”
“Yes, instead. You hide your body, Violet, and you don’t need to. Try it on and you’ll see what I mean.”
Turning her back, she shrugged off both her shirt and the matching cardigan. Buttoning up the top Nick had picked, Violet’s hand trembled. How dare he criticize her clothes? Just because he’d picked out some good-looking outfits for himself didn’t make him an expert on women’s fashions. Torn between anger and the pain of his derision, she buttoned the sweater all the way to the top then faced him. “Satisfied?” she snarled at him.
Nick’s lips pressed into a frown. Seizing her shoulders, he placed her in front of the mirror, taking position behind her. Even through her anger Violet could feel the warmth of him and part of her longed to lean back into it. She closed her eyes as he pulled her closer to him, trying to avoid his pull on her senses.
His hand caressed her shoulder and then fingered the top button, letting it go undone, then did the same to the one below. She felt the warmth of his breath on her ear and heard his deep voice, heavy with emotion. “Look at yourself, Violet. See how lovely you are.”
Violet opened her eyes and stared at her reflection. Could that really be her? It was her face, Nick’s in shadow behind her, but her eyes were wide, cheeks bright with color, her lips looking full and lustrous, half-open as she took deep breathes through her mouth.
The sweater fit her better than she’d imagined, the thinner fabric hugging her curves, clinging to her breasts. Where he’d opened the front, the resulting cleavage gave her a womanly appearance. Not tawdry or seductive, but appealing, plus the open neck drew the eye, making the width of her waist insignificant.
Her mouth dropped open. Nick had been right—she looked beautiful. “I don’t believe it,” she said, amazed by the change her mirror revealed. The new outfit sent her confidence sky-high. “I look great.”
His chuckle rippled through her back. “I told you so, didn’t I? You are a lovely woman.”
“I still need to lose some weight…”
“Not as much as you think. I mostly think you need to exercise more regularly.” One hand slid down her back to rest on her bottom, cupping it and massaging it with sensuous fingers. “’I’ve heard this kind of activity uses a lot of energy,” he said suggestively, his voice setting up waves of sensation in her, most of which landed right into her core.
She pulled herself from his arms. “I need to go, Nick. No time for exercise now.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, you shouldn’t. What will you do?”
“It’s a museum isn’t it, of ancient art? They’ll have exhibits, maybe even some statues like the ones I was displayed with. Maybe I’ll even see someone I know.”
She laughed. “Very well. We’ll need to hurry, though.”
Chapter Ten
Nick leaned against the front desk as Violet spoke to woman sitting behind it, who relayed her presence to the back office.
A moment later the phone rang and the red headed woman answered it. “Dr. Howard will see you now,” she said, all the while smiling at Nick, Violet noting her interested gaze running over him as she delivered the message. “Your friend can wait here if he likes.” Her smile held a trace of feral attraction. “I’ll be happy to keep him company.”
Violet narrowed her eyes and was contemplating a retort when Nick spoke up. “Actually, I thought I’d see the museum.” He smiled in return. “If that’s all right with you.”
“Oh, by all means.” The redhead reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of small lapel buttons. “These will get you inside,” she purred.
Violet intercepted the items before the other woman could force them into Nick’s hand. Leading him aside, she fastened the button to his shirt pocket, using the excuse to be close enough to speak to him softly.
“You might not enjoy this as much as you think. You won’t be able to read any of the descriptions.”
He considered that. “Perhaps I can get someone else to read them to me?”
“That would seem strange, a man who speaks English as well as you do not being able to read.” She glanced around the lobby, her gaze landing on the audio-tour desk and the rack of small players for rental.
She grinned at him. “That’s the answer, Nick. I can rent you one of those and show you how to use it. You only need to read numbers to play the correct description of the exhibits, and you already know how to do that.”
It took a couple of minutes to teach him the controls, but as always Nick was a quick study. He followed her into the museum until they stopped outside the office door. Nick took his place nearby, in front of a giant urn of Chinese ancestry.
“Good luck,” he told her and gave her a quick kiss and a hug.
She hesitated in the doorway, and turned to speak with him once more, but he h
ad already activated the player and was intent on the display nearest the door. Violet watched as he frowned in concentration at the urn. He’d found something to keep him occupied at least.
“Ms. Smith?” She turned to see a portly man with graying hair and narrow spectacles. His smile contrasted with his somewhat harried expression. Seizing her hand, he shook it hard then pulled her into the office. “I’m so glad you could come on short notice…let’s go inside and talk.”
Hope filled her as she followed him. It sounded like they were desperate…she might have chance at this job after all!
* * * * *
Nick wandered through the cavernous halls, heading for what he hoped would be the Greek and Roman artifacts. As he passed through one doorway, a dusty odor assailed him. He took a deeper breath. Back in a museum again—it even smelled the same as he’d imagined, all old stone and fabric.
A pair of fluted columns as ancient as he was flanked the opening in front of him. Starting his player, he entered the number on the plaque on the wall, and a woman’s disembodied voice sounded through the headphones. “Long believed to be part of a temple in Athens before their removal to Rome, these columns have been dated to the Grecian Dark ages, created by local stonemasons…” The explanation droned on, providing more dates, mostly meaningless to Nick. One thing did attract his attention, though. At the bottom of the left column was a small set of letters, chipped into the base.
Nick smiled. It was a name of the stonemason who’d carved the columns, someone he’d met once. The man had been an Ionian who’d never ventured anywhere near Athens. The explanation on the tape was wrong, the dates mixed up. The Grecian name was there for the entire world to see but only he had the eyes to view it.
This discovery filled him with curiosity. What other mistakes could he find? Feeling as if he ventured on a treasure hunt, Nick explored the exhibits, thrilled with each new mistake.
There really was something he could offer the people of this time! If he could learn to read English, he’d be more than able to demonstrate his proficiency as a classical scholar, with or without a formal education. The possibilities filled him with something he’d not experienced in a long time.
Hope. Hope of a future, in this world, with his lovely Violet.
Eventually he found another room, filled with statuary, some old, some less so. One caught his attention, a nymph peeking from behind a tree, her expression vivid with longing, her gaze fixed on something only she could see. Her mouth hung open as if she intended to speak, the words frozen on her tongue. He stepped closer to examine the pensive face, wondering if he really recognized her. He’d been joking with Violet earlier when he’d spoke of meeting people he knew, but here was someone familiar.
“Echo, of course.” Nick tore his headphones off and turned. Behind him stood Nemesis—that is, Nina—the quiet in her voice almost hiding her anger. “My sister nymph, if you remember—and another of your ‘conquests’.”
Conquest. Well, not really. “I remember her. She was so shy she wouldn’t speak to me, just answer me with my own words.”
“That was the story. She became a shadow of herself and faded away. All that was left of her was her voice, calling endlessly. I still hear her sometimes.”
Nick shook his head, unexpected sorrow filling him. “Can she be freed, the way I was?”
She shrugged. “Maybe, eventually. She needs to want her liberty, and so far she hasn’t. Not like you.”
Catching the meaningful tone in her voice, Nick turned his attention to her. He took in Nina’s appearance, the lean figure dressed in a sheath dress far too short and trendy for a museum on a weekday afternoon. With her long black hair swept up in a loose French twist, she might have stepped out of a fashion magazine.
It was unnerving to see her in the flesh. On the television screen it had been easier to ignore her innate sexuality, but in person it was impossible. The woman fairly screamed sex even without a phallus in her hand.
She took his arm and pulled him down an aisle, between two statuary groups. Rubbing against him, she purred into his face. “I’m so looking forward to our little meeting, lover. I can hardly wait until this evening.”
“I’m sure you can’t.” Nick tried to pull away and put some distance between them. Having to put up with this woman was taking a toll. It would feel so good to simply dump the bitch on her rear.
But if he did…he wouldn’t be allowed to stay with Violet. For his ladylove, he’d do anything.
Even put up with Nemesis…that is, Nina.
Even have sex with her? Yes, if that’s what would free him.
She bit down on his knuckles and he pulled his hand away. “Nina, how do I know that you’re telling the truth, that if we have sex I’ll be set free?”
Retreating, she glared at him. “Do you think I’d dare lie to you, promising the gods’ forgiveness in exchange for a little hanky panky? Do I look stupid, Nick? If I hadn’t gotten the power-that-be’s okay on this, there is no way I’d come to you with this proposition.” She shuddered. “They’d be sure to take away my privileges as an immortal spirit…and that’s not something you’d wish on your worst enemy!”
He had to admit she was right. To sneak something of this magnitude past the gods was an act of insanity, one thing he’d never accuse her of. Still, he couldn’t let it go that easily. “You’re Nemesis, you’re anyone’s worst enemy.”
She looked offended. “Hey, everyone’s got a part to play, Narcissus, even you. That whole staring into a pond thing was a great object lesson for the terminally self-absorbed. The question is, have you really gone beyond it? Can you do what needs to be done to earn your redemption?”
Hesitation wasn’t an option. “I have, Nina. Really. I’ll do anything to stay with Violet.”
Mollified, she gave him a feral grin. “Very well. Meet me tonight, in the park, alone. There is a shed used by the gardeners that will be unlocked and unguarded. It’s actually kind of romantic if you don’t mind the smell of fertilizer. Be there at two a.m. and we’ll see what we can do to absolve you. I promise, I’ll make it worth your while…in more ways than one.”
It sounded like a fate worse than death—but death wasn’t an option anyway. Instead of dying, he’d return to stone, to stare endlessly at his reflection. If he was to retain his current humanity he had to do what she wanted.
“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “Whatever you say.”
“Whatever who says?” Violet’s voice caught his attention and Nick twisted in Nina’s hold to face his sweetheart.
His sweetheart was hopping mad at him. Arms folded, she tapped one foot meaningfully, staring at the hand Nina still had clamped to his forearm.
“Who’s this, Nick?”
He pulled away from Nina. “Just someone I know, Violet.”
“A friend? Here? I didn’t think you knew anyone.”
“Someone from a long time ago.” Nina’s hand had disappeared, and when Nick looked around, so had the woman herself. Melted into thin air, it seemed, and inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. Nina’s sudden disappearance apparently registered with Violet, who looked around with some consternation. “Where did she go?”
Best to distract her. “Violet…did you get the job?”
To his surprise the subterfuge worked. Violet’s eyes lit up, and she smiled broadly. Grabbing his hands, she pulled them into the warm mounds of her breasts. Nick resisted a groan at their softness.
“I did, Nick. I start next Monday. They’re even paying me half-again the salary I was making before. It’s so wonderful!”
“I’m so glad, Violet. You deserve it.”
Nina apparently forgotten, she continued to bubble with excitement. “I owe it to you, Nick. He told me that the minute he saw me he knew I was just what they were looking for. It was the outfit you picked out for me…it made me look like an administrator.”
“You are an administrator…and a very good one.”
“But I didn’t look like one, be
fore. I didn’t know what was missing, but it was the way I was dressing.” Throwing her arms around him, Violet hugged Nick. “You made a big difference Nick. Really.”
She cuddled in close and Nick held her, relishing her loving nature. His woman, his for all time after tonight.
After making love to another woman.
He pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. That’s what it came down to, doing with Nina what he’d willingly done with Violet. How hard could it be to have sex with a woman he didn’t really want? Men did it all the time.
He surely could do it…even now his cock hardened at the idea of making love…to someone…anyone…Violet, Nina…what was the difference? Both were female, both offered the same parts.
There was even a part of him that acknowledged that Nina was the physically more attractive of the two.
But that didn’t matter. He was in love with Violet and that made a big difference. To make love without love, could that be done?
Of course it could. But was it desirable?
Violet buried her head deeper into his chest. “Oh, Nick. I hope you’re right, I hope you can stay with me. It would be terrible to give you up now.”
He ran his hands along her back, pressing her closer. It didn’t matter what was right or wrong or what he desired. He wanted to stay human and with Violet, and to accomplish that he’d do anything.
Even have sex with Nina, his Nemesis of so long ago. It wasn’t a question or an option. It was an imperative.
There was no choice.
Violet felt so wonderful in his arms. He had to keep her close and smell her earthy aroma, the scent of woman and the future. To live with Violet, love Violet, make love to Violet. To be her husband and see her swell with his child. Every moment with her was more poignant than the last.
How could he possibly give her up? Answer—he couldn’t.
The museum suddenly seemed more closed in than ever, full of old objects, things from a past he no longer wanted to be part of. He needed to get away from it, out in the open where there were living things around. Go where there was life.
Violet Among The Roses Page 10