Roses After Midnight

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  C eleste didn’t open her eyes until she felt the motion of the car fully stop. When she opened them, she discovered they were parked in the small side lot next to her apartment building.

  “So, what were you thinking?” Luc asked.

  “Maybe I was asleep.”

  He shook his head. “Not a chance. The brain waves were much too active.”

  She decided it was a good thing he couldn’t read those brain waves.

  She’d used the time to try to figure out what was going on with her emotions. It wasn’t easy where Luc Dante was concerned. The man had her tied up in knots.

  She stared out the windshield. “The rain stopped.”

  Luc nodded. “We left it about ten miles outside of town. Hopefully, it was leaving town and not heading for it.”

  Celeste unbuckled her seat belt and half turned in her seat so she could face him. The small space lent an intimate atmosphere that she couldn’t ignore. Even more so after the roller-coaster ride her imagination had taken her on.

  Maybe it was time to see if he’d take the bait or run for the hills.

  “I’m handy with a speed dial and know every takeout place in town. Your choice.” She served the ball into his court.

  Luc remained very still as he regarded her.

  “No anchovies,” he said finally.

  “Mushroom and sausage?”

  “As long as there’s extra cheese.”

  “Even better.”

  Once inside her apartment, Celeste cooed to her fish, dropped some food in their bowls and moved around in the kitchen with the phone to her ear. She placed the order as she pulled a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator.

  “I’m sure it’s not up to Dante’s Cafe standards, but Celeste Bradley wouldn’t be able to afford anything much more expensive,” she told him as she poured the wine into two glasses and handed one to him.

  He took a sip. “It’s pretty good.”

  “Have a seat. If you don’t mind, I’m going to change.” Celeste went into her bedroom and closed the door.

  Luc took the time to better study her apartment. He surveyed the rental videos stacked next to the VCR, examined the small number of books in a two-shelf bookshelf, and looked over what he called “dust collectors” that were placed at the coffee table and around the tiny room.

  He easily guessed which were her personal items. Not that they were anything expensive, but because something about the large rock painted to look like a turtle that was used as a doorstop seemed like something she would own.

  In his mind, Celeste Bradshaw was a contradiction. Because of her he had to change his mind about cops. See them more as human beings. He’d heard that a few of the officers he’d had run-ins with were no longer with the force. Some were discharged because of too many infractions and others retired.

  He just wished he and Celeste hadn’t met the way they had.

  “This is so much better,” she announced, returning to the living room. She was dressed in a button-down shirt and pants in a soft-looking fleece material the color of fresh strawberries. A pair of matching socks covered her feet. She plopped down on the end of the couch and pulled a soft velvety pillow onto her lap.

  “I forgot something,” he said abruptly, heading for the door.

  “Luc?”

  He ignored her calling out to him as he quickly left the building and walked back to his car. He retrieved a package from the back seat and returned to the apartment. Celeste was still seated on the couch, but now sitting up. He handed her the package.

  She looked at him for a moment, then ducked her head as she used her fingernail to slit the tape securing the paper.

  “Oh.” The word left her lips in a breathy sigh as she parted the papers, revealing the shawl she’d seen in the shop window that morning. She looked up. “How did you know…?”

  “I saw the look on your face when you looked at it,” Luc explained. “It also matches your eyes.”

  Celeste picked up the soft woolen fabric and rubbed it against her cheek. When she gazed up at him, the fabric mirrored the color of her eyes.

  “Thank you,” she murmured. “It is so beautiful.”

  He regretted the mood being broken by a knock on the door.

  Celeste jumped up and took care of the pizza. The speed with which they ate their first piece revealed their hunger, and they didn’t stop until most of the pizza was gone. Celeste refilled the wineglasses and settled back in a corner of the couch.

  “Why are you afraid of me?”

  Luc almost choked on his wine. He set the glass down before he dropped it.

  “That’s the first time I’ve been accused of being afraid of a woman.”

  “Maybe it’s the first time you’ve been afraid of one.” She held his eyes. “There’s something between us, Luc. I can’t ignore it and I don’t think you can either—but you want to, don’t you. That’s what tells me you’re afraid of me.”

  “Do you want it straight up or all wrapped up in tissue paper?” he asked.

  “By now you should know I’d prefer straight up.”

  Luc took a deep breath. “You’re a cop. Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak, I had a reputation with the cops. If a petty theft was reported, I was on the police shortlist. If a car was taken for a joyride, you can be sure I was picked up and questioned about it. If a woman’s purse was snatched and the kid who did it looked even remotely like me, I was picked up. Sometimes I felt that all I had to do was walk down the street and they’d accuse me of doing something wrong. I was the kid of a teenage hooker. I was the kid no foster family wanted. I was told I’d never come to any good. I may have proved them all wrong, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven them for preferring to arrest me instead of trying to put me on the right path. I don’t have anything close to the class you were born with and I’m certainly not the kind of man who gets involved in a long-term relationship. Especially with someone like you.”

  If his barb hit its mark, she didn’t show it.

  “I see,” she said. “So even though the attraction is there, you’ll refuse to go any further than you have.”

  He refused to look at her. “I’m sure you can see it’s for the best.”

  “So the shawl was a goodbye gift?”

  “Yes.”

  “Liar.”

  Luc’s eyes blazed as his head whipped around. “I have never lied,” he said between a clenched jaw. “Not to you, anyway.”

  “You are right now.” She draped the shawl against the back of the couch before she slid over next to him. “You weren’t the first man abandoned by a teenage mother, Luc. You weren’t the first kid the System let down. And you won’t be the last. But you can’t turn your emotions on and off just because you’re afraid of being hurt.” Just as she’d done in the car, she touched his cheek.

  “It’s more than that.” He seemed to prepare himself for, if nothing else, rejection. “I was one of those abandoned babies you see on the news. I was left on a morning newspaper behind a nightclub,” he said wearily. “One of the bartenders heard me crying and found me.” His laughter was bitter, filled with an old pain he hadn’t been able to erase. “The doctor who checked me out at the hospital came up with my name. Seems he was reading Dante’s Inferno at the time.” His eyes glowed like black coals.

  Celeste sensed that if he’d ever told anyone about his beginnings, they had walked away, if not run, because no one had ever cared about him. She silently damned the teenager who would dispose of a baby the way she might a tissue. A girl who couldn’t even leave him with the security of her own name. No wonder he was so closed off. He’d been rejected so many times he made sure it wouldn’t happen again. She wanted to show him that where she was concerned, there would be no rejection. She leaned forward and kissed him.

  “I’m very stubborn, Luc,” she whispered against his mouth. “No matter what you do, I won’t run away.”

  “Words, Celeste, just words,” he said just before he return
ed her kiss.

  She felt the tension ease just a bit. When she looped her arms around his neck, she felt him release a little more. And when she crawled into his lap, she knew she had won.

  Celeste never thought of herself as greedy, but with Luc she knew she wanted it all. She pushed up his sweater and sought the warmth of his bare skin. The intense heat seemed to scorch her.

  “There’s no going back.” His eyes were dark flames.

  “That’s funny, that was just what I was going to say to you.” Her tongue circled the curve of his ear.

  With little effort, Luc stood up with Celeste in his arms. When they reached her bedroom, he kept her in his arms as he pulled the covers back. He set her down as if she was something fragile and delicate.

  “I don’t break,” she murmured, pulling him down with her.

  Celeste was like a cloud of mist that surrounded Luc. How could he resist a woman whose skin was like velvet and whose mouth a sensual torment? She wasn’t the least bit shy in divesting him of his clothing, tossing his sweater in one direction and his jeans in another.

  “Big surprise there,” she said with a chuckle when she looked at his black briefs. “I swear I’m going to buy you a pair of fire-engine-red ones.”

  Her tiny bikini panties and bra were a silvery-pink shade that shimmered in the dark. But it was her skin that fascinated him. He couldn’t keep his hands off her as he discovered the delicate slope of her breast and flare of her hips. She echoed his every touch.

  He didn’t say a word during his exploration, but each touch revealed his reverence for her. When he parted the slippery pink petals and touched the tiny nubbin with his forefinger, Celeste gasped his name. But when he doffed his briefs and moved over her, into her, she cried out his name.

  “You make me feel whole,” Luc whispered as he sank into her waiting softness. “You make me believe there can be more,” he told her, and kissed her deeply, his tongue mating with hers.

  “Then let me make it a reality,” she said just before she flew into the heavens, with him following.

  He felt like crying, just as she’d cried. She had called him horrible names. Hit him, scratched him even when he told her she’d given him a beautiful gift and he would treasure it always. He had had no idea she was a virgin. He’d gone to her only because she deserved a love better than the one her fiancé claimed to have for her, even as they argued.

  He hated leaving her when she was so distraught, but he knew he couldn’t stay. At least he kept his head and cleaned everything up before he left.

  Maybe once she calmed down she’d realize she was better off having him as her first lover than the idiot she was engaged to.

  Celeste frowned. This didn’t feel right. Why wasn’t she smiling? This was one of her favorite dreams. She was floating on a soft, fluffy cloud. The sky was a brilliant blue, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen that—no rain, ditto. For the first time, she wasn’t alone on her cloud.

  Her companion should make her happy, but instead, there was something unsettling deep within her. An unbearable tension she couldn’t remember ever feeling was now spreading out through her body.

  She turned to face her companion and recoiled.

  He had no face!

  That didn’t frighten her as much as seeing the red rose he held out to her. Something wet splashed onto the back of her hand. She looked down and saw red droplets against her skin. Blood. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her throat closed up from terror. But it didn’t stop her from trying to call out, even as she tried to shake the blood from her hand. Except, it wouldn’t come off, which only terrified her more. She whimpered as she tried again, but all it did was flow across her hand as more blood hit her skin. Her faceless tormentor only sat there and watched her frenzied action.

  “Make it go away! Make it go away!” she pleaded, but he did nothing.

  Her voice grew high-pitched as she kept begging, and the droplets now turned into a torrent, staining her skin red.

  “Celeste. Celeste!”

  She was shaken almost violently.

  Her eyes snapped open, but for a moment she saw nothing but the blood she was now drowning in. Her breathing was swift and shallow as she fought for air.

  “Celeste! You’re having a nightmare. Wake up!” This time she was shaken so hard she swore her teeth rattled.

  She blinked twice and found Luc holding on to her shoulders. The expression on his face was one of pure fear.

  “I—I—” She struggled to form the words. “I’m so cold.”

  He drew her into his arms and pulled up the blanket, draping it over her shoulders as he cradled her against his chest. She shivered violently until his body heat made her warm again.

  “What in the hell were you dreaming about?” he said in her ear.

  Celeste clung to him tightly. She shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was recount what was still running in horrifying detail inside her mind.

  Luckily he didn’t press her but continued to hold her in his arms.

  It took some time for her breathing to grow even and the terror to leave her mind.

  “Let’s consider ourselves lucky,” she said finally.

  “In what way?”

  “In that when I was little and had nightmares I always threw up afterward.” She listened to the soft rumble of his laughter.

  “I am grateful for that.” He was quiet for a moment. “The only way it will go away is to talk about it.” She still didn’t speak. Her tension vibrated all through her body. “You dreamed about him, didn’t you? Prince Charming?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She laughed without humor. “But don’t ask me who he was, since he didn’t have a face, and he handed me a damn red rose that spouted blood like some insane fountain.” She mumbled the words against the warmth of his chest.

  “No more mushroom pizza before bed for you.” He stroked her back with long calming sweeps of his hand.

  After a while it didn’t feel as calming as he might have planned. She could feel that tingle start up again. She half sat up so she could see his face.

  “You know,” she said huskily, “I’ve heard that sometimes physical activity can chase nightmares away better than anything.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Maybe if I had something to take my mind off it…” She allowed her voice to trail off suggestively.

  Before she could blink she found herself sprawled across Luc’s chest as he adjusted her to sit astride his hips.

  “It will be a pleasure to do anything I can to help you take your mind off your bad dream,” he said.

  “Such a gentleman.” She was leaning down to kiss him when her phone jangled. She froze. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she reached over and grabbed the handset.

  “Hello?”

  “Wakey, wakey, babe. I’ll pick you up in ten.”

  “Another one?” Celeste felt Luc freeze under her.

  “Yeah. She’s at the hospital now. So throw on some undies and outies and be out front.” Dylan hung up.

  Celeste hit the off button and put the handset down. She slid off Luc and got up.

  “I heard enough,” Luc said as he straightened and pushed himself out of the bed.

  “Damn, they’re happening closer together,” she muttered, rummaging through a drawer and pulling out underwear. She wasted no time in dressing in jeans and a heavy fleece top. She’d just tied the laces to her running shoes when she looked up. “This is the way my life is. They call. I go.”

  Uncaring that he was still naked, he knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. He rubbed them briskly.

  “Right now you need to concentrate on your case,” he said in a low voice.

  Her smile was resigned. “Yes, I do. Help yourself to coffee or whatever you can find. I probably won’t be back for a few hours.”

  Luc nodded. “If you need tonight off, give me a call.” He stood up and walked over to the pile of clothing, part of it h
is. He dressed quickly.

  Celeste looked out the window and saw Dylan’s car glide to the curb.

  “I have to go.” She retrieved her weapon from the lock box and attached her badge to her waistband. “You only need to set the dead bolt when you leave. It automatically locks behind you.”

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “No.” She started for the door, then spun around, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him with the heat he’d become so familiar with. He tasted her hunger, and something else that called out to him. An emotion he’d always turned his back on—but couldn’t with her. Before he could attempt to deepen their kiss, she stepped back, then ran for the door. She was gone before he could utter a word.

  Luc walked over to the window and looked down. He soon saw Celeste running out of the building and over to Dylan’s car. He didn’t expect her to look up before she got into the vehicle. So why did he feel disappointed when she didn’t?

  Celeste in his arms had been more than anything his dreams had foretold. She wove magic around him that warmed his cold soul. Then she’d sought him for comfort after her nightmare. Just the little she’d told him was chilling. He didn’t want to imagine what it would be like to have that horror presented in living color.

  Now that she was gone, he saw no reason to stay.

  Luc made sure the dead bolt was engaged and that it locked behind him.

  He had known making love with Celeste would change his life. From the first time he’d kissed her he’d felt something come alive deep down inside him. The darkness that seemed to hover around him even appeared lighter. But that uncertainty still haunted him—that even if she was the bright spot on his horizon right now, she might not be there for him tomorrow. It wasn’t going to be as easy for him from now on. Before, he hadn’t minded being alone. Now he didn’t think he would feel as comfortable with it as he once had.

  “You sounded pretty alert when I called,” Dylan said, parking the car in the parking lot near the Emergency Room.

  “Bad dreams,” she said, as he coasted to a stop and she climbed out.

  “Really?” He didn’t sound convinced. She was relieved he didn’t pursue it.