by Joanna Blake
I'd been rewarded by a glow in her cheeks as they grew a little softer and rounder. Unfortunately, it just made her even more desirable. Lord help me if she ever actually wore anything sexier than the uniform, which somehow looked nearly obscene on her hot little body.
Feeding her had finally assuaged a small amount of my guilt over geting her fired from the club in the first place. And it opened my eyes to how tough things could really be, even for a hard working girl like Elle. I had never wanted for anything, not even when I was on my own. And that didn’t even take into account my extra cushy safety net.
Even at my lowest point, I’d always had this place to come back to. I had just been playing at roughing it, really. I’d always known I had a safe haven if I needed it.
Elle didn’t have that. She was on her own. And damn if I wasn’t impressed by her tenacity.
She'd proven herself to be a hard worker. The staff all loved her. And they all seemed to be on her side in the battle of the sexes that was waging between us.
It was more than a battle. It was an all out war.
It all boiled down to one thing: I wanted sex. And she wasn't giving it to me.
I laughed again, proving to everyone in earshot that I was the crazy Delancey brother. Not that I gave a damn. At least I wasn't disappointing them. It was pretty much what was expected of me at this point.
Why buck tradition by acting normal? I was the bad brother, and fiercely proud of it. At least, I always had been. I wouldn’t mind it if Elle saw that there was more to me than that though. I wanted her to know that I was smart. That I was good with the horses. That I could be a good provider, and not just because I was from a wealthy family.
Even if all of that disappeared, I would be able to take care of her. Protect her. Keep her well fed and with a roof over her head.
It scared me a bit, the shift in my thinking. I’d never thought about a woman long-term. But with Elle, I couldn’t help but think it.
I finished my drink and wandered off to look for something else to imbibe. Or Elle, so I could leer at her some more. I passed through the living room to see my father holding court in his wheelchair and turned toward the library. That's when I heard it.
Someone was singing.
At first I thought it was a recording, the voice was so beautiful. Some vintage record of a classic jazz singer. But then the richness of it washed over me, making me realize someone was singing here. Now.
An angel.
The voice lifted higher, soaring above the party noises. It was sweet but not pure. No, there was a rich, husky quality to it. It sounded like smoke.
A boulder settled in my stomach.
Goosebumps broke out on my arms.
I knew even before I turned the corner who I would see, her hip pressed jauntily against the piano while Daniel played holiday music. Of course. It had to be her.
It was.
Elle.
I stared at her hungrily while the rest of the world disappeared. Her voice went straight through me, like a knife. A sweet soul-stirring knife. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
Jesus Christ, but the girl could sing.
I had a sinking feeling that I was in deeper than I’d thought I was with her. I’d already been bordering on obsession and that was before I heard her voice. She wasn't just talented. She was exceptionally gifted.
Suddenly, her fierce pride made more sense. She was definitely not the type to sell herself short. Being extremely beautiful and talented just added to that self-esteem. And that was going to make her even harder to get.
But it didn't matter how elusive she was. I wasn't going to go down without a fight. Miss Eleanor Gavin had no idea how persistent I could be.
She didn't stand a chance.
Hell, maybe neither one of us did.
I grabbed a cup of coffee from a passing waiter and chugged it down without milk or sugar.
I wanted to be sober as a judge for this.
I was going to get my woman.
Chapter Fourteen
Elle
I carried the rubber bin of clean dishes into the butler's pantry and set it down. The party was still going strong but I was always on top of cleaning up so I wouldn't be up until all hours. I was tired. Happy, but tired.
Somehow, by some miracle, the Delancey Estate felt like home.
Who would have thought that I would feel so welcomed here? The Delancey's hadn't just hired me, they'd embraced me. They had even asked me to sing at their holiday party. They paid me generously to do it too, above and beyond my wages.
I knew that at first the elder two Delancey brothers had thought I was an easy woman that Jake was trying to pawn off on them. But through hard work I’d proven them wrong. Now Jackson was my biggest advocate, telling Mrs. Garrety to make sure to give me any shifts I wanted.
The fact that I rejected Jake's overtures on a daily basis didn't hurt either. I had a sneaking suspicion that people were taking bets on us, which gave me an uneasy feeing. Either way, I put my foot down every time he tried to flirt with me, no matter who was watching.
It was getting harder and harder to ignore him though. The man was sex on wheels! He was too handsome for his own good and for mine. And he’d been sweet, too. Always making sure I had what I needed. Checking on me. I would be a liar if I said I wasn't tempted every time he sidled up to me. And my mother had raised me not to lie.
"Having fun?"
Well, speak of the Devil and he will appear.
I shivered. I already had goosebumps, just from feeling his eyes on me. I turned to see Jake lounging in the doorway to the pantry. The man could make a slab of concrete look like an easy chair. He was permanently relaxed. Those gorgeous bedroom eyes just added insult to injury.
I frowned at him. He'd been drinking all night. Everyone knew Jake Delancey liked to drink, but tonight he was really pouring the hard stuff down his gullet. I’d heard the staff and several of the guests clucking their tongues over his drinking and general lack of decorum. But he didn’t look uncouth. Just mildly disreputable. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, revealing strong tanned forearms covered in tattoos.
He reminded me of a hawk in a hen house. He wasn't like the rest of these soft, rich folks. No, Jake Delancey was dangerous.
And as sexy as the devil himself.
I swallowed nervously, hoping he didn’t notice.
Damn if he didn't look good enough to eat with his jacket off and the shirt loosened around his thick neck. I tossed my head at him and went back to what I was doing. I stacked the fine porcelain salad bowls carefully, making sure they were all lined up. But I could still see him from the corner of my eye.
Oh why didn't he just leave me the hell alone?
That or get on with it. All this pussyfooting around was driving me insane. I shook my head. I should just insult him as usual and send him on his way.
"Not as much fun as you from the smell of it."
He smiled and sipped the cup of coffee in his hand.
Coffee, I thought in surprise. That was interesting.
"I heard you singing."
I glanced at him and continued stacking the clean dishes in the cupboard. I felt a sudden jolt of insecurity. I knew I was good. What did I care what Jake Delancey thought?
"You're incredible. You could be a huge star."
I turned around and lifted my chin to stare down my nose at him. Not easy to do considering he had a foot on me. But I managed it.
"Not could be. I will be a working musician. Stardom isn’t what matters to me. I just want to be paid fairly for what I do, and get a chance to do it.”
He just stared at me. I knew he was going to do something rash before he even moved. He crossed the room until he was standing close to me, holding something over my head. I looked up in surprise. It was a little sprig of something green with red berries, tied with a red velvet bow.
I narrowed my eyes, not certain what he was up to.
Maybe it was the confidence I got fr
om singing, but I decided I wasn't going to back down this time. Or scurry off the relative safety of the kitchen. If he wanted to play with fire it was on his head. I tilted my head to the side.
"What is that, Mr. Delancey?"
"Call me Jake."
"What's that then, Jake?"
"It's mistletoe."
He stepped closer. I could feel the heat coming off of his body in waves. It felt nice. Very, very nice.
"What's it for?"
He grinned at me and slid an arm around my waist.
"It's for kissing."
He yanked me against him and lowered his head to mine. I inhaled sharply at the contact. He didn’t waste any time, kissing me hard right off the bat. His lips felt silky smooth and soft against mine. As good as I remembered them. Better even. He angled his head, nudging my lips apart.
The moment I opened my lips, the kiss exploded.
I moaned as our tongues tangled in a primal dance. A dance Jake seemed to excel at. He used his tongue to stroke, tease and caress me as I stood utterly helpless in his arms.
Damn, but the man could kiss!
Finally he pulled back, leaning his forehead against mine. We were silent as we both struggled to catch our breath. He stroked my hair as we stared into each other’s eyes.
"Come upstairs with me."
"I can't."
"Please Elle…"
"I'm working. Let me go, Mr. Delancey."
I stood there, watching him do as I asked him to. Even though what I really wanted was him to pull me into his arms again, to kiss me, to drag me upstairs. I did not say a word as he slowly stepped back and walked away.
It took all my strength not to call him back.
Chapter Fifteen
Jake
I rubbed a brush over Thunder, one of the newer horses they'd brought in for breeding. He was a young stallion, beautiful but still more than a little bit untamed. I had taken an immediate shine to him and vise versa. In fact, I was the only person who could really get close to the horse at all, let alone ride him.
It seemed that one discipline case recognized another.
It would be a shame for the horse to be used as breeding stock and little else. He had potential, even if I was the only one who could see it. I was thinking that maybe I would stick around… long enough to set things right with my father and work the stallion.
Long enough to get to Elle.
Thunder tossed his head and kicked the back of the stall. He wasn't trying to hurt me. He just wanted to run.
“Easy Thunder. I’ll get you out there, I promise.”
I knew exactly how the horse felt.
I’d been like a caged tiger all week, keeping away from everyone except my father and the horse. The old man was getting worse. I had taken to reading the papers to him in the afternoons. But it was hard to keep still. I wanted to move, fight, fuck.
I especially wanted to fuck.
I wanted her dammit.
She wanted me, too. I knew it, especially after that kiss. But she was being elusive as hell. And now she'd taken a day or two off to do something mysterious. I just had to find out what her reason was. I put down the brush and headed back into the house. Mrs. Garretty should be up by now. She would know.
I knocked softly on her door.
"Enter."
I opened the door and smiled endearingly at the family's long-term housekeeper. The woman had been a second mother to me and one of the few who had never lost hope or faith in the youngest Delancey brother. She smiled warmly as I sat in the spare chair by her desk.
“Hello, handsome.”
I bussed her cheek and grinned at her. She smiled back for a moment. Then she gave me a look.
"What do you want, Jake?"
"Can't I just stop by to see my favorite lady?"
She rolled her eyes and went back to making lists. The woman was always making lists. It took incredible organizational skills to run an estate this size. Mrs. Garretty had those in spades.
"You can. But you didn't. You are up to no good again, I can tell."
"I'm just looking for some intel."
She leaned back in her seat, staring at me over her glasses.
"Alright. Shoot."
"The new maid. Eleanor. She took a few days off. I want to know why."
Mrs. Garret's eyebrows shot up.
"You like her, do you?"
I nodded eagerly, sure I was going to get what I was after.
"So do I."
She pushed her glasses back up her nose and resumed her list making.
"But–"
"Let me ask you this, Jake. How much do you like her? I don't want you trifling with my staff. I don't care how pretty she is, the girl has grit. She deserves better than to be another one of your castoffs."
"She won't be. Anyway, she keeps turning me down."
Mrs. Garretty let out a belly laugh that would have been insulting if I didn’t know the old woman adored me. I frowned.
Actually, it was still pretty insulting.
"Please, just tell me. I'll be good. I swear."
She stared at me searchingly then sighed and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. I leaned forward to see her writing down the address of a nightclub. She handed it to me.
"She's got a gig tonight. 10 pm."
I snatched it up eagerly and pressed a kiss on her cheek.
"Oh, and Jake. It's not really a secret. You must be the only one who doesn't know about it. Half the house is going to see her perform tonight.”
"What, even Jackson and Daniel?"
She nodded slowly.
"You're all just messing with me all the time, aren't you?"
She grinned and winked at him.
"It's all in good fun, Jake. Have a nice time tonight."
"Thanks Mrs. G, I owe you."
Chapter Sixteen
Elle
"You ready?"
I stared into the mirror without really seeing my own reflection. I was wearing a short shredded denim skirt and a black corset top. My sheer black stockings were tucked into knee high black boots, on loan from Shirl. Eye makeup and bright lipstick completed the look. My hair was long and loose, with a couple of wild curls thrown in for good measure.
I was 100% pure rock and roll. It was a costume of course. But it made me feel like another person.
A person with loads more confidence that regular old Elle, with the holes in her shoes.
"Yeah, let's do this."
I followed Mark the bassist out onto the stage. The theater was surprisingly full for our first gig. Tom must have been promoting us hard. I knew without a doubt that he'd add that to the list of things that I “owed him.”
He hadn’t tried to cash in yet. Hopefully I could avoid him indefinitely. The key was not to be alone with him. The man gave me the willies.
I shook my head. I had to focus. I had too many men on the brain this week. The band was what was important.
We were good. Really good. I knew that. But the solicitous way Tom was acting was towards me… it was gross. I’d already felt like I’d been slimed when he came over to say hello to me tonight. The difference between Jake and Tom was stark. The two men who were courting me were as different as night and day.
Jake could be annoyingly persistent but he never made me feel like I owed him anything. And he gave me goosebumps and butterflies. Tom just made me want to run and hide.
I was in trouble with both of them. But different kinds of trouble. With Jake, I was in danger of losing my head and my heart. With Tom I was in danger of losing my lunch.
Thankfully I knew the guys in the band would look out for me. I’d already told them not to leave me alone with Tom. That way I wouldn't have to get into it with the guy and potentially make an enemy.
That would be the end of my music career in Nashville. Not just mine either. Ours.
I had to avoid alienating him at all costs. Well, almost all costs. There was one thing I would not give him just to make pea
ce.
Myself.
Tom was on now, standing towards the edge of the stage in a tight spotlight. He was talking to the crowd, pumping them up for the next act. He wore a thousand dollar suit with cowboy boots peeking out. And sunglasses. Who the hell wore sunglasses at night anyway?
"Give it up for Black Diamond!"
He pumped his fist and ran off the stage. The lights came up and I stepped forward and gripped the mic in my hand.
The next hour went by in a haze. The crowd responded to us as if we were world famous. For that hour at least, it felt like we were.
I let everything else go as the music moved through me. I felt an electric current passing between myself and the audience. Back and forth the energy zapped us all with its power, gathering force until I could almost see it.
I had never felt so alive in my life.
By the time we finished our second encore the crowd was going wild. I released my grip on the mic and realized my hand had cramped into place from holding onto it so tightly. The band ran off the stage to the green room. Immediately we were hugging each other and laughing with the euphoria of it all.
There as no question about it.
We were a hit.
I chugged a bottle of water as everyone kept jumping around. I felt limp, like a wet noodle. But it was more than that.
In that last moment, as the house lights came up, I’d seen him.
Jake Delancey.
He was here. He'd seen the whole show too, I could tell. Something about the fact that he'd seen me like this made me feel exposed, vulnerable in a way I’d never felt before.
Naked.
"I have to get out of here."
"Wait! Elle where are you going? We need to celebrate!"
"I just need some air. I'll be back."
I brushed past Tom and ran out into the alley behind the club.
I was bent over, trying to catch my breath when I heard footsteps behind me.
