A voice whispered inside: Be afraid. It was stupid not to be, yet she actually had to coax herself into being wary.
“You dropped this.”
The unexpectedness of his voice startled her, especially in the midst of her ruminations about Ted Bundy. She actually let out a cry, stumbled, then caught herself on the trunk lid of a car. Her vehicle was still five spaces away. The man didn’t seem like a rapist, though she didn’t know any to compare with. Hadn’t she used the word dangerous to describe him? Instead of turning to him, she quickened her pace. Better safe than sorry, as the security expert advised.
When she’d donned her sexy outfit, she hadn’t planned to be alone with him. She’d counted on a crush at five o’clock, and even at six, there would have been a fair amount of human traffic. She hadn’t foreseen her boss, Mr. Donaldson, calling her into his office for an update on the R&A reserve she would be presenting at tomorrow’s audit committee meeting. When she finally left at seven, she hadn’t anticipated seeing the elevator man at all.
Wearing a provocatively short dress was something Toni might have done, but Livie was the level-headed one. He probably thought she’d worn it for him. And he’d be correct.
“I believe you’re going to want this.”
Her purse strap slipped off her arm, and her bag slapped against her briefcase. She almost dropped both.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
She believed him. But only because she wanted to? Really, she didn’t know anything about him. She wanted to turn around and blurt out the question uppermost in her mind: Were you following me yesterday?
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just going to my car. It’s right over there.”
Livie glanced over her shoulder to find him pointing to a black luxury model four parking spots from her car.
He made everything sound so aboveboard. And he’d helped her get away from that street person yesterday. He couldn’t be all bad. But he was close. Livie reexamined her instincts and found them lacking, at least in an empty garage where no one would hear her scream.
It was best just to slip into her car and lock the door. An empty garage was not the best place to make a first introduction. She’d talk to him tomorrow, when they weren’t alone. It was safer that way.
She wanted to appear calm and sure of herself, but she dropped her purse and her briefcase, fumbled with the damn key fob, and couldn’t find the button to unlock the car. She felt like an idiot. She turned to face him.
He stood by her rear bumper, both hands up in surrender, a piece of paper between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. We were heading the same way.” His words and tone were soothing, but it was his eyes that captured her. The dim overhead lighting turned them mystical, mesmerizing, dark pupils surrounded by glowing jade.
“I didn’t drop anything,” she said. It would be silly to let her guard down. Julia would read her the riot act for not screaming her lungs out the minute he’d followed her into the garage. Followed. Had he really followed her?
He glanced at the paper in his hand. “It’s some sort of flyer. I’ll just put it here on your trunk, and you can pick it up when I’m gone.”
His deep voice held the hint of a rasp, like a hinge that with one drop of oil would work perfectly. It was that very defect that made her feel as well as hear him, reaching inside her body, like a chord that played on her nerve endings until they vibrated. Just as in the elevator the day before, her heart raced and her nipples beaded. She simply stared, caught in his compelling gaze. Why did this man have such a powerful effect on her? She couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“It’s addressed to the Customer Service Director? Cumberland Electronics?” He glanced at the flyer, each statement a question, as if he were asking for confirmation. “Advertising a seminar on revenue recognition for the marketing professional?”
Revenue recognition for dummies. It was hers. Particularly the dummy part. She’d shoved the pamphlet in the outside pocket of her briefcase just before she left. Only a couple of weeks away, if she wanted to register, she had to do it ASAP, and she’d never get around to filling out the form at work. She must have knocked the brochure loose.
She never should have read that self-defense book. Now everything seemed suspect. She recognized the pamphlet as a possible technique he employed to put her at ease.
She didn’t have any creepy-crawly sensation telling her to run away. Exactly the opposite, in fact. “Thank you.”
He kept his hands in the air like a cornered bandit. “I really am sorry for scaring you. Let me introduce myself. My name’s Burn Daniels, and I’m on the fifteenth floor. Daniels Associates. Just moved in about a month ago. Maybe you saw them adding the name to the directory in the lobby.”
She hadn’t noticed anything on the directory. She’d only noticed him on the elevator. She’d been fantasizing about him for the last two weeks, dreaming about a pair of jade eyes.
Burn. A very apt name. He certainly had the potential to set her on fire. The less intelligent part of her brain wanted him to burn her up right here, a need that seemed to consume her. But she had to be sensible.
“Here, let me show you my driver’s license to prove who I am.” He slowly lowered a hand to sweep aside his suit jacket and pull his wallet from his back pocket.
She really must have acted like a weirdo, charging through the garage, making him think she was terrified he’d jump her at any moment.
“And here’s my rotary club card. And a picture of my mother.”
She couldn’t see that far, so she couldn’t read his name, or make out much of his mother’s face, but he didn’t step closer.
“She lives up north in my hometown of Freedom, and I visit her every month.” He flipped to another picture. “There’s my two brothers and my sister. She’s got two boys, a husband, and a dog. She’s a psychologist, and she’ll attest to the fact that I’m not a crazy maniac.” He raised a brow. “At least I think she will.”
At that point, she almost threw her hands up in surrender. “All right, already.” She hadn’t been that afraid.
He smiled. A transforming smile. From primeval, dangerous predator—sort of—to happy go-lucky little boy. “Don’t you want to know how old my nephews are?” He was teasing her, probably had been from the moment he opened his wallet.
“I’d rather know how many credit cards you have and whether you pay off your full balance every month.”
He laughed. “Three and yes. I’m forty-three, unmarried, and I own my own home.”
Unmarried? As in never married, or divorced? Or widowed. Well, if he was a stalker or a serial killer or a rapist, he had her cornered in the face of that open smile. It made her quite warm. “Quick, what kind of dog does your sister have and what’s its name?”
“Irish setter-lab-mutt-mix, and his name is Roark.”
“Roark? Like the guy in the JD Robb books.”
He glanced down at the concrete as if the name was somehow embarrassing. “No. It was my idea, after Ayn Rand’s hero in her book The Fountainhead.”
“Oh.”
“Ever read it?”
“No.” She hated to squash his almost childish excitement. She’d never even heard of the book. But he really was...arresting. And so very appealing. And she didn’t give a damn what any security expert would say about that. “Look, I’m sorry about what just happened. I know you probably think I overreacted.” She felt like a complete idiot.
He shook his head. “A woman alone can’t be too careful.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
He slid the seminar pamphlet across the trunk, closer to her. “Don’t forget this.”
She eased forward, snatched it up, and shoved it into her briefcase.
“I’d like to buy you a drink to make up for causing the trouble.”
She wanted that drink, and she wanted a lot more, but her embarrassment overruled desire. She
didn’t want him to suspect that she’d been having hot and heavy fantasies about him for two weeks. One should never consider turning fantasy into reality. That only led to disappointment.
“Thanks,” she said politely, “but I’ll pass on the drink. My sister’s waiting at home. If I’m late, she’ll worry.” She glanced at her watch pointedly. She hoped to God Toni wasn’t waiting at home. Overtired and her head starting to ache with the ridiculousness of the situation, she longed for a bubble bath and a glass of wine.
He took two steps to the left. Presumably towards his car. “Perhaps another time then. I want to make it up to you.”
Her smile so wide her face felt near to cracking, she said, “It’s not necessary. Gotta go. Bye-bye.”
She used his preoccupation with putting away his wallet to unlock her car and climb in.
If she wasn’t afraid he was still watching, she’d have banged her head against the steering wheel. The whole episode had been silly. Not to mention awkward, embarrassing, and humiliating.
She would not feel stupid. Just as he’d said, a woman alone couldn’t be too careful.
Yet she wondered if she’d missed her one and only chance to find out if reality could actually be better than fantasy.
* * * * *
That went well. Bern quirked his mouth in a self-deprecating smile. He stayed in the otherwise empty garage until his mystery woman had started her car, backed out, and her taillights disappeared around the corner.
I carry my mother’s picture in my wallet, visit her once a month, and I named my sister’s dog Roark.
Yeah. A stellar introduction.
Though she had eased up in the end, he truly hadn’t meant to frighten her. He simply hadn’t wanted her to get away from him. The rest had been self-defense against that wide-eyed stare he’d evoked. He didn’t make it standard procedure to cite his vital statistics before he learned a woman’s name. Great first impression.
And he still didn’t know her name. After scaring her half to death, he opted for supplying information rather than asking questions.
Why was she so important to him that he risked acting the fool for her?
He could ask why all he wanted. Actions told the story. He saw, he wanted, he acted. He’d never before felt such a strong reaction to a woman, and he knew he never would again.
An odd sensation spread from his gut to his extremities. From the moment he’d seen her, his belly had clenched with a need so strong he couldn’t deny it. It went beyond the mere physical to something that stole through his organs, seeped into his brain, and wrapped itself around his heart. Could Jake actually be correct, that souls traveled together and met again in different lives?
It didn’t matter. He’d found her, and he would win her over.
Chapter Four
Toni parked her car on the street and let herself into Livie’s condo on the fifth floor of the building. Toni preferred apartment living, where she could pick up and move whenever it suited her. But Livie liked roots and ownership, even if it was a tiny condo in a big complex in Belmont.
What a day. She felt like crap, and she looked like last month’s leftovers.
Where was Livie? It was after nine. Toni threw her overnight bag on the bed, hung up tomorrow’s skirt and sweater so they wouldn’t wrinkle, tossed the stuff she’d borrowed this morning in the hamper, then set her cosmetics out on the counter in Livie’s bathroom. Her sister used the cheap stuff, which couldn’t be good for her skin.
Livie was pretty, but, without a conceited bone in her body, Toni knew she was prettier. It wasn’t conceit to admit to better bone structure and curvier curves. She also knew how to best enhance what God gave her. Her hair, for instance, was a honey-gold which went much better with her coloring than plain old reddish-brown. Livie should live a little and dye a little. Not to mention that contact lenses changed muddy irises to a brilliant jungle green, or anything else a girl wanted. What the heck, Livie was Livie. She didn’t care much about her appearance as long she was considered neat and professional. She would never have purchased that short dress and hot pink blazer she’d worn this morning if Toni hadn’t goaded her into buying it months ago. It still had the tags, for God’s sake.
Now, what would Livie have in the refrigerator besides low-fat yogurt and fruit? Toni was starving. She hadn’t been able to eat all day over that terrible episode with Reese. She’d picked up the phone a thousand times to call him, but really, a man had to learn how to crawl a little when he’d made a mistake, especially since he hadn’t answered any of her messages from yesterday. She wasn’t done with him yet. She knew the man had huge potential in bed, and she would make sure she got him there. Oh yeah, she’d make him beg first, but she’d definitely take him back when she felt he’d shown the proper contrition.
A key jiggled in the front door.
Livie already had her jacket off and folded over her arm. She’d dropped her keys on the entry table and set her briefcase and purse on the floor before she saw Toni standing in the kitchen doorway.
“Hey.” After a moment’s pause and not a single expression on her face, Livie headed into the living room, a shopping bag dangling from her fingers. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah.” Toni shrugged and leaned against the wall. “I didn’t want to be alone. You don’t mind, do you?”
Livie draped her jacket over the back of the sofa without turning around. “Of course not.”
She probably did, but Livie wouldn’t say. Which was usually a good thing for Toni. She got away with murder if she acted first and asked later. “What’s in the bag?”
“A book. I ran out of things to read.” Livie pulled it out, set it on the coffee table, and wadded up the bag.
“What is it?”
“The Fountainhead.” She examined the receipt in her hand. “Someone at work mentioned it, and I’ve never read it. It’s some sort of classic written in the forties.”
Sounded boring. Weird that Livie was late because she’d stopped to buy a book. Ah, but Livie loved to read in the tub. It relaxed her. Tonight, though, she had Toni to entertain instead. What fun for them both.
“Did you eat?” Livie slipped past her into the kitchen and bent to peer into the refrigerator.
“I was hoping you’d feed me.”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Livie answered without turning.
“Then what have you got?”
Shuffling a few things around, Livie surveyed the contents. “How about scrambled eggs on toast?”
Great comfort food. Their mom used to scramble eggs on cold winter nights when Dad was out of town. They got to eat in front of the TV and stay up an hour later than usual. Of course, there’d be a ton of carbs in the toast. Comfort, carbs, comfort, carbs? Comfort won. “Yeah. That sounds great.”
Livie put the eggs on the counter, then pulled out bread, margarine and milk. From the drawer beneath the oven, she retrieved a frying pan and set it on the stove. “I’ll change, then start dinner.”
“You want me to break the eggs or anything?”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Thanks, Livie, you’re great.”
Livie smiled and patted Toni’s cheek as she passed, grabbed her discarded jacket, and headed into the bedroom.
Yeah, Livie was great. And guilt was a beautiful emotion. Hmm, was it actually an emotion? Whatever. Livie had it in spades, and Toni didn’t mind playing on that guilt when she really, really needed to. She deserved a little payback after the terrible things her sister had done to her.
* * * * *
Bern sat in front of his computer, his search engine blinking at him.
The flyer had been addressed to Cumberland Electronics. With just a few keystrokes, he could likely find out what he needed to know on the company website. If she was at the director level, her name would be listed somewhere.
If the woman had been a business quarry, he wouldn’t have hesitated to arm himself with Internet knowledge. But she wasn’t his quarry and his pursuit o
f her wasn’t a campaign. One was considered good business sense; the other was a violation of her privacy. Christ, he’d already violated her privacy beyond any normal limits by watching her as closely as he had.
His desire for her was beyond sense and reason. But he would not, could not resort to looking her up as if he were a nut job. He was sane. He knew right from wrong.
He clicked the shutdown icon before his common sense lost control to his base instincts. Those baser instincts, however, got to him once he allowed himself to fantasize about her as he lay in bed. Taking himself in hand, he dreamed of finding her alone in the elevator, lifting the hem of her polka-dot dress, taking her hard and fast against the wall.
Yet physical relief wasn’t enough. He wouldn’t find satisfaction until he had her in his life.
* * * * *
Toni slept like an innocent baby while Livie dreamed bad dreams. After waking in terror once again, she couldn’t get back to sleep. She’d tossed and turned and reached a sort of sleepy half-daze in which Burn Daniels lifted her dress and made love to her up against the wall in an empty elevator. The ding of the doors opening had jerked her back to complete wakefulness.
Was she afraid of the man or attracted to him? Honestly, it was a bit of both.
Potential danger could be a huge turn-on, especially when the likelihood of anything really bad was small. The potential for hot sizzle with him was somewhere closer to popping the mercury out of the top of her thermometer.
Of course, if she’d had the evening to herself with a glass of wine and a steaming bubble bath, she might have been able to figure it all out. But Toni wanted to talk. And talk. It was difficult to work out her own problems when Toni’s were so much more important and dramatic. The conversation had ended close to midnight when Toni decided that she shouldn’t have spent the night at Livie’s because the once-again-wonderful-but-terribly-misguided Reese was probably camped out on her doorstep prostrate with the need to beg her forgiveness for having hurt her so badly.
Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 Page 3
