by Marilyn Lee
Lying with everything but her head and shoulders emerged in the salts and oil, she felt almost like the pampered and adored wife of a king of old. With her eyes closed, she could almost picture herself lying in a stone pool in some faraway place while the male who loved and adored her lay beneath her with his hands cupping her breasts while he rained tender kisses against her neck. Overhead, the stars stared down in envy at the two lovers.
As he reached between their bodies to slide his cock into her, she moaned. She tilted her head in a silent invitation.
He accepted, sinking his incisors into the side of her neck.
Yes. Oh, yes…
* * * * *
The ringing phone Erica had installed in the bathroom roused Erin from a light doze. She groaned in protest before she decided not to answer. She closed her eyes again, sinking back against her cushioned head and neck rest.
But the phone kept ringing. On the eighth ring, she sat up and snatched the cordless phone off its cradle hanging on the wall just over the tub.
She glanced at the caller ID before she answered. She made no effort to hide her annoyance. “The saints preserve me. I should have known it was you. What do you want?”
“Well, hell, girl, I love you too!”
As it often did, the sound of Erica’s husky voice was enough to curve Erin’s lips upward into a smile. She softened her voice when she responded. “Sorry, but I’m enjoying the comfort of a lovely bubble bath.”
“Lucky you. Water all warm and slick the way you like it?”
She sighed with contentment. “Oh, yeah, girl.”
“And filled with those foul salts and horrible oil that only the maker could even pretend to like?”
“You haven’t soaked until you’ve soaked in them, Erica. You should try them.”
“I couldn’t get past the smell.”
“Okay. More for me.”
“Hmmm. Feeling all relaxed with the world firmly shut outside the bathroom door?”
“I was until I was so rudely interrupted by you.”
Erica laughed. “Tough cookies, girl. How long will you be?”
“Why? Oh, wait. Let me guess; you’re on your way home, and you’ve left your keys here again.”
“Stop reading my mind and get out of the tub.” She paused. “Ah…”
“Go ahead,” Erin told her. “Ask.”
“Okay. I will. Have you heard from Alek yet?”
“No. I haven’t.”
“Damn! What’s he waiting for? An engraved invitation?”
“Maybe.”
“Then send him one already.”
She sighed. “Or maybe he’s just not interested.”
“Oh, girl, believe me. He’s interested all right.”
“What makes you so certain of that, Erica?”
“Every time we meet, he looks at me with this sort of hunger in his eyes. He has to be lusting for you.”
She was no longer sure of that. “Really? Remember, girl, we’re identical.”
“What’s your point?”
“What makes you think he has the hots for me and not you?”
“Me?”
“Yes, Erica, you.”
“What? He can’t be thinking of me when he gets that horny look in his eyes.”
Although many people had difficulty telling them apart, Erin had always thought Erica was more attractive than she. Erica was certainly more outgoing. “Why not?”
“Why not? What kind of asinine question is that, Nika? I’m engaged! That’s why not!”
Erica sounded so scandalized, Erin was hard-pressed not to laugh. For all her airs of being thoroughly modern, Erica had an old-fashioned streak she did her best to hide. “I have news for you, girl. Men have been known to fall for women who are already taken.”
“Maybe so, but I know it’s not me your Norseman is thinking of when we meet. I know when a man has the hots for me. I don’t get those vibes from him. So don’t bother trying to sidetrack me. It’s not going to work. I’m determined to see you two become a couple if it’s the last thing I do.”
“You can’t make a man interested, Rica.”
Erica answered in a soft voice. “Trust me, Erin; he is interested.”
“Rica—”
“Never mind more questions now, Erin. I’ll be home in ten minutes, and I don’t expect to be kept waiting.”
Erin sighed. “Make it fifteen minutes and I might actually be sufficiently relaxed to get out of the tub and let you in. Bye.” Smiling, she ended the call, turned off the ringer, placed the receiver in its mount, and lay back in the tub. The water caressed her body. She closed her eyes. Now this was beyond nice. Of course, if Aleksander shared the tub with her, it would be even nicer. But clearly that was never going to happen.
Fifteen minutes later, she had just wrapped a towel around her damp body when the apartment bell rang. She frowned. How had Erica gotten past the locked entrance door without her key?
As Erin walked through the apartment, the bell rang several times. She grimaced. It was just like Erica to drag her out of her bath and then get impatient when the door wasn’t answered quickly enough to suit her. Well, she was going to give her impatient twin an eyeful.
“All right. Keep your skimpy panties on, girl. I’m coming!” she called as she tossed the towel aside. Removing the chain and locks, she whipped the door open.
She froze. Instead of Erica’s scandalized face, she found herself looking up into Aleksander’s handsome face.
He stood staring down at her in silence, his gaze roaming slowly over her large, firm breasts and down her less-than-flat stomach before coming to rest on the wild tangle of hair between her legs. His nostrils flared—as if he could smell the remnants of the salts and oil on her damp skin.
She shivered, feeling as if his piercing gaze stripped away all her defenses and pretenses, exposing her deepest emotions along with her most secret thoughts, hopes, and desires. She longed to toss herself into his arms and offer him her heart, body, and soul, just as she’d done so long ago.
She frowned, her mind a jumble of confused thoughts and emotions.
“Damn!”
The one word, spoken in his low, sexy voice, should have snapped her back to the realization that the most attractive man she’d ever seen stood staring at her dark, naked, nearly full-figured body. Instead, it released a wellspring of emotion. What a sweet delight it would be to surrender to the desire she felt emanating from him. That would require abandoning barely remembered beliefs and needs a part of her found impossible to release.
“Damn,” he said again.
The second damn did not sound complimentary.
She roused herself sufficiently to slam the door. Pressing a hand against her racing heart, she leaned against the closed door. Her cheeks burned and her legs shook. How would she ever be able to face him again? Every time she encountered him at the pool or in the parking lot or hallway, she’d blush down to her toes. He’d probably smirk.
A rapid tapping on the apartment door startled her. She jumped away from the door and snatched up the towel she’d tossed onto the floor. She wrapped it securely around her body before she responded. “Go away, Aleksander.”
“No.”
Somehow the one-word refusal infused her with hope and dissolved some of her confusion.
“We need to talk, Erin.”
She moistened her lips. “There’s nothing to say.”
“There is. Open the door, and we’ll discuss it.”
Despite herself, she obeyed.
Chapter Five
He studied her in silence for several moments before he spoke. “If I’d known how charmingly you answered the door, I would have come calling early and often.”
After the long, uncertain weeks she’d endured, his clear amusement annoyed the hell out of her. She glared at him and spoke from a wellspring of raw emotion. “Where the hell have you been?”
“I’ve been away.”
“No shit, Einstein.”
He laughed.
Annoyed, she closed her right hand into a fist. She then pressed it against her side. Otherwise she’d punch him. “Where have you been?”
His smile faltered. “Where have I been?”
“Yes! Where have you been, Aleksander?”
“I…ah…I’ve been with my…daughter.”
She narrowed her gaze. Most people didn’t need to pause or appear to be choosing their words so carefully when speaking truthfully. “Why didn’t you call?”
“An emergency at home required my presence.”
So he considered where his ex was home? “Don’t they have phones at home?”
He shrugged. “Calling would have been difficult.”
“Why? Are you really divorced?”
“I have no emotional or legal ties to anyone else.” He caressed her cheek. “Why don’t you trust me?”
He had the gall to ask for trust after weeks of silence? She pushed his hand away. “You haven’t exactly given me a reason to trust you. Have you?”
He sighed. “I’m not aware of having done anything to earn your distrust, Erin.”
“I hear you’ve been flirting with Aja Miller since your return.”
He arched a brow. “You couldn’t have heard any such thing, because it’s not true.”
“Well, she’s been flirting with you.”
“Am I supposed to be responsible for the actions of women who waste their time trying to charm men who have absolutely no interest in them? I’ve never given her any reason to believe I find her attractive.”
“Do you find her attractive?”
“No, I do not find her attractive.”
“What don’t you like about her?” she challenged.
“She’s skinny with small breasts and a flat ass. As if that weren’t bad enough, her skin is…”
“What?”
He shrugged. “Too light for my personal preferences.”
“She’s too light?”
“Her skin is far too light. I prefer women with much darker skin.”
“You do?”
“I do, Erin. So there’s no reason for me to waste my time with her when you’re just a few floors below me.”
Although pleased by his admission, his long silence still stung. “You say all the right things, Aleksander, but actions speak louder than words.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I was hoping you’d be happy to see me, Erin.”
Happy? The word seemed inadequate to describe her current level of delight that he’d finally come to see her. Afraid her eyes would reveal her feelings, she averted her gaze.
He lifted her chin so he could gaze down into her eyes. “Erin? Are you happy to see me?”
She drew away from his hand, lowering her eyelashes. “I should probably explain about answering the door naked—”
“There’s no need.”
He was probably right, because she had the uncomfortable feeling he had already probed her thoughts. Nevertheless, she wanted to explain. “I don’t usually answer the door naked.”
“Don’t you? I can’t imagine a more charming way to have a door answered.”
Her cheeks burned. “I thought you were Erica. She called to say she forgot her keys again and…”
He arched a brow. “Really?”
She sighed. “I know what you must be thinking, Aleksander—”
He smiled. “I doubt it, unless your mind’s in the gutter along with mine.”
She sucked in a breath. “So you’re going to go out of your way to make this as difficult for me as possible?”
“No.” He lowered his gaze to the tops of her breasts. “I was hoping you’d be ready to admit to being glad to see me, Erin.”
“Is that why you stayed away so long?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Then why did you stay away so long?” She bit her lips, realizing how selfish and inconsiderate she’d been. “Is your daughter okay now?”
He spoke after a noticeable pause. “Yes.”
What was he hiding? “What about your ex-wife?”
“What about her?”
“Did you enjoy seeing her again?”
He shook his head. “How long do we have to spar before you’ll unwind enough to even admit to being glad to see me?”
She swallowed quickly and looked into his eyes. “I’m sure you already know how I feel about your return, Aleksander.”
He trailed the fingers of his left hand along the tops of her breasts. “And?”
She shivered and quickly drew away from him. “And what?”
“And when are you going to admit how you feel?”
“I just did.”
He shook his head. “That was barely a start. I need to hear you actually admit how you feel. Why is that so difficult for you, Erin?”
If he thought she was going to expose herself in that way… She shook her head. “What if I ask you to leave me alone, Aleksander?”
“What if I tell you that I can’t do that? What if I admit that I’ve been as patient as I can be? It’s been a long time since we saw each other.”
“That was your choice, Aleksander.”
He tightened his lips. “Believe me, it wasn’t. I would never have willingly stayed away from you for even a day.”
“Really? Then why the hell haven’t I heard from you before now?”
“I had no control over that.”
“How can you expect me to believe that and believe that you’re not married or committed in some way to another woman?”
“For me, there is no other woman.”
She blinked up at him. Why did she want to believe him when common sense dictated otherwise? “What?”
He took her right hand and held it against his chest. “Please give me hope that my long wait is finally over, Erin.”
She sucked in a breath at the yearning she heard in his voice. “I…I don’t know what you want me to say or do, Aleksander.”
“Do you believe in love so strong it can withstand the ravages of time and even death?”
“Do I…I…? Part of me does.”
“Good. Do you know who I am?”
She shook her head.
“Do you know who you are?”
She nodded. “Of course I do.”
He caressed her cheek. “Are you sure?”
“I may be confused about you and your motives, but I’m positive I know who I am, Aleksander.”
“Do you know what you mean to me? What you’ve always meant to me?”
“What?”
“Do you have any idea what I’ve given up for the chance to be with you again?”
She stared up at him. Emotions long hidden and denied started to unravel at his words. Confused, she frowned. Yes, she’d always felt as if she’d lived before. Yes, she’d experienced a familiar ache the first time they met. Nevertheless, while Aleksander was the stuff of which a horny woman’s fantasies were made, her fantasy knight was black.
Her yearning for both males felt selfish and greedy. It would probably doom her to a life of disappointment. She needed to choose Aleksander or continue to wait. Standing with Aleksander reaffirmed her belief that she’d lived before. Given that certainty, didn’t loyalty demand she wait for her ebony knight to come riding back into her life? She should not be sidetracked by a base sexual attraction to Aleksander.
He sucked in an angry breath. “A base sexual attraction? You find our mutual attraction base?”
Erin’s cheeks burned. She struggled to shield her thoughts and emotions from him. She needed to keep him at a distance until she understood what she wanted for the future. She frowned. Had she spoken aloud or had he just read her thoughts?
He shook his head. “You’ve had plenty of time to figure that out, Erin. My patience is exhausted. Now I want what I’ve waited so long for.”
Why did he have to talk in riddles? Why did she feel so needy and confused? She sighed. Keeping him at a distance would be so much easier i
f wanting him didn’t feel so natural and right.
“It feels natural and right to want me because it is.”
She shook her head. “Please don’t probe my thoughts, Aleksander.”
“Why not? Haven’t I earned that right?”
The terse, indignant question startled her. Why did he believe he had the right to invade her private thoughts? A hidden fear kept the question unasked. She stepped away from him. “What brings you here, Aleksander?”
He closed his eyes briefly. He inhaled and exhaled slowly before he opened his eyes and responded. “You and your sister bring me here.”
“Erica?” She felt as if he’d sucked the air from her lungs. He wanted them both? “You came to see Erica? Why? Surely you know she’s happily engaged.”
“What? Erica?” He frowned, shaking his head. “I’m not interested in your sister, Erin.”
“But you just said—”
“It would be hard to miss the ring she wears with such pride and joy, Erin.”
“Then why mention her?”
“She called to tell me you wanted to see me. So naturally I came right away.”
Her relief was short-lived. So he wouldn’t have come if Erica hadn’t meddled. That didn’t say much for his so-called attraction.
He studied her in silence before shaking his head slowly. “Damn if you don’t make a man jump through hoops for your attention.”
She longed to slap him so hard—
He shook his head. “Don’t even think about hitting me, Erin. And don’t jump to erroneous conclusions. Yes, Erica called me. At the time she did, I was already on my way out the door to come see you.”
She decided it was better not to dwell on what Erica might have said to get him there. “Why didn’t you come before her call?”
“I wasn’t sure what reception I’d receive.”
“You were right to be concerned about that, Aleksander.”
“Why? The last time we saw each other—”
She struggled not to lose herself in lustful memories of their last encounter. “That was a mistake.”
His gaze narrowed. “No, Erin, it wasn’t.”
“It shouldn’t have happened.”
“The problem with that statement is that nothing actually happened.”
Nothing had happened, because they’d been interrupted. Perhaps the spirits had intervened and saved her from making a mistake when she would have tendered her complete surrender.
