“C’mon.” He grabbed her elbow and hauled her through his apartment, his stride rapid and almost angry. She hustled to keep up, snatching discarded clothing as she raced for the door.
They blasted across the hall and through her unlocked door just as the clock started chiming. She blew out a breath. “We made it, but that was too close for comfort. Coming in?”
She hoped he would. Making love with Lucas had been even better than she remembered. She wasn’t sure if that would come back to haunt her, but she’d never know if she didn’t pursue this.
Lucas didn’t look the least bit interested in round three. He looked tense and maybe even pissed off.
What did he have to be angry about? “Lucas, what’s wrong?”
“Good night, Nadia.”
She hooked his elbow as he turned away. “The will says I can’t host parties. It doesn’t say I can’t have an overnight guest.”
A nerve twitched in his jaw. “Get some sleep. I’ll give you an early morning driving lesson and then we’ll tour some of the local gardens.”
“But—”
He latched his hand around her nape and pulled her forward for a hard and fast kiss. The smooch ended before she could react. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He turned away, reentered his apartment and shut the door. The lock clicked.
She sank back on her heels. Well, that had never happened before.
Men didn’t throw her out. Was this only a prelude to what she could expect from him in the future? Because she really didn’t like the way it made her feel. And that was a bitter pill to swallow because she’d done the same thing too many times to count while trying to forget her dead—her husband.
She’d used men for a few minutes of oblivion, to feel complete and whole, then she’d dumped them. Suddenly, she didn’t like the person she’d become very much. Using people was one bad habit she’d have to break.
“Close your eyes.”
Nadia lifted her gaze from the beautiful lily to Lucas’s face. “Why?”
“Just do it.”
He hadn’t been so bossy before. And in the past she would have told him exactly what he could do with that attitude, but learning to deal with her father over the years had made her slightly less prickly.
He shoved his Oakley sunglasses up into his golden hair, revealing the blue eyes she’d fallen head over heels for more than a decade ago—eyes she was in danger of drowning in again today. “You claim you’ve learned to cook. Let’s see how good you are at identifying your ingredients.”
He withdrew a white handkerchief from his back jeans pocket and folded it first into a triangle and then into a band which he stretched between his hands.
Her pulse kicked erratically and her mouth dried. “Are you making a blindfold?”
“Yes.”
They’d never done kinky sex before, and she wasn’t expecting to start now on a Saturday afternoon in the TexasDiscoveryGardens with other guests and even children around. On the other hand, if he took her back to the penthouse she’d be more than willing to play whatever games he dished out.
Making love with him last night had made her feel whole for the first time in a long time. She wanted more even though that meant opening herself up for more pain and disappointment, and she’d become very protective of her wounded heart over the years.
“The scent garden behind you was originally developed for the blind.” She started to turn and look, but he caught her elbow and held her in place. “No cheating.”
Eleven years ago Lucas had shown her a side of life she never would have experienced inside the Kincaid compound walls. And she’d loved it. She decided to cut him some slack today. They were in a public place. How could it go wrong? “Okay, fine, but no blindfold.”
“Don’t you trust me, Nadia?”
The multibillion dollar question. Could she ever trust Lucas Stone again? She didn’t have the answer. Yet. Yes, she understood his reasons for taking the money. But he’d left her alone to grieve. He couldn’t possibly know how close she’d come to—She cut off the thought. She wasn’t that wounded woman anymore. She’d come a long way and made a success of her life.
“Fine. Do it.”
He stepped behind her. The white fabric fluttered over her head coming to rest over her eyes and the bridge of her nose. His fingers teased her hair as he tied the ends in the back. Goose bumps rose on her arms despite the heat of the day. He might not intend this to be an arousing experience, but the sizzle percolating through her veins was definitely sexual.
Without her sight her senses suddenly seemed sharper. She could feel the warmth radiating off his body, smell the lilies in front of her and the man behind her. She leaned against him, letting him blanket her body with heat. His arms tightened around her waist. His cologne combined with his natural muskiness caused by their hour-long stroll through the gardens on this hot August day filled her nostrils. She licked her lips and tilted her head against his shoulder wanting his taste.
He squeezed her waist then his breath steamed the under-side of her jaw a split second before his lips touched down on the pulse quickening in her neck. “Ready?”
For more than blindly sniffing plants. “Sure.”
“Good.” He gripped her shoulders then turned her around and urged her forward for several yards. His grip tightened, stopping her. His fingertips stroked down her bare arm, arousing a shiver from her. He caught her hand and scraped his nails lightly over her palm then guided her fingers over the pointy leaves of a plant before carrying her hand to her nose.
“Tell me what you smell.”
She inhaled. “Rosemary.”
“Good. But that was an easy one.”
He urged her forward. His tightening grip stopped her after five steps. This time he stroked the tender flesh inside her opposite arm. Desire simmered inside her. His fingers threaded through hers, his palm flattening over the back of her hand, and then he brushed their joined hands over a smooth, cool plant. Together they lifted her hand to her nose.
She inhaled and smelled him and…“Mint.”
“Very good.” His lips brushed her ear as he whispered the words. His teeth grazed her lobe.
She nearly moaned, but because of the blindfold she didn’t know who was around and didn’t dare. And just like making love in the church anteroom after their wedding, the idea of getting caught intensified her reaction and filled her with a naughty thrill.
His h*ps nudged hers forward. She could feel his growing length pressing against her lower back telling her he wasn’t unaffected by their little game.
He stopped her again, but instead of gripping her hand, this time his fingers curled around her waist and glided upward. Under the cover of her arms his thumbs brushed the sides of her br**sts. Her breath hitched.
“Reach out and to your left,” he ordered in a gravelly tone. His fingers grazed the underside of her br**sts stirring an ache low in her belly. “A little more.”
Her thoughts exactly. He was only inches from touching her tight nipple. It took every ounce of restraint not to turn in his arms and press her flesh into his palm. Her fingers encountered leaves. She fondled the plant, stroking the fronds the way she wanted to stroke Lucas’s skin.
His breath tickled her ear. “What do you smell?”
Him. She smelled him. And sunlight and flowers and she searched her memory to identify the herb. “Thyme.”
He grip tightened then released. Her skin cooled without his touch. And then a warm palm cradled her jaw, angled her head and his lips covered hers as softly as a butterfly touching down.
He peeled the blindfold from her eyes. “You have two choices. We can finish the garden tour and go on to the aquarium. Or we can go back to the apartment.”
The passion burning in his eyes made her breath hitch. She was falling for him again. Making love with him now would be as good as surrendering to those feelings.
Did she dare risk it?
Did she even have a choice?
He lifted her knuckles to his lips and her stomach somersaulted. No. She didn’t have a choice. Because as much as she wanted to hate Lucas for leaving her, she was afraid she was still very much in love with him.
Nine
T he black Lincoln limo gleaming beneath a streetlight tempted Nadia more than chocolate when she stepped out of the library late Monday night.
Old habits died hard.
She glanced at her watch, disgusted with herself because she’d lost track of time and stayed later than she should have. But she hadn’t wanted to go back to the apartment, which felt emptier now that Lucas had left the building.
She’d have to splurge for a taxi. Once upon a time she would have done so without a second thought. Now it meant she’d have to cut something else out of her budget.
She glared up at the cloud-dotted sky. Yes, Daddy, I am learning to identify with our largest demographic.
Turning down the sidewalk, she scanned the streets which were disgustingly empty. It was Monday night. Not much going on in this section of downtown.
“Ms. Kincaid?”
She pivoted quickly. A swarthy man—thirtyish and muscular—in a chauffeur’s uniform walked toward her. Years of ingrained caution kicked in. She might choose to live a relatively normal life without bodyguards, but she was still worth billions and kidnapping was a real possibility. Her father had harped on it endlessly—especially after that close call when she was twelve.
Why don’t you carry pepper spray like a normal twenty-nine-year-old woman?
“Stop right there,” she shouted.
The guy held up both hands and halted three yards away. “I’m Paulo. Mr. Stone asked me to provide your transportation while he’s away.”
Right. She hadn’t been born yesterday. She wasn’t getting into a strange car with darkly tinted windows just because the guy knew Lucas’s name.
“I don’t need a ride. Thank you.” She backed toward the library. The doors were locked. Mary, the head librarian, had locked them after letting Nadia out. But she could hammer on the glass and scream until Mary or somebody heard her. And if they didn’t come Nadia could run around back to the employee parking lot and hope she could catch Mary before she left. Of course, Nadia would have to leave her Christian Louboutin sandals behind if she wanted to sprint. But thousand-dollar shoes were a small price to pay for safety.
“He said you’d probably refuse and that I should call him if you did.” He reached into his pocket and she prepared herself to kick off her shoes and run, but he didn’t withdraw a weapon. He held a phone—a six-hundred-dollar phone. She recognized the brand because she owned one just like it. Extending his arm, he walked toward her.
“Stop,” she repeated and dug her cell phone out of her bag. She’d call the police if he didn’t go away.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll just dial Mr. Stone and put him on speaker for you.”
He punched in a series of numbers. She called herself all kinds of fool for not running while he was preoccupied, but his suit was of good quality and it fit as if the limo company had tailored it for him. Only the top-notch places did that. Maybe Lucas had hired a car for her. The idea gave her the warm fuzzies.