I wanted him to touch me then, not realizing just how much until I caught his hand suddenly and unexpectedly. Taking it, I placed it around my waist and pulled him to me. His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't pull back. We were almost the same height, making it easy for his mouth to seek mine out in a crushing kiss. I leaned against the warm stone wall behind me so that I was pressed between it and him. I could feel every part of his body against mine, but we still weren't close enough. Not nearly enough.
Our kissing grew more ardent, as though our lips alone might close whatever aching distance lay between us. I moved his hand again, this time to push up my skirt along the side of one leg. His hand stroked the smooth flesh there and, without further urging, slid over to my inner thigh. I arched my lower body toward his, nearly writhing against him now, needing him to touch me everywhere.
"Letha? Where are you at?"
My sister's voice carried over the wind; she wasn't nearby but was close enough to be here soon. Kyriakos and I broke apart, both gasping, pulses racing. He was looking at me like he'd never seen me before. Heat burned in his gaze.
"Have you ever been with anyone before?" he asked won- deringly.
I shook my head.
"How did you... I never imagined you doing that..."
"I learn fast."
He grinned and pressed my hand to his lips. "Tonight," he breathed. "Tonight we..."
"Tonight," I agreed.
He backed away then, eyes still smoldering. "I love you. You are my life."
"I love you too." I smiled and watched him ago. A minute later, I heard my sister again.
"Letha?"
"Miss Kincaid?"
Erik's voice snapped me out of the memory, and suddenly I was back in his store, away from my family's long-since crumbled home. I met his questioning eyes and held up the necklace.
"I'll take this too."
"Miss Kincaid," he said uncertainly, fingering the price tag. "The help I give you... there's no need... no cost..."
"I know," I assured him. "I know. Just add this to my bill. And ask your friend if he can make matching earrings."
I left the store wearing the choker, still thinking about that morning, what it had been like to be touched for the first time, touched only by someone I loved. I exhaled carefully and put it from my mind. Just like I had countless other times.
CHAPTER 9
Returning to Queen Anne, I discovered I still had a lot of evening left. Unfortunately, I had nothing to do. A succubus without a social life. Very sad. It was made sadder still by the fact that I could have had any number of things to do but had dropped the ball on them. Certainly Doug had asked me out often enough; no doubt he was now enjoying his day off with a more appreciative woman. Roman I had also turned down, beautiful eyes and all. I smiled wistfully, remembering his easy banter and quick, bright charm. He could have been O'Neill, made flesh from Seth's novels.
Thinking of Seth reminded me he still had my book and that I was going on Day 3 without it. I sighed, wanting to know what would happen next, to be lost in the pages of Cady and O'Neill. Now that would have been a way to spend the evening. The bastard. He'd never bring it back. I'd never find out what -
With a groan, I suddenly wanted to smack my forehead for my own stupidity. Did I or did I not work for a large bookstore? After parking my car, I walked over to Emerald City and found the massive display of The Glasgow Pact that was still up from the signing. I grabbed a copy and carried it to the front counter. Beth, one of the cashiers, was momentarily free.
"Will you demagnetize this for me?" I asked her, sliding the book over the counter.
"Sure," she said, running it across the pad. "Are you using your discount on it?"
I shook my head. "I'm not buying it. I'm just borrowing it."
"Can you do that?" She passed the book back to me.
"Sure," I lied. "Managers can."
Minutes later, I showed my prize to an unimpressed Aubrey and turned on the water in my bathtub. While it filled, I checked my messages - none - and sorted through the mail I'd picked up on the way in. Nothing interesting there either. Satisfied nothing else required my attention, I stepped out of my clothes and sank into the watery depths of the tub, careful not to get the book wet. Aubrey, crouching on a nearby counter, watched me with squinty eyes, apparently pondering why anyone would willingly immerse themselves in water ever, let alone for extended periods of time.
I figured I could read more than five pages tonight since I'd been deprived for the last couple of days. When I finished the fifteenth, I discovered I was three pages from the next chapter. Might as well end with a clean break. After I was done, I sighed and leaned back, feeling decadent and spent. Pure bliss. Books were a lot less messy than orgasms.
The next morning, I went to work, happy and refreshed. Paige found me around lunchtime as I sat on the edge of my desk and watched Doug play Mine Sweeper. Seeing her, I leapt from my position while he hastily closed down the game.
Paige ignored him, fixing her eyes on me. "I want you to do something with Seth Mortensen."
Uneasily, I remembered the love slave comment. "Like what?"
"I don't know." She gave a small, unconcerned shrug of the head. "Anything. He's new to town. He doesn't know anyone yet, so his social life is probably dismal."
Recalling his cold reception yesterday and conversational difficulties, I wasn't exactly surprised by this news. "I took him on a tour."
"It's not the same."
"What about his brother?"
"What about him?"
"I'm sure they're doing social things all the time."
"Why are you fighting this? I thought you were a fan."
I was a fan - a major one - but reading his work and interacting with him were proving to be two very different things. The Glasgow Pact was amazing, as was the e-mail he'd sent. Spoken conversation was a bit... lacking. I couldn't tell Paige this, of course, so she and I went back and forth a bit on the issue while Doug looked on with interest. Finally, I agreed against my better judgment, dreading the prospect of even proposing the venture to Seth, let alone embarking upon it.
When I finally made myself approach him later in the day, I was fully braced for another brush-off. Instead, he turned from his work and smiled at me.
"Hey," he said. His mood seemed so improved that I decided yesterday must have been a fluke.
"Hey. How's it going?"
"Not so well." He tapped the laptop's screen lightly with his fingernail, eyes frowning as he focused on it. "They're being a bit difficult. I just can't quite get the grip I need on this one scene."
Interest swept me. Bad days with Cady and O'Neill. I had always imagined interacting with such characters must be a nonstop thrill. The ultimate job.
"Sounds like you need a break then. Paige is worried about your social life."
His brown eyes glanced back to me. "Oh? How so?"
"She thinks you aren't getting out enough. That you don't know anyone in town yet."
"I know my brother and his family. And Mistee." He paused. "And I know you."
"Good thing, because I'm about to become your cruise director. "
Seth's lips quirked slightly, then he shook his head and looked back at the screen. "That's really nice - of you and Paige both - but not necessary."
He wasn't dismissing me as he had yesterday, but I still felt miffed that my generous deal was not being embraced, especially since I was offering it under duress.
"Come on," I said. "What else are you going to do?"
"Write."
I couldn't argue with that. Writing those novels was God's Own Work. Who was I to interfere with their creator? And yet... Paige had given a directive. That was nearly a divine commandment in itself. A compromise popped into my head.
"You could do something, I don't know, research-related. For the book. Two birds with one stone."
"I've already got all the research I need for this one."
"What about, uh, ongoing character development? Like... going to the planetarium." Cady had a fascination with astronomy. She would often point out constellations and link them to some symbolic story analogous to the novel's plot. "Or... or... a hockey game? You need fresh ideas for O'Neill's games. You'll run out."
He shook his head. "No I won't. I've never even been to a hockey game to begin with."