The Baby Bargain (3 page)

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Dan tried to remember what impulse had led him here, to this noisy bar. He'd had some vague thought about getting out among other people being good for him. After all, it was New Year's Eve, a time to celebrate and have fun. So was he having fun yet? he asked himself cynically.

He picked up the shot glass of whiskey and downed the last swallow. If he remembered correctly, the cat had eaten most of his dinner. Too much alcohol on an empty stomach was not a good idea. He picked up a handful of pretzels from the bowl on the bar and signaled the bartender for a refill.

Lifting the fresh drink, Dan caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror that lined the back of the bar. He lowered the drink slowly, frowning at his reflection in the smoky glass. Was it just his imagination or did he look totally out of place, like an ill-tempered wolf in a group of happy puppies?

His scowl deepened. He wasn't any older than most of these people. Not in years, at least. But in terms of experience, he felt decades older. Two years in a Central America prison, accused of being a spy, was enough to drum the youth out of almost anyone, he supposed.

He'd thought that coming back to Remembrance, coming home, he would be able to put those years behind him. He'd been a fool. You couldn't go home, you couldn't go back. All you could do was keep going and hope you found some reason for continuing.

He turned away from the mirror, downing the shot of whiskey as he leaned back against the bar. What were they all celebrating, anyway? A new year, new problems, new bills. What was to celebrate? A year just past, spent alone. A year coming up, spent the same way. No home, no roots, no one to care all that much what happened to him, no one whose life was intimately tied to his.

Looking around the crowded bar, it seemed to Dan that everyone was with someone else. Everyone had someone to talk to, someone to laugh with. Everyone but him.

And her.

He narrowed his eyes, studying the girl on the other side of the room. He'd seen her when she first came in; the wild colors in her dress were enough to catch his eye even in this overcrowded room. He'd noticed her a time or two since then. At first he'd assumed she was waiting for someone, but no one showed up.

She'd backed herself into a corner, looking as out of place as he felt. Acting on an impulse, Dan slid off the bar stool. Carrying his drink, he made his way across the room, sidestepping a couple who stumbled off the dance floor into his path.

The closer he got to the girl, the stronger was the impression that she didn't belong here. She didn't look like the other women in the place. And it wasn't just that Even to his uneducated eye, her clothes and makeup were odd. Beneath the thick mascara and heavy black eyeliner, her eyes were large and a soft, warm brown. The wildly patterned dress had a scooped neckline that exposed as much breast as it covered. From the high waistline, the skirt dropped in a bell shape to a point considerably above her knee. Dan had a vague idea that he'd seen similar dresses on old Laugh-In reruns.

But despite the makeup and dress, there was something about her. Something almost...lost

The band was taking a break, making conversation possible.

"Hi." As openings went, it was simple, if not original.

She blinked and then her eyes widened as she realized he was speaking to her.

"Hello."

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"No."

"I'm Dan Remington." He held out his hand.

"Kelly. Kelly Russell." Her fingers felt small in his. Small and cold.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"That would be nice."

"Anything in particular?"

"No. I don't have a preference."

Dan signaled a waitress and ordered an Irish coffee before turning back to Kelly.

"Do you come here often?"

"No." Something in the question seemed to amuse her and he found her fleeting smile as appealing as the rest of her. She didn't seem to feel any need to fill the silence with polite conversation while they waited for their drinks, and he found that pleasant, too.

In truth, Kelly couldn't think of anything to say. Certainly conversation with an attractive man had been part of her tangled fantasies. But in those fantasies she'd always known just what to say, dazzling him with her wit and charm.

When the waitress brought the coffee, Kelly clutched it to her, almost scalding her tongue on the hot liquid. The smooth bite of the whiskey flooded her mouth, hitting her empty stomach with a bounce and then racing through her veins without pause. She felt her face flush. Where she'd felt cold and clammy before, she was suddenly warm and cozy. She gave Dan a shy smile.

"It's very good. Thank you."

When was the last time he'd had a woman thank him for buying her a drink? Dan smiled back at her, feeling suddenly that the evening might not be a total waste, after all. The speakers popped as the amplifier was turned back on. The band was preparing to start another set.

"Do you want to dance?"

Kelly nodded, finishing the last of the Irish coffee with a gulp. She didn't know how to dance, but she'd watched the couples on the floor earlier and it didn't look all that difficult. Besides, she was suddenly feeling much more confident.

As the evening wore on, Kelly's confidence increased in direct proportion to the level of alcohol in her bloodstream. She was finally getting a taste of what life was really like and it was everything she'd thought.

Dan Remington had given the man in her daydreams a face. He was tall, with streaky blond hair and eyes as blue as a summer sky. His smile was easy but she thought she read something behind it, a loneliness maybe, that she understood

They didn't talk much. Words didn't seem necessary. It was as if they were communicating without them. When the band moved into a slow tune and Dan slipped his arms around her, Kelly felt as if she had come home at last. Through the haze of three Irish coffees, she knew that her whole life had been directed toward this one moment.

A small voice in the back of her mind cautioned her. This was one night only, one night out of a lifetime. Tomorrow everything would be as it was, as it had always been, as it probably would always be. She might never see this man again. But she shoved the voice away, refusing to let common sense intrude on the magical spell that seemed to be weaving itself around the two of them.

For Dan, the magic was a little more prosaic, a little more easily understood. He wanted to forget For tonight, he wanted to forget everything that might have been, everything he'd once dreamed of having. He wanted to forget die loneliness.

Kelly didn't insist on meaningless conversation. She was soft and warm in his arms, a shield from the chill of being alone. And the wistfulness he thought he glimpsed in her eyes told him that she knew what it was to be alone—to be lonely.

As the lights dimmed for another slow tune, Dan drew her into his arms, feeling her settle against him. It felt right to hold her in his arms, to feel her slender body against his. He didn't allow himself to question how much of that lightness was whiskey induced. For this one night, he needed to forget.

On the darkened dance floor, his mouth found hers. She jumped as if startled, her mouth stiff beneath his. He would have drawn back but her lips suddenly softened. She seemed to melt against him, warm and pliant

For Kelly, the kiss was a revelation. In all her vague dreams of what a kiss would be like, she'd never imagined anything approaching reality. Dan's mouth was firm, just like his body against hers. He tasted of whiskey, a sharp, smoky taste that threatened to melt her bones.

His tongue came out to trace the soft swell of her lower lip and Kelly shuddered at the intensity of feelings that sprang to life. Her head was spinning with sensations she'd never experienced.

When the music ended, Dan led her off the floor. The table they'd been using was now occupied by a group intent on bringing in the new year with a noisy bang. Dan wedged a space for them at the bar, signaling the bartender and ordering two more drinks.

The small voice of reason suggested to Kelly that she'd had more than enough to drink already but it was easily ignored. She was having fun—for the first time in years. There was a not unpleasant buzzing sensation in her head, and Dan's arm around her waist was all that kept her feet from floating right off the floor. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so good

They danced again, kissed again and drank some more. It occurred to Dan that he'd had more than enough to drink, though it would have been difficult to tell by looking at him. His walk was steady, his speech was clear and his eyes had no trouble focusing. But he could feel the effects of the alcohol.

The loneliness that had become his constant companion these past months had faded to a shadowy presence in the back of his mind. He felt younger and freer than he had in years. He felt like acting his age. He grinned at the thought, feeling suddenly reckless.

"What is it?" Kelly's question made him realize that he was grinning foolishly to himself.

"Just a thought. Let's dance." He guzzled the last of his whiskey before leading her onto the floor. He didn't want to dance, didn't have the slightest idea what the music was. It was just an excuse to put his arms around Kelly's slender waist, to feel her nestle up against him.

It was sweet torture to hold her like this, to feel the soft brush of her against his body, to feel the slender length of her back under his hands. It came to him suddenly that he couldn't remember ever wanting anyone the way he wanted her. His body ached with the need to have her close without the irritating barriers of their clothes interfering.

Kelly trembled as his mouth found the sensitive shell of her ear. His teeth nibbled at the lobe, sending shivers down her spine, making her knees weak. There was a heaviness in the pit of her stomach that she had never felt before, a kind of burning ache.

When the song ended, Kelly stumbled off the dance floor. Her legs didn't seem to belong to her. In fact her whole body seemed to belong to someone else. Someone young and pretty, someone who belonged with all these beautiful, happy people.

Midnight was approaching and, with it, the level of noise grew until the building nearly shook with the volume of it. The band had moved into a loud, raucous medley of sixties hits, the speakers rattling the rafters.

The room was packed with people. Their places at the long maple bar had been taken. Dan stopped a few feet away, drawing Kelly close, leaning down to talk directly into her ear as it was the only way to be heard.

''Let's get out of here. We can go to my place. It's not far."

"Your place?" A faint warning bell rang in Kelly's mind.

"I want to be alone with you."

The warning bell drowned in a rush of pleasure. He wanted to be alone with her. Hadn't she always known this was the way it would be? With the knowledge that came of several Irish coffees, Kelly was sure that destiny had finally taken a hand in her life. Why else would she have come here and met Dan?

"Yes, all right." He couldn't hear her breathless consent but he could see it in her eyes. They paused long enough at the door to find their coats, pulling them out from beneath the dozen others that had been stacked on each iron hook. Seeing Kelly's inadequate cloth coat, Dan draped his own sheepskin-lined denim jacket over her shoulders.

Dan had walked the few blocks from his apartment to the bar. Considering the amount he'd had to drink, it was just as well he had chosen not to drive. The air was cold, with a frosty bite that smelled of snow, though the sky was clear. Wrapped in Dan's coat, his arm around her, Kelly felt warmed to the bone. She leaned her head on Dan's shoulder and pushed all thoughts of reality out of her head. She'd promised herself this one night and she was going to grasp everything it had to give with both hands. Let tomorrow take care of itself.

The walk to Dan's apartment building was short. The streets were empty. With midnight just around the corner, most people had already settled in to greet the new year.

If Dan had been in any condition to think about it, he might have expected the cold air and brisk walk to cool the need that burned in his veins. But a delicate scent that could only be Kelly's seemed to fill his head, drawing him deeper, making the ache in his gut more acute. The heavy denim of his coat made her appear even more fragile, even more feminine.

And he wanted her like he'd never wanted anyone in his life.

As they approached his apartment house, Kelly stumbled when one of her thick heels caught on a crack in the sidewalk. Dan caught her, the coat falling open as she fell against him. For an instant, her breasts were pressed against his chest He could feel the taut buds of her nipples through his shirt.

It was like setting match to flame.

Kelly gasped, startled, as his arms swept around her, crushing her to his body. Her head fell back with the suddenness of the move and she had only a glimpse of Dan's face before his mouth closed over hers.

This was not like the kisses they'd shared on the dance floor. There was nothing tentative here, nothing questioning. She quivered, her whole body going limp as his tongue slid into her mouth, sweeping across the sensitive flesh of her lower lip, testing the ridge of her teeth before plunging inside.