Touched by Lightning [Dreams of You] (Romantic Suspense) (32 page)

She had already decided she wouldn’t throw herself at him, though her entire body seemed poised to do just that. She would be able to tell by those expressive brown eyes of his if there was anything left between them. A sharp pain shot through her heart at the thought that his eyes would be expressionless, cold.

She knocked on the door, exhaling a long breath. The woman who answered didn’t look like any cleaning lady Nikki had ever seen. In fact, she knew this woman, the one who had walked up to Adrian on the sidewalk. Rita. She was tall and lean, with shiny black hair.

“Hello, Nikki.” Rita gestured for Nikki to come in.

There was a strange tension in the air, but Nikki stepped inside. Rita closed the door, crossing her arms over her chest. “You look different.” When Nikki gave her a puzzled look, Rita walked over and showed her the photograph Adrian had taken of her by accident. The one that had led him to save her. Her heart’s pace quickened. He still had the picture out. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

Yes, she looked different now. Her long hair was free, blush and lipstick tinted her cheeks and lips, and her knee-length cashmere sweater looked far nicer than the shabby coat. Nikki sensed some kind of pain in Rita’s expression. “I am different.” She took the photograph, hoping the woman didn’t see her hand trembling. “Seems like forever ago.”

Nikki realized that she was expecting Adrian to step out from some room by now. Except for a white, fluffy cat that peered at her from beneath a cut-glass table, the place seemed otherwise unoccupied. She was glad she’d left Crackers with the doorman.

“Is Adrian here?”

Rita shook her head. “He’s on a fashion shoot in the Cayman Islands.” She paused, seeming to weigh her next words. Her dark eyes studied Nikki. “He’ll be back tonight,” she added in a low voice.

“I see.” Nikki had to know, so she pushed out, “Do you live here? With him?”

Rita hesitated. Well, what was it? She either did or she didn’t. Or she wanted to.

“No, I just watch the place”—she nodded toward the cat—“and Oscar while he’s gone. He’s gone a lot.”

Relief flooded Nikki, but she understood Rita’s position. She wanted Adrian, too.

“I’m sure he is. Perhaps I should come back later. It was nice meeting you, Rita. Again,” she added, because it seemed proper.

Nikki turned but Rita touched her shoulder, stopping her. “Why don’t you wait here?” She shrugged, forcing a smile. “I’m sure he won’t mind. He’ll probably be home around nine.”

Nikki smiled. “Thank you, Rita. I appreciate that.”

Rita could only nod, her mouth in a tight line.

“Do you think he’d mind if I brought my dog in? I don’t have anyplace else to keep him.”

“Dog?” Rita said, as if the word were foreign.

“Crackers. He didn’t tell you about Crackers?” Had he forgotten the puppy?

Rita shook her head. “That explains his comment about liking dogs. He didn’t tell me anything about his trip in Florida. He’s like that. Well, he is with me, anyway.”

Nikki appreciated Rita’s candor. “You could say that he didn’t tell me the whole story either.”

“He’s different, too. He not only gives money to the homeless, he talks to them. Buys them blankets, coats. Before, he was focused on his career. Now he sees so much more.” Rita slowly nodded, then looked around the apartment as though she’d never see it again. “I’d better go.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Nikki said, but Rita was already stepping out the door.

Nikki brought Crackers up, along with her piece of luggage. She introduced him to the cat that she barely knew, but Oscar preferred to view the puppy from atop the refrigerator. Understandable, since Crackers pranced and whined and kept his eyes on the cat pretty much the whole time.

She looked around the apartment, searching for clues about the man she knew little about. There wasn’t much personal about the apartment, aside from framed photographs Adrian had probably taken. It was clean, and everything was in perfect order. No feminine touches, which was good. White carpet, modern kitchen. The strange part was that she felt at home here. Like she belonged here, in this apartment, in this city. The view of the skyline was magnificent, and she stood at the window with her forehead pressed against the cool glass, watching the crowds of people swarm below.

She had seen the homeless of the city, bundled in the bitter cold. It amazed her that she had lived that life, even though it was only three weeks ago. She was going to help those people. First she had to help herself.

Later, she snuggled onto the soft leather couch with a photography magazine and waited for Adrian to return. That meeting had not left her mind for a moment. In fact, her whole future depended on it. Even with her freedom, her whole life ahead of her, and a nice bank account with which to start a photography studio, it all seemed senseless unless Adrian was there to share it with her. How could she have been so stupid as to lose sight of that?

Rita had been unusually quiet during the ride back to his apartment. Adrian was too tired to mind the lapses of silence between their small talk. When they reached the city, he asked, “Where do you want to eat?” He always took her to dinner in thanks for picking him up.

“I’m going to skip dinner tonight. I’m tired. I left a little snack in your apartment in case you’re hungry.”

There was an odd tone to her voice, but he didn’t have the energy to coax the reason out of her.

She stepped out of the car when they reached his building and leaned against the door as he removed his bags. The doorman offered to help, but Adrian politely declined.

“Goodbye, Adrian,” Rita said softly before getting into the car. She glanced up at the building longingly before disappearing. He couldn’t figure women out, and at the moment, didn’t care to try.

After a long, noisy flight, the silence of his apartment was comforting. At the same time, it felt lonely. As he started to close the door, a strange noise made him stop. Thumping. A beige dog got to his feet and ambled over to him, tail whipping through the air.

Crackers.

Here.

His heart started beating as fast as the dog’s tail. On the couch, Nikki was sound asleep. It was like that first time she had come to him.

Except this was a different Nikki. Her long hair was the same, and the peaceful expression on her face, but this was a classy woman wearing a long, black cashmere sweater, white stockings and a touch of makeup to highlight her cheeks. Brown leather boots stood nearby, fringed with fur. He quietly closed the door, then removed his camera from his bag. He never wanted to forget this moment. He snapped several photographs of her before setting down the camera.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up. Those sleepy green eyes searched his, and her lower lip trembled.

“I—” She cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t mind that I waited for you. Rita thought it would be okay.”

Rita. Now her strange comment made sense, and so did her melancholy. He had to stop himself from pulling Nikki into his arms; he remembered that look of distrust on her face too clearly. Why was she here?

“Of course it’s fine.”

She stood, nervously smoothing down the black sweater that reached her knees. She walked around the coffee table and came to a stop in front of him. “I came to say I’m sorry.” Her voice was thick when she repeated it. “I’m sorry I hurt you by not trusting you. I didn’t know who to trust, everything was so confusing. I was confused. Please understand ... and forgive me.”

She seemed that fragile angel who had haunted his dreams. He couldn’t stop the hand that reached out and touched her cheek, as he had done so many times before. Her hand covered his, moving it to her mouth. She kissed his palm, her eyes searching his.

“I wasn’t exactly honest with you. I deserved your distrust.”

“No, you didn’t.” Her eyes welled up with shiny tears. “I understand how you couldn’t have told me the truth up front.” “Nikki—” She moved his hand to over her heart. “When I was drowning and heard your voice, I thought you were an angel. You breathed me. That feeling of being connected, is that what you felt these past three years?”

“Yes.”

“It was strange, awesome, spellbinding.”

He nodded. “It’s why I did everything that I did. For you.”

“You saved my life, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. But my life, my heart, need you in it.”

Adrian pulled her into his arms. His mouth met hers in a hungry kiss, a kiss that would swallow her up if he could. His fingers threaded through her silky hair as his mouth sought hers again and again.

When he could come up for air, he said, “I believe that can be arranged.”

THE END

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Linnea Sinclair and Tammy Walp for all your help with my ebooks!

And thanks to Nicole James for her suggestion for the title!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I hope you enjoyed my book! Jaime Rush is a pseudonym for Tina Wainscott, and as Tina, I am the bestselling author of eighteen novels for St. Martin's Press and Harlequin. My books garnered several awards, including The Golden Heart (Romance Writer’s of America) and the Maggie (Georgia Romance Writers) as well as Top Pick reviews from RT Book Reviews. In 2009, I moved to Harper Collins and began a new career as Jaime Rush.

Because my Jaime fans are always clamoring for more books (music to an author’s ear ), I’m re-releasing the books originally published under the Tina Wainscott name. You can find them under either the Tina or Jaime name.

If you haven’t read my Jaime books, they’re also paranormal romantic suspense. I missed the romance, relationship drama, and action of my favorite television shows, X-Files, Roswell, and Highlander, so I created my own mix in the Offspring series.

The Offspring: Sexy…dangerous…outcasts. They possess extraordinary abilities, and they're being hunted by the government. Together they must find the truth and fight an enemy out to destroy them. The first book in the series garnered a Reviewer's Choice Award from RT Book Reviews, and the most recent, BURNING DARKNESS, won three Top Picks.

To connect with me, go to:

Website:
http://www.jaimerush.com

and
http://www.tinawainscott.com

GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2168689.Jaime_Rush

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/jaimerushauthor

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/jaimerush

SNEAK PEEK of

BLINDSIGHT

SNEAK PEEK: CHAPTER 1

Wednesday, December 20

He watched her weaving in and around the stacks of Lego sets. She had long, brown hair and brown eyes. He figured her to be about seven. Yes, she was just right. He’d been waiting for her since the store opened, waiting for just the right girl to come through. Now he only had to wait for the right opportunity.

Her mother was engaged in a conversation with another woman, though she darted occasional glances toward her daughter. The toy store was in typical pre-Christmas madness. That always worked in his favor. Cheery music filled the air, kids were preoccupied with the toys, and their parents were preoccupied with their shopping lists.

“Mom, can I get one of those Lego sets?” the girl asked her mother.

“We’re not buying anything today. You’re supposed to be making a list for Santa.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Then stop talking to everyone and let’s make a list,” she said with exasperation.

“Don’t be rude, young lady.” The mother turned back to her friend. “So anyway…”

Clearly bored, the girl quickly became entranced by a metallic pink VW Bug that zipped by her. It stopped, turned around, and bumped into her white sneaker. She looked for the source of the car’s control, but was distracted when it turned and careened down the aisle. She followed, crouching down for a better look. The car headed into an adjacent room filled with tall stacks of boxes and kids playing with remote control cars, tanks, and trucks.

Her mother glanced her way. “Phaedra, stay close.” She shifted back to her friend. “So Marilyn tells me that I was supposed to drive the kids to ballet that week when she volunteered to do it. And you know what she has the nerve to tell me?”

“Mom, can I go into the remote control room?” Phaedra asked, glancing where the car had disappeared.

Her mother didn’t even look at Phaedra. “No, stay here, honey. I’ll only be a couple more minutes.”

A couple of minutes. How well he knew how life could change just that quickly.

She went back to her conversation, peppered with dramatic gestures and sounds of annoyance. She should be more careful. There were all kinds of predators out there, sick men who got their thrills from molesting children. His gloved fingers tightened on the control box so hard, he heard the plastic start to crack. He eased up.

He wasn’t like that.

Phaedra sighed in boredom. Her mother kept talking with no sign of ending the conversation. A minute later, Phaedra walked into the room to look for the Bug. It teased her, zipping past her and heading toward the “Employees Only” door. She tried to grab it, but it jumped out of her grasp.

The car bumped into his shiny black shoe just as she caught it. She looked up at him—and smiled.

“Would you like to meet Santa Claus?” he asked, putting his hand on the door.

“I already did, upstairs.”

“What did he give you?”

“A candy cane.”

The Bug lifted up on its rear wheels at his command. “Would you like this car?”

She gave him an angelic grin, and her eyes sparkled as she took in the car. “Yeah.”