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woman in his life? When he said good-bye, did he vanish with a puff of smoke?
"What are you laughing at?" Chance asked suspiciously.
"Oh, idle thoughts. Come on, we get off here," Ally added as the train drew to
a jerky halt.
They left the subway and walked outside. Ally turned and led him down a
street.
"Where are we?" he asked in confusion.
"West Ninety-third Street."
After another block, Chance said, "I can't believe you were actually going to
walk through this neighborhood alone at this time of night." His
eyes narrowed threateningly as several tough-looking teenage boys ambled by.
"I'm used to it. It's not bad. You just have to be alert."
Chance's grunt indicated he was unconvinced. "How long have you lived here?"
"I've been in New York for seven years. I came here pretty soon after I
finished college. I've been at this apartment for five years."
"Do you live alone?"
"I do now. I had roommates for three years, but after the last one moved out,
I
was working steadily and decided to live alone." She added ruefully, "Of
course, if things don't look up soon, I may have to go back to sharing the
apartment."
It seemed the right time to ask her if she had a boyfriend or special man in
her life.
He doubted she'd consider it too personal a question. He couldn't fathom why
he was so reluctant to risk finding out that she did. He remained
silent, though the question burned in his mind.
"Here we are," she said. "It's a nice old building." She turned to face him.
The streetlamp behind him gleamed off his pale golden hair and obscured the
expression on his face as he looked down at her. "Thanks for seeing me home,
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Chance," she said formally. Why was her voice so absurdly breathless? she
wondered irritably.
Why did her heart start pounding? Why did he stare so enigmatically at her in
the darkness?
"Good night, Ally." His voice was low and husky.
He didn't move. She realized that he must be waiting for her to get safely
inside.
Turn around and go, she thought. Now, she thought. But her feet stayed glued
to the ground in front of Chance, and her eyes continued to search his
darkened face.
"Ally& "He muttered something unintelligible, then his hands closed around
her shoulders and pulled her towards him. And then she knew why she
hadn't gone inside.
Her eyes closed and her head tilted back as smoothly as if the scene had
been directed. She felt his lips on hers then; gentle, exploring,
warm and moist. She wanted him to kiss her harder, but he teased and
played, tasting, testing. His mouth brushed hers again and again with
feather-light touches, stroke after stroke, so delicate and quick, they
almost couldn't be called kisses. But her fuzzy mind couldn't think of any
kiss that had ever excited her so much.
She tried to deepen their kisses, and she felt him pull back to tease her.
Suddenly hungry, and uncharacteristically aggressive, she pressed her body
against his. She felt him smile with pleasure against her lips.
His arms slid down her shoulders and around her back, pulling her closer.
His hands were strong, warm, confident. She gasped. How did he know to touch
her like that? Where had he learned to touch a woman so surely, skillfully,
suggestively? He massaged her back and stroked her hair and then, finally, he
kissed her deeply and slid his velvety tongue into her mouth.
"Mmmmm." She heard the sound before she realized that she was making it. His
tongue swept her mouth boldly, as if he had kissed her before, as if he knew
exactly how to please her. She pressed her palm against his jaw and felt the
muscles working there, felt his absorption in her, his concentration on her.
Her mind started to reel
giddily.
He broke off their kiss suddenly and pressed her head against his shoulder. He
rested his cheek against her hair. She shifted, and the hard bulge she felt
against her belly made her gasp. Then she realized how fast they were both
breathing. Was she trembling? She was so disoriented, she wasn't sure. He knew
more magic spells than she had suspected.
He didn't apologize for his obvious arousal, nor did he try to act on it. He
simply held her, and she discovered she was neither embarrassed nor alarmed.
Though her reactions weren't as obvious as his, they were just as strong, and
she had a feeling he knew.
After a long, cozy moment, he grasped her shoulders and pushed her
away unsteadily. He took a deep breath and let it out in uneven laughter.
"So much for being a gentleman," he said.
"I might have been safer by myself," she agreed.
"You'd better go inside."
"Uh-huh."
They stood there staring at each other. She wished that she could see his
face.
She wished he would touch her again. Mostly she wished she didn't feel this
way.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said at last. "I guess& we'll need to think about
this.
Or maybe try it again." He grinned slowly. She could see the white flash of
his smile against his dark visage. She could suddenly feel his teeth
nibbling on her lips as surely as if he were kissing her again. She
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swallowed.
"Tomorrow," she choked out, then turned and fled. He really was a sorcerer.
Ally had a long night of tossing and turning and restlessly
remembering every detail and sensation of the few minutes she had spent
wrapped in Chance's arms. At one point, when sleep had finally opened its arms
to her, she had such a vivid dream about him that she awoke with a start,
certain he must be in the room with her.
After her initial confusion, she chided herself for believing, even for a
moment, that he could cast a love spell on her.
Ally arrived at their rehearsal the next day in a precarious emotional state.
She was exhausted from her nearly sleepless night, scared to death of what
ghoulish trick
Chance would coax her into trying today, and nervous about seeing him after
last night.
So she was outraged to find him cheerfully hard at work, completely absorbed
in setting up another illusion with Angus and Zeke, and looking well
rested and refreshed. He didn't help his own cause any by greeting her with
casual friendliness and then turning his attention back to his work as if
nothing different had happened between them.
She started to truly regret, even fear, the attraction that had come to full
blossom between them last night. Hadn't she learned her lesson already? She [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]