Part 4 (1/2)
It wasn't much of a life. He knew the red eyes she'd spoken of were the sensors in the walls. Jonas had been enthralled by the technology that would allowed him to see on a computer screen where in the house each member of the household was, to control the temperature of the air, the artwork on the wall, the music that was piped into each individual room.
Jonas had loved the unique technology, but Nick had never thought about what it would be like to live everyday life with that kind of Big Brother surveillance. Maybe that was another reason for her nightly drives-to escape the ivory tower that was home for a little while.
He had a feeling tonight had been some sort of latent teenage rebellion for Lynn, a bucking and kicking of the rigid rules and isolated lifestyle she lived to please Jonas.
”Nicky?”
He looked over to see her still slumped down, but her beautiful eyes were open and she looked at him. ”Yeah?”
”I'm drunk.”
He smiled. ”Yes, you are.”
”I've never been drunk before. I'm not sure I like it.”
She sat up and rolled down her window, appearing to sober up just a tad.
”How many drinks did you have?”
She frowned, a delicate furrow appearing between her brows. ”I'm not sure...five or six. I think I might have lost count.” She tilted her head toward the window, letting the night breeze blow her hair and caress her face.
For a few minutes they rode in silence, then she turned to look at him once again. ”Have you ever gotten totally blitzed?”
He laughed. ”I'm ashamed to admit, on more than one occasion, although most of my drunks occurred in the six months after my twenty-first birthday.”
”Did you feel awful afterward?”
”Each and every time,” he admitted.
Once again she fell silent and her eyes drifted closed. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep. If so, it was probably the best thing for her as long as he could rouse her enough to get her into the house when they arrived.
The minute he pulled into the drive and pressed the b.u.t.ton on his remote that would open the gates, she sat up and opened her eyes once again.
He parked in front of the door, got out of the car and went around to open her car door. He held out his hand to help her up out of the car. ”Are you okay to get inside?”
”I'm fine.” She held on to his hand and leaned into him, the warmth of her body stirring an immediate response in his. ”You won't tell Uncle Jonas about tonight, will you? He'd be upset with me.”
He squeezed her hand. ”Don't worry, this will be our little secret.”
She smiled, a half-drunk grin that was more than a little bit charming. Her face was mere inches from his. To his surprise she threw her arms around his neck. ”Thank you. Maybe we should kiss to seal our secret.”
Apparently she hadn't sobered up much at all because Nick knew if she wasn't drunk as a skunk she'd never be acting so forward.
That didn't mean he wasn't tempted. He was definitely tempted. Her lips looked soft and welcoming, but he knew if he took advantage of her now in her condition, he could kiss any hope of a future relations.h.i.+p goodbye.
He skimmed a strand of her silky, chestnut hair from her face and smiled down at her. ”When I kiss you, Lynnette White, I want you sober as a preacher and aware of every second of that kiss.”
Her eyes widened as he released his hold on her. ”If you'd like, I'll be more than happy to drive you back to the club for your car in the morning.”
”Okay.” She blinked a couple of times, as if the gesture might help her clear her thoughts. ”First thing in the morning? Maybe around eight?”
”Why don't we make it around ten,” he countered, knowing she had no idea what was in store for her when she woke up in the morning.
”Okay, and thanks again.”
”No problem.”
She definitely wasn't sober, he thought as he watched her weave her way toward the front door. One thing was clear-tonight certainly hadn't hurt him in his bid to get closer to her.
It wasn't until he was halfway to his own apartment that he thought of how she'd handled the creep who'd had her pinned against the wall.
He'd never seen anyone move so fast or with such skill. He'd intended to ride in on his white horse and save the day, but she hadn't needed him to help her at all.
He had a feeling there was a lot more to Lynnette White than he'd initially thought. He was aware of the fact that he was probably on a path to destruction no matter how things went.
If he seduced Lynn and learned what he needed to bring Jonas down, then Lynn would live with the consequences of his actions.
If he seduced her and things went bad between them before he got the information he needed, then Jonas would either fire him or kill him.
Nick knew the man was capable of both.
Chapter 4.
”Eat your breakfast. Eggs aren't good when they're cold.” Rita's dark eyes gazed at Lynn suspiciously. ”Are you coming down with something? It isn't like you to dawdle over your food.”
Lynn stared down at the eggs on her plate and grimaced. The sunny-side-up eggs appeared to be staring back at her. ”No, I'm not coming down with anything. I'm just not very hungry this morning.”
She wasn't sick. It was much worse than that. She suspected she was on the verge of death.
She'd awakened forty-five minutes ago feeling as if a hundred drums thundered in her head. She'd still been wearing her clothes from the night before. Her mouth had felt as if it had been stuffed with foul-tasting cotton, and she was certain if she moved too fast she would be dead before she made it out of her bed.
A long, hot shower had done little to still the thunder in her head. She still felt more than a little queasy. She barely remembered falling into bed the night before and had only vague memories of the ride home in Nick's car.
”Are you sure you aren't getting sick?” Rita asked with a frown of concern. ”You look pale.”
A burst of affection for the frowning Cuban woman filled Lynn. Rita was the closest thing to a mother Lynn would ever know. ”Really, I'm fine.” To a.s.sure the older woman she picked up a piece of toast and bit into it. She thought she could handle toast and coffee.
Rita refilled her own coffee cup and joined Lynn at the kitchen table. ”I know what's wrong. You're just missing Mr. Jonas,” she exclaimed.
Lynn nodded, relieved to have the subject changed. ”It's always difficult for the first couple of days when he leaves after being here. When he's home he fills the house with such energy.”
”He spoils you.” Rita's dark eyes twinkled. ”If you were a different kind of person you would be intolerable from all his spoiling.”
Lynn laughed, then sobered. ”I would gladly give up all the things Jonas brings me when he comes home if he would just spend more time here with us.”
”He's an important man and does important work. Besides, it won't be long until he'll be home again.”