Part 8 (1/2)
But she was alone. Had a door just closed? Had their guest been out there, watching her, as she had watched the night? She squared her shoulders. She was no easily intimidated child.
She could handle whatever came her way.
She wouldn't give way to whispers on the breeze that seemed to touch her with fingers of ice.
”A life,” she said softly out loud.
Determined, she walked inside. No shower tonight. A bath. As hot as she could take it, long and sudsy and relaxing. And if she still had that old brandy decanter in her room somewhere, she would sip while she soaked.
She wouldn't think about what had happened.
Yes, she would.
Because she was obsessed.
”I think I want this man on my team all the time!” Stacey exclaimed.
”What can I say? I know my European history,” Bryan said with a shrug. He had been wondering how to get to know both women better when Stacey had surprised him with a knock on his door and an invitation to play Trivial Pursuit.
The owner of the house, however, had yet to make it downstairs. But they had decided to play a few practice rounds, so he had pinched up with Stacey, while her boyfriend, a cop named Bobby, had teamed up with the ma.s.sive sax player.Big Jim gave a deep, rich laugh. ”You do seem to be something of a walking encyclopedia, MacAllistair.”
He offered the sax player a rueful smile. ”Occupational hazard,” he explained. He had liked the other man from the moment he met him. There was a serenity about him that seemed to come from wisdom rather than simply from knowledge. He had the ability to make a stranger feel as if they had been friends for life. Bryan thought he would be good to have around in an emergency.
”You're no slouch yourself,” Bryan commented.
Big Jim's smile was vast. ”I do all right.” He laughed again. ”Maybe, when the nights are too quiet, I just study all the cards and learn all the answers.”
”Do you?” Stacey gasped.
Big Jim's deep laughter boomed again. ”No, but maybe I should start.”
”He comes from a long line of voodoo priestesses,” Stacey said, as if that explained something about the man's abilities.
”Yeah, and I just come from a long line of cops,” Bobby said with a sigh.
”But you have all the sports stuff down,” Stacey said, patting his hand.
”Yeah, I've got all the answers,” Bobby said, and rolled his eyes. ”That's why you ditched me for the professor.”
”Yes, and I'm sticking with him,” Stacey said firmly.
”You're giving up on me?” a new voice, feminine, rich and melodic, chimed in.
Bryan turned to see who had spoken, and it was as if he had been struck by lightning.
She was a beautiful woman, but then again, the world was filled with beautiful women. She was about five six, slender but curved, with golden-blond hair that swept sensually down her back, and deep blue eyes. It wasn't just her appearance that was arresting; it was the way she moved, her casual ease.
It was the fact that she seemed to touch a distant, forgotten chord in his soul, the fact that she was so very much like...
Someone long gone. Someone who should have been entirely erased from his mind by time gone by. He had met women before who had touched a core of memory in him. Something about them the same, the way they looked, spoke, moved.
But nothing like this. Never like this.
He stood, ready to introduce himself.
”Hey, you made it down at last,” Stacey said.
”Yeah, sorry, the hot-bath thing was more seductive than I'd imagined,” Jessica Fraser mumbled, coming into the room.
Then she saw him.
She stopped. And stared.
”You two haven't met yet,” Stacey said. She was clearly amused, enjoying her friend's hastily concealed reaction to him. There was an I told you so smirk on her face.
”Hi,” Jessica murmured, stepping forward with a welcoming smile and extending a hand. ”Welcome to the Montresse House. I must say, you don't look like...well, what I had imagined.” She blushed, then added, ”Sorry.”
He took her hand. The feeling of being touched by lightning, shot through by a bolt of fire, hit him again. He stared back at her, forcing a casual smile and an apologetic shrug. ”No apology necessary.”
Jessica nodded and chose a chair at the other end of the table.
Big Jim smiled at her. ”We've been practicing, getting into the groove while we waited,” he said. ”We can start for real now. I'll have you and Bobby.”
”Three against two,” Jessica said.
”Gareth turned us down,” Stacey commented. ”But that's okay. I've got the professor.”
”Feeling confident, aren't you?” Jessica asked Stacey, but she was staring at Bryan, and he knew he was staring back.
There was something about her....
He shrugged and leaned back.
”Let the game begin,” he said softly.
5.
W ith Big Jim and Bobby gone home and their one lodger safely out of the way upstairs, Stacey closed the kitchen door, staring at Jessica, who was rinsing dishes at the sink before putting them in the dishwasher.
Jessica arched a brow.
Stacey burst into laughter.
”What?” Jessica demanded.