Page 19 of Vistaria Has Fallen
Far down on the dance floor, the show ended. “I have to go,” Calli said. “They will be looking for me.” She moved toward the stairs. As she passed him, his hand touched her wrist. It halted her. She looked at him as he straightened up from his lean. He was very close. His blue eyes were black in thislight.
“I must go,” she repeated. “They are waiting for me.” Yet she couldn’t move her feet. With him standing this close, her body prickled with anticipation. He swayed. His hot breath bathed her nape. His fingers slowly stroked the inside of her wrist. He seemed to taste her with his fingertips. A shiver rippled through her in response and she turned her head to look at him.
“If it is so dangerous,Nicolás, then I must go now, before my delay is noted.” She added bitterly, “That is the point you wanted to emphasize, I believe?”
“I want to hear you call me Nick, like any other man you know.”
“You’re not any other man,” she whispered. Nicolás Escobedo’s pull on her was unique. She had never felt such wantonness.
He moved. His jacket brushed against her bare shoulder. His voice sounded inher ear. “I regret what cannot be.”
Because he taunted her with the knowledge that he wanted her after all, only to snatch it away with the next breath, she lifted her chin. “I dreamed of you, Nick. I dreamed of us making love.”
She watched his eyes widen, as the knowledge speared him. Then she moved through the doorway to the stairs that would take her back to the ballroom and the safety ofa room full of soldiers.
Calli had been frightened of the soldiers. She had been wary and braced for trouble. The thought made her laugh. Trouble had come from an entirely unexpected quarter.
Perhaps she could convince Minnie to go home. She needed peace and time to think. Yet when Calli reached the table, it was empty. She spotted some of the occupants on the dance floor. Elvira, with her up-swepthair and black crepe dress, waltzed with one of Duardo’s men. Calli couldn’t see Minnie or Duardo anywhere.
* * * * *
Nick stood in the gallery alcove with his head down, his eyes closed, listening to the party below, while tension clamped his body into stillness. He could still smell a hint of her perfume, something light and clean. While standing next to her, her warm scent and the touch ofperfume had wreathed his head, making him giddy with an explosive arousal.
The need to touch her had been almost overwhelming. Only the knowledge of how unfair it would be to indulge himself had stopped him.
I dreamed of you, Nick.Her voice was smooth and mellow, like brandy.
At least he had wiped the desperate shame from her eyes. He’d managed something constructive. True, anger had replacedit. He could live with anger. Better that she be filled with fury. It would give him the edge he needed to hold onto his sanity. While he clung to sanity, he could avoid any lethal decisions.
As long as she hated him, he could stay away from her.
* * * * *
Calli circled the upper floors then searched the service rooms on the lower floor. She found them in a small, unused kitchen, tucked awayon a back corridor. Calli paused with her hand on the swing door. She didn’t want to interrupt them, only she couldn’t move. The first glimpse had caught at her heart and throat.
If she had been asked to find a phrase to describe that first astonishing sight, she would have said without thinking:pure, driven passion. The image would stay with her forever. Minnie lying on the wide steel counter,her back and hips a taut curve, offering herself as Duardo slid his tongue the length of her throat.
Her hands were in his hair, encouraging him, as she gave a low groan. He stood with his thighs against the table. His jacket was gone. His shirt was unbuttoned and half off, revealing smooth brown shoulders. Firm rounded muscles bunched and moved under his flesh as he slid his hand up Minnie’sthigh, pushing the dress up with it. He gathered the fabric around her waist, revealing garters and stockings, smooth bare skin and nothing else. Duardo made a deep rumbling sound of appreciation.
As Minnie reached for the fastening on his trousers, Calli’s heart picked up speed. She was caught in the spell, mentally a part of their pleasure, her own body responding. Her breath quickened.
Tobe loved like that, to be the object of such longing...oh, she wanted it! Her body trembled with the imaginary joy of taking a man.
As the pair came together, Calli forced herself to turn away. Her heart trip-hammering, she took a step on legs that seemed weak.
Behind her she heard Duardo’s voice, thick and slow. “One sip of you is not enough.”
“Drink your fill, if you dare,” Minnie said, verylow.
Calli quickened her pace, heading for the ballroom.
When Minnie and Duardo returned to the table fifteen minutes later, she had herself back under control. She made no comment about their absence and they gave no hint of what they had been doing. Duardo treated Minnie with utmost deference, bowing over her hand when Calli said they had to go, uttering polite expressions of regret and gratitudefor their company this evening. He gave no hint of the passion that had gripped him moments ago.
He’s a soldier and used to staying in control.Just like Nicolás Escobedo.
The comparison rankled, for Duardo had chosen to take the moments he wanted, unlike Nicolás.
* * * * *