Ablaze (7 page)

"I didn't say you're a lousy date in
general--only when watching a movie."

"Not even in theaters. Just so you
know, when I'm with a woman, there is no dull time between us. It doesn't
matter where we are."

Angel swallowed visibly and a faint red hue
appeared on her cheeks. Now he got her attention. Ha! No woman could claim that
he was a lousy lover.

"Well, you made your point." She
avoided his gaze by looking at the door that led to the kitchen. "Does Tony
work someplace else or is cooking here is his only job?"

"This is his only job."

"I hope you're paying him well."

"He's a lucky millionaire. He can work
for free if he wants."

"No way! How lucky?"

"His stepdad bought shares from
Microsoft in the eighties. Tony inherited the money."

"Wow. But he's working here as a cook
and letting you bully him?"

"I do not bully him."

Angel laughed and joy shone in her eyes. No
one would ever think that she suffered from great pain because of her ex-fiancé.
"You just did."

"That's how we treat each other. It's
normal. And I don't care if he's got money coming out of his ears. He works
here as a cook so he must function as a cook."

"Wow. A millionaire working as a cook.
Can't beat that. I wonder what it would be like to make love with a
millionaire."

Dylan almost choked on his own spit. Jesus. Couldn't
this woman filter her thoughts? "I think the man's bank account has
nothing to do with how good he performs in bed."

"Good point. But I'm sure sleeping with
a millionaire is kind of like dating a high school jock or in your case a
homecoming queen."

"I don't know. I never really paid
attention to the cheerleaders or queens when I was in high school. You know, money
has nothing to do with pleasures in bed. If your millionaire has a dick as long
as my thumb, you won't get satisfaction. If you made love with a peon who could
reach your womb with his seven inch dick, baby, I think he's worth a try."

The color on Angel's cheeks turned dark red.
He shouldn't have said what he said, but fuck it, he was talking to her, and
she was thinking about making love with a millionaire? That's a fucking insult.
Although, why he should care about her question was beyond him.

"You're crude."

"We already established that earlier.
Just so you know, women like rough and tough kind of men."

Angel rolled her eyes. "If Tony's a
millionaire, what is he doing here?"

"Boredom. Even millionaires get bored. You
probably know that already. After all, you're Manfred's granddaughter. What
does he do to kill time?"

"He makes beautiful bird houses."
Angel let out a long lusty yawn.

"I'm putting you to sleep. I don't
normally get that reaction from people I talk to. Especially women."

"No, no. It's not you. I'm just kind of
tired. Must be the heat and the foot rub."

"Too late. You already wounded me. I'm
not charming, you hate me, and I'm boring."

"Sorry!"

Dylan couldn't help but laugh at Angel's
attempt to make a puppy face.

"Hey, I might go out and buy another
grande later."

"It's not even noon yet and you're
already thinking about coffee."

"Got to be proactive."

"You're a caffeine addict."

"All of us have our own vices. What's
yours?"

"Making love in the afternoon."

"Oh, Lord."

He realized Angel would turn red quite
easily when embarrassed, uncomfortable or self-conscious. Right now, Angel's
cheeks and all the way down to her neck turned red. The color was becoming. He wondered
if she would turn red also when excited while in the throes of passion. He bet
she would. Suddenly, the need to see if he was right poked at him. Holy shit!
This woman's sex appeal was too much. And she would be sharing the upstairs
with him. Dylan grinned. Not bad. Not at all. He always loved beautiful women.
As long as he kept his heart well-guarded, he'd be fine.

"So, you ready to see your room?"

"Millionaire Tony live upstairs, also?"

"Sorry. But no. So stop fantasizing
about sleeping with him."

Angel swatted his arm, laughing. "Quit
it. I'm not having fantasies about him. So who else live upstairs?"

"Just me. And now, you."

Chapter Six

Holy crap! She would be sharing the upstairs
with this hunk whose vocabulary was as dirty as a public toilet, who possessed arresting
good looks that were hard to ignore along with a tempting, attractive physique
she wanted to run her hands all over. Where in the world did Manfred find this
man? Surely, not while shopping at Abercrombie or Hollister. Who would have
thought a God from Olympus lived on earth pretending to be a restaurant owner.
And she shared a slice of cake with him.

There is always light at the end of the
tunnel.

She mentally noted to herself to thank
Manfred for sending her here. Later, she'd call him when she was rested.

Suppressing a yawn, Angel followed Dylan upstairs
who lifted her suitcases as if they were weightless. When she insisted that she
carry the other end of the luggage, Dylan ignored her. She was thankful though.
The way her eyes refused to stay open and her feet weighing like a hundred
pounds right now, it would take her hours before she could make it to the
second floor, which she realized took two flights of stairs to reach. She
stopped to feel the cold wooden stairs.

She wanted to just lay down on the step and
close her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping well since Willy's scandalous
television fame. No matter how tired she was, sleep eluded her because as soon
as she closed her eyes, she could see Willy's face, hear his sobbing voice
while pleading with the cops to release him. How many times had she watched the
sunrise? How many times had she stood by her window with her head against the
cold windowpane hoping for sleep to come and visit her? How many times had she
found herself staring at her clay until exhaustion finally won? Too many times
to count. Right now, an hour or so of decent sleep would be nice. The kind when
you lie down on the bed and close your eyes you could hear nothing but your own
breathing. Yeah, that would be nice. She tried to suppress another yawn, but
failed.

Dylan stopped and looked back at her. "You
can stay here. I'll come back for you."

"You mean you'll carry me?"

"Yeah. You look about a hundred pounds
to me. All I have to do is toss you over my shoulder."

"Like a sack of potatoes?"

Dylan grinned. "Like a beautiful
princess I stole from her castle so I could put her in my dungeon."

"And then do what? Have your way with
her?"

"What the fuck. What do you think of
me? A beast? I'll keep her for a ransom, that's all. But if she wants, and
if
I let her, we might come up with an understanding on how to keep our time
fun and exciting while waiting for the king's ransom."

"
If
you let her?"

"What can I say? I'm not cheap."

"Maybe, but I have the assumption that
you would jump at every opportunity to score an afternoon delight."

Dylan laughed. "An afternoon delight.
Sounds like it could be a title of a book. So you wanna wait?"

"No. I can walk."

"You sure?"

"Yup."

"Where are your sandals?"

Angel looked down at her feet. "Dang, I
forgot. And my purse. I'll go--"

"I'll get them later. Let's go up to
your room first. Keep up, princess."

Dylan continued walking and didn't stop
until they reached the door at the end of the hallway. "This will be your
room." He opened the door and walked inside. "Small, but clean. I
hope you like it."

Angel followed him, and was surprised to see
how neat the room was. A charming floral printed quilt covered the bed. It was
luxuriously oversized and complemented the pale pink color of the bedroom. Two
accented and two quilted decorative pillows with the same prints completed the
ensemble. Everything looked new. Angel turned to look at Dylan. "What a
charming room. Is this where my grandpa stayed?"

"Yes, but this room looked different
when he stayed here. Tony and I fixed it up a bit."

"You mean you and Millionaire Tony
painted this room pink."

"Girls like pink."

"Not this girl. I prefer blue, especially
royal blue. Still…pink is nice. I like it." She walked toward the corner
of the room where a small table with spindly legs stood. On top of it was a
turquoise vase, layered with colorful coral, kelp, and sea life. In it was a
bundle of freshly cut assorted flowers. "This is an amazing looking vase."

"Made by Seattle's local artist. They
have a shop here called Avalon Glassworks."

"Really? I want to see it. Maybe
tomorrow I could visit the shop."

"We'll add it to our things to do while
you're here."

"You're taking this guide job
seriously, huh?"

"I wouldn't want your grandfather to
think that I can't do a simple task of keeping you happy here."

"Manfred would never ask if he doubted,
even infinitesimal, your capability of being a good host."

 "Trusting people you hardly even know
runs in your family, huh?"

"I guess." Angel walked over to
the partly opened window. "Nice view of the market."

"One of the major factors on why Manfred
bought this place was that he liked the view here." Dylan stood beside
Angel, then opened the window very wide.

"Manfred's parents owned a Mom and Pop's
kind of store in a busy neighborhood like this. I can understand why he would
pick this place."

"Watching all the action down there is
like watching a movie. Everyday you'll see something different."

Angel pointed at the row of flower vendors
busily rearranging their display. "Is that where these flowers came from?"

"No." Dylan leaned over the window,
turned sideways, and pointed his finger to the left. "See that lady there?"

Angel leaned over, too. The window was not
big enough for two people to lean over so her back pressed on Dylan's chest. He
made room for her, but with his height and build, they still had to squeeze in.
Warmth seeped from Dylan's body to lick her back. Ignoring the sweet sensation of
having him too close to her, she pointed her finger at the woman carrying a
wicker basket. "I see a lady in a brown skirt holding a bouquet asking
people walking by her to buy her flowers."

"Yeah. Her name is Fiona. She has five
children. The youngest is only five. Her husband lost his job at Boeing. He
then got sick and died of a heart attack. They lost everything. Fiona is the
only flower vendor who can't afford to pay a space to sell her flowers so she
stands in that spot every day."

"And you're helping her by buying her
flowers."

"Yes. And she's nice."

"How about offer her a job?"

"I did. She's a waitress here at night.
Her fourteen-year- old watches his brothers and sister while Fiona works."

Angel turned around, leaned her hip against
the windowsill and then smiled at Dylan. "My, you are a softie," she
teased and then let out a long yawn.

Dylan chucked her under the chin. "Time
for bed, sleepy head."

Angel sighed. "I wish I
could
sleep."

"Why can't you?"

"It seems the demons come for a visit
when I close my eyes. Keeping me awake."

Dylan studied her face with his impenetrable
gaze for a heartbeat before two deep lines between his eyes marred his almost
perfect face. "You shouldn't lose sleep over
that
demon. Tell you
what…" He took the chair by the table and put it beside the bed. "I'll
stay with you and tell you a story."

"How is your storytelling will help me
fall asleep?"

"Because I'm boring."

Angel laughed. "I'm not a five year
old, Dylan."

"I know. So, lay down. Take a nap and I'll
stay here. If I feel a demon come, I'll bash it on the head."

"You're funny. Well, thanks for the
offer, but no thanks. I'll try to sleep on my own. If I can't, I'll just rest
here for a while. Or maybe sculpt something."

"Manfred mentioned that you're a
sculptor."

"Yeah. I wouldn't know what to do with
my hands if I didn't know how to sculpt. Lately, polymer clay has been my
companion day and night. Don't know how many nights I stayed awake sculpting
practically anything. What about you? Aside from managing the restaurant, what
keeps you busy?"

"I read, write, do a little bit of
arithmetic."

"Very--" Angel yawned-- "funny.
Gosh. You really are boring."

Seeing the amusement in her eyes, he
laughed. "Take a nap. Just give it a try. If after fifteen minutes you're
still awake, I'll leave."

"Have you stayed vigil for someone
before?"

"Yes. Many times."

"Care to elaborate on that?"

Aside from his family and Camille of course,
no one knew about his short stint in medical school. Not that he was
embarrassed to tell people about it, it was just the opportunity to share about
his first passion never came. Until now. "I was a med student. Spent hours
in the hospital doing rounds, watching patients."

"So that explains why you're so good in
tending cuts. How come you didn't stay in med school?"

"If I tell you everything about me now,
there won't be anything to talk about for the rest of your stay here. How about
if I save the answer for next time, huh?" He nodded toward the bed. Come
on, take a nap."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No."

"Dylan, I'm may be too trusting when it
comes to meeting a stranger, but sleeping while you watch me is different from
a casual chatting."

"You can also trust me in this
situation."

"Why?"

"Because I am Dylan Band."

"Wow. Has anyone told you you're so
full of yourself?"

Dylan grinned. "No, because I don't
exaggerate. Don't worry, and believe me when I tell you this…I'm the good one
among the Bands. Besides, I believe Manfred checked my background before he
agreed to share this place with me. I would. So you shouldn't worry. I'm not a
big bad wolf."

Only a big handsome man with a thong-dropping
smile.

"I just got here and yet you already
touched my feet, we shared a cake and now you're in my room. I believe you're
right. This is weird."

"We live in the twenty-first century.
Not eighteen hundreds. People go to Match dot com or singles bar to meet. So, I
could be wrong. This situation we're in is normal." We started off on the
wrong foot, we recovered. Now, we are friends."

"We are?"

"Yes, we are. Manfred asked me to help
you get your sleep. So take--"

"Jiminy Crickets, I think Manfred
forgets that I am no longer a little girl."

"You will always be his little girl.
Surely you know that."

"I know, but he didn't need to ask
someone to keep an eye on me. Meaning you. So thanks, Dylan. I can sleep on my
own."

"Another thing you need to know about
me, Angel, is that I take my job seriously and I don't quit easily. So might as
well accept my offer."

Angel was too tired to argue so she
acquiesced. Besides, why not have this man with well-muscled body that moved
sexily as her guardian angel. "Okay, fine. I'll sleep. But I'm not getting
under the covers in these clothes."

"Bathroom is through that door."

"Alright. I'll be quick." She
kneeled in front of her luggage and unzipped it, then looked at Dylan and found
him watching her. "Don't look."

"What do you have in there? A whip and
cuffs?"

"Ha-ha." She grabbed her pink tank
top, shorts, and underwear. "I just don't want you to see my lacy bra and
see-through thong, that's all."

Dylan's smile disappeared in a hurry. In its
place was a scowl that made her want to laugh out loud. Ha! Served him right.
She walked over to the bathroom, opened the door and then stopped. "Dylan,
there's another door here. Where does it lead? Not a torture room, I hope."

"No.
That
door leads to my
bedroom."

Just like Dylan, this time, Angel's smile quickly
disappeared. Dylan must have noticed her discomfort, but instead of wiping the
grin off his face, it turned into a deep jovial laugh.

"You don't have to look at me as if I
just tortured your pet. Don't worry. I don't use that bathroom when someone's
staying here."

"Good. I thought for a minute there, a
chance to finally use my skill in karate would come in handy."

"You know karate?"

"No. I just wanted to scare you."
With that, she went into the bathroom and took a quick shower without getting her
hair wet. It didn't take her long before she was back in the bedroom. Dylan was
already sitting on the chair with his legs stretched in front of him. His gaze
was focused on the window, but when she took another step, he turned his head
to look at her. His expression was unreadable. Did he like what he saw or maybe
he'd seen better?