Stealing Cupid's Bow (7 page)

“You’re really close to them, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been married?” he asked.

“No, and you?”

“Yes, I have been,” he said.

Surprise washed over her.

He took a sip of his drink and watched her over the rim of his glass, obviously knowing the reaction she would have to that information. He lowered his glass, the corners of his mouth pulled up in amusement.

The waitress returned with her drink and set it on the table in front of her.

“Just put it on my tab,” Alexander said, before Raine could even reach for her purse.

The waitress nodded and walked away.

Raine couldn’t help herself. As soon as the waitress was out of earshot she asked the question that burned on the tip of her tongue. “You? The man who doesn’t believe in love? You were married?”

He grinned and nodded. “Even I have gone down that road.”

“That explains it! That’s why you’re so negative. Don’t you think that you’re a little hypocritical then?”

He shrugged. “At least I know what I’m talking about.”

“And? What happened?” She cringed at her own nosiness. “Sorry, it’s none of my business. You don’t have to tell me.”

“Not at all. I don’t mind. We were divorced eventually, of course.”

Interesting. So he had been in love at one point in his life, which meant he had to have believed in it then. “Do you have any children?”

“A daughter,” he said. “She’s all grown up now. ‘Fools in love’? Isn’t that the expression? It seems accurate to me.”

All grown up? He didn’t look old enough to have an adult daughter. She was likely in her teens at the most from her guesstimation of his age. To Alexander, she probably just seemed grown up.

“It is, but I think that’s one of the funnest parts,” she said.

He seemed to consider it but made no comment, which said a lot.

“Any contact from your ex-boyfriend?” he asked, changing the subject.

Raine frowned into her glass. “None. And I think I’m glad.” In fact, he hadn’t crossed her mind most of the day.

“Well, you look much improved today. Not a tear in sight. But maybe I’d better check before I make hasty assumptions.” He leaned closer to examine her, his brows pulled down in mock-seriousness. His fingertips lightly stroked her cheeks, as if checking for moisture.

The subtle pressure of his hand drew her gaze to him. Her breath caught. The planes of his cheeks and jaw were strong and masculine. His face also had an aquiline nose and a broad, intelligent forehead. The manly features were balanced with eyes that boasted long lashes and lips that had the right amount of fullness. The brush of his fingers on her skin caused blood to rush to her face. What was it about him that aroused her so? She felt all tingly and warm inside, as if she had just downed a brandy. When he finally finished and leaned back into the sofa, she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or desolate.

“No tears,” he concluded. “Good. Someone like him doesn’t deserve them anyway.” He reached over and squeezed her hand, the gesture casual and easy.

Raine wished she could say she felt that way. But at the moment, her insides were knotted up by his very presence and lightest touch. Hopefully it wasn’t obvious how flustered he made her. One thing was certain, sitting here with him made it difficult to connect with the rejection and self-pity from earlier. His full attention was on her, and it felt as though they were in a private room, not surrounded by the noise of a casino. It was plain that he was a very caring man. And it was moving that he would be concerned for her. But it was also felt like a little more than concern. Could they possibly be on a date? A spurt of shyness rose up at the thought.
No. No way
. He was just being nice.

“What about you? What are your parents like?” she blurted.

“You would like them. My mother is a beautiful and loving woman and my father is the strong, warrior type.”

Of course. And he was the perfect blend of the two. “Do they live nearby?”

“No, but I have other family around.”

She glanced around the bar. “So, this must be a pretty normal night for you I’m guessing. This bar must be like your living room.”

He laughed. “Yes, in a way it is. But I also do have a living room.”

“You do?”

“Sure.”

“I guess when you told me you lived here I just envisioned a regular hotel room.” Now she felt silly. Judging from the limo ride, his clothes, and the watch on his wrist, he was well-off and probably had a whole wing of rooms or something.

“No, there’s more. I even have a kitchen, if you can believe it.”

She saw the humor in his eyes and couldn’t resist swatting him on the shoulder.

A smile spread on his lips and he reached out to take her hand. “Have dinner with me.”

Her breath whooshed out in a surprised huff, the request unexpected. “Tonight? It’s already late, I should be getting back.”

“Okay. How about tomorrow night then?” His eyes seemed to glow as he waited for her answer. He rubbed her hand between both of his. “I’m really glad we met on the plane, and I would really like a chance to get to know you better. I know it’s soon, but you’re only in town for a few days, right?”

She nodded, a feeling of elation rising in her chest. So he wasn’t just being nice. He was asking her on a date! Shocking really, that he would want to, after seeing her a blithering, snotty mess. Was it too soon to go on a date? She decided she didn’t care. “All right,” she said, suddenly feeling very warm at the thought of being with him again.

He pulled her from the couch and walked her toward the main lobby, his arm casually draped across her shoulders, pulling her close against his side. On the way, he made a call on his cell phone and instructed someone to have the limo pulled around for her.

She had no choice but to wrap an arm around his slim waist so they would be balanced. Her mind reeled at the contact. Beneath her fingers she could feel the muscles of his side play as they walked. He was taller than she was, making her feel small and protected. But most of all it felt so good to be walking as one with this gorgeous man. A feeling she thought would be gone for a long while as her history with Brad faded from her mind and she found a new love. She resisted the impulse to turn her face to the side and bury it into his chest just soak up his wonderful, clean, enticing scent. They went out the front doors just as the white limo pulled up to the curb.

“Tomorrow then,” he said, drawing back a bit and looking into her eyes.

He seemed to search. And what he was looking for, he must have found, because the light in his eyes changed. It was with certainty that he wrapped his other arm around her, pulled her against his body, and kissed her.

She was instantly helpless against the flood of sensation and pleasure. It blocked out everything and everyone else around them. His had to be the most perfect lips on earth. They captured hers with a skill that took her breath away. Gently and firmly he nibbled and explored without going too deep. Awakened, she began to respond.

It was only natural to wrap her arms around his neck and return the pressure of his lips. But then, as his tongue made gentle, sweeping contact with hers, she was holding onto him for balance, in danger of losing her feet. One arm draped across the strong muscle of his shoulders, her fingers grasping and the other made its way into his thick, blond hair. It was silky and soft, the waves curving around her fingers.

She arced her body against his long and lean form. The heat and the proximity made her feel so sexy, so alive, she didn’t want to stop. His kiss melted all others from her memory. They were pale and two-dimensional compared to this colorful and explosive kiss.

Then he gently drew back and looked into her eyes.

“Until tomorrow,” he said.

“Tomorrow,” she echoed.

He helped her into the limo, closed the door, and stood watching as it drove off.

***

Alexander was surprised. No, more than surprised, he was completely taken off guard. He stood before his floor-to-ceiling living room windows and looked out over the city at the twinkling lights as he contemplated.

In the millennia that he’d lived, he had dallied with many beautiful women. But the kiss he shared with Raine had been a kiss like no other. And this time he was not under the spell of one of his own arrows, as he had been with Psyche. There was a vast difference between them. It was amazing he could still be surprised after living so long on the earth.

His initial feelings of guilt toward Raine had been replaced with curiosity. After making sure she arrived safely home, he couldn’t help wanting to know more about the woman whose heart had been broken as collateral damage. Both her aura and her openness intrigued him. Obviously his attitude about love irritated her. But, he found it oddly pleasant when she sparred back against his opinions. After what had happened to her, he was glad to be the one who could light a fire behind her lovely, dark green eyes.

She seemed to believe with all her heart in love, which was strange. Most people agreed with his point of view. How was it possible that someone raised in this modern world believed, as strongly as she did, in love? Especially after suffering such a betrayal. Normally, people became bitter and guarded after such an episode, but her heart was still open, still believing. She was a conundrum he looked forward to solving.

Initially, it had been an idle thought, to wonder what it would be like to kiss her. Her heart-shaped mouth with its full, pink lips begged for exploration. All through their conversation he’d watched her aura, observing her response to him.

Auras revealed the true feelings behind the things people said. Hers was interesting indeed. The colors correlated perfectly in meaning with her conversation. Nothing had been tempered or hidden. Which was why he didn’t understand why Donovan was still so suspicious of Raine. She seemed to be an open book. He would have to attribute it to Donovan’s protective nature.

Hopefully his actions today with the Sawyer case would appease his men. Several of them had unobtrusively come along just for the enjoyment of watching the true master at work. Bets were laid and the losers had had to pay up, he thought back with amusement.

He was infinitely glad that he’d come up with the idea of training other archers. He hadn’t been sure it would be possible, but mercifully it had. His idea had been born of a desire to no longer be a puppet of the gods. To live his own life. As an unexpected side benefit, the archers were now his family.

Finding the right candidates had been a real challenge. He had searched the world and discovered that demigods were among the best prospects. They lived long enough that he wouldn’t have endless turnover. But still, finding demigods with a talent for reading auras, strong archery skills, and an interest in matchmaking had been frustrating.

It was a small and very specialized list. It wasn’t until he got them together that he realized all the trainees were male and every one of them were descendants of his. Like the other gods, he had his share of illegitimate offspring. He’d researched the genealogy of every last one of them and found that they were, in fact, his family. It seemed that the talent for reading auras, and the power to change human will, was linked to the Y chromosome, something he had never known before. He wondered what Raine would make of it. What would she think of the fact that other men had been put in charge of love just because of a funny little sequence in their DNA that he’d passed down to them? No doubt she would frown at the thought of more men in charge of love. The vision of her frowning amused him.

The majority of the mens’ training took place at the hotel. He’d trained many of them himself and discovered that he really enjoyed teaching. His academy was the reason Las Vegas had such a high number of marriages…and divorces. Together they had created a top matchmaking business for the wealthy. Both men and women.

His men had formed an initiation challenge for new trainees that he found funny. In order to graduate, trainees had to successfully target a celebrity. Whirlwind celebrity marriages became a pattern in Las Vegas as a result, followed by whirlwind divorces, of course. The most famous of these was when Cole had targeted Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander.

His life, at the moment, was really quite satisfying. His business was going great, he had little interference from Mount Olympus and, in his spare time, he hung out with the archers. They were a fun group of men with a great sense of humor. Sometimes they would book a table at a local club or a cabana by the pool. With the fun and excitement in those types of places, the kaleidoscope of auras emanating from people was fascinating to watch.

The thought brought him back to Raine’s aura.

When he’d walked her to the limo, he had slung his arm around her on purpose, trying to get a read on what her reaction to him would be. He could tell earlier that she was experiencing physical reactions to him. All women did. But he wanted to see if she felt anything soul-deep. Nothing solid had revealed itself until they were saying their good-byes.

That’s when he had finally seen it. The color had peeked through as a small flare. It had no name, here on earth, but only women expressed it. It was the beautiful and erotic color of lust for a man, not just with their body, but with their being.

How would Raine look completely lit up with it? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to find out.

It was no surprise to Raine that she had trouble sleeping that night. Finally, at 5:30 a.m., she put on some workout clothes, left her mom a note, and stepped out into the early rays of sunlight to go for a walk. The exercise usually helped her clear her mind, but it could not clear away the butterflies in her stomach when she thought of the kiss.

Her mother had been waiting for her last night when she came back, dying for the details. As usual, they settled in with some tea and goodies from the cookie jar. Chocolate macaroons this time, her favorite. Although she tried not to get too excited when telling the story, she could feel herself light up. And while her mother shared in her excitement, Raine couldn’t help but notice the sad glint to her eyes.