Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 (4 page)

“It’s addressed to the Customer Service
Director? Cumberland Electronics?” He glanced at the flyer, each
statement a question, as if he were asking for confirmation.
“Advertising a seminar on revenue recognition for the marketing
professional?”

Revenue recognition for dummies. It was hers.
Particularly the dummy part. She’d shoved the pamphlet in the
outside pocket of her briefcase just before she left. Only a couple
of weeks away, if she wanted to register, she had to do it ASAP,
and she’d never get around to filling out the form at work. She
must have knocked the brochure loose.

She never should have read that self-defense
book. Now everything seemed suspect. She recognized the pamphlet as
a possible technique he employed to put her at ease.

She didn’t have any creepy-crawly sensation
telling her to run away. Exactly the opposite, in fact. “Thank
you.”

He kept his hands in the air like a cornered
bandit. “I really am sorry for scaring you. Let me introduce
myself. My name’s Burn Daniels, and I’m on the fifteenth floor.
Daniels Associates. Just moved in about a month ago. Maybe you saw
them adding the name to the directory in the lobby.”

She hadn’t noticed anything on the directory.
She’d only noticed
him
on the elevator. She’d been
fantasizing about him for the last two weeks, dreaming about a pair
of jade eyes.

Burn. A very apt name. He certainly had the
potential to set her on fire. The less intelligent part of her
brain wanted him to burn her up right here, a need that seemed to
consume her. But she had to be sensible.

“Here, let me show you my driver’s license to
prove who I am.” He slowly lowered a hand to sweep aside his suit
jacket and pull his wallet from his back pocket.

She really must have acted like a weirdo,
charging through the garage, making him think she was terrified
he’d jump her at any moment.

“And here’s my rotary club card. And a
picture of my mother.”

She couldn’t see that far, so she couldn’t
read his name, or make out much of his mother’s face, but he didn’t
step closer.

“She lives up north in my hometown of
Freedom, and I visit her every month.” He flipped to another
picture. “There’s my two brothers and my sister. She’s got two
boys, a husband, and a dog. She’s a psychologist, and she’ll attest
to the fact that I’m not a crazy maniac.” He raised a brow. “At
least I think she will.”

At that point, she almost threw her hands up
in surrender. “All right, already.” She hadn’t been
that
afraid.

He smiled. A transforming smile. From
primeval, dangerous predator—sort of—to happy go-lucky little boy.
“Don’t you want to know how old my nephews are?” He was teasing
her, probably had been from the moment he opened his wallet.

“I’d rather know how many credit cards you
have and whether you pay off your full balance every month.”

He laughed. “Three and yes. I’m forty-three,
unmarried, and I own my own home.”

Unmarried? As in never married, or divorced?
Or widowed. Well, if he was a stalker or a serial killer or a
rapist, he had her cornered in the face of that open smile. It made
her quite warm. “Quick, what kind of dog does your sister have and
what’s its name?”

“Irish setter-lab-mutt-mix, and his name is
Roark.”

“Roark? Like the guy in the JD Robb
books.”

He glanced down at the concrete as if the
name was somehow embarrassing. “No. It was my idea, after Ayn
Rand’s hero in her book
The Fountainhead
.”

“Oh.”

“Ever read it?”

“No.” She hated to squash his almost childish
excitement. She’d never even heard of the book. But he really
was...arresting. And so very appealing. And she didn’t give a damn
what any security expert would say about that. “Look, I’m sorry
about what just happened. I know you probably think I overreacted.”
She felt like a complete idiot.

He shook his head. “A woman alone can’t be
too careful.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

He slid the seminar pamphlet across the
trunk, closer to her. “Don’t forget this.”

She eased forward, snatched it up, and shoved
it into her briefcase.

“I’d like to buy you a drink to make up for
causing the trouble.”

She wanted that drink, and she wanted a lot
more, but her embarrassment overruled desire. She didn’t want him
to suspect that she’d been having hot and heavy fantasies about him
for two weeks. One should never consider turning fantasy into
reality. That only led to disappointment.

“Thanks,” she said politely, “but I’ll pass
on the drink. My sister’s waiting at home. If I’m late, she’ll
worry.” She glanced at her watch pointedly. She hoped to God Toni
wasn’t
waiting at home. Overtired and her head starting to
ache with the ridiculousness of the situation, she longed for a
bubble bath and a glass of wine.

He took two steps to the left. Presumably
towards his car. “Perhaps another time then. I want to make it up
to you.”

Her smile so wide her face felt near to
cracking, she said, “It’s not necessary. Gotta go. Bye-bye.”

She used his preoccupation with putting away
his wallet to unlock her car and climb in.

If she wasn’t afraid he was still watching,
she’d have banged her head against the steering wheel. The whole
episode had been silly. Not to mention awkward, embarrassing, and
humiliating.

She would
not
feel stupid. Just as
he’d said, a woman alone couldn’t be too careful.

Yet she wondered if she’d missed her one and
only chance to find out if reality could actually be better than
fantasy.

* * * * *

That went well. Bern quirked his mouth in a
self-deprecating smile. He stayed in the otherwise empty garage
until his mystery woman had started her car, backed out, and her
taillights disappeared around the corner.

I carry my mother’s picture in my wallet,
visit her once a month, and I named my sister’s dog Roark.

Yeah. A stellar introduction.

Though she had eased up in the end, he truly
hadn’t meant to frighten her. He simply hadn’t wanted her to get
away from him. The rest had been self-defense against that
wide-eyed stare he’d evoked. He didn’t make it standard procedure
to cite his vital statistics before he learned a woman’s name.
Great first impression.

And he still didn’t know her name. After
scaring her half to death, he opted for supplying information
rather than asking questions.

Why was she so important to him that he
risked acting the fool for her?

He could ask why all he wanted. Actions told
the story. He saw, he wanted, he acted. He’d never before felt such
a strong reaction to a woman, and he knew he never would again.

An odd sensation spread from his gut to his
extremities. From the moment he’d seen her, his belly had clenched
with a need so strong he couldn’t deny it. It went beyond the mere
physical to something that stole through his organs, seeped into
his brain, and wrapped itself around his heart. Could Jake actually
be correct, that souls traveled together and met again in different
lives?

It didn’t matter. He’d found her, and he
would win her over.

Chapter Four

Toni parked her car on the street and let
herself into Livie’s condo on the fifth floor of the building. Toni
preferred apartment living, where she could pick up and move
whenever it suited her. But Livie liked roots and ownership, even
if it was a tiny condo in a big complex in Belmont.

What a day. She felt like crap, and she
looked like last month’s leftovers.

Where was Livie? It was after nine. Toni
threw her overnight bag on the bed, hung up tomorrow’s skirt and
sweater so they wouldn’t wrinkle, tossed the stuff she’d borrowed
this morning in the hamper, then set her cosmetics out on the
counter in Livie’s bathroom. Her sister used the cheap stuff, which
couldn’t be good for her skin.

Livie was pretty, but, without a conceited
bone in her body, Toni knew she was prettier. It wasn’t conceit to
admit to better bone structure and curvier curves. She also knew
how to best enhance what God gave her. Her hair, for instance, was
a honey-gold which went much better with her coloring than plain
old reddish-brown. Livie should live a little and dye a little. Not
to mention that contact lenses changed muddy irises to a brilliant
jungle green, or anything else a girl wanted. What the heck, Livie
was Livie. She didn’t care much about her appearance as long she
was considered neat and professional. She would never have
purchased that short dress and hot pink blazer she’d worn this
morning if Toni hadn’t goaded her into buying it months ago. It
still had the tags, for God’s sake.

Now, what would Livie have in the
refrigerator besides low-fat yogurt and fruit? Toni was starving.
She hadn’t been able to eat all day over that terrible episode with
Reese. She’d picked up the phone a thousand times to call him, but
really, a man had to learn how to crawl a little when he’d made a
mistake, especially since he hadn’t answered any of her messages
from yesterday. She wasn’t done with him yet. She knew the man had
huge potential in bed, and she would make sure she got him there.
Oh yeah, she’d make him beg first, but she’d definitely take him
back when she felt he’d shown the proper contrition.

A key jiggled in the front door.

Livie already had her jacket off and folded
over her arm. She’d dropped her keys on the entry table and set her
briefcase and purse on the floor before she saw Toni standing in
the kitchen doorway.

“Hey.” After a moment’s pause and not a
single expression on her face, Livie headed into the living room, a
shopping bag dangling from her fingers. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah.” Toni shrugged and leaned against the
wall. “I didn’t want to be alone. You don’t mind, do you?”

Livie draped her jacket over the back of the
sofa without turning around. “Of course not.”

She probably did, but Livie wouldn’t say.
Which was usually a good thing for Toni. She got away with murder
if she acted first and asked later. “What’s in the bag?”

“A book. I ran out of things to read.” Livie
pulled it out, set it on the coffee table, and wadded up the
bag.

“What is it?”

“
The Fountainhead.
” She examined the
receipt in her hand. “Someone at work mentioned it, and I’ve never
read it. It’s some sort of classic written in the forties.”

Sounded boring. Weird that Livie was late
because she’d stopped to buy a book. Ah, but Livie loved to read in
the tub. It relaxed her. Tonight, though, she had Toni to entertain
instead. What fun for them both.

“Did you eat?” Livie slipped past her into
the kitchen and bent to peer into the refrigerator.

“I was hoping you’d feed me.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Livie answered without
turning.

“Then what have you got?”

Shuffling a few things around, Livie surveyed
the contents. “How about scrambled eggs on toast?”

Great comfort food. Their mom used to
scramble eggs on cold winter nights when Dad was out of town. They
got to eat in front of the TV and stay up an hour later than usual.
Of course, there’d be a ton of carbs in the toast. Comfort, carbs,
comfort, carbs? Comfort won. “Yeah. That sounds great.”

Livie put the eggs on the counter, then
pulled out bread, margarine and milk. From the drawer beneath the
oven, she retrieved a frying pan and set it on the stove. “I’ll
change, then start dinner.”

“You want me to break the eggs or
anything?”

“No, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks, Livie, you’re great.”

Livie smiled and patted Toni’s cheek as she
passed, grabbed her discarded jacket, and headed into the
bedroom.

Yeah, Livie was great. And guilt was a
beautiful emotion. Hmm, was it actually an emotion? Whatever. Livie
had it in spades, and Toni didn’t mind playing on that guilt when
she really, really needed to. She deserved a little payback after
the terrible things her sister had done to her.

* * * * *

Bern sat in front of his computer, his search
engine blinking at him.

The flyer had been addressed to Cumberland
Electronics. With just a few keystrokes, he could likely find out
what he needed to know on the company website. If she was at the
director level, her name would be listed somewhere.

If the woman had been a business quarry, he
wouldn’t have hesitated to arm himself with Internet knowledge. But
she wasn’t his quarry and his pursuit of her wasn’t a campaign. One
was considered good business sense; the other was a violation of
her privacy. Christ, he’d already violated her privacy beyond any
normal limits by watching her as closely as he had.

His desire for her was beyond sense and
reason. But he would not,
could
not resort to looking her up
as if he were a nut job. He was sane. He knew right from wrong.

He clicked the shutdown icon before his
common sense lost control to his base instincts. Those baser
instincts, however, got to him once he allowed himself to fantasize
about her as he lay in bed. Taking himself in hand, he dreamed of
finding her alone in the elevator, lifting the hem of her polka-dot
dress, taking her hard and fast against the wall.

Yet physical relief wasn’t enough. He
wouldn’t find satisfaction until he had her in his life.

* * * * *

Toni slept like an innocent baby while Livie
dreamed bad dreams. After waking in terror once again, she couldn’t
get back to sleep. She’d tossed and turned and reached a sort of
sleepy half-daze in which Burn Daniels lifted her dress and made
love to her up against the wall in an empty elevator. The ding of
the doors opening had jerked her back to complete wakefulness.