Kiss in the Dark (16 page)

“Shut up,” he said. “You’re all worked up about nothing.” He reached out, slipping one hand beneath her hair to the back of her neck.

Boston was so startled by his touch, she couldn’t speak. She could only stare up into his mesmerizing green eyes. His hand was strong and warm, powerful and reassuring.

“If it freaks you out so much…just kiss in the dark,” he said.

Boston watched as Vance put the heel of his free hand to the light switch. In an instant, the room went black. Boston gasped slightly as she felt Vance’s mouth press to hers in a soft, lingering kiss. Rendered entirely breathless with astonishment, she did not move as he kissed her again, coaxing her lips to part a little.

“Kiss me back,” he mumbled against her mouth, kissing her a third time. “Just let nature take its course, and you’ll be fine,” he said. His mouth was warm and moist against hers. “Instinct is all you need.”

Again he kissed her, one hand still supporting her at the back of her neck, the other powerful arm going around her waist—pulling her body against his—and Boston thought she must be dreaming. Vance was kissing her? It couldn’t be! She had to be dreaming. Yet she wasn’t, and as he continued to kiss her, Boston placed one hand on his cheek, intending to push him away—for she couldn’t possibly allow herself to kiss a man she’d only known a week, a man who was only kissing her to prove a point, whatever it was. Yet she found her hand would not obey her mental command to push him away. Instead, she began to revel in the feel of his strong, whiskery jaw against her palm, awash with a warm sensation of blissful intoxication, unable to deny herself the opportunity to live a dream.

Slowly, alluringly, he kissed her—tutored her in meeting the pleasant demands of his mouth. His skill at toying with her mouth—at drawing a desire from her so thoroughgoing it was nearly frightening—was ethereal! And his kiss—his kiss itself was indescribably wonderful—invigorating—captivating—delicious!

“Vance Nathaniel!” Danielle scolded. “You are going to totally wig her out!”

Vance broke the seal of their lips and released her. Boston opened her eyes as glaring light vanquished the rich, delicious darkness.

“Oh, she’s okay,” he said. He grinned and rather slap-patted her on one cheek. “You see? You’ll do just fine. If you can kiss me, you can kiss anybody. Right?”

Boston nodded—managed to say, “Thanks for the tip.”

“Anytime,” Vance said, winking at her. “They don’t call me Vance Romance for nothing.” He sighed as he reached beyond Boston and opened the apartment door.

“It’s fine,” Boston said. “Really. He cracks me up.” In truth, however, the good doctor, Vance Romance, had entirely freaked her out! She still had goose bumps on her arms and legs—still couldn’t catch her breath! What a kiss! What a kisser! The thought traveled through her mind that Logan West would have to be pretty awesome to push the memory of Vance Nathaniel’s kiss from her mind any time soon.

“Well, when he has a point to prove…he’s gonna prove it no matter what it takes,” Danielle giggled. “I guess he thought you were too worked up over nothing, huh?”

“I guess,” Boston said as she sat down on the arm of the chair nearest the door. She rolled her eyes with self-disgust at the realization that her knees were actually Jell-O—weakened from Vance Nathaniel’s tutoring kiss!

“He’s right, though,” Danielle said. “Now that I think about it, it is easier to kiss someone for the first time when it’s dark.” She frowned, pensive. “That’s weird, isn’t it? Why is that? It’s not like you kiss with your eyes open anyway. So why is it easier when it’s in the dark?”

Boston shrugged. “I don’t know…but he is right.”

“I swear, Vance is, like, totally way smart about things like that. Stuff I would never even think about, he just seems to naturally know.”

“I guess he’s had a lot of…experience…being that he’s Mr. Romance and all,” Boston said. She wondered then if Danielle’s brother held the same high standards where intimacy was concerned as Danielle did. Most likely not, being that he was so hot and gorgeous and attractive and virile. In Boston’s experience, guys like Vance were always promiscuous. Still, she wouldn’t settle on that sure judgment yet. After all, he was Danielle’s brother—she’d just pretend his fiber was of the same stuff as Danielle’s.

Danielle shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s always been pretty picky.” Danielle went to the table, putting the remains of the rotisserie chicken they’d had for dinner in a plastic container. “He used to talk to me about his relationships and stuff…but he’s pretty tight-lipped anymore.” She giggled. “Though…my friend in high school, Trisha Coleman…she once told me Vance completely ruined her! She said nobody ever curled her toes the way Vance did. She swore kissing anyone else was pointless. Of course, she’s married now…so I guess she got over it in the end.” Danielle giggled again. “Vance Romance. What an idiot! I haven’t heard anyone call him that for years.”

She looked through the peephole. Logan West was standing on the doorstep—handsome, charming Logan West. Yet residual Vance Nathaniel goose bumps still covered her arms, the taste of Vance’s kiss causing her mouth to water.

Still, as she walked with Logan to his car, a swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach when her peripheral vision caught sight of Vance’s pickup pulling out of the parking lot. At the mere thought of Vance’s kiss—the memory of the rapturous sensations he’d rained over her in the dark—Boston Rhodes began to wonder. Had Vance Romance and his euphoric kiss in the dark ruined her the same way he’d completely ruined Danielle’s friend so long ago?

Boston smiled at Logan as he buckled her seatbelt for her and winked. She sighed as he slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. She guessed she’d find out soon enough.

Chapter Eight

“So…in the end…there’s only one conclusion,” Boston told Danielle as they sat at the kitchen table later that night.

“So Logan West kissed you, and it fell flat,” Danielle began. “That doesn’t make you a tramp. That just means it wasn’t meant to be—that Logan West, as hot as he looks, as nice and charming and gentlemanly as he is…he’s just not the one.”

Boston sighed. “But…but I had a crush on him forever, Danielle! I encouraged him to ask me out again…and again…and a third time. But all this week, all I wanted was to find an excuse not to go. All week I was wound up because I knew he would try to kiss me again. And I wanted him to kiss me last time, the time Steph ruined it, but by the time tonight came around, I didn’t. So, I’m a tramp. That’s what tramps do…lead men on.”

Again Danielle laughed. “Boston! Tramps do a lot more than lead men on. And where did you come up with the word tramp anyway? Just settle down. Logan West is a nice guy, and he’ll make some girl a nice boyfriend…just not you.” Danielle paused. She wasn’t certain whether she should actually say what she was thinking about saying. An idea had begun to form in her mind—it had been forming for some time. Yet if she were wrong about what she thought she’d read in Boston, the ramifications could be devastating.

Danielle inhaled a deep breath of courage, however, and—feigning a casual demeanor—asked, “You don’t think my brother has anything to do with the fact that you sort of lost interest in Logan, do you?”

“What?” Boston exclaimed. “Pfff,” she breathed, rolling her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Don’t be ridiculous, Danielle. Vance is your brother! That would be…well…just weird.”

Danielle smiled, however. Boston’s reaction—the bright blush on her cheeks—was far too betraying. Vance had more to do with Boston’s sudden disinterest in Logan West than perhaps even Boston realized.

“Well, I had to ask,” Danielle said. “I thought maybe that kiss he laid on you just before you left might have had something to do with it.”

“Danielle Nathaniel!” Boston exclaimed. “What are you trying to do? One minute you’re talking me out of thinking of myself as tramp-ish, and the next minute you’re implying that I am! I mean, it was harmless, that kissing in the dark thing…harmless! Not to say it wasn’t a great kiss…not to say it wasn’t probably the best kiss I’ve ever had…but Vance is your brother, and there’s just something not right about implying I might have lost interest in Logan simply because Vance kissed me! I mean, obviously Vance has a way with women—which on one hand, makes me very suspicious…but on the other hand it was the best kiss I’ve ever had. And what else would anybody expect from a guy like Vance? Right? I mean he’s totally gorgeous…and not just his physicalness. He’s, like, smart too! I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone who can read people the way Vance does—right off he reads them. And he’s very gallant and protective. Look at the way he helped me with Stephanie…even pulled me out of the way before the vase hit me this morning. And of course he’s got a great sense of humor. It’s obvious he and Dempsey will be fast friends for, like, ever. But that doesn’t mean he turned my head from Logan. I probably subconsciously knew Logan wasn’t for me after our first date! Knowing me, I just felt too bad about encouraging him to ask me out…didn’t know how to stop dating him. I mean, even tonight, after Logan kissed me—which was a pretty benign kiss, actually, but made me want to never kiss him again for some reason—even after, when he said he’d call, did I tell him not to? No! Of course not! I said, sure! What an idiot! So now I’ll have to figure out how to put him off or tell him I’m not interested or something, and you know how hard that is for me. And it’s not because of Vance…because, as I said, he’s your brother and that would just be too weird…no matter how handsome and smart and protective and funny and just plain perfect Vance might be. Besides, I’m sure that every woman he comes in contact with feels that way about him. Look at Steph, for instance!” Boston paused—drew a breath at last.

Danielle was still smiling when Boston finally finished her rambling attempt to convince herself that Vance wasn’t the reason Logan West had lost his appeal.

“He’s haunted too,” Boston continued then.

“Logan?” Danielle asked. Yet she already knew Boston wasn’t talking about Logan. Her insides began to tremble with anxiety. Boston was very perceptive—too nice and often a pushover perhaps—but her perceptions concerning people and what pained them was exactly why she was a pushover—too much true empathy.

“Vance,” Boston corrected. “I’m not quite sure what it is. But I think that’s why he runs so much…almost like he’s running from something.” Boston studied Danielle for a moment, and Danielle began to perspire beneath her gaze.

Danielle knew. Boston was convinced that Danielle knew what Vance was running from. She wondered if it was connected with whatever deep, destructive pain Danielle had struggled with the summer they were working at the North Pole.

Still, it wasn’t any of her business. When she’d mentioned it, Danielle’s eyes had lost their merriment, their amused twinkle replaced by trepidation—and Boston wouldn’t press her. To do so would be plain nosy, not to mention disloyal and wrong.

“Anyway,” Boston sighed, “Logan West…he’s not for me.” She giggled. “If for no other reason than his kiss didn’t goose bump me the way Vance’s did. Not that I’m saying I have a thing for Vance or anything…just that he’s a great kisser. I mean, I’ve only known him, like, a week. How pitiful would that be…to let someone you’ve known only a week get into your head like that. Nope, in the end…I’m just a tramp.”

Danielle’s expression brightened, an obvious relief lighting her eyes.

“You’re not a tramp,” Danielle reassured.

“Well, maybe not…but I am tired,” Boston said. “What a weekend, huh? Drama, drama, drama with Steph…nearly killed by a flying vase…”

Boston nodded. “And to top it all off, I only have one Tootsie Pop left. I don’t know when I’ll get over to Mustang to drop in at Sandy’s. I swear I’m going to go through withdrawal.”