Tender Deception: A Novel of Romance (12 page)

His hand closed over hers. The warmth of his fingers flooded up her arm. In a daze, she looked down at his strong, deeply tanned masculine hand with its clean, neatly trimmed nails and curling dark hairs. She sensed the strength in his fingers and shivered.

They chatted for another half hour, Kirk talking about his ambitions for Jimmy’s band and his plans for Lilly. She felt dazed by the interest he was taking in her and wasn’t sure how to respond.

When it was time to go, he brought her coat from the closet and helped her into it, standing behind her. As her arms slipped into the sleeves, she felt him move closer and draw her against him in a light embrace. His cheek was touching her head. His breath stirred her hair. “Lilly, I have something to ask you.”

Lilly felt confused, unsure of her own emotions at this point.

“It’s rather personal,” he murmured. “I hope you won’t be offended.”

“What—what do you mean?”

“It’s about Jimmy. I gather from what you told me that you were childhood sweethearts....”

“It...was pretty one-sided,” she admitted. “I said I had a crush on Jimmy, but he was three grades ahead of me and popular with the senior girls. I was just a kid who played piano for him.”

“That sounds like Jimmy. But you’ve grown up into a very sexy young lady. He must feel differently about you now.”

“I—I don’t know—”

“What I guess I’m really asking,” he said bluntly, “is, are you Jimmy’s girl?”

“Why do you want to know?” she stammered.

“I have a very good reason. Lilly, I’m very attracted to you. So much so that it’s hard to keep my hands off you. But I’m not the kind to make advances to another man’s girl, especially if she’s involved with my own brother.”

Again he had succeeded in stunning and confusing her. This was the last thing she had expected from Kirk Remington. She tried to assay her emotions. She couldn’t help being flattered. Any woman would sense a deep stirring of her femininity at hearing that she had aroused the interest of such a handsome and fascinating man as Kirk Remington.

But she wasn’t prepared for this. Until tonight, Jimmy LaCross had been the only man to fill her romantic ideal. She had never considered the possibility that she could be drawn to anyone else. And yet, Kirk’s closeness sent quivering shocks through her body that she couldn’t deny.

His low voice near her ear murmured, “I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable. But you can understand my position. I had to speak bluntly.”

She felt her cheeks flush. “I respect you for being such a gentleman. I—I am very fond of Jimmy and have been for a long time. But we’re not involved in any kind of intimate relationship, if that’s what you mean.”

She heard a soft release of his breath, like a sigh of relief. Gently, he turned her to face him. For a long moment, his dark eyes drank deeply from her wide-eyed gaze. She felt herself become weak from the power of his look. She swayed against him.

With a murmur of her name, his lips touched hers. He drew her closer. His kiss became warm.

Then, breathlessly, she pulled away from him. Nervously, avoiding his dangerous gaze, she managed a shaky laugh as she said, “Thank you for a lovely evening, Kirk. But now you’d better take me back to my place.”

“Of course,” he said. “But I expect to be seeing more of you, Lilly...a lot more.”

Later that night, in her bed in the shabby hotel room, Lilly stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. Her lips still burned from Kirk’s kiss. Her body throbbed from his touch. She was both aroused and dismayed. When she thought about Jimmy, tears filled her eyes. She felt that her runaway emotions were making her unfaithful to him. And yet, except for a friendly kiss or two, Jimmy had not shown any serious interest in her.

“Jimmy, please save me from this mess,” she whispered, her tears trickling down to the pillow. “Just fall in love with me and I’ll know what to do.”

Kirk was serious about intending to see a lot more of her. During the following week they had several dates. Because of her evening engagements with the band, they were together only during the day. They had lunches in romantic French Quarter patios surrounded by banana trees and ancient stone walls. Kirk took her for a ride around the bayou countryside and they toured magnificent antebellum plantation mansions. Another day they went for a trip on a Mississippi sightseeing riverboat.

Kirk was treating her with gentlemanly courtesy. He was a sophisticated, urban man who could be devastatingly charming. At times he was witty. He flattered her with gifts of flowers. He had the dangerous ability to make a woman feel as if she were the complete center of his universe. He made no further attempt to kiss her, but the touch of his hand and the expression in his eyes sent her a clear message of his desire for her.

The attention Kirk was giving her did not go unnoticed by Jimmy. When the band finished playing in the early hours one morning, he packed up his horn and walked out of the club holding Lilly’s arm. “Okay if I walk you home?”

“Sure,” she smiled.

“Band sounded great tonight,” Jimmy said as they walked the few blocks to her hotel.

“Better all the time!”

“Thanks to the great little piano player we now have.”

“I’ll bet you say that to all the piano players,” she teased.

“Only the pretty, sexy ones,” he grinned.

She glanced up at him, trying to judge the look he was giving her. Jimmy kidded so much that it wasn’t easy to dig under the banter to understand his true feelings. Was he looking at her in a special way tonight?

They walked through the dimly lit lobby and up the dark stairway of the side street hotel.

“What a dump,” Jimmy muttered. “I hate to think of you living here.”

“I don’t mind. Really. My room has a little balcony that looks out over a courtyard and the rooftops of the Vieux Carré. I love the view.”

“Just the same, I’ll be glad when we can afford to pay you more so you can find a better pad.”

“Listen, if you’re going to live down here in the quarter, you can’t be all that choosy,” she reminded him. “Rents are astronomical, even for dumps like this.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

They had reached her door. She put her key in the lock and turned to tell Jimmy good night.

He was looking at her with a strange expression. “Got a goodnight kiss for an old buddy?” he asked softly.

Her heart suddenly quickened. “You’ll never know until you try, will you?”

He slipped his arms around her waist, looked down at her for a moment, then kissed her. This time it wasn’t a light friendly brush of her lips. His mouth lingered on hers as he drew her closer, pressing her body against his.

Lilly’s arms went around his neck. She held nothing back from her kiss. Her lips parted. She welcomed the seeking quiver of his tongue. The dreams of many years were wrapped up in this moment. A golden haze enveloped her thoughts and emotions.

Finally Jimmy stepped back. “Well, you sure aren’t a little kid any more, are you?”

She smiled, her heart giving a tripping beat. “So you’ve begun to notice?”

He nodded. Then he suddenly scowled. “Apparently my big brother has noticed, too.”

She gave him a puzzled, questioning look.

“I know you’ve been out with him a lot this week.”

“Yes I have.” A sudden, light frown crossed her brow. “Are you jealous, Jimmy? Is that what this is all about?”

“Maybe a little. But more worried than jealous.”

“What do you mean.”

“I mean my big brother is bad news for you, babe.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. In case you hadn’t noticed, he’s a smooth operator. With the bucks he can toss around and all that charm he oozes, a girl doesn’t stand much of a chance if he levels his sights on her.”

“Is that so? Well, I kind of get that impression about the younger brother, too. I’m not blind, Jimmy. I see all the women hanging around the bandstand panting up at the trumpet player!”

Jimmy grinned. “I didn’t mean to hold myself up as any model. I just say watch out for Kirk.”

“Exactly why?”

“In case you forgot, let me remind you that he’s just getting over a busted heart. In fact, I’m not all that sure he’s over it.”

“Oh. You mean the opera singer, Marie Algretto.”

“Exactly. Lilly, I think he’s chasing you on the rebound. He’s lonesome and he needs a woman’s reassurance to rebuild his busted ego. I’m afraid you’re letting yourself in for a big heartache. I don’t like to see it happen to a sweet kid like you. You haven’t been around enough yet to know how to cope with a guy like Kirk.”

Lilly nodded slowly. “I’ve thought about that—”

“You better think about it a whole lot,” Jimmy warned. Then he kissed her again.

This time the kiss lingered even longer. His hands moved over her body, seeking her bosom. He cupped her breasts, caressing and fondling, sending waves of heat through her body.

Finally, breathlessly, she drew back. Her lips felt bruised and swollen. She looked at him, wide-eyed with a kind of desperation to see below the surface of the joking, happy-go-lucky Jimmy LaCross.

“How about you, Jimmy?” she whispered huskily. “Do I have to be afraid of you, too?”

His eyes clouded. He avoided her gaze. “Maybe...”

She clasped his hands in hers, pressing them against her throbbing breasts. “Jimmy, darling, I’ve cared a lot about you for a long, long time. If you asked to come into my room with me now, I wouldn’t say no.”

“Lilly—”

“But hear me out, Jimmy. I have to know if it’s because you really care about me or if it’s because you’ve suddenly become jealous of Kirk. I’m beginning to understand you two. You have something Kirk covets dearly—your musical talent. Now suddenly, Kirk is about to take something that makes you jealous—me. I think there’s some kind of deadly rivalry going on between you two, and I don’t want to be the prize you’re fighting over, no matter how much I care about you.”

Jimmy scowled, his handsome young face becoming sullen. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is it you want me to say, Lilly? That I love you?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe that’s asking too much right now. But I don’t think I can just hop in bed with you on a whim, Jimmy, or because you don’t like Kirk beating your time with me. I have to have some kind of commitment...to know that you really care about me, that I’m not just another cheerleader riding around in your convertible.”

There was a long moment of heavy silence. Lilly felt tears burning her eyes. She looked through them at Jimmy. “I—I don’t guess you do...what you said...love me?” she asked hopefully.

Jimmy scowled again. Making a fist, he pounded softly at her hotel door as if battling with some kind of unseen opponent. “Lilly, I don’t know. I do care about you, but I’m kind of mixed up about it. For a long time, I thought of you as the little, long-legged, freckle-faced kid back home. You know, sort of my kid sister. Then you showed up here, all grown up. A woman. But I still had a kind of big-brother, protective feeling toward you. That’s all mixed up with how I feel about you running around with Kirk. I don’t like to see you get hurt. Maybe I am jealous, too. I don’t know....”

She looked at him thoughtfully, sadly. “I wonder if you will ever love anyone but your horn. She’s your real mistress, isn’t she, Jimmy?”

He gave a helpless shrug. “Lilly, I don’t know much about love, or being totally committed to one woman. Up to now, I’ve gone breezing through life, playing my music, not thinking a heck of a lot about tomorrow or getting too serious about anyone or anything.”

She nodded slowly. “I understand. And I guess I’ve scared you with what I said, like I expect you to change your whole life for me. Maybe that’s a mistake. Maybe I have to make up my mind that if I want you, I’ll have to take my chances.” She smiled ruefully. “Looks like I’m in for a heartache no matter which brother I choose.”

Jimmy nodded, giving her a troubled look. “You might be better off to forget both of us.”

She slowly shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Jimmy,” she sighed.

When he was gone, she moved wearily into her room. She felt physically drained. Her emotions were in tatters. She had dreamed for so many years of Jimmy taking her in his arms and kissing her. But now that it had happened, it was for all the wrong reasons. Instead of being filled with joy, she was sad and confused.

The next time she had a night off from the band, Kirk took her to dinner. Again, he was a charming, attentive escort, greeting her with an armful of lush, red roses.

Over their meal, she thought about the magnetic power of his gaze.
His eyes,
she thought.
I’ve never seen such probing, penetrating eyes.

Later, they went to his apartment again to listen to selections from his vast record collection. Kirk drew her close to him. His dark eyes framed with thick, curved lashes gazed deeply into hers, draining her strength.

It isn’t fair
...a weak voice within her protested.

His lips touched hers, sending a shudder through her body. The pressure of his lips grew stronger, seeking...eager...hungry. Her heart began pounding.