We're One (5 page)

“You’d do that for me? Thanks, but you don’t have to. I’m not scared of Arnie or anyone. I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, right! With Daisy and the boys to help you. Maybe sic Olive on him, if he starts pounding on you. Come on—he’s a killer, Crystal, and one more body won’t make a lot of difference to the lowlife bastard.”

“Stop overreacting. I can take care of myself. Now leave, or I’ll call security.”

How could she let him get involved with her, if the danger emerged as he predicted? She’d be putting both their lives on the line, and she refused to go there. Bad enough she’d need to watch her own back; didn’t need the extra worry of watching his, also.

The disbelief on his face would be comical, if not for the grief so clearly visible. She’d hurt his feelings again. Damn! Why did he keep forcing her into these situations? It pained her when she saw the wounded look in his eyes, but didn’t the dang fool realize she couldn’t risk the danger rolling over him also? Let’s face it, he’d never asked for her help; she’d made the decision to be involved, all on her own.

“Leave! Now!” She pointed to the door and turned her back.

His hands clutched his hips on both sides. She watched him in the mirror and got the distinct impression he did that to keep from winding them around her throat. She bent her head to hide the forming grin.

He turned in time to catch it, and his expression hardened.

“I’ll be at your place tomorrow morning to pick you up. Pack, because we’re going on a trip. I mean it, Crystal. You know I won’t leave this alone. If you won’t let me protect you in Vegas, then we’re leaving town. I’ll be there first thing. You have my card. And if you need me for any reason at all tonight, you call, and I’ll be minutes away. Got it?” He whispered to the back of her head. “Please call me, Crystal. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you because you helped a friend in need. Promise me.” His voice resonated with an honest passion she had no power against.

“I’ll think about it,” she muttered, but still kept her head turned away from him. She stared down at her hands scrunched together.

He waited. She’d turn to him soon. He silently demanded it.

She didn’t.

He sighed loudly, and repeated, “In the morning. Early!” He left, closing the door with an audible snap behind him.

Before she sat down she let out the breath she’d locked in her throat. God, he was hard to resist. She’d never found it this tough before. From the time she’d promised herself that no man would mean more than a good friend, she’d never questioned that decision until today. Could any man have enough sensitivity to understand her foibles, love her anyway, and respect her heart’s rash choices? She couldn’t take the chance.

The knocking on the door heralded Joey. His one-two, one-two-three let her know to open up for her boss.

“Hey, Joey. How did you like the show tonight? I thought it went pretty well, especially with a full house.”

“Missy! What the hell have you gotten yourself into now? I can’t leave you alone for two minutes, and you get in trouble. How many times I tell you—keep a low profile. Huh? It’s for your own good...”

“Hold it! What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything wrong. What’re you yelling for?”

“Arnie! That’s what! He found out it was you in the alley last night. You, with a bat, for Christ’s sake! What were ya thinking of?”

“Quit screaming at me, and back off.” In his fury, Joey had advanced towards her, and she’d run out of room. She pushed against his fancy pink sports jacket. He stumbled backwards, out of her personal space. “You were beating the hell out of some guy, three of you! That’s fair? You should be ashamed, all of you.”

“The only shame I can think of is how your boyfriend Ash Parks is gonna look after Arnie gets through with him.”

“What are you talking about? He never hit Arnie. I did.”

“Yeah, well, Arnie came to me after he’d found out who the culprit was, and I talked him outta hurting you. Told him the boss would kill him if he touched a hair on the head of our newest star attraction, but he’s so mad, he’s decided if he can’t hurt you, he’ll settle for killin’ Parks.”

“My God, Joey, you have to stop him! Talk to him.”

“I’ve talked till I’m blue in the face. There’s no getting through to the stubborn, freaky moron. He’s got a one-track mind, and it’s on revenge—pure and simple. I can’t warn Ash, but you can. If Arnie sees me going over there or talking to Parks, I’m as good as dead myself. You call him and warn him. Talk him into skipping town until the idiot calms down.”

“He won’t go unless I go with him. He came earlier. Wanted me to leave with him tomorrow morning. Said he’d be picking me up, and whether or not I ‘want’ to go didn’t appear to matter at all.”

“Aw! No! Not you! You can’t leave...”

“I’ll have to take time off, or he won’t go anywhere. He feels responsible for what happened, and he’ll never leave me alone here with Arnie.”

“What about me? What’ll I tell the boss? Dammit, what about the act?”

“You can stuff the act. There’ll be no act ever again if anything or anyone hurts Ash. You got that?!” She struck quickly. Her hands wringing his tie choked him, emphasising her seriousness. She saw exactly when the look in her eyes convinced him she meant what she said.

“Aw, honey bunch, calm down. We’ll warn him, and he’ll lay low for a while. Things’ll die down, I promise.” He patted her shoulders and tried to extract his twenty-five-dollar silk tie from her clutching fingers.

A man’s dumb answer or a dumb man’s answer, it made no difference. It was the wrong answer! She tightened her hold. “You idiot! Listen closely. I swear! I’ll never work for you again if anything happens to Ash Parks.” The words, spoken slowly and succinctly, got through.

The redness in his features hinted at his discomfort, but the sorrowful look scrawled across his face confirmed his acceptance. She meant business.

“Okay! Okay!” Pathetic defiance, since she knew she had him convinced. They both understood his recent success was due to Crystal for producing her hit show. He recognized talent; he had a nose for it. Joey might come across to some as a weak, unimaginative character, but his street smarts and savvy ways flourished in the high-end job as manager of operations in the hotel. She didn’t like the lowlife mobsters he worked for, but Joey treated her with respect, and that went a long way with her.

She let him go, turned away, and wrapped her hands around opposite arms. Uneasily, he patted her back.

“Remember, I gave you a job when no one else would. Don’tcha forget that. There you were, with one suitcase, a curly blonde ponytail halfway down your back, legs that wouldn’t stop, and a rotten attitude. I helped you then, didn’t I? I found you.”

“Oh, stow it, Joey. I came for a job as a waitress, and you needed a girl for the show. My mistake in dressing in the wrong costume and ending up on stage just happened. Having the microphone jabbed into my face just happened. Me remembering the words to the number just happened. But the audience’s positive reaction was luck, pure and simple.”

“Ya won’t give me any credit for knowing a good thing when I see it? You’re a mean one, right down to your silver-toed slippers, baby. Ya know that?”

“Yeah! Yeah! I’m a meanie, but I’m serious as a tornado, Joey. If you want the Ice Princess to ever again grace your stage, you’d better do everything to keep that man safe.”

“Okay, already! Go away with him. Just keep me in the picture. Is that too much to ask?”

“You got it.” She patted his cheek and pushed him out the door, closing it against his backside. Quickly she opened it again and ordered. “Get security to stop Ash before he leaves, and send him back here. I want him where I can see him until we get out of town.”

“Right!” He grabbed at the mobile phone attached to his belt under his suave jacket and dialled the number. Mumbled words answered, and he replied. “Stop Ash Parks from leaving the building. Tell him to return to Crystal’s dressing room. And let me know where Arnie is. I want someone watching him at all times.”

Crystal’s panicky mind was in turmoil from mixed emotions. But one thing was definitely clear. She needed to keep Ash near her at all costs. It was the only way she’d be assured of his safety. If anything happened to him because of her screwy protective instincts, she’d never forgive herself. Ever!

When he arrived, the pleasure flashing in his shiny-blue sparklers had her hesitating for a minute, but she accepted that the situation had moved out of her hands. Now she had no choice, even if it meant leading him on with false expectations. She’d have to deal with that situation if or when it came up. New priorities overrode her personal space issues. Keeping Ash safe, away from Arnie and unaware that he’d become the intended victim, was foremost. Concern over fostering a wrong impression in his soft head about her sentiments had to come in second.

“I’ve thought things over and decided you’re right. I’ll come with you. I just talked to Joey and told him I was the batboy, and he suggests we get out of town as soon as we can. He figures since Arnie’s close to finding out where I live, he’ll come calling sooner or later. We need to be far away by then.”

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. I’d pretty well decided guarding your hallway would be my plan for tonight, and let me tell you, I didn’t look forward to it one little bit.”

“You’d do that for me?” Her voice turned husky. The widened grey eyes glistened. Her top teeth bit down on her trembly bottom lip. She swallowed and looked away.

His hand reached out to smooth her flyaway curls. “I’d do anything for you, sweet girl.”

Too emotional to reply, she leaned her forehead on his chest, a transfer of control more telling than she knew.

“First, we go to your place to grab Daisy and the gang, plus the rest of your zoo. You can pack a bag, and we’ll go back to my penthouse at the Parks...”

“You wouldn’t mind? About the animals, I mean?” Astonishment rang in her voice. She moved a step back to read his expression, disbelief entwined with hope etched on hers.

“What do you take me for? Of course we have to save them. If Arnie gets into your place, and I have no doubt he will, there’s no knowing what he’d do to the brood. We don’t have a choice, do we? Now there’s a good girl. Organize the stuff you need from here, and let’s move. I’ll have one of my staff cover us during the rescue mission. He can give us a heads-up if Arnie shows his face anywhere near your place.”

The childish kisses she plastered over his face shocked him into freezing, but only for a minute. Not being a total fool, he took advantage of her affectionate display and sealed his lips to hers in earnest. His moaning unravelled her indifference.

She stopped trying to pull away, and held still for him to do what he wanted to her, a first for her. Putting her trust in the actions of another person, especially a male person, had never happened previously.

All the time his lips moved gently, searching for a response, she watched him. His lashes curled on his cheeks, and the pained expression she saw from her rather close vantage point made her sigh. He obviously took that as a sign of enjoyment, as he gathered her more firmly in his arms, and notched up the pressure of his tongue against her closed lips. When he growled with annoyance, she couldn’t help herself. She smiled. It was all the entry he needed. His tongue rubbed against her open lips and stimulated, coaxing hers to meet with his in this playfulness. She had to follow, had to see where he’d lead—curiosity and fascination gripped her almost as tightly as he did.

Oh, God! It was fantastic. When he sucked at her lips, she fell in love with kissing, when he rubbed against her body she fell in love with his maleness, but when he put his hands on her, she fell in love with surrender.

Pliant and willing, she tantalized with her mouth, wanting more. Her eyes drifted shut as her blood congealed to the consistency of jelly. His waist fit her clutching arms perfectly, a hold fated to keep him locked close while her sleeping e-zones came to life.

He tore out of her embrace, breathing hard. “Damn it all to hell, we don’t have time for this right now. I don’t want that ape getting within ten feet of you. We have to leave now. But trust me, sweet baby, we’ll pick up where we left off as soon as I know you’re safe.”

It took a few moments for her heavy, languid eyelids to unplaster themselves from her cheeks. His shaking snapped her out of the groove, and she hurried to do his bidding.

With the Parks security called in to play bodyguards, they cautiously made their way to her apartment, where he collected the paraphernalia for the cats, birds and turtle, and she stuffed a bag for herself. Before the door closed she reached behind it and grabbed her best friend, the slugger, and hefted it under her arm.

Her human protector might have need of her old wooden standby. She wasn’t about to take any chances with that man’s health.

Not as long as those incredible lips were attached to his body.

She needed to keep him safe.

She wanted more of his special brand of magic.

“What is wrong with you? Why are you being so hard to get along with?” Her temper ignited slowly, even when pushed, but if and when it caught, look out. She could feel the eruption coming.

“I don’t understand why we couldn’t stay at my penthouse. Why you’ve dragged us to this dumpy motel. I don’t like sleeping in bug-infested beds in rundown dumps or dealing with smirky-faced desk clerks. He stared at you as if you were a Dixie cup full of his favourite ice cream, for heaven’s sake.”