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“Hmph. The guy could’ve used time in the ER himself—he looked ready to pass out.” Brody smiled. “I think he did when Cube got there.”
“What kind of idiot do you think I am? You believe I’d intentionally overlook the risk and put her in danger?”
Brody leaned forward, clasping his hands against the top of the table. “No. I don’t think that, and neither did her last two acquaintances—but it happened.” His voice softened. “What I’m saying is that in spite of best intentions, I don’t know a man alive who could take it slow and easy with a woman like that.”
Therin’s words had failed then and he offered no argument.
Brody regarded him for a moment before he stood. “I’d appreciate you not mentioning our chat with Kianti. She’d kill us slow if she knew we’d talked to you.”
When silence met his request, Brody sighed and left the table.
The waiter returned to clear the dishes, noticed the harsh look Therin wore and decided to return once the table was vacant.
Therin stared unseeingly past the windows and wondered if it was too late to shut down emotion and back off from Kianti Lawrence. A host of responses filtered his brain—all of them telling him he was already hopelessly beyond the point of no return. He had never opened himself up to such a rush of emotion. In spite of the many women he’d known before, he’d never wanted to open himself up to such emotion. His fate was sealed, he knew it and he’d passed the point of caring.
He felt the phone vibrate in his jean pocket and quickly checked to see if it was her. The sight of Vaughn’s name on the faceplate brought a frown to his face and he pushed the phone back into his pocket. He remained at the table for another half hour.
Chapter 9
The final phrase of the adagio silenced in the screened porch overlooking the sea. Kianti kept her second Baby Grand there and used that area for creating the bulk of her original pieces. After Therin’s sudden departure earlier that morning, she’d showered and headed out to the porch to…test herself.
The fact that her activities with Therin Rucker hadn’t kept her passed out in bed for the remainder of the day gave her hope that change might be on the horizon. She spent the next two hours working at the piano and felt stronger instead of exhausted.
When the rush of ocean waves filled the area with sound, Kianti closed her eyes and wondered if she was lying to herself. To prove or rather disprove it, she set out to focus—attempting to lock in on any sign of weakness or overexertion. She felt nothing negative and prayed the lilt of excitement beneath her breast would be the first of many.
She wouldn’t push it, she promised herself and scanned the row of piano keys beneath her fingertips. Hmph, she thought. It’d be damned impossible to keep that vow, especially now.
She’d never done anything so bold as to go without the medication she’d taken since childhood. The possibility of success looming near was something she wanted to eagerly embrace instead of approach with caution.
The touch of fingers between her shoulder blades, left bare by the low back of the mosaic-print lounge robe, stirred another excited lilt below her breast. The incredible cologne Therin wore drifted past her nose and set her mind on memories of their erotic evening together.
“Play something for me,” he asked, settling next to her on the long gray cushioned bench.
After a moment’s thought to the piece she wanted, Kianti obliged. Her performance was admirable considering her true focus rested on what his hands and mouth were doing to her. They moved slowly, but with a definite purpose as his fingers strummed their own tune along her spine. One hand circled her waist in search of a front opening to the robe.
Kianti gave herself up to the sensation of the moment. Closing her eyes, she allowed it to overwhelm her.
“Keep playing for me,” he taunted when her fingers fumbled over the keys.
Mercilessly, he caressed her to distraction. Kianti’s fingers faltered more as the piece neared closing. She gave in to the need swelling within her. Therin was weighing a breast while his thumb brushed the nipple with a touch so light it may have been imagined. She practically sizzled beneath it. Her head fell back against his shoulder as the notes silenced.
“Don’t stop…” she urged when his touch traveled her thighs—higher until he was stroking her with a rich intensity that had her arching shamelessly against him. “Mmm…” She bit her lip on the sensation his middle finger evoked as it rotated deep inside her.
Therin nibbled her earlobe then and subjected her to a triple caress that had her turning into his arms moments later. Without effort, he scooped her petite form across his lap. He made her straddle him as he kissed her. Kianti locked her arms about his neck and drove her tongue hungrily against his. She shivered again feeling the air touch her bare skin when he tugged the robe from her shoulders.
