She started to play a piece he recognized from one of her early albums. It was a particular favorite of his and he sat quietly while she played it just for him. It wasn’t a long, or complicated piece, so it was over all too soon, but he would cherish the memory of that impromptu entertainment for years to come.
She looked sideways at him. “That was just a warm-up.”
She really was going to play a new piece. Again just for him. Her fingers danced across the keys, coaxing gorgeous sounds from the Steinway and he knew this new CD would be one of her best yet.
When she finished she looked up at him and smiled. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”
He didn’t know if she meant the piano or the piece, but he said, “Yes,” to both. “Thank you.” He looked down at her, hard pressed to refrain from following his gratitude with a kiss.
She tilted her head back and met his gaze, her amber eyes glowing with joy from the music and something he could not define. “You are welcome. That was the first time I’ve ever played in a public place and enjoyed it.”
The showroom wasn’t exactly a concert hall, but he was proud of her for keeping her end of the bargain all the same. “Glad to be of service.”
“You make me feel safe.”
He was lost for words.
She blushed and ducked her head. “Isn’t it about time we got back for lunch?”
“I’m sure it is.” He tipped her face up so their eyes met. The moment was too profound to ignore. “Thank you.”
“I …”
“I have rarely in my life been as honored as I am by your trust in me.” His head tilted forward of its own volition.
She let out a soft puff of air. “Are you going to kiss me again?”
“Not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“We are friends.”
“And friends cannot kiss.” She smiled and pulled her chin from his hand, clearly trying to lighten the atmosphere between them.
He would do his part. “I have never kissed Zephyr.”
“Liar.”
That made him reel back. “I have never kissed a man.”
“That whole kissing on the cheek thing you Greek guys do? What’s that?”
“Oh.” Heat climbed the cheeks she mentioned. “That is not the same.” At all.
“No, but it’s still a kiss.”
“You are walking a dangerous path, pethi mou.”
“Pethi mou?”
“Little one.” His little one, but he didn’t need to tell her that bit.
“I’m not that little.”
“Compared to me?”
“You’re just oversized.”
“I thought that was my ego.”
“O-ho, so you have perturbed a girlfriend, or two.”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend, but yes, more than one pillow-mate has remarked that I have a rather healthy ego.”
“I’ll bet.”
“I will tell you what I tell them—it is deserved.”
“And do they agree?”
“Naturally.”
She bit her lip, looking away from him, that adorable expression he could easily become addicted to on her features. He liked Cassandra Baker shy. He wondered if he should tell her.
Not everyone thought she had to perform publicly to be valuable.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend, either,” she whispered, breaking in to his thoughts.
“Never?” That should not have shocked him, but it did. He had guessed she was a virgin, but to be wholly innocent of male-female games? He could not imagine it.
“Urn … no.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine. I’m a real freak, aren’t I?”
“What?” He grabbed her shoulders and made her meet his eyes by sheer force of will. When her amber gaze was looking into his, he said, “You are precious, but are you saying this morning was your first kiss?”
“Well, actually, um … yes.”
Oh, hell, didn’t his libido just love that? “I wish I’d known.”
“Why?”
“I would have made it special.”
“It felt pretty special to me.”
“It could have been better.”
“How?”
“It’s not something I can explain with words.”
“Novelists do.”
“I’m a businessman, not a writer. I’ll have to show you.”
“Here?” she squeaked.
“Yes.” He covered her lips with his before she could get another query out.
Gently. More carefully than he had ever kissed another woman. Even his first time. But damn. The knowledge no other man had done this battered at his vaunted selfcontrol. However, he would not give in to the mouth-ravaging his own desires demanded.
Her lips tasted every bit as good as they had that morning, but the knowledge they were his and no one else’s added a sweetness he had never once thought to experience. A sweetness so real, he could taste it as certainly as he did the unique flavor of Cassandra’s delicious mouth.
Of their own volition, his arms slid around her, pulling her so close their body heat mixed. She felt right in his arms. Too right. Like she fit exactly as if she had been made to be held exactly as he held her.
He refused to dwell on that sensation of rightness, choosing instead to enjoy this anomalous moment in time. His tongue swept through her mouth, claiming her as only he had ever done.
His body demanded he claim her in other ways. Thankfully they were in a semipublic setting, or he might not have had the strength to deny himself.
This being friends with a woman was harder than he had ever expected it to be.
Her slender fingers tunneled into his hair, short-circuiting rational thought. Cassandra kissed him back with an unfettered sensuality he knew would be a joy between the sheets.
She had never kissed another man, but she knew exactly how to tease his tongue into her mouth. Her feminine instincts were rock solid as she dueled with his tongue while making whimpering sounds of need that drove his libido through the roof and beyond.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
He was seriously considering pulling her under the piano and away from prying eyes when the sound of a near tortured squawk had him yanking his head back.
He reared up and looked around only to see that the door to their soundproof room stood open. The salesman must have thought to speak to them only to get an eyeful when he opened the door.
Through the doorway, Neo could see a young boy blowing determinedly into a clarinet. The source of the awful noise. The child’s mother was staring at Neo and Cassandra with a sappy expression that had Neo jumping off the piano bench.
That woman’s look screamed, “Romance … isn’t that sweet?” He didn’t do romance. Not even