Brand and Carter moved to the back, settling into plush chairs, and the driver climbed into the front seat. After closing the doors, he started the engine and let it idle for a short while before pulling away.
Rose glanced around the inside in surprise. This was it? Just the four of them? "Are we the only ones riding on this bus?" Obviously discomfited, Sequoia nodded. "The rest of the crew are riding on the second bus." Rose grimaced. "Because Brand doesn"t want me talking to them." He really was doing all he could to place obstacles in her path. As it was, she couldn"t hear him and Carter talking in the rear of the bus.
"You can"t expect him to make it easy for you."
"I don"t." He"d already been more cooperative than she deserved, even with this stupid deal. Not using her magic was difficult, but she"d existed the first thirteen years of her life without it. Surely she could do so again-at least for a short while.
However, her growling stomach reminded her how nice it would be to produce something to eat. Once again, she hadn"t allowed enough time to purchase anything for breakfast. She was going to have to set her alarm two hours earlier at this rate.
On top of that, after Ewan"s sudden appearance the previous night she"d forgotten to eat dinner as well. Rose turned to Sequoia, eager to discuss her unwelcome visitor. "You"ll never guess what happened to me last night."
"You actually sat through an entire TV program."
Rose gave her cousin a wry smile. "I had a visit from one of the Fae. I came out of the shower and found this man in my room."
"My G.o.d, weren"t you scared?"
"For a moment, but he immediately started telling me I had to go with him to the magical realm and live there. As if."
Sequoia hesitated. "So, he was Fae? From the magical realm? How exciting. It wouldn"t hurt to see the place, Rose. You might like it."
"No way." Rose refused to budge on this issue. "I belong here, not there-magic or no magic."
"What did you tell him?"
"To get out and leave me alone."
"And he did?"
"After I threatened him." Rose frowned. "But he made it sound as if he might be back."
"What did he look like? Same as you?"
"Not at all like me." Rose paused, trying to think of a good comparison. "Remember the elf Legolas in the movie Lord of the Rings? A lot like him. Very Fae looking, in fact."
Sequoia"s eyes lit up. "Yummy. I wouldn"t mind if he did come back."
"You can handle him, then." Rose"s stomach abruptly rumbled again, louder this time.
Her friend raised her eyebrows. "Hungry?"
"Starving."
"There"s food in the back. Help yourself."
"Food?" Rose jerked her head around to eye the kitchenette. She"d have to pa.s.s Brand at the table to get there, but the thought of sustenance was worth it. "Thanks, Tree." Pushing to her feet, Rose started toward the back, then jerked to a halt as her cell phone rang. She retrieved the phone from her purse and answered the call. "h.e.l.lo?"
"Rose, it"s Larry. How"s it going?"
Her editor. Keeping her expression bland, Rose moved to a solitary chair on the opposite side of the bus, thankful the outside noise made it difficult for anyone to overhear her conversation. "I"m in."
"How long before you"ll have the story?"
"That"s hard to say. As long as it takes." In the past, she"d been able to discern an illusionist"s secrets after watching only a few performances. But everything she"d discovered through her research indicated Brand was better than anyone else.
"Get it as soon as you can. I want this on the cover of our next issue."
That only gave her a couple of weeks to produce something. "I can"t make any promises."
"Do this, Rose, and the promotion is yours."
Rose closed her eyes. Oh, how she wanted that promotion-to never have to do another expose, to be involved in stories with real news impact. "I"ll do my best." Larry disconnected without another word and Rose slowly closed her phone. Get this story and she"d get what she wanted, what she"d worked so hard to achieve.
And destroy any chance of rekindling the friendship she"d once shared with Brand.
Of course, he"d been the one to throw that away. Not her. Recalling her emotional pain of those teen years, Rose bolstered her defenses. She could do this. She had to.
Her stomach rumbled again and she grimaced. What she wanted right now was something to eat. She glanced toward the back of the bus. Carter had moved to the side of the bus and had papers spread out all over a coffee table. Only Brand remained at the circular table by the kitchenette.
With a grimace, Rose stood and made her way to the back. Brand was doing some simple card tricks, making the flipping and placing of cards look easy. Spotting her, he fanned out a deck of cards with the faces toward her, an impish grin on his face. "Pick a card, any card." Rose had to grin in response. He"d been asking her to do that since they"d been six years old. She plucked a card from the deck and hid it behind her back. "What is it?"
"Put it back in the deck and I"ll tell you."
She shook her head. "Tell me without that." She had no doubt he could do it. He"d long surpa.s.sed the tricks he"d started with. Brand folded the deck closed and set it on the table, then raised his gaze to meet hers. "Queen of hearts," he declared. "Correct as always." Rose tossed the card on the table. Even though she knew how he performed the apparent mind reading, she still appreciated his skill. He made the simplest illusions appear sophisticated and real.
"Thanks for not changing it." Humor danced in his green eyes, and she produced a wry grin.
"Hey, I only did that once. Besides, I can"t use my magic now, remember?" She glanced over at Carter, suddenly remembering his presence, but he was absorbed in his work, and the road noise apparently masked her conversation. "How are you managing?" For once his tone held no mockery. "Really?" She shrugged. "I"ve had better days, but I"ll survive." Placing one hand over her protesting belly, she nodded toward the kitchenette. "If I ever remember to eat. Sequoia says you have food."
"Fully stocked. What would you like?"
What did fully stocked mean? "Do you have any muf fins?" That would quiet the subversive rumblings within. "Don"t know." He swung around in his chair to peruse the small area, then shook his head. "Sorry. Guess we"ll have to use magic."
She raised her eyebrow. She wasn"t so hungry that she"d break this deal by using her power. As she opened to mouth to tell him that, he leaned forward and swept his hand behind her ear. Pulling his hand away, he displayed a huge blueberry m.u.f.fin.
"Will this do?"
Rose burst into laughter. "That will be fine." Trust Brand to be melodramatic in everything-even m.u.f.fins.
She took it, then found herself stumbling toward him as the bus came to an abrupt stop. Brand grabbed her waist and swung her onto his lap, holding her tight until the bus steadied.
As she clung to his shoulders, Rose found his face only inches away, his vivid eyes swirling with a mixture of jade that held her gaze captive. Her breath caught. d.a.m.n him. Why did he still have this affect on her? She"d left her childish infatuation with him behind years ago.
Yet her pulse leaped as his gaze dropped to her lips. She found herself leaning closer, her fingers touching the edges of his wavy hair. "Rose." His voice sounded raspy and she shivered, the single word creating goose b.u.mbs over her skin. For a moment-a brief moment-he appeared ready to kiss her. Then he blinked and the moment was gone. Brand swallowed before speaking again. "You okay?"
. "Fine." More or less, considering her insides were quivering like her father"s favorite green Jell-O. Too aware that she remained on his lap, Rose pushed away to stand on shaky legs. Forcing a smile, she reached behind his ear and produced the same m.u.f.fin. "And I still have breakfast."
He grinned. "Enjoy it."
Rose nodded and nearly ran back to the seats by Sequoia. Even a bus length wasn"t far enough for the moment. She dropped into a cushioned chair, struggling to calm her runaway heartbeat. Brand shouldn"t be able to do this to her. Not now. Not after so many years.
"Are you all right?" Sequoia leaned forward with a frown. "You"re flushed."
"I"m fine. It"s nothing." Rose focused on unwrapping the m.u.f.fin, picking a piece off, and pushing it into her dry mouth.
Sequoia glanced over her shoulder to where Brand sat, then looked back, her smile smug. "Right. Nothing."
Rose pointed a finger at her. "Don"t go there, Tree."
Her cousin merely grinned. "Go where?"
Rose refused to answer and devoted her attention to eating the m.u.f.fin. She already felt like an idiot letting a simple thing like Brand"s touch unnerve her. After all, she"d been able to handle men since she"d first developed b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Yet a close encounter with Brand had her fl.u.s.tered.
Ridiculous.
If she let him rattle her, she"d never get her story.
Rose took another bite. And she couldn"t allow anything to interfere with that.
Brand stared out the bus window as they entered St. Louis, the next stop on his tour, but he was only dimly aware of the pa.s.sing surroundings. His gaze still saw the enticing fullness of Rose"s lips, the brilliant blue of her wide eyes, the pink flush of her creamy cheeks. His hands still felt the softness of her body.
He"d never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in his entire life.
Smothering a groan, Brand closed his eyes. He was far removed from the naive thirteen-year-old who"d been head over heels in love with Rose, yet his body acted as if it had forgotten the ensuing seventeen years.
She was the last person he should want. She was trying to ruin him.
And he wouldn"t put it past her to use her wiles to weasel information from him. That had to be it. She"d been actively enticing him.
Opening his eyes, he glanced to where Rose and Sequoia laughed and talked together, just as they had years ago. A quick stab of envy pierced him. At one time he"d been a part of that.
He jerked his gaze away. Those days were long gone. No one could have expected him to sit idly by and watch Rose abuse a gift he would"ve died to receive. It had been agony enough to watch from a distance.
Especially when the boys had flocked around her like lost sheep. As much as he"d wanted to accuse her of using magic to ensnare them, he knew better. She"d always been lovely, especially after she"d gone from a flat-chested tomboy to a well-rounded female, but more than that she had a vivaciousness that drew people to her-men and women.
Another reason she"d been so successful in her exposes. People talked to her without even realizing they were doing so. Brand frowned. Was Sequoia at this moment giving away secrets he"d worked so hard to perfect?
No. He dismissed that thought as fast as it came. He trusted Sequoia. She might be Rose"s cousin, but she was loyal. She wouldn"t betray him.
And fool that he was, he"d believed Rose when she"d said she wouldn"t pump Sequoia for information. Apparently even a career killer had ethics.
Which made it that much more difficult for him to hate her.
Returning his attention to the window, Brand spotted their hotel and the horde of women in front of it contained behind police barriers. He grimaced. Though he didn"t advertise where he intended to stay, word always leaked out.
His publicist thought it wonderful that these s.e.x-starved females laid in wait for him, and often promoted his so-called appeal to women. Brand just wanted to do magic. But he"d learned to play the game that went along with it.
Even if it meant smiling at screaming women and avoiding l.u.s.ty ladies who lurked in the elevators. At least the police were on-site this time. He should be able to get inside with no problem, and once inside his suite, he"d work further logistics from there. The screams began before the bus came to a complete stop and Brand winced as he stood. He motioned Carter to his side. "Flank me," he murmured.
Carter grinned. "Any time."
Pa.s.sing Sequoia and Rose, he saw amus.e.m.e.nt in Sequoia"s gaze and amazement in Rose"s.
"Are all these women here for you?" Rose asked.
She didn"t look as if she liked that idea, which pleased him for some inane reason. Brand grinned and straightened his shirt. "Haven"t you heard?" He winked at her. "I"m supposed to be a great catch."
"Boy, are they misled."
He heard the teasing note in her voice and caught the glimmer of mischief in her eyes. With a shrug, he headed for the door. "Blame my publicist."
The bus doors opened and the screams escalated. Panic hit Brand. No matter how many times he went through this, he couldn"t stop this feeling that he was going to end up torn to pieces.
Forcing a smile, he stepped down into the wide path created by the barriers. Thank G.o.d for those.
He paused to sign autographs along the route to the front doors, struggling against the urge to run inside to safety. Carter stayed by his side, easing Brand away when a fan became too enthusiastic.
Brand glanced over his shoulder to see Sequoia and Rose following. His entourage. That made him grin. Rose would hate being called that.
As he reached for another pad of paper, he heard a woman yelling to her friend, "I wish these barriers weren"t here!"
Immediately the blockades disappeared, stunning everyone. But the screaming fans recovered quickly, swarming around Brand until he could barely breathe. His panic escalated.
Spotting Rose through the crowd, he met her wide alarmed gaze. She"d picked a fine time to break their deal. He"d always known she wouldn"t be able to keep it.
But he hadn"t expected it would cost him his life.
Four.
Fanglike fingers tore at his shirt as the women mobbed him. A long nail sc.r.a.ped his arm, drawing blood. He winced at sharp tugs on his hair. Brand"s throat closed. He couldn"t breathe. Did Rose intend to let him get mauled before she did anything to help?
Or would she help at all?
"That"s enough. No more," he said, pushing away the prying hands. But no one listened. The women screamed and grabbed for him as if he were the last man on Earth.
Trying to pull free of the crowd, he caught a brief glimpse of Rose"s horrified gaze. Was she just now realizing how dangerous this could be? No doubt she"d meant it as a joke. Well, he didn"t find it funny.
His shirt ripped, the b.u.t.tons flying, as two women tugged at it. Another woman grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him. Brand jerked back only to have someone else perform the same act. "Stop!" His chest ached from the loss of air, tight bands of tension closing around it.
He wanted to punch, shove his way to freedom, yet some inner code kept him from doing so.