Kitabı oku: «Private Melody»
A low sigh of male satisfaction left his throat when Therin straightened and drew Kianti snug against his chest
Resting against the side of the piano, he deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue slowly yet unrelentingly.
Kianti’s hands kneaded his forearms and biceps, to test the strength beneath the dark fabric of his shirt. She moaned in the midst of suckling his tongue. Arching closer and rubbing herself against him in shameless abandon, she cursed the dress covering her skin.
Back off, Therin told himself, but he chose to set aside the order for a few seconds. He wanted longer to indulge in just a bit more of her. The serenity she radiated took on a more potent aura during their second kiss. He had no intention of stopping it.
The sound of her soft, helpless yet deliberate moans sent the strength right from his legs, causing him to lean more fully into the piano.
Kianti shuddered and snuggled deeper into the embrace as she assumed a more controlling role in the duel being fought between their tongues. She gripped his shirt as though it were her lifeline while inhaling the appealing scent of his cologne. There was that familiar voice in her head still singing its same old song. It told her to end this, but how could she when this was so sweet and so dearly missed….
ALTONYA WASHINGTON
wears many titles. Aside from Mom, her favorite is romance author. Crafting stories and characters that are sexy and engaging with a fair amount of mystery really keeps her busy. When AlTonya’s not writing, she works as a library assistant and as social secretary to an active son—a job that commands the bulk of her time.
Private Melody
AlTonya Washington
To the teachers who care, listen and communicate.
You know who you are.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for adding Private Melody to your collection. For a while now, I’ve been thinking of crafting a story where the subplot involves education. If you know my work, you know I love mixing in a fair amount of suspense and danger in addition to steamy romance and cozy settings. I’m really excited by what this mix has created.
In addition to this intriguing mix, I also had thoughts of creating a heroine with health concerns. I didn’t want her to come across as a victim, but as a courageous woman surrounded by people who adore her, including an amazing man who is in awe of her. Of course she’d be fairly hardheaded, making her a challenge to her friends and irresistible to our sexy hero.
I hope you’ll enjoy the results. Thanks for taking time to settle in for a Private Melody.
Blessings,
AlTonya
www.lovealtonya.com
altonya@lovealtonya.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 1
Spokane, Washington
Provocative, Powerful, Pulsating… Therin Rucker thought he’d puke after reading the program and finding it riddled by a slew of Ps boasting of pianist Kianti Lawrence. He supposed the creators of the gold-edged publication thought it was all in good promoting. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Perhaps it was simply the current state of his mood that lent to his opinion of the accolades aimed at the woman on the stage. Over the course of the last twenty minutes, however, his negative opinions had changed.
Fist propped to chin, Therin could feel his gaze narrowing as it focused more intently upon the gleaming hardwood stage set beneath the soft gold lighting. Uncontrolled, a low sound rose from his throat. Therin was aware that the sound was one of appreciation.
Whether that appreciation was in reference to the woman’s exquisite talent or her exquisite looks was something Therin refused to dwell on even for a moment.
Vaughn Burgess thought differently and slanted his best friend a glance while a smirk crinkled his gaze. Therin’s set expression was easy to read—for Vaughn, anyway. He’d seen the look often enough to know Therin was captivated—not so much by the music as by the woman performing it.
Therin switched his stance, propping his chin against the opposite fist. His crystalline hazel stare lost none of its intensity.
The charity concert for the Pacific Northwest political organization EYES—Educate Youth Encourage Success—was for a worthy cause and one close to Therin’s heart. However, he’d have much preferred diving right into the heart of the matter at hand instead of sitting through a piano recital. That was before he took his seat and had his attention and…other things captivated by the lovely artist in his midst.
The performance was nearing its conclusion. After the final stanza was complete, Therin lent his attention to the room. Despite the unexpected musical treat, he knew his evening wouldn’t end on a high note.
It was wildly rumored that the money funneled into the EYES organization could claim standing in the high nine figures. EYES was certainly a force to be reckoned with and it made good on its promises. While the EYES organization held the noblest intentions, there were those who would have preferred its influential members spend their time and considerable wealth on other endeavors.
The applause was deafening in the Hotel Currey’s concert hall. There were even chants for an encore. Kianti Lawrence laughed vibrantly while raising her hands to wave off the requests.
Therin didn’t leave his seat right away. Tugging at the crisp white cuffs peeking out from his tuxedo jacket sleeve, he merely observed the scene. The smile on his face then was more rueful than amused. If only the crowd there could come together in agreement over situations more prevalent….
No, the evening would not end on a high note. Many in that room held similar opinions on the way he spent his time, money…and resources. They thought it out of place for the young American ex-ambassador to Canada to hold such a topic as education as his passion. Therin’s dedication and his almost magical ability to sway influential friends to dedicate themselves toward the same purpose had earned him an almost equal number of enemies.
Kianti gave one last low curtsy and prayed that her legs wouldn’t give out from beneath her. Silently, she sent up other prayers of thanks that the audience couldn’t see her legs shaking beneath the floor-length hemline of her gown. She left the group with her customary double wave and almost sprinted from the stage.
She kept the smile pasted to her mouth until all other smiling faces were left behind. She only needed a moment—just a moment—to get herself together. Brody would have a pill down her throat fast if she didn’t make herself scarce. She didn’t need that. She never wanted to need that again.
“I need to go.” Therin said the words almost to himself.
Vaughn heard him clearly. “’Bout damn time you get your mind on somethin’ other than work.”
Therin shrugged and refused to make eye contact with his friend. “Calm down, V, just goin’ to the john.”
“Uh-huh.”
The guys stood in unison. Therin couldn’t maintain the pretense for long and grinned at Vaughn’s knowing glare. His stare had softened, although his light eyes began to scan the noisy room.
“Keep ’em off my back for five minutes, V.” He shook hands with Vaughn and moved on.
Kianti shivered, and not from the backstage breeze that kissed her shoulder through the black lacy sleeves of her gown. In her world, there were only small windows of chance to happen upon unclaimed spaces at concert halls. During the last seven years of her professional career, she’d been blessed to catch those “windows” open after almost every performance.
As the audience conversed among themselves—shuffling from their seats and remarking on the talent they’d just witnessed and how it compared to others— Kianti sought that time to collect herself and to catch her breath.
She never wanted to need that again….
Therin cursed Vaughn below his breath, but realized, in all fairness, the man was probably elsewhere working to give him his requested “five minutes.” Unfortunately, his chief of staff couldn’t be everywhere at once, Therin grudgingly admitted. He worked up a fake smile for the group of Capitol Hill policymakers who waited along his path.
“Heard it through the grapevine Therin—you’re thinking of arranging a week-long retreat at your Vancouver place,” Jonas Dessin commented once the group made quick work of handshakes and small talk. “Rumor has it, it’s another EYES fundraiser.”
Therin laughed, clapping Jonas’s arm. “Does your grapevine have any idea what EYES’s bottom line is? Last thing they need is another fundraiser.”
“Grapevine also says it’s a membership drive,” Susan Brunschwig noted once the laughter had settled over Therin’s last comment.
He shrugged, his demeanor cool in the face of the subtle yet pointed inquiries. It wasn’t difficult. He’d been playing politics since he was four.
Stepping closer to Susan, Therin kept his smile light even as hers broadened and the stiff set to her body softened. “Education is in a precarious state.” He spared the woman’s colleagues a fleeting glance but directed his remark to her. “It was in an even worse condition before EYES came on the scene. We have a damn hard battle to fight. The kids we’re fighting for will need every able body we can find to take on this battle. So yes, Susan, membership is always in need. Good night all.” He bid smoothly and walked on.
Jonas Dessin turned to follow Therin’s exit. “There goes a dangerous young man.”
Susan kept her eyes on Therin heading deeper into the crowd. “Why dangerous, Jonas?”
“That kind of money going toward education? Are you kidding me?” Jonas’s eyes crinkled at the corners.
“It may not be so far-fetched.”
“That’s true—hence the young man being a danger. He’s rattling folks that would have the big amounts he woos from his…members go toward other endeavors—endeavors far removed from education. EYES boasts a powerful and prominent membership list and every one of those members loves that young man. Those un-sympathetic to his cause are threatened by that.” Jonas took a breather from his diatribe and helped himself to a drink off the tray of a passing waiter. “Like I said, there goes a dangerous young man.”
The serene backstage moment lasted longer than Kianti dared to hope it would. She even had time to kick up her heels. Literally. She’d pulled a chair closer to the one she occupied and propped up her feet. May as well make the most of it, she thought. Any minute the vultures would descend.
Kianti felt a smile emerge and quietly chastised herself. She loved her career and the madness that often came with it. Though there were varied aspects she could have done without, the greatest share of it had been a blessing.
Those who loved and followed her work had grown into a staggering number in the seven years since the start of her career. She was still in awe of it. She’d always been modest about her talents, even as a child, when she started playing the tune her mother hummed while preparing dinner one evening. It was a crude rendition of the melody banged out on Kianti’s pink toy piano, but it was enough to give her parents pause.
Not long after, the then four-year-old Kianti learned the word “prodigy.” Her parents and all the new teachers they brought in were talking about her when they said it. Those days had long passed, but even now she found it difficult to believe how taken aback people were when they discovered what she could do with a piano.
To herself, she would admit to succumbing to a bit of smugness over it. The more awestruck people were, the more she was allowed to do what she loved. In spite of the fact that she put her life at stake every time she did it.
Therin found her in a remote corner backstage. He sighed. It was not until then that he realized he’d been holding his breath. She’d been taking deep breaths as well, he noted, appreciating the fact that her eyes were closed. His presence was not yet noticed. No doubt she’d be unnerved and rightly agitated finding some stranger intruding on her private moment.
Her music was enchanting, but he wouldn’t lie that it was more than her talent that had him rushing backstage to find her. Part of him wondered if it was all about her looks, either. After all, he’d been seated too far away to focus in on every nuance of her very lovely face. He wasn’t surprised to find her as captivating at a distance as she was once that distance was closed.
Cinnamon-brown and fine-boned, she appeared doll-like and far too fragile to pound out the driving rhythms that she gave less than an hour ago. Her eyes appeared to tilt at the corners and he wondered at their color, but didn’t want her opening her eyes just yet. He needed more time to observe, and it was then that he recognized what he was seeking when he disappeared backstage to find her.
There was calm, a serenity that he’d swear was almost visible. It followed her and he wanted it or…at least a moment to enjoy whatever part of it she might unknowingly share.
He watched as she reached up to finger the glittering band that held her coarse dark hair away from her face. She opened her eyes then and looked right at him as if she’d been aware of his presence all along. Along with the cool expectancy in her bottomless dark stare, there was also the hint of curiosity.
“I’m sorry.”
His first words sparked a smile and a slight indentation along her left cheek that hinted at a dimple.
“What for?” she asked.
Therin took a moment, long brows rising slightly as he regarded his answer. He’d known the reason for the apology but when she asked, his mind went completely blank. What the hell was wrong with him? He prayed she hadn’t detected the frown he was trying to hide.
Kianti tilted her head and observed him. A lost tourist, perhaps? She’d detected a chord in the two words he’d spoken. Something old-world or, at the very least, regal, clung to his tone.
“I wanted to compliment your playing,” he said after a quick swallow and clearing of his throat. “Phenomenal.” He grimaced over the word choice.
Her nod was barely there, yet her smile was genuine. “Thank you.”
Therin risked a glance down the narrow corridor leading back toward the main stage. Hands hidden in the deep pockets of his black pants, he moved closer to where she lounged.
“The pamphlet they’re passing around mentioned that you play by ear.”
“It’s true.” She shrugged. “If I had a piano near, you could hum a tune and I’d prove it.”
Laughter rumbled easy and soft between them.
“Therin Rucker.” He extended one of the hidden hands he’d pulled from his pocket.
She accepted the shake. “Kianti Lawrence.”
His sleek brows rose again. “Like the wine?”
“Not quite.” She grinned. “Pronounced the same, but spelled differently. Many people tell me I’m much harder to take than the wine.”
The sound of voices growing nearer intruded on their second round of laughter. Kianti promptly eased her hand out of Therin’s grasp.
“Here she is, y’all!”
Kianti gave a short laugh as she often did when Cube David’s voice reached her ears. However, she’d hoped for just a few more moments with the mysterious music lover who’d just introduced himself.
Unfortunately, the three men following Cube made their presence known all too soon. Thankfully, they stifled any questions when they discovered her with “company.”
“Therin Rucker, Cube David—my bodyguard.” She made the introductions, still seated with her feet up. “Winton Terry—my business manager. Khan Choi is my stylist and this is Brody Parker my—uh—cook.”
Someone snickered and Brody’s mouth tightened.
Kianti didn’t attempt to hide her surprise or confusion when all four of her associates approached Therin for handshakes. They all grinned broadly and addressed her mysterious “music lover” as Mr. Ambassador, which roused a curious frown between her brows. She watched Therin chuckle as he engaged in light conversation with the guys.
She used the time to more closely observe him. She’d been trying like the devil not to gawk when she’d opened her eyes and found him standing there. Leanly muscular and quite tall, she doubted even the chic pumps she wore would prevent her from having to look up into his face. And what a face it was, every square inch of it drenched in a flawless cinnamon-brown. Then there were the long sideburns, which added a dangerous but nonetheless provocative appeal to his features. His hair was cut close and lay in waves of silky black over his head. She could have lost herself in the crystal appearance of his hazel gaze deep set beneath long, heavy brows.
“Well, we appreciate you attending tonight,” Khan was saying as the conversation began to taper off.
Winton chuckled. “Yeah, even if you are here to conduct top-secret political business.”
Contagious male laughter rumbled once more.
“Not so top secret,” Therin admitted while pressing a thumb to his eye to remove a laugh tear. “Anyway, I’m glad I attended, too.” His shimmering gaze focused on Kianti then. “Ms. Lawrence’s music is…quite powerful. It was nice meeting you.” His tone grew softer as he reached out to shake hands with the guys and say goodnight.
Alone with Kianti, the guys pulled chairs close. Brody claimed the closest spot and took her wrist for a pulse check.
“We leave you alone for a second and here you are meeting with royalty,” Khan noted while fluffing out her hair.
Kianti’s gaze and attention was still on the path Therin Rucker had taken when he made his exit.
Chapter 2
Therin woke early the next morning and was thoroughly agitated shortly afterward. The staff and their discussions that he had to shake off last night had descended upon his suite with their opinions of the previous evening.
“He stirred up a shitload of crap just by attending that thing,” Vaughn said while he helped himself to coffee from the breakfast cart.
“Put himself smack dab in the middle of some heavy hitters, that’s for sure,” Peter Stanson added while waving toward Vaughn for the carafe.
“Yeah, heavy hitters who either approve or oppose EYES and the ex-ambassador’s allegiance to it.” Chief of security, Morgan Felts, muttered a curse while stretching out on the cream sofa in the living area.
Therin predicted the conversation among his top three staff members would only grow more heated. For a change, he welcomed that. Hopefully, their discussion would keep his absence from being noticed for a while. He slipped out the suite without alerting their attention.
For a long while, he corrected himself upon arriving in the almost empty breakfast bistro located in the hotel mezzanine. Finding Kianti Lawrence there had him regretting that any shred of business had followed him along on the trip.
He thought back to the previous evening, recalling his loss of words when she’d first spoken to him. The sensible, less popular side of his demeanor told him to leave her alone. There was no need to grow more infatuated than he’d already become in the span of the ten-minute conversation with the woman. The only thing further “involvement” could result in was a one-night stand. That wouldn’t work for him—he knew that without question. Kianti Lawrence was a woman he was certain to want for more than one night.
He was surprised to find Kianti already having breakfast. Leaning against the arched doorway of the hotel’s eatery, he felt content watching her then as he had the night before. Almost. The same serenity and calm reached out to him from where she relaxed at the table across the dining room. He shook his head and smiled, taking note of her feet propped in the chair across from where she sat. He couldn’t help but admire her determination to relax wherever it suited her. Telling the sensible, less popular side of himself to go to hell, Therin pushed off the doorway and strolled toward her.
Early rising wasn’t unusual for Kianti given her hectic life of tours and rehearsals. Still, she did make a point of treating herself to a few mornings of sleeping in when she traveled extensively.
Sadly, sleeping in now meant having to wake up to her doctor and a morning pill. An early breakfast meant she could convince Brody she’d already taken her meds. She only prayed he wouldn’t suspect she’d taken herself off them. At least not until she could prove she didn’t need them anymore. Her dark eyes were focused beyond the windows by her table. The gorgeous dewy morning rear view of the hotel landscape was heavenly, but the cologne drifting past her nose just then was to die for. She smiled up at Therin.
“Mr. Ambassador.” Her dark eyes widened just slightly when she took note of the shyness evident in his expression.
“Ex-ambassador,” he clarified, pressing a hand to the front of the sweatshirt emblazoned with the Knicks logo.
She simply shrugged. “But you never quite live it down, do you?”
Once again that morning, Therin felt his mouth turn into a grimace. “I’m realizing that more and more every day.” He sighed.
Kianti’s smile waned. She’d never really known a politician, but it was clear this one wasn’t missing his post all that much. She would have loved to have known why.
“You look pretty young to have been an ambassador.” She decided to keep the moment light.
“Guess I’ve got my dad to thank for that. May I?” He gestured toward the vacant chair next to the one she’d propped her feet on.
“Please.” She was about to move her feet when he brought a hand down over them. Kianti bit her lip and stilled.
The muscle flexed in Therin’s jaw at the contact. He moved his hand, hoping she’d not recognize his reluctance to do so.
“So your dad wanted you to be an ambassador?” She needed to bring conversation to the front of her mind instead of the unexpected agitating throbs that made her want to moan.
“My dad was a U.S. diplomat,” Therin obliged, needing the conversation, as well. “When I was a kid, watching Face The Nation was as commonplace as watching Sesame Street.”
“Fascinating,” Kianti breathed, shifting a bit to get more comfy at the table.
Therin must have feared she’d move her feet because he possessively dropped his hand across them. They were small, perfectly proportioned and covered only by a pair of sheer hose.
“I had a capacity for politics but not a passion,” he confided while absently applying a light massage to the tops of her feet. “I think they offered me the post because of my father.” He grunted. “I’d have never campaigned for it or anything else.”
“So the favorite son makes good.”
“Ha! More like the only son.”
“Well, well, pleased to meet another member of the Only Child Club.” Kianti offered him her hand to shake.
Therin played along. “So your parents didn’t want to try for another musical genius?”
“Nah.” Kianti fidgeted with the draping neckline of her walnut-brown sweater. “My mother didn’t have a—how did you put it?—a capacity for raising more than one. Besides, it wasn’t worth it to her—taking the chance of producing a normal kid.”
Therin’s bright eyes narrowed at her word choice, but there was no time to inquire.
“Please forgive the wait, Mr. Ambassador.” The waiter was flushed and out of breath.
“Not a problem. Just juice and whatever Ms. Lawrence is having.”
“Yes, sir.” The young man scribbled the order furiously. “Right away, sir.”
“I feel like such an idiot.” Kianti shook her head and watched the server sprint away. “Everyone knows who you are and I didn’t have a clue.”
“And you have no idea how pleased I am to hear that.” He cast a disinterested glance across his shoulder and smirked. “Besides, they school the staff on the so-called ‘big wigs.’ Better tips, you know?” He winked.
When she threw her head back to laugh, Therin decided he was in need of conversation to keep the moment from growing too charged. “So why do you consider yourself other than normal?” he asked.
“Well, prodigies aren’t exactly the norm, are they?” Kianti rested her chin to her palm.
He nodded, realizing her point. “Hard life?”
“I suppose.” She studied the pattern embroidered into the white tablecloth. “But what are you gonna do? It’s the only life I’ve ever known—didn’t know any better until I had something to compare it to.” She fixed him with a whimsical look. “Kids playing in the street while I’m in the house playing Bach.”
Laughter rose heartily then.
“So may I question your ‘only son’ remark?” she probed once the waiter had brought out Therin’s juice and topped off her decaf.
“Mmm.” He winced while taking a sip of the drink. “Was hoping you hadn’t caught that.”
“Come on, fess up.” She waved her hands in a beckoning manner. “It’s only fair. I rarely share my child prodigy stories.” Her gaze softened as she studied the pensive look on his very handsome face. “Did you regret not having brothers or sisters?”
“Maybe, but it’s the only life I’ve known—nothing to compare it to, as you said.”
“Touché.” Kianti sent him a mock salute.
Food arrived and soon the two were dining on over-easy eggs, steak strips and toast.
“Guess that’s why I took up the interests I have,” Therin said around a bite of steak.
Kianti nodded. “Politics.”
He smiled. “Education.”
She tilted her head at a cocky angle. “Now you’ve really got me interested. Talk, man!”
They dived into the incredible breakfast of fruit, seasoned browns and scrambled eggs. Seated next to an enviable view in a peaceful dining room they chatted like longtime acquaintances.
“Growing up…privy to dedicated teachers and fine schools made me naively think that was the norm,” he shared. “Then I realized that too many parents, and kids, for that matter, wouldn’t put dedicated teachers and fine schools together in the same book. It made me sick to my stomach.” He held his fork poised over the plate and glared out at the view. “No child should be denied a fine education, and no parent should feel it’s beyond their power to claim it for their child.”
Silently, Kianti marveled how there could be any education woes with a man like the one seated across from her as its champion.
Therin noticed her set expression and closed his eyes in playful regret. “Sorry about that.” He tapped the tip of the fork to the cleft in his chin. “I tend to get carried away.” His voice lowered an octave on the last word.
“That’s not it.” She waved off the excuse. “You’re very persuasive in your arguments. My guess is that you’re a fundraiser’s dream.”
“Hmph.” Therin returned his attention to breakfast and didn’t appear to appreciate the assessment. “So I’ve been told,” he grumbled.
“Did I offend you?”
“No, Kianti.” He tapped his fingers next to her plate and waited for her eyes to meet his. “No. I’ve just got a lot of friends and…acquaintances who tell me the same thing. Many times they don’t mean to flatter me with it.”
“Well, that’s crazy. What could be more admirable than taking up such a cause?”
He smiled at the innocence he’d once been a victim of. “Kianti, everything pales next to the cause of raking in obscene amounts of cash for the next war.”
“Ah.” Enlightenment dawned and she nodded. “So is that why you gave up your ambassadorship? To devote more time to your cause?” she asked, following several moments of easy silence.
“One of many reasons,” was his only reply. His thoughts drifted toward his parents. His involvement—er—obsession over his cause had cut short that relationship far too soon. At least, he had always suspected that was the case.
Kianti caught his grimace again and decided to call a halt to the Q&A.
“Someone once told me that with power comes the ability to make change in addition to suggestion,” he eventually added somewhat prophetically.
“I’ve always thought of ambassadors and such as figureheads. Sorry,” she said demurely before sipping her coffee. She was pleased to hear him chuckle.
“You’re not too far off.” He helped himself to his last forkful of eggs. “As ambassador, I found that I could suggest ’til the cows came home, but affecting change—” he brushed the back of his hand along a sideburn “—affecting change eluded me until I left my post.”
“You left your post yet you remain in Vancouver? No desire to return home to the States?” A teasing element made her eyes sparkle.
Therin shrugged. “Canada’s not so far away. I’m in the States off and on. But I really like where I am—many diplomats aren’t so lucky.”
Kianti added a bit more cream to her coffee. “It would seem you could do more for the cause on this side of the border, that’s all.”
“Well, that’s what’s so impressive about the organization.” Therin settled in more comfortably. “We’re everywhere. EYES members and branch offices across the country go a long way to give the impression that we’re a strong united group. Everyone works equally hard which is another reason we’re so successful.” He thanked the waiter who’d returned with a fresh glass of juice. “Education’s my passion, and while I’ve been labeled as the face of EYES, I’m not its leader. That’s a joint responsibility.”
“It’s a different outlook.” Kianti studied his very handsome face with unmasked appreciation. “Guess the opposition doesn’t quite know how to take you all.”
Therin chuckled, causing his provocative gaze to narrow. “I think that’d be the case no matter who we were. Politics is a nasty game. You have to be…creative to get things done.”
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