Tall Dark and Hungry(18)

She watched the way his eyes sparkled with remembered glee, then found her gaze fixing on his lips. They curved first in wry self-deprecation, then amusement. Terri watched them move as he spoke, fascinated by their contours and the plumpness of the lower lip in comparison to the upper. And as he rambled on, she found herself wondering what it would be like if he kissed her.

She blinked as that thought crossed her mind, then she straightened abruptly, both alarmed and startled. Terri had thought Bastien attractive from the start, and interesting to talk to. She had enjoyed the last three days immensely, and found herself waking up looking forward to what the day might bring. But she hadn't realized that she was "attracted"attracted to the man. Dear God, she was in trouble, Terri realized faintly; then she became aware that Bastien had fallen silent. Her gaze shot from his lips to his eyes, and widened slightly at the expression on his face.

"I-" she began uncertainly, but he cut her off by suddenly capturing her face in both hands and tugging her forward. He covered her open mouth with his own.

It had been so long since she'd been properly kissed, Terri was a little overwhelmed by the sudden invasion of his tongue into her mouth. She stilled, a plethora of responses rushing through her mind ranging from confusion to dismay. Then pleasure slid past all that to suffuse her mind, and Terri relaxed against Bastien, breathing a sigh into his mouth. It seemed to her that the moment she did, a sudden squawking set up next to them. They broke apart, and glanced at the birds now squabbling over the last of the old man's bread, then relaxed and glanced back at each other.

"I'm sorry,"he said, as their gazes met.

"Are you?"she asked huskily.

"No.»

"Neither am I.»

They were both silent for a moment; then Bastien glanced at the birds flocking around the man who'd been feeding them. His bread bag was empty, but the birds were still hungry.

Bastien tossed the rest of his sandwich into the flock, cleared his throat, and glanced back to her. "Have you had enough of the museum today? We can come another day to finish looking around if you have.»

Terri hesitated. In truth, she had seen enough of the museum for one day. Her feet were okay, but she didn't think they would be for much longer. More to the point, if she saw too much more, she feared it would all start to blur in her mind. Still, she was willing to risk both outcomes rather than see this interlude come to an end.

"We could do a little shopping,"Bastien suggested.

Terri brightened at the suggestion. He wasn't calling an end to their outing, just switching gears, and the idea of more shopping was attractive. She hadn't really bought anything on Saturday. They had been mostly window-shopping, but she did want to make some purchases while here. Everything was terribly expensive in England. New York prices were cheap in comparison.

"That sounds like fun-if you don't mind,"she added with sudden concern. Most men weren't really into shopping, and she didn't want to bore Bastien by making him take her around the shops for the second time in three days.

"I like to shop,"he assured her as he got to his feet. He took her hand so naturally as he turned toward the steps, Terri hardly noticed. When she did, she bit her lip and avoided looking at him. They descended the steps to the sidewalk in front of the museum. She felt like a teenager again, nervous and awkward and suddenly tongue-tied.

They walked in companionable silence along the street, Terri glancing curiously at everything they passed. This was only her third trip to New York. She'd visited Kate before, but then they'd spent most of their time talking, shopping in the Village, and talking some more. Kate and Terri had always been particularly close, more friends than just cousins. She smiled at the oddity of her thoughts. She made it sound as if friends were more important than relatives to her, and in some ways they were. You chose your friends, but couldn't pick your relatives. Terri was fortunate in that most of her relatives were also friends. Their family was made up of some wonderful, caring, and giving aunts, uncles, and cousins. Terri loved every one of them. It was the one thing she missed the most living in England: her family.

"How did you end up in England?"Bastien asked suddenly, holding open the door of Bloomingdale's for her to enter.

Terri considered the question in silence, and sadness overwhelmed her. "I moved there when I married. My husband was English.»

"You said you aren't married, so I take it the marriage either dissolved in divorce or your husband died,"Bastien said quietly. "I'm guessing he died.»

Terri glanced at him in surprise. "You're right. But what made you say that?»

He shrugged. "Bad memories would have seen you move back to America. Only good memories would keep you in a foreign country when the reason for moving there was gone,"he explained. "Besides, only a fool would give up a treasure like you.»

Terri felt herself flush with pleasure at the compliment, but his question and words brought painful memories to the fore. She'd been young when she'd married and moved to England the year after her mother's death, not quite twenty. Ian had been only a couple of years older. It had all seemed a grand adventure at first. He'd worked at his government job; she'd attended the university. They'd bought a little cottage and played house for a couple of years… until he'd been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and begun the battle for his life, a battle he'd lost three years later.

Terri had just earned her bachelor's degree the year the diagnosis was made. She continued her education for a while afterward, but had given it up in the last year of her husband's illness to be with him. At barely twenty-five years old, Terri had become a widow, left with little more than a cozy little cottage and a small insurance settlement.

She'd used the insurance to finish her education, graduating with a doctorate that had led to her being offered a professorship at the University of Leeds. Terri had spent the last five years working hard at a job she loved, and filling her off-hours with volunteer work with community theater. All of which had allowed her to avoid unwanted emotional entanglements. At first, she'd told herself-and all her well-meaning friends and relatives who tried to set her up on dates-that it was too early to get involved with someone else. But after a couple of years even Terri no longer believed that. The truth was, even now at the age of thirty-three, she was afraid to get involved again.

Terri had barely survived the death of her mother. Ian had been the life raft she clung to in that dark time. His brother Dave, and Dave's wife, Sandi, had been the ones to see her through his death. She had avoided emotional entanglements ever since. It was easier to just live single, untouched by feelings that would later turn to heartbreak.

Or so Terri had always thought. Yet, here she was, walking along hand in hand with Bastien, after having been kissed properly for the first time in ten years!

Without really thinking about it, Terri slid her hand free, stopping at a display to pick up a small black purse and examine it. She couldn't have stopped the physical withdrawal from Bastien any more than she could the mental one. Her guard had been down, but it was back up and in place again. It was for the best.

Terri didn't like to think of herself as a coward. She could take all the physical pain that life could dish out, but emotional pain was another thing. She felt so deeply when she loved that losing it, whether through betrayal or death, was a kind of hell she wouldn't willingly subject herself to again. And she now very much feared that if she wasn't careful, Bastien could break her heart. It would be so easy to love him. He was smart, funny, sweet, kind and terribly attractive. But Terri couldn't see someone as wildly successful and handsome as him being interested in boring-old-her for very long. Eventually, he'd move on to someone more his match. And, even if he didn't, he wasn't invincible. Just think about the medicine he took, and the IV stand in his closet. Bastien could die on her, leaving her to struggle on alone as everyone else she'd ever loved had done. It was easier not to love him in the first place. She'd have to try to keep her emotional distance from now on, Terri decided, and wished she hadn't agreed to a play and dinner tonight when he'd suggested it at breakfast.

"Dear God, you two!"Vincent Argeneau paused in the entry to gape at the bags Bastien and Terri carted into the penthouse later that day. "Do you think you bought enough?»

"I think so,"Terri said with a laugh, then added, "Most of these are Bastien's.»

When Vincent arched his eyebrows and turned his gaze on his cousin, Terri laughed again. A chagrined expression covered Bastien's face. The man hadn't been joking when he claimed to love shopping. She'd never seen anyone, man or woman, shop like he did. It was a good thing he was wealthy, or he'd surely go bankrupt. The man was a shopping fiend.

"I needed some more casual clothes,"Bastien excused himself, unable to disguise his embarrassment. "I didn't even own a pair of jeans, and I thought it was time I got some.»

"Uh-huh."Vincent walked forward to peer into the open tops of the bags. "Felt a need for some new clothes, did you?"he asked, and grinned when Bastien flushed. He added, "Well, as much as I'd like to torment you over this sudden urge you have to dress in a younger, more relaxed, not to mention more attractive manner, your secretary insisted it was important you call before quitting time. And as it's a quarter to five now-"