Lisa's Gift (7 page)

A grin spread across Lisa’s face. “Actually, I do. Nicolas is a skillful lover. He isn’t into humiliation or extreme pain, but he can put you on the daring edge.” The sound of their shoes slapping the asphalt rang in Jana’s ears as she listened to her friend. ”Yes, there is some spanking,”

she grinned, not looking at Jana, “some constraints, and other delicious things, but there isn’t anything wrong with it.”

The expression Jana held must have given away her surprise, because in the next moment Lisa said, “Hey, don’t knock what you haven’t tried. Maybe someday you can see what I mean. I know Nicolas would be happy for you to join us. Me, too.”

Unbelievable! Jana did
not
hear her friend just invite her into a threesome. Or did she? She shook her head. Nothing rattled inside, maybe she misunderstood.

48

www.samhainpublishing.com

Lisa’s Gift

Lisa grunted, opening the large glass door and allowing Jana to pass through it before she continued. “I wish I could explain exactly what joy I experience, especially at this time in my life. It’s like releasing all my problems, all my cares, for at least the time I spend with Nicolas. He’s in charge and I’m dependent upon him to see to my needs. My only job is to pleasure him and feel.” She turned her head. “
Ohhh
, look at that dress.”

With that, Lisa’s attention was pulled to a slinky evening gown of black silk.

It was a lot to comprehend. Jana’s mind struggled with the idea of allowing herself to become dependent on another, even letting him tie her up. That would require a hell of a lot of trust, trust she only felt for Lisa.

Yet Jana had dreamed of having a man do just that—take care of her.

The right man. A good man.

But would that be taking a risk? Sure as hell it would. To allow herself to feel that kind of trust…could she do it?

Trust.

Too many times in her young life she had been rendered helpless and there wasn’t anything pleasurable about the pain or the humiliation. Like always, when she thought of her foster father, her body tensed and she touched the scar at her neck. The thought of trusting any man went straight out the window.

Dammit!
If it was the last thing she did, she’d get over her insecurity.

Yeah, trust didn’t come easily for her, but she was working on it.

A gentle hand on her biceps brought her out of her wanderings. “Are you okay, Jana?” Lisa had the black gown draped over one arm. “I’m worried about you.”

Jana laid her hand atop Lisa’s. Nodded. “I’m fine. Just never know when the past will raise its ugly head.”

“He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I know, Lisa.” Jana attempted a smile that fell short. “I’m doing much better. I’m here aren’t I?” She didn’t mention that she’d closed her eyes tightly when they’d passed by her old house. Or that it had taken www.samhainpublishing.com 49

Mackenzie McKade

several miles between her and that house before she could breathe normally again.

Lisa took Jana into her arms. “Yes, you are doing better. Huge step.

Major.” She hugged Jana tightly, and then released her. “Now let’s spend some money.”

And spend money Lisa did. If Jana didn’t know better, she would have thought her friend won the lottery or someone had died, leaving her a fortune. By the time they left the mall, both of their arms were filled with merchandise and Lisa had purchased that black evening gown they’d seen earlier for Jana.

“How about a light lunch?” Lisa asked as she pulled into Applebee’s and parked. “Nicolas is taking us to his restaurant tonight.”

Now was Jana’s opportunity to step aside, avoid any uncomfortable situations. She opened the car door, responding as she got out. “You know, Lisa, perhaps I’ll just stay home tonight. I have some reading—”

“No! You can’t,” Lisa replied quickly. “I mean, he’s doing this especially for you. We both want you there.”

“All of this makes me somewhat uncomfortable,” Jana admitted.

Lisa cut the engine. “Then I’ll stay home too.”

“No. You go and have a good time,” Jana insisted.

Lisa shook her head. “We can call for take-out. Then you, Nicolas and I can watch a movie.”

Crap
. Okay, it didn’t look like Jana was going to get out of this get together. Which was better, an intimate setting in Lisa’s living room or a restaurant full of people? She would just make sure that Nicolas and she were never in a room alone. Ever!

50

www.samhainpublishing.com

Lisa’s Gift

“What? You’re a connoisseur of fine wine and women?” Jana knew she sounded condescending, but she couldn’t help it. The damn man stroked every woman walking by with his hungry gaze.

He brought his attention back to Jana, sliding his eyes over her light green silk blouse. “No. It’s just that I appreciate each one.” The short, emerald green skirt Lisa insisted she wear was creeping up her thighs.

She resisted the urge to tug it further down her legs.

She snorted. “Appreciate. Yeah. Right.” Just her luck. The call Lisa received from the medical center had taken her away before she could even order dinner. Now Jana was stuck in this circular booth with the one man she swore she never wanted to be alone with.

It wasn’t safe to be alone with him. He did something to her libido the minute he came into the room. Now he was only an arm’s length away, causing her heart to pummel her chest. His white polo shirt stretched tight over his chest. His tanned skin begged to be touched.

Among the tinkling of silverware, forks and knives striking plates as people ate the delicious offerings of Marchetti’s. Marchetti’s was a large restaurant with booths aligning the wall, tables in the center. Grape vines bordered the ceilings. Exquisite art donned the walls.

“Take for instance the brunette at the table in the corner, by herself,”

Nicolas continued. Jana’s vision followed the path of his gaze. “Some would call her homely.”

Yes. Jana could see that. The woman was thin. Her short hair was dull and lacking luster. Her facial features were uninteresting and non-descriptive. The poor woman was boring.

www.samhainpublishing.com 51

Mackenzie McKade

He inhaled deeply. Jana didn’t know if it was the Chicken Parmesan the waiter just passed by with or if Nicolas was trying to breathe in the woman’s perfume from a short distance away.

His expression softened. “Look at her hands. Delicate. Soft.” He pinned her with a look as if he were staring at a runway model with appreciation and lust. “See the way she holds her wine glass, strokes the shaft slowly, gently. That is how she would touch a man.” His voice lowered, dropping deeper and quieter. “She would touch to please. Find the secret spots that would release the animal in her man.” A fire burned in his eyes as if he believed his own words. Then he sighed and leaned back in his seat. “But sadly, many men would pass her by, her love lost on a passing affair, because he couldn’t see what I see in her.” He paused and took a sip of his wine. “She would also make a good mother. Her children would be cherished.”

Jana couldn’t help staring at him in disbelief.
Was this man for real?

Good looking, sexy and passionate, and a hopeless romantic, too.

“She went from sex goddess to mother in one leap. What makes you think she would be a good mother?”

He smiled as if he knew a secret. “See the family in the corner booth?”

How could Jana miss them? The noise was enough to make someone think they were at the playground instead of the posh restaurant Nicolas owned.

Beneath a beautiful chandelier that sparkled with elegance, a flustered mother and father had their hands full with three rambunctious boys. Corralled between the adults it was one fight after another, until they separated the hellions by placing one at each of their sides, which now allowed the children on the ends freedom to roam, sticky fingers touching the marble statues and fresh flower arrangements adorning the room. It was like herding cats to keep the boys contained within the booth. Their parents’ expressions were haggard and tired.

“When the three-year-old passed by her a moment ago she struck up a conversation with him. Then she wiped his running nose. Most people 52

www.samhainpublishing.com

Lisa’s Gift

would have ignored him, found him annoying, even disgusting. She didn’t.” He shook his head. “Wouldn’t.”

As he spoke it was as if the woman morphed into this beautiful creature. Features Jana had never recognized were now apparent like her hands, her slender neck, and the unusual violet of her eyes.

Jana glanced back at Nicolas. He was staring at her. “What?”

“Do you want me to tell you what I see in you?” From the hungry look on his face she would rather not.

“No.”

Again, he leaned back in the booth. That mischievous grin she remembered back when she used to watch him with his friends slipped across his face. “Scared?”

Hell
yes
she was scared. She had always wanted this man. The years hadn’t changed anything. “Not interested.” She played indifferent, reaching for her wine and taking a sip. Then she released a heavy sigh to drive the point home.

A light danced across his features as his grin grew. “Liar.”

“Whatever.” She brushed him off with a tilt of her head. But if she thought that her impassive behavior was going to stop him, she should have thought again as she took another drink of her wine.

“You are scared—scared of the attraction between us.”

When his foot slid up her leg, Jana choked on the alcohol that chose that moment to go down the wrong way. Air. She needed air as her windpipe closed.

Within a heartbeat, Nicolas was by her side. “Gentle breaths.” He patted her back. “One and then another.”

I’m dying
. She wheezed in a breath that went nowhere. She inhaled again, making a rather unbecoming sound like a cross between a snore and an asthmatic attack. The whole time Nicolas was there, talking, touching her softly.

www.samhainpublishing.com 53

Mackenzie McKade

It took a moment, but finally Jana could breathe again. Her eyes were misty and nose running as she excused herself and hurried toward the bathroom.

What the fuck!
She leaned against the counter and stared at herself in the mirror. It was no mistake that Nicolas was coming on to her. And there was no mistake that Lisa didn’t mind. How Jana wished she could deny that he made her body burn. She had fantasized about being with him since she was just a teenager. What would it be like to make love to Nicolas Marchetti?

She couldn’t—could she?

Nah
… She shook her head. It would be weird. He was Lisa’s boyfriend. But the fact was, she needed to feel the touch of a man. She wanted to find someone to love.

Nicolas just wasn’t the man for her.

Jana grabbed a tissue, dabbed her eyes, then blew her nose with a loud snort.

She needed a plan to get through dinner and then go home alone.

Concerned, Nicolas watched the bathroom door, and was relieved once Jana exited. He stood as she approached. Her eyes were swollen, her adorable nose red. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Sitting at one end of the crescent-shaped booth, she refused to scoot over, forcing him to sit at the other side. “The wine just went down the wrong pipe.” Picking up her glass, she hesitated then set it back down.

He slid clear around on the semi-circular seat until he was within touching distance from her. Her mouth went dry. She glanced at him, feeling her palms start to sweat.

The salad had arrived in her absence, and he busied himself tossing it, mixing the dressing and cheese, before placing a generous helping on her plate.

54

www.samhainpublishing.com

Lisa’s Gift

When he attempted eye contact she glanced away. She had grown distant, not that she had previously been warm by a long shot. He was back at ground zero.

Serving himself a heap of salad, he picked up his fork. “Where were we? Ah… Yes. I was just about to tell you what I see in you.”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” she said, looking down into her plate as she stabbed at a piece of lettuce.

“Strength,” he offered the single word.

Her head shot up. “
Strength?
” Their eyes met and he felt her surprise.

Obviously she’d expected something superficial. Like how her eyes sparkled beneath the light like two crystals, or perhaps how silky her hair looked draped across her shoulders like a red curtain.

The salad was good, fresh and crisp, the dressing not too tart he noticed as he took a bite. He would have to remember to compliment Antonio later tonight.

Nicolas let her think about what he said before he continued. “Look at what you have achieved in such a short period of time.” He picked up the basket the waiter had set before them and offered her a breadstick, but she shook her head. “You’ve been alone since you were eighteen.

Moved to a different state. Started a new life where you had no friends or family to rely on. You have a college degree and have a brilliant career ahead of you. How many people can say that?”

A warm sensation filled him when she smiled. “A lot of people have degrees.”

“True. But not all of them have put themselves through school,” he countered taking a sip of his wine.

She stabbed another piece of lettuce with her fork, but didn’t put it in her mouth. Instead she shrugged. “I was given a scholarship.”

“You earned that scholarship. Even so you did this by yourself—

alone.” He placed his hand over hers. “Jana, Lisa says you are a strong, beautiful person. I know she’s right.”

www.samhainpublishing.com 55

Mackenzie McKade

A soft expression fell across her once-tight features as she extracted her hand. “Thank you.” She grinned, dropping her gaze once again to her salad plate.

“What?”

Continuing to smile, she met his eyes. “You’re not exactly what I thought you were.”

He pulled his brows together. “What did you think I was?”

“Well, arrogant for one.”