Appassionato (14 page)

Jake wandered back into the bedroom, clutching his phone. He was shirtless but had pulled on a pair of jeans. “Do you want me to make you breakfast?”

Emma looked at him, surprised. “You cook?”

Jake smiled. “Of course I cook. You know I cook.”

Emma shook her head. “I’m still getting used to this bonding thing. I have your memories, but they’re not always right at the surface where I can easily access them. And I’m too lazy to concentrate right now.”

“It’s okay. I am too.” Jake sat down on the bed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I think it’s going to take us all a while to get used to it.”

Emma sighed and kissed his palm. Then she squinted. Jake looked like he was outlined in blue. She rubbed her eyes. He still looked glowy.

“What?”

“You look like someone sprinkled blue glow all over you.” She frowned, staring at him harder. She could feel the glow as well as see it.
What is this?
she wondered. She reached a finger out and ran it along Jake’s arm above his skin, inside the glow but not touching him. The blue glow swirled around her finger and Jake twitched.

“What did you do? It tickles.”

Emma concentrated, running her finger up his arm again. “I’m not sure.”

“What’s going on?” Duncan walked into the room wearing sweatpants and nothing else. Emma glanced at him. He glowed a warm red. He looked beautiful.

“You’re glowing red,” she said, confused.

“Emma says I’m glowing blue,” Jake explained.

Duncan walked closer. “Another bonding thing?”

Jake nodded. “Must be.”

“What’s the point of glowing?” Duncan asked as Emma ran her hand down his arm. The red glow swirled around, growing brighter where her hand passed. Duncan shivered. Emma noted that both men’s tattoos were extra colorful, the rainbow colors that had been imprinted around the black designs even more vivid to her eyes. She glanced down at her arm, not surprised to see a purple glow on her skin.

“I’m glowing purple,” she said.

Jake grinned. “Well, at least that makes sense. It’s a combination of red and blue.”

“Huh. If I concentrate, I can make it brighter or dimmer. I don’t know what that means.” Emma frowned, concentrating.

“I can feel it when you do that,” Duncan said as she idly ran her hand along his arm. “Feels weird. Not bad, just strange.”

“I think we need to see if this applies only to us, or if you can see it on other people,” Jake said.
I can almost see it through your eyes
, he thought.

Emma nodded. “It feels like I can play with it, but to what end?”

“The only way to find out is to try something,” Duncan said. Emma ran her hand up his thigh. He shivered again and she noted that his libido was taking a definite interest in what was going on. He put his hand over hers to stop her. “Sweetheart, I’d love to play, but I’ve got a phone interview in five minutes.”

Emma pouted, wondering what the glow would look like when they were aroused.

Jake grinned, catching her thought. “I say you torture him during his interview.”

“Jake!” Duncan said, exasperated. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to give an interview when you’re hard as a rock?” He grabbed Emma’s hand, lifting it away from his leg and kissing it before setting it down on the bed.

Jake laughed and shook his head. “I’ll go start breakfast.”

Emma smiled. “I need to brush my teeth, anyway.”

* * * *

Four hours later, Emma sat in the back of a limo with Duncan and Jake on the way to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. She held Jake’s hand, watching as Duncan discussed the night’s concert with his bassist, Jon, and drummer, Tabb. She couldn’t believe she was there, riding in the car with them. Jake wouldn’t let go of her, and Duncan sat very close on her right. She had no idea what the others were thinking. Duncan and Jake introduced her as a “friend.” She knew they’d have to discuss how to handle the bonding, but for now they’d agreed to keep things under wraps until they had more time to hash out what they were going to say to the public. Emma hadn’t even thought about it until Jake brought it up over breakfast. She wasn’t used to thinking of fans and newspapers being interested in her life. She felt a pang of insecurity at the thought. She didn’t know what they were going to do. She was a teacher, and Duncan and Jake traveled around the world. How would they manage? What would they do if they couldn’t figure out a way to be apart because of the bonding?

Jake squeezed her hand, pausing in his conversation with Duncan’s publicist. She smiled weakly at him, fooling neither him nor Duncan.

“You okay?” Jake asked, sending waves of reassurance her way. Duncan slipped his hand onto her thigh, pressing lightly. She felt his concern loud and clear.

“Yeah, just a little tired,” she said, trying to relax.
I’d be fine
if I hadn’t suddenly discovered that I could see the auras of other people
, she thought. Not everyone, thank God, but she could see auras on Lisa, the publicist, and Tabb. She wasn’t sure what that meant. Neither of them had bonding tattoos. Was she sensing potential? She noticed Lisa rubbing at her arms as if they were itchy.

“It’s not much farther,” Duncan said quietly to her during a pause in his conversation. She nodded, wishing they were at the venue already.

A half hour later they pulled up to the back entrance. She waited until Jake got out of the car and let him help her out. She was grateful that there were no fans or photographers waiting.

“We didn’t tell them what time we’d be coming,” Duncan murmured as he stepped out behind her. “It’s easier that way. I have a lot of fans and they get a little excited sometimes.”

“I know. This is just really weird for me.” Emma touched him on the arm. “Your aura looks really pretty.”

Duncan blinked at her. “You think I’m pretty.” The tone of his voice was disbelieving.

Emma laughed. “Yeah. So is Jake. His blue glow is gorgeous, too.”

Duncan shook his head. “Emma, I’m a dude. I may wear eyeliner once in a while, but every time you call me pretty, my ego cringes.”

Jake laughed and slung his arm around Emma. “Honey, you can call me pretty anytime you like.” He ignored the looks Tabb and Jon threw their way, but Emma blushed.

“Where’s Dave?” Lisa asked, straightening her jacket. “He was supposed to be here waiting for us. I don’t know the way to the green room.”

“I’m right here,” a man said, his voice a deep baritone. He stepped out of the grey door set in the back of the building, propping it open with a brick. “I saw your car pull around from the front but it took me a minute to get to the back of the building.” He walked up, looking curiously at Emma sandwiched between Duncan and Jake. “Everything’s set. I can show you where the dressing room is.”

“We’ll find it on our own,” Tabb said, stepping past the group and exchanging a fist bump with Dave. “I want to see if my drums are still in one piece.”

“Your drums are fine, moron,” Jon said, rolling his eyes. “You always worry about them and they’re always fine.” He waved at Duncan and Jake and disappeared into the building, Tabb close on his heels.

Dave laughed. “It’s always the same. Tabb freaks over his drums, and Jon makes fun of him.” He turned back to Duncan, a smile on his face as Lisa walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, honey.” He slung an arm around Lisa’s shoulder and she snuggled into his side.

They’ve been dating for a few months now
, Jake thought to Emma, answering her unspoken question as she watched Lisa relax against the large man. They looked odd together—Lisa dressed in a tailored suit, briefcase in hand, and Dave in jeans and a T-shirt, tattoos crawling up his neck. Emma watched their auras flare into a bonding pattern and wondered if she was imagining things.
Bonding pattern? How do I even know that?

Duncan grinned. “I know, I know. Tabb always thinks the crew is going to dent his snare drum or something. Anyway, this is Emma, a friend of mine and Jake’s.” He pulled Emma away from Jake and she smiled uneasily, hoping no one could tell she was staring at Dave’s aura.

“Pleased to meet you,” Dave said, holding out a hand. Emma shook it warily, trying not to disturb the big man’s light green glow, but as soon as she touched him, the color flared. His eyes widened and Lisa gasped. Emma glanced at the other woman and saw that her aura was strengthening into a darker orange. Emma wrinkled her nose, trying to tamp down the surge of energy she felt. She failed. Dave looked at Lisa and Emma watched as their auras released delicate tendrils toward each other. Suddenly, the threads tried to mesh and Dave and Lisa staggered. Emma let go of Dave’s hand. Duncan reached out to him but she grabbed his arm, afraid of what would happen if he interfered.

“What’s happening?” Jake asked, voice low.

“I think they’re going to bond. Or rather, they
are
bonding.” Emma said, stunned as she watched a few small tendrils of light green and orange thread together.
Did I cause that? Shit.
She looked at Duncan and Jake and realized that their auras were already completely woven together with her own. To her eyes, the pattern said, “bonded.”

“What? Right now?” Duncan asked, worried. Alarmingly, he was thinking about Dave and Lisa fucking their brains out in public. Emma would’ve grinned if she hadn’t been so worried that she’d somehow precipitated this.

Emma shook her head. “I think it takes more than just touching to cement a bond, but the initial lock is going to happen now.” As she spoke, two unfamiliar bonding tattoos flared on Lisa and Dave’s arms. The couple gasped, hanging onto each other tightly for a moment. Then Dave bent down to kiss the petite woman.

“Aw, fuck,” Jake muttered, sounding disgusted. “Paparazzi at two o’clock.” He gestured urgently to the left.

“We’ve got to get them out of here.” Duncan moved closer to the embracing couple, looking like he was going to shoo them inside.

“Wait!” Emma said, suddenly sure that if he touched them, bad things would happen. She could see his aura flaring, an incredible show of color that made Lisa and Dave’s auras seem dim. “Let me. If you touch them, I don’t know what will happen.”

Duncan froze, then nodded. Emma walked closer to the couple, unsure of how she was going to help.

“Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast, Emma!” Jake shoved Duncan towards the door. “You, get inside.” Duncan obeyed and Emma edged closer to Lisa.

“Lisa, you and Dave have to get inside, okay?” she said, tentatively. Neither paid her any attention. They’d stopped kissing, but Lisa’s head was tucked beneath Dave’s chin and his eyes were closed. Emma took a deep breath and reached out. As soon as she touched Lisa’s arm, the couple opened their eyes and stared at her. Emma shivered. They looked like they were sleepwalking. “You have to get inside,” she said again. They nodded and shuffled inside without breaking apart.

“Good job,” Jake said under his breath as he crowded Emma into the building and slammed the door. Emma stood blinking in the sudden dimness. Once her eyes adjusted, she realized that Lisa and Dave had broken apart. They stood there staring at each other for a moment, then Dave cleared his throat.

“What the fuck just happened?” The man looked shaken.

“I knew you were going to say that. How did I know you were going to say that?” Lisa asked, her voice shrill. Emma looked at Duncan. He grimaced as Lisa and Dave touched again, their bodies melting into each other.

“How are we going to put on a concert if they’re stuck to each other?” Jake muttered, running his hands through his hair. “Maybe we can let them have the dressing room. Or see if there’s a hotel they can stay in. I don’t want them to have to run around back here like this. I know how awful it feels.”

Emma watched the glow surround Dave and Lisa, her hands tingling. “I think I can help.” Duncan looked at Emma sharply. “I think I can help them bond without the initial attachment problem.”

“How can you do that? We couldn’t even get away from that,” Duncan said.

“I think I can manipulate the auras, the bonding,” Emma explained, flexing her fingers. “I can feel their bond, see the way it interacts on a physical level. It can’t hurt to try.”

Jake sighed. “Okay, let’s just figure out a better place for this than the hallway.”

A few minutes later Emma crouched down in front of Lisa and Dave who sat on a worn sofa in Duncan’s dressing room. Jake perched on the dressing table, ignoring the chair, while Duncan leaned against him, his hands playing in Jake’s hair. Neither Dave nor Lisa seemed to notice.