Karina Bliss - What the Librarian Did

Running scared more like, if he was avoiding even Katherine’s phone calls.

“I’m sure he’ll phone soon,” he told her.

“Oh, I’m not worried.”

Which meant she was. Unfortunately, the mounting evidence suggested his brother had been siphoning off more than his share of royalties on the early songs they’d cowritten. But surely Zander trusted Devin not to involve Katherine? Damn it, this situation was getting more and more complicated. On impulse Devin kissed his mother goodbye, something he rarely did. “Have a great night.”

For a moment Katherine looked startled, then she patted his cheek. “You, too…and I expect to hear all about it.” On those ominous words she left.

All going well, he reflected as he closed the front door behind her, the evening’s activities wouldn’t be fit for maternal ears. Checking his watch, Devin calculated time zones, then rang Zander’s cell and left another message: “Call your mother!”

Then he finished getting ready for his date, turning his mind to more pleasurable thoughts. Like teaching the librarian to forgo restraint, caution and common sense in favor of spontaneity, recklessness and instant gratification. And that was even before they reached her unmade bed. Her so-called vice perfectly complemented the only one he had left.

Sex.

RACHEL DIDN’T WANT to be nervous.

It made the evening ahead feel too much like a date.

Which it wasn’t.

Peering past the mottled green patches in the antique oval mirror on her dresser, she applied a shocking pink lipstick and decided she was satisfied with her appearance. She wore a tight-fitting fifties cocktail dress of pink crepe overlaid with black lace, which had a scalloped edge at the strapless bodice and a mermaid ruffle hem. After straightening the black velvet bow at the Empire waist, she hunted for the lacy tights that went with the outfit. Holding them up, she frowned. They had a run, and the ladder was long enough for a fire brigade.

Reluctantly, she settled for patterned knee-high stockings-figuring the three-quarter-length skirt would cover them. She finished the outfit with a pair of dainty black ankle boots with a high heel, and clipped on velvet bows to match the one at her waist.

Opera presented a rare chance to dress up, but she was also trying to prove a point. Of course vintage could be sexy-look at Dita Von Teese, the famous striptease artist once married to shock rocker Marilyn Manson. Rachel hesitated, then picked up a tissue and scrubbed off the slutty lipstick, replacing it with a less provocative nude shade.

She glanced at the diamanté watch strapped to her wrist. Her car was being serviced so they’d go in his. She hoped Devin was allowing enough time for them to walk to wherever he’d parked.

The full-throttle throb of a powerful engine brought her to the door. Nervously wrapping herself in her fringed silk shawl, she stared at the leather-clad figure on the Harley-Davidson.

Devin lifted the black visor on his helmet. “No pre-car street layout defeats a red-blooded American,” he said with satisfaction, then scanned her shawl-swathed figure. “I brought a jumpsuit in case you wore a dress.” Reaching into a side satchel, he pulled out what looked like a pair of orange mechanic’s overalls, then unclipped another helmet from the pillion.

Rachel finally found her voice. “I’m not going to the opera on a motorbike!”

“Why not? It’ll be fun.” His gaze dropped to her feet. “Those boots should be okay on the bike.”

She tugged the shawl tighter around her shoulders. “What about my hair?” It was piled on her head, with loose tendrils softening the diamanté sparkles at her earlobes and throat.

Devin looked at it critically. “Very pretty.”

She had a sudden feeling he was doing this on purpose. “We’re catching a taxi.”

“Okay.” To her surprise, he got off the motorcycle without a murmur. “How long do they take on a Saturday night? Not that I mind missing the first half…”

Rachel held out her hand for the jumpsuit and helmet. “Wait here.” Inside, she put on the offending items, knowing better than to check her appearance in the mirror. When she came out, Devin sat astride the bike, engine idling and his face hidden behind the visor again. “If you’re grinning behind that…”

He raised a gloved hand holding two tickets. “Front row mezzanine, overlooking the stage.”

Gingerly, Rachel approached the bike. “How do I get on this thing?”

“Put your left foot on the foot peg, then swing your right leg over the seat. Watch out for the exhaust.”

She followed his instructions, trying not to touch him, and he checked the position of her feet. “You can hold on to the grab rail or me. If you haven’t ridden before you’ll probably feel more secure with your arms around my waist.”

Rachel reached behind her for the grab rail. “This is fine.” She couldn’t see his face, but it sounded as if he was trying not to laugh.

“Let’s go then.”

He accelerated slowly, but her knees tightened instinctively around his hips. The Harley picked up speed and Rachel dropped the grab rail and clamped her arms around his waist, hanging on for dear life. A rumble of laughter vibrated through his torso, matching the rumble of the bike’s engine.

She’d never been on a motorbike before, never comprehended the delicious assault on the senses. Speed cooled the air and pushed the scents of the city under her visor. Exhaust fumes, a sizzle of food from passing restaurants, the whiff of trash from a downtown Dumpster, and from the waterfront the salty tang of the sea.

Devin knew the streets well, bypassing traffic lights to detour down narrow alleys. If she wanted to, Rachel could lean out and touch the parked cars, talk to passing pedestrians. There was no barrier between her and the pulse of the neon city, the pulse of the powerful bike vibrating beneath her.

Under the thin jumpsuit the skirt of her dress had hiked up, and Devin’s legs warmed her where she gripped him, from knees to inner thighs. Her spirits soared with a heady sense of freedom. Naughtiness was addictive. She could have been a teenager again, but a teenager without responsibility, without the burden of having to make adult choices.

Rachel felt an almost overpowering urge to stand on the foot pegs with her hands on Devin’s broad shoulders and yell, “Forget the opera! Let’s just ride until we run out of gas.” Except she had a disquieting feeling he would agree.

“Hey!”

Twisting, she saw a stranger waving and gesturing from the sidewalk. Rachel waved back. Twice more, she returned salutes-from two openmouthed kids staring out the back window of a passing car, and from an old lady waving her walking stick. Amazing who turned out to be Harley fans.

Too soon they were at an underground parking lot on Queen Street where Devin cruised into a parking bay. In the enclosed space the rumble of the Harley was deafening.

Rachel touched his shoulder and pointed to a sign, Owners Only.

He turned off the engine. “I’ve got an apartment here,” he said over his shoulder. “We’ll dump the gear first, then walk across the road to the opera house.”

Standing on the foot pegs, Rachel swung her right leg up and over the seat.

That was when she noticed the rubber heel of her dainty boot was on fire.

TAKING OFF HIS HELMET, Devin turned at the sound of Rachel’s gurgle of laughter, then caught sight of her smoldering boot. “Hell!” Hunkering down, he grabbed her foot with his gloved hands, wrenched down the zip and hauled off the boot, dropping it on the concrete.

“All those people-” peals of laughter escaped under the visor “-waving and yelling-” she hauled off her helmet, gasping for air “-and I-” another paroxysm of laughter shook her “-I thought they were just being friendly.” Leaning on the bike for support, Rachel dabbed at her eyes.