Kianna Alexander - Tempo Of Love

She didn’t move away. “Not at all. I’d love to see your office.”

“Why?”

“Seeing your workspace may help me understand you better. I may not even need to ask you much else.” She inhaled, taking in the scent of his woodsy deodorant.

“I’m okay with that. Call me and we’ll set it up.”

Before she could draw her next breath, he placed a peck on her cheek.

“What...?” she stammered. She’d been caught off guard, but she couldn’t say she hadn’t enjoyed it. The warmth spreading from her cheek made her reach up to place her hand there.

He smiled, his dark eyes twinkling.

She got the distinct sense that he enjoyed seeing her so off-kilter.

“Have a good day, Nona.”

Without another word, he strode to his car, got in and drove away.

Nona sat on the bench for several minutes, gathering her focus.

* * *

Saturday morning, Ken gathered with the rest of the Queen City Gents at Marco’s house for band rehearsal. As the four of them set up their instruments in Marco’s spare room, Ken looked around at the faces of the men he considered to be his closest friends. Each man wore a smile, one that seemed to have been put there by the woman in his life. Shaking his head, Ken eased onto the stool behind his drum set, and began tapping out a simple rhythm on the snare and kick tom to warm up.

Soon, Ken segued into “Drum Waltz,” which he’d learned from the techniques of his idol, jazz drum great Max Roach. The cadence moved in three-quarter time, making use of almost the entire drum set. As Roach had done, Ken threw in taps on the rims and outer casings of the drums to increase the depth and variety of sounds he could make.

As was usually the case when the guys sensed Ken was in the zone, conversation in the room ceased as Ken ran through the waltz a couple of times then moved into a freestyle, improvised rhythm. He was used to having inspiration grab hold of him this way, but the source of today’s inspiration was a surprise. In his mind’s eye, he pictured Nona in her fitted running gear. She had a body built for pleasure, and he would have to have been blind not to see that. As he remembered her tall, lithe figure, his drumming slowed but became richer, more passionate. Before he knew it, he’d slipped into a sensual, lilting ride cadence. His sticks struck the cymbals and the snare in a pattern reminiscent of the movements of her body as he imagined her slowly strutting toward him. His lips stretched into a smile.

Nona Gregory is a whole lot of woman.

When Ken finally looked up from his drum set, he saw Darius, Marco and Rashad all staring at him. No one said a word.

Ken’s brow crinkled. “What?”

Still, no one responded.

Ken chuckled, shaking his head. “You act like you never saw me get into a groove before. Darius, pick your jaw up off the floor. And Rashad, you look like your eyes are about to pop out of your head. Fix your face, man!”

Marco spoke first as the other two men tried to straighten up. “Sure, we’ve seen you in a groove before. We’ve all been there. But this is different.”

Ken shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Taking a few steps closer to Ken, Darius looked closely at him. “It’s a woman.”

Ken frowned.

“Oh, it’s definitely a woman.” Rashad clapped his hands together. “Wow. I never thought I’d see the day.”

Marco added, “I know who it is. It’s the reporter from the newspaper, right? The one who’s writing the story about you?”

“And what makes you think I have any interest in her?” Ken set his sticks on the snare, folding his arms over his chest.

“You spent almost an hour complaining about her when we sparred in kendo this week.” Marco folded his arms over his chest, mirroring Ken.

“You’ve never cared enough about a woman to mention her name to any one of us, let alone talk about her for that long.” Darius shook his head, eyes wide with amazement. “I think it’s finally happening.”

Ken groaned. He never would have thought someone could make him regret his fantasy. If he’d known his thoughts were so plainly displayed on his face, he’d have tucked his daydream away until he was alone.

“I’m glad a woman has finally gotten under your skin. I was beginning to worry about you, bro.” Rashad took a seat behind the keyboard he used for rehearsals.

“Looks like our last single member is about to be taken down, boys.” Darius chuckled as he set his upright bass, Miss Molly, on its stand.

“Whatever. You guys are full of crap.” Ken waved them off, already sensing the futility of the discussion. His bandmates were always bringing up his singlehood; it had been that way ever since Marco had married Joi a couple of months ago. Now that they knew he’d been thinking about a woman, there was no way they’d quit harping on it.

“I just want to know her name.” The remark came from Darius.

When Ken didn’t answer, Marco volunteered the information. “Her name is Nona.”

“I’d love to meet her.” Rashad played his hands over the keys. “Just to say thanks for taking Ken down a peg.”

Rolling his eyes, Ken vowed not to mention that he’d kissed Nona. He saw no need to add fuel to this fire. “Can we just get on with rehearsal?”

Darius grinned. “As much as I like teasing Ken, he’s right. We really should get to work on this week’s set.”

Conversation turned toward the music the band would play and away from Ken’s personal life. Relieved, he grabbed his sticks and waited for Rashad’s cue.

In the back of his mind, he thought of Nona and the problem she presented. He’d agreed to let her interview him for the newspaper because no sensible businessman would turn down good publicity. But being attracted to Nona had come as a surprise, something he’d never considered would be part of the equation. The way she made him feel only served to further complicate an already complex situation. He was a private man, and letting someone into his personal life was difficult enough without the added burden of growing attraction.

He knew he’d have to work doubly hard now. He had to protect his single status as well as his privacy, no matter how intoxicating the determined reporter might be.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.