Tall, Dark & Hungry

Bastien unlocked the refrigerator in his desk and set the two small vials inside. He'd finally remembered to bring them up to the penthouse. They'd been in his office all week, since the day Terri had come for lunch, Monday. He had just been getting ready to leave for his appointed meeting with the lab guys that morning, when James came into his office to give him the new synthetic enzymes for Vincent to test. They were the latest effort to treat the condition that forced Bastien's cousin and uncle to feed from living donors. Life would be much easier for both men if they could survive off of bagged blood as most of the rest of the clan did. Vincent was usually the one who tested each new serum and, knowing that he was staying in the penthouse at the moment, James had brought the serum to Bastien.

By the time the scientist had finished explaining the requirements for a true test of the enzyme--Vin¬cent had to refrain from feeding off living donors while taking it, and he would need to be tested daily to see if it was working, as well as to be sure he wasn't suffering any damaging side effects--Bastien was running really late. He'd thanked the fellow and merely tossed the vials in the large unlocked fridge, rather than waste time on the locked one. Then he'd rushed off to his meeting.

But of course he'd forgotten the vials that night when he'd gone up to the penthouse. In fact, Bastien had forgotten them repeatedly until today, but he hadn't forgotten to bring the matter up with Vincent. His cousin had agreed to try the serum, and to switch to bagged blood, but refused to do so until the week¬end following the wedding. He didn't want it to in¬terfere with his play rehearsals, or with Lucern and Kate's wedding if there did happen to be side effects.

Bastien understood. He'd checked with James to be sure that the vials of serum wouldn't expire, but had only finally remembered to bring them upstairs with him tonight. He would keep them in the pent¬house office refrigerator until Vincent was ready for them.

That chore out of the way, Bastien grabbed a bag of blood from the now restocked shelves of the fridge. Thankfully, he'd at least remembered to have that done. Although he was surprised he had even managed that. He'd been a tad distracted all week, what with finding ways and times to squeeze in visits with Terri. She wouldn't go out with him alone when Kate was free, explaining apologetically that she had come to be with her cousin before the wed¬ding and didn't feel right about abandoning her at a time when she was so excited and nervous about the up coming nuptials.

Bastien understood. Besides, they spent time to¬gether. It was just that, in the evenings, they only man¬aged to see each other on double dates with Lucern and Kate. The other couple didn't wish to go without seeing each other, but insisted on chaperones when they did. In an effort to make sure their wedding night was special, Kate refused to be alone with Lucern un¬til then. And, as long as Kate and Lucern couldn't be alone together, neither could Terri and Bastien. Which meant, to spend any time on his own with Terri, Bastien had to arrange to see her while Kate was at work. While he himself should be working.

After taking off the first week of Terri's stay here in New York, Bastien was swamped trying to catch up with everything he'd neglected. But he had still managed to make time to be alone with her for at least an hour every day. He had made it a point to be sure they went places, too. After that first lunch in the office, Bastien hadn't wanted her to think that his only interest in her was sexual. But, somehow, no matter where they went or what he had planned, they always ended up making love. They'd made love in some interesting and unexpected places this week, and it wasn't always he who initiated it. Terri was turning out to be as insatiable as he had found him¬self becoming. She was doing a good job of making up for the years of abstinence since her husband died.

"Bastien?"

"Yeah?" He glanced up as Vincent opened the of¬fice door.

"Terri just buzzed. She's on her way up in the elevator."

Smiling, Bastien tossed the now empty blood bag into the waste basket under the desk and gave the fridge door a push to close it. He stood and hurried around the desk.

Today was the only day he hadn't managed to book a free hour to see her. And while Kate would be here soon for the stag and doe party, helping to set up for it was a perfectly legitimate reason for Terri to come early. He hadn't expected to be so lucky as to have her show up this early though.

"I thought that news would cheer you up," Vin¬cent said. His amusement was apparent as Bastien ap¬proached the door.

"You thought right, cousin." He slapped Vinny on the shoulder and moved past him into the hall. "You thought right."

"Well then, this news might make you even hap¬pier." His cousin followed him.

"What's that?" Bastien asked with distraction.

"I have to pick up my date and take her to dinner before the party, so you'll have this place to yourself until the guests start arriving. Or at least until Aunt Marguerite, Rachel, and Etienne come back from col¬lecting Lissianna and Greg from the airport. That should give you about two hours. You'll have to set up for the party on your own, but--"

"You're  a  good  cousin, Vincent,"  Bastien  said solemnly as they reached the entry. "And a good friend."

"I'll remind you of that the next time I need a fa¬vor," his cousin said lightly.

"You do that," Bastien agreed. The elevator ar¬rived and the doors slid open.

"Hello, beautiful," Vincent greeted Terri as he swapped places with her, taking her spot on the eleva-tor. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he added as the doors started to close. "And since there isn't much that I wouldn't do, that means the two of you should have lots of fun."

Terri glanced from the closed elevator doors to Bastien with a grin. "My arrival didn't scare him off, did it?"

"No. He's gone to get his date and take her to din¬ner," Bastien explained. Then he stepped forward and scooped Terri into his arms.

"Bastien!" She squealed in combined surprise and alarm, her hands clutching instinctively at his shoulders.

"Have you ever had a glass of champagne in a Jacuzzi?" He started up the hall toward the master suite.

"No, I don't believe I have," Terri admitted. She unclenched her hands to slip them around his shoul-ders and relaxed against his chest. "I take it we're go¬ing to have champagne in the Jacuzzi before we set up for the party?"

"No," he said promptly. "You're going to have champagne in the Jacuzzi."

She arched her eyebrows. "What are you going to have in the Jacuzzi?"

"I'm going to have you"

"Mmm," Terri murmured, unable to control an excited shiver.

"Mmm," Bastien murmured back. He pressed a kiss to her lips. "God, I love it when you do that."

"What?" She asked huskily, planting a kiss by his ear.

"Shiver with excitement. Or moan, groan, writhe, or arch. I just love it when you're excited," he admitted.

Terri laughed. "You're the one who does it to me. I'm beginning to think that you're something of a magician. In fact, right this minute I'm sure of it."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because, we're nowhere near the Jacuzzi, yet I'm already wet."

Bastien nearly tripped over his own feet at that ad¬mission. His eyes jerked to her face and hunger im¬mediately flared in him as he took in her wicked smile. "Damn," he muttered. "Maybe we'll leave the Jacuzzi for another time."

Terri laughed as he began to walk faster.

"Do you want me to call you a cab?"

"What!" Chris yelled over the surrounding noise.

Terri shook her head. The editor hadn't heard her over the loud throbbing music. She leaned closer un¬til her mouth was almost touching his ear. "Do you want me to call you a car service? It can't be easy tak¬ing the subway with that cast."

C.K. hesitated, debating the matter, then nodded and yelled, "Please. But how will you do that with all this noise?"

Terri hesitated. She hadn't thought of that. Then she knew the answer. "I'll use the phone in the office!"

"Oh!" He nodded. "Okay."

"I'll be right back," she yelled. "Just sit tight!"

Leaving him there, in the middle of Kate and Lucern's stag and doe party, Terri wove her way through the guests to the entry, then hurried down the hall to the office. She'd noticed that the editor seemed tired when he arrived. When she'd asked, C.K. explained that he'd been working overtime for the past week; trying to catch up with work. He'd managed to perk up a bit and have some fun, but it was getting late and Terri had noticed that he was starting to yawn and look exhausted. When she'd seen him take his jacket off the back of his chair and put it on, she went over to see if he wanted her to call him a car.

The office was empty when she entered; not that Terri had expected it to be otherwise. The guests at the party were all family and friends, all of them ei¬ther from the city or having shown up yesterday or today for the wedding tomorrow. But it was possible that Kate and Lucern or someone else had sought out a quiet place to be alone for a bit: something she'd considered suggesting to Bastien at least half a dozen times. But, as the maid of honor and best man, they were the hosts of this party and simply hadn't been able to slip away. She was glad the room was empty. It might have been embarrassing to walk in on an amorous couple.

Closing the door behind her, Terri moved to the desk and sat down. She pulled the phone closer to her, then realized she didn't have a clue what the number would be to call for a car service in New York. Or if it was even possible. She supposed it must be, or Chris wouldn't have agreed to her calling. Bit¬ing her lip, she glanced over the desk for a phone book, but of course there was none. Terri turned her attention to the drawers. Her eyes landed on the large bottom left drawer first. It was large enough to hold a telephone book. It was also not quite closed. Reaching down, Terri pulled it open, then simply stared. What looked like a desk drawer was not a drawer at all. It didn't pull out, but swung open re¬vealing a mini refrigerator. That was a bit startling in itself, but what was in the little refrigerator was even more so.

Terri stared at the contents: two vials similar to the ones she had found in Bastien's office on Monday morning. And there were also at least a dozen bags of blood. She stared at them uncomprehending for a moment, completely bewildered as to why these things should be in Bastien's desk drawer. She knew medical research was a part of Argeneau Industries, and she had heard of people bringing their work home with them, but this was a bit much.

A sound made her start with guilt, slam the refrig¬erator door closed and jump to her feet.

"Oh, there you," Bastien said, appearing from the hallway and crossing the room. He smiled.

"I came to call a car service for Chris, but I don't know the number and can't find a phone book," Terri blurted.

"I know. He told me. You don't have to call, though. I arranged for several company cars to take everyone back to their homes and hotels. I already sent Chris back in one." He was around the desk by this time, and he paused before her to take her face in his hands. He smiled down into her eyes. "In fact, I sent a lot of people on their way. The rest are waiting for the cars to return, so... we have a few minutes before we have to go play host and hostess again."

"Oh." She smiled, but confusion was still reigning in her mind. The blood, the medical vials in both Bastien's office refrigerator and the penthouse office, the IV stand she'd found while rudely snooping her first day here, and a secret that Kate had mentioned-- one Bastien would have to tell her and they would have to work out: these things were all running through her mind, round and round, like a rat on a wheel. Blood, medicine, IV stand, secrets?

Bastien's mouth covering hers was distracting, and Terri tried to force her fears from her mind. But her brain kept running. Blood, medicine, IV stand, secrets.

"Terri?" Bastien murmured, pulling back when she didn't respond. "Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes and forced a smile. "I'm just a little tired."

He caressed her cheek with one thumb. "It's late."

"Yes," she whispered.

Bastien nodded, but there was a flicker of uncer¬tainty on his face.

Guilt immediately ran through Terri. She wasn't really tired, just confused. And she felt bad for letting it come between them when they had so little time left to enjoy each other. There was probably a simple explanation for all of what she had seen, and the eas¬iest way to hear that explanation was to ask. She would, she decided; but first she wanted to eliminate his uncertainty. Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his and kissed him. Bastien remained still for a moment, then kissed her back gently, his mouth moving over hers with infinite care, a warm caress that slowly be-came warmer.

Terri moaned, her arms sliding around his neck and holding on as her body arched and stretched against his. This was Bastien, the man she loved. Did anything else matter?

The opening of the office door made them freeze, then turn toward the door.

"Sorry for interrupting." Lissianna offered them an apologetic smile. "But the first of the cars have re¬turned, and Kate's parents and sisters are leaving. Mother thought Terri would wish to say good-bye."

"Of course!" Bastien slipped an arm around Terri as they walked the door. "We'll come say good-bye."