“Thomas?” Alexandria touched his shoulder lightly. “Have you been doing drugs this evening?” She already knew the answer; she could smell it in his bloodstream. “Perhaps we should take you to a hospital. Or a private doctor.”
Slowly, in fear, Thomas lowered his hands. The rear window was intact. There were no shards of glass. Alexandria was sitting calmly in the seat, her blue eyes anxious.
“This has never happened before. I’m hallucinating. It was just a little coke in the men’s room. Maybe it was some bad stuff, I don’t know.” He sounded scared.
“What did you see?” Again she scanned the area, trying to find evidence of Aidan or any other danger, but they seemed to be alone. Maybe it really was the drugs. “Should I tell the driver to take you to a hospital?”
“No, no. I’ll be all right.” He was sweating profusely.
She could smell his fear.
“There’s nothing out there, Thomas, really. I sometimes sense things before they happen, and I don’t have any strange feelings,” she offered, trying to be reassuring.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized hoarsely. “Have I ruined the evening?” His eyes kept shifting from side to side, and he seemed to have developed a nervous tic on the left side of his jaw. He looked far older than he had at the beginning of the evening.
“No, of course not. I had a wonderful time. Thank you for thinking of the theater. I really needed to get out,” she assured him. “But Thomas, I don’t believe in taking drugs. I have my little brother, Joshua, to think about. I realize it isn’t my business what you choose to do on your own time, but I’m not comfortable with cocaine or any other drug.”
“It’s not like I’m some junkie. I just use it occasionally for recreational purposes.”
“Not around me.” That alone was a good enough reason not to be with him. She thought much less of him now, knowing that he would use narcotics to enhance the evening, as if he was incapable of enjoying it on his own.
“Fine,” he said sulkily, “I won’t.”
The car was already pulling into Aidan’s circular drive. The wrought-iron gates had been left open in anticipation of her return. For a moment she sat still, staring at the heavy gates. They represented a loss of freedom. She wasn’t ready to go back to the house and admit defeat. So Thomas Ivan and she didn’t have the least bit of chemistry between them. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t find another man.
She slid quickly out of the car, eluding Thomas’s clinging hand. “Thank you again, Thomas. I’ll see you soon. Be sure to get back to me on your ideas for the designs.” And before he could get out to accompany her to the door, she was running lightly up the marble steps to the wide front porch. She waved once and slipped inside.
Thomas swore and sat back in the seat. Before he could close the door, he saw the heavily muscled wolf stalking him across the lawn. “Go! Go!” he shouted to the driver, slamming the door hard.
The driver fishtailed out of the driveway and away from the house, and Thomas breathed a sigh of relief. All he wanted to do was get home and get very drunk.
Alexandria moved through the house without turning on a light, found the phone, and made a call. She could see perfectly in the darkness and ran easily up the stairs. Aidan thought he had won—he had monitored her all evening—but it wasn’t over yet. She was not ready to concede defeat.
In her bedroom, she removed the black velvet dress and reached for her faded, comfortable, worn blue jeans and a simple pale blue shirt. The change took only minutes, and she tugged on tennis shoes and headed back downstairs. The cab she called had not yet arrived, so she sat outside on the marble steps and waited.
“And where are you off to now?” Aidan asked silkily, appearing out of nowhere to loom over her, making her feel small and fragile.
“I’m going dancing.” Her eyes dared him to deny her.
His body tightened. “Dream date didn’t go well?”