Fall from India Place (On Dublin Street 4)

Lin didn’t flinch at his sudden flash of savageness. His snarl faded slowly as he seemed to come to himself. They both watched in silence as the bartender set the remainder of Kam’s meal in front of him.

“Sorry,” he said dully after the bartender left.

“You don’t have to apologize. There’s nothing shocking about your anger toward him. It’s very understandable.”

“Are you worried about tonight?” he asked warily after several silent moments of eating.

She glanced aside, surprised. “No. Are you worried?”

He swallowed and shook his head.

“Just be yourself, Kam,” she said quietly.

“I thought that was what you were trying to help me avoid,” he said before he took a swift bite of fork-tender ribs.

“You’re wrong. I wouldn’t want you to be anything but yourself.” She searched for a way to ease his anxiety, grabbing on a thread of advice. “Just talk to people like you do me,” she suggested.

A strange expression came over his rugged features. He set down his fork and knife and took a swallow of ice water.

“What?” Lin asked warily.

He leaned closer until their mouths were only inches apart.

“We’re screwed,” he said, his warm breath brushing her lips.

“What do you mean?”

“I hardly talk to people as a rule. At least not for the past few years.”

“And?” she whispered cautiously, caught in the gleam of his shadowed eyes.

“I’ve said more words to you in the past twenty-four hours than I have to people I’ve known my whole life. I don’t have to think about talking to you. It just . . . happens.”

“Oh,” she said, flustered. She stared at the fork in her hand, wondering how it had gotten there. What was it even used for? She set it down abruptly, grasping for the thread of rational thought.

“Well then . . . just listen,” she suggested breathlessly. She looked up into his somber face. “Listen to the Gersbachs like you do the rest of the world, absorb their intentions, feel their rhythms. Don’t feel any pressure to perform. That’s not what this is about. Observe them tonight, and afterward, you can tell me all your impressions. You’ll put it into words then.”

“So I get you afterward? To myself?”

Her pulse began to throb at her throat as she stared at his mouth. She hadn’t prepared for him saying that. She was wide-open to him. His gaze was fixed on her throat. She instinctively pressed her hand to her neck, but he stopped her by wrapping his hand around her wrist. Her breath froze and then burned in her lungs as she watched him slowly raise her hand to his mouth and place a single kiss on her palm. It was a simple gesture, and yet mind-bogglingly complex. Her sex clenched tight at the sensation of his pressing, firm lips and the hint of his heat behind them.

“I’ll think about it,” she whispered shakily when their gazes met again.

The hint of a smile pulled at his lips. She couldn’t make a logical decision with his knowing eyes seeing straight through her and his kiss still burning her palm. She had the uncomfortable impression that while she was unsure of how tonight would end, Kam was one hundred percent positive.

Chapter Five

Lin ended up having a wonderful time at lunch, finally letting Kam talk her into sampling his ribs and pizza. He’d been right. The food was delicious. They’d lingered over it until Lin regretfully said she needed to get back to work. Since he’d expressed interest in touring other businesses, she made a phone call on the cab ride downtown and got Kam in for a tour and executive meeting with both Schnell Industries, a young and promising technology company; and Alltell, a major wireless telecommunications company.

“Are you interested in acquiring wireless technology that could make your watch into an organizer and communications device?” she asked him while they were in the cab.

“Thinking about it,” Kam said vaguely.

“Because that’s a fantastic idea,” she enthused. She sat back in the seat, and was considering all the innovative possibilities for Kam’s watch, when she noticed him eyeing her closely.

“You must be very excited, having a groundbreaking product like this. I could really get behind your watch, Kam,” she said sincerely.

“Could you?” he asked. Lin blinked when she sensed the intensity behind his quiet question.

She finished with work early and returned to her condominium, where she decided to practice a new dance routine that had proved challenging for her. Traditional Chinese dance emphasized exquisite control of movement. It was a sort of moving meditation for her, an exercise that helped her find her center, her peace . . . her control.

Something told her that her control would be in short measure tonight.

She ignored the volatile thought and for a while was able to lose herself in the fluid rhythm of the dance. Afterward, she showered and retrieved two potential dresses for dinner from her closet. As she came out of her walk-in closet, she heard her doorbell ring. She draped the dresses over her arm and hurriedly tightened her robe. After checking who it was through the peephole, she swung open the door.

“Hi,” she greeted Richard St. Claire, smiling. “What are you doing home at this hour?” she asked, knowing he was usually working at the restaurant at this time.

“I’m coming down with something. Emile told me to get home and to bed before I spread things to the customers,” Richard croaked, pointing to his chest. “Can I borrow your humidifier? My chest is killing me every time I cough.”