Only Lover

‘Good evening,’ Farrah replied formally.

She felt Joel Falcone's arm tighten painfully on her waist and the smile on his lips for her didn't reach the darkness of his eyes, deep unfathomable eyes that gave away nothing of his thoughts. ‘Candida is an old friend, my love,’ he chided gently.

So the act had begun! She had to force herself not to cringe away from such a false endearment. ‘Really?’ she looked at him steadily.

Candida's eyes had narrowed at Joel's protective air and murmured endearment. She pouted at him. ‘I thought I was more than a friend, Joel.'

He laughed at her exaggerated air of hurt. ‘Don't try to cause trouble, Candy. Farrah doesn't understand your warped sense of humour. And I won't have her hurt.'

The redhead looked away. ‘I see,’ she said quietly. ‘Are you going to join us?'

‘I'm not sure.’ He looked at Farrah. ‘Honey?'

She shied away from such a suggestion, unwilling to meet more of his friends if they resented her as much as the girl did. ‘I—I don't—–'

Joel didn't wait for the rest of her answer. He shook his head to Candy. ‘I don't think so. Not tonight.'

The beautiful redhead gave it one last reckless shot. ‘Is Laura coming here tonight?’ she asked casually.

She realised her mistake as Joel's eyes became icily cold. ‘I wouldn't know,’ he said shortly. ‘Laura and I no longer discuss our personal social engagements, as you very well know.'

Candida was instantly contrite. ‘I'm sorry, Joel, I didn't mean—–'

‘I know very well what you meant, Candy, and it wasn't anything polite. Now if you'll excuse us I think I'll take Farrah into the other room and do what passes for dancing in this place.'

Farrah followed him wordlessly, pulled along by his hold on her hand. She didn't have time to say goodbye to the other girl, but she didn't think it really mattered, as Joel had said, Candida did not have politeness on her mind. The poor girl had been positively green with jealousy. Farrah shook off all thoughts of the beautiful Candida, at the moment she had something more pressing to think about. She had seen what Joel said they called dancing when they came into the club, and to her it looked more like making love to music!

‘Relax,’ Joel murmured in her ear, bending down as they danced so that his face was buried in her creamy throat. ‘Try to look suitably ecstatic.'

Farrah was much too aware of his hard lithe body pressed close to her own to look anything else but terrified. She had never danced this close to a man before and each muscle and sinew was firmly outlined against her own trembling body. ‘How can I?’ she asked tautly. ‘When you terrify the life out of me.'

Joel moved his head up and away from her. ‘I do, Farrah Halliday? And how do I do that?'

She looked away from him crossly. ‘You mock me.'

‘I mock everyone, child,’ he said with some humour. ‘Including myself.'

‘But why are you so cynical?'

He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I have no idea. Unless you count boredom as a reason.'

‘Boredom!’ Farrah was frankly astounded. ‘But you have so much.'

Joel's mouth twisted. ‘So everyone keeps telling me.'

Farrah wished they could sit down again, the movement of his body on hers was so blatantly sensual that she felt like part of the man himself. And yet they would have looked strange dancing any other way, everyone seemed to be moving with the same closeness. ‘Could we—–’ she cleared her throat. ‘Could we sit down again, please?'

‘Sure,’ his eyes mocked her silently as he saw her seated before sliding on to the bench seat beside her, his thigh brushing hers. ‘You don't like to dance?’ He watched her over the rim of his glass.

‘Yes, I like to dance,’ she said tartly. ‘But I wouldn't call that dancing.'

‘Just what would you call it?'

‘Making love to music?'

She heard him give a deep throaty chuckle and watched as his teeth flashed whitely and his blue eyes crinkled with laughter. ‘An apt description,’ he toasted her with his glass. ‘So you're a prude, Farrah Halliday.'

‘I am not! I just think that sort of thing should be done in private.'

‘What sort of thing?’ He watched the couples dancing for several seconds. ‘It's only body contact.'

Farrah wrinkled her nose delicately. ‘I didn't like it,’ she said firmly.

‘Strange, I found it rather—satisfying.'

Farrah knew he had intended embarrassing her, but she blushed anyway. ‘Then you're satisfied very easily,’ she retorted shortly.

‘Oh, but I'm not,’ he corrected her softly. ‘I'm very difficult to—please.'

She knew this was a double-edged conversation, and she also knew that Joel Falcone was enjoying her discomfiture immensely. ‘Tell me, Mr Falcone,’ she ignored his dark scowl at her formality, ‘why didn't you ask someone like your friend Candida to assist you with your little problem? She's obviously aware of the breakdown of your relationship with Miss Bennett.'

‘I should think all my friends are,’ he said grimly. ‘It's been on the cards for some time now.'

‘But what—what happened?’ Her eyes were like huge green pools of curiosity.

Joel sighed. ‘I suppose you have a right to know. Now I may not be the epitome of the perfect male and Laura and I have never been very faithful, each of us having other casual friendships. But I draw the line at having her burst into my apartment just as I was—–’ he broke off. ‘Making love, you would call it,’ he looked grim. ‘With another woman.'

‘But you told me that you—that you and she still—–'

‘Oh, we do, on the odd occasion. Why not? I take Laura as I would take a shower, not a necessity but pleasant on the right occasion. And as for using Candida, I have better sense. I don't intend to gain my freedom from one scheming woman just to get caught in another trap equally disastrous. Believe me, Candida would demand more from me than you do, both physically and in other ways. And I'm not willing to answer to any woman for my actions.'

‘I see.'

‘Stop looking so disapproving, Farrah,’ he chuckled huskily. ‘And for God's sake relax! Don't you ever smile?'

‘Sometimes. I haven't had much to smile about lately.'

‘Look, I'm not going to hurt you. This is all pretence, and it won't last very long.'

‘Just long enough for me to be known publicly as your new woman.'

‘It may not come to that, Laura and I may be able to settle this privately.'

Farrah looked at him eagerly. ‘Could you do that?'

‘Maybe,’ he said non-committally.

‘Oh, Joel, I'd—–’ she broke off.