Mel glanced toward Matt, and their eyes locked. The deep golden light of his made her insides tremble, and though it was only a recording, she knew he meant to sing this song for her.
When the song ended, Ms. Konstantine took a deep breath.
“All right, Mr. Saint. Let’s talk.
“That will be all, Ms. Darling,” she added to Mel, as she tried to herd the men to a seating area across from her desk.
“I don’t think so,” Bart said.
“What?”
“I understand this is your agency, Ms. Konstantine, but Miss Darling here did all the heavy lifting to get us here, and we’ll only do business with her. We’ve gotten to know her over the past couple of days, and we trust what we know. So if we consider your representation, it will only be with Miss Darling in the mix.”
Ms. Konstantine looked about to argue, but the CD had moved onto the next song, and Mel suddenly knew her boss wouldn’t give them up.
“All right. We’ll do this your way.”
Bart’s smile was predatory, but he sent a wink toward Mel. Mel had to suppress a giggle as she reached for her notebook. This was going to take awhile, but she didn’t doubt that Bart would have every one of his conditions met in the end.
9
Mel stepped into her apartment and slipped off her shoes. She had been in them for far too long today, but it had been worth every excruciating minute. Bart Saint had handled Kitty Konstantine like a magician handled a rabbit. Kitty hadn’t known what had hit her, only that she had to have The Four Saints in her stable of artists. She’d even unbent toward Mel at one point, promising that she would see a bonus in her next paycheck. Mel wasn’t going to spend the money until it actually appeared in her account, but she had confidence that Bart, whose control of Kitty throughout the meeting would have been unimaginable to Mel only last week, would see that she got her bonus.
“What’re you thinkin’, darlin’?” Matt asked, coming up behind her as she stared out the front window.
Mel smiled. “I still can’t believe how well Bart handled Ms. Machiavelli.”
Matt chuckled. “Uncle Bart can handle just about anyone ’cept his mama. Great Aunt Cecilia’s the only one who handles him.”
Mel laughed. “I’d like to meet her.”
“You will.”
She turned and stared at him, for his voice had turned serious.
“Will I?”
Matt nodded slowly as he crossed to her. Mel felt something move inside as his golden eyes locked onto her blue ones.
“You know I want you, don’t you?” he asked, reaching out to brush back a stray tendril of hair.
She swallowed hard. “I’d hoped you did,” she confessed, though she was suddenly very nervous. His golden eyes reminded her of the huge bear that had been in her bedroom just last night.
“You’re not afraid of me are you, darlin’?” he asked.
“Not exactly.”
“But?”
Mel reached out to lay both hands on his broad chest. She felt his heart beat through his flannel shirt.
“I guess I’m more afraid of me, of what I’m feeling,” she whispered. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I didn’t expect I ever could feel this much for someone who…”
“Is a Shifter?” he asked, and she felt him withdraw.
“No,” she said, letting go of a huff of breath and stepping into him. “I never imagined feeling this way about a man who is so much larger than life in every way.”
She looked up and smiled. “I never imagined a man like you would look at me the way you do. Would want me the way you do.”
She turned away from him in an attempt to gather her thoughts. “I can’t say it doesn’t matter—that you’re a Shifter, I mean. It’s incredible. You’re incredible.”
She glanced back at him and shook her head in amazement. “I just can’t believe someone like you wants someone like me.”
“Believe it,” he said, stepping to her and taking her shoulders in his big hands.
“But why?”
He shook his head. “Maybe it’s only because you’re not afraid of me. You’re not put off by what I am, but you’re also not drawn to me, just because of what I am.”
“You mean, like a groupie? I’ve seen the kind that hangs around stage doors, but are there really Shifter groupies?”
His laughter this time had the low growl of the bear he could become. “Not exactly, but you know how some women seem to be drawn to scary men, just for the thrill of it?”
She considered. “I guess so. I’ve always thought women like that were a little bit nuts, though.”
“No question about it.”
She stiffened and glanced up quickly. “You don’t Shift while you…I mean, when you’re …” Thoroughly embarrassed now, she couldn’t quite say it, and she would have pulled away again, but he chuckled again and held her tight.
“That’s a different kind of heat, darlin’,” he told her, pulling her into his arms. “Don’t worry. When I’m with a woman, I stay a man, ’cause all that heat isn’t about self preservation.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Okay?”