Lina sighed a little as she entered the office and switched on the lights. She'd been up a tad too late the night before, on the phone with Nick again. He'd been in the airport waiting for the flight to Toronto when she'd called. Later, he'd called from the plane for a few minutes. They'd made plans to get together once she was finished work. The guys had a day off and she worked a stone's throw from the hotel so finally it would be easy enough for her to slip across the street, into the hotel and meet him on the group's floor.
If it had been this easy in the early days, I wonder where we'd be now? Lina mused, glancing out a window at the hotel. She tried to count the floors by the windows but got lost. Dead, probably, the nasty voice in the back of her head answered. You'd let him convince you that he could handle anything you throw at him and you'd kill him. And the guilt would kill you.
"Shut up!" she muttered aloud, turning on her computer.
What's going to happen tonight? The voice persisted. You know he's going to try something and this time it'll take more than an unpaused video game to stop him.
I won't push him away anymore. I'm tired. It makes me miserable, it makes *him* miserable.
At least he's alive.
Shut *up*! A phone book fell over. See? I don't do it anymore, even when I'm mad.
But you want to.
The buzzer went and Lina let a few of her co-workers in, the voice ringing in her ears. She blessed the interruption that would keep her from thinking too much. Normally she got annoyed when Marian chose 8:30 in the morning to start hovering, asking for this, that and the other thing, but this morning the quick, mindless work was welcome.
The buzzer went for about the twentieth time while Lina was digging out a Purolator envelope.
"Can't these idiots just use their cards?" she muttered. "Marian, can you...?"
"I've got it, dear."
Eventually, Lina got what Marian had asked of her and emerged from the storage closet back into her main office. Standing there with a single white rose in his hand, was Nick. Lina stared.
"Hi beautiful," he greeted her with a lazy grin.
"Nick... what.. I mean..."
"I'm kidnapping you," he informed her. "Sadly it's going to be a threesome," he nodded his head at the large bodyguard behind him, "but I get to have you with me all day."
"I can't just..."
"I know you can't. That's why I called Marian yesterday while you were at lunch." He looked at his watch. "In exactly 60 seconds, you have the rest of the day off."
"Marian!"
"Is that a happy yell or do I need to call security?" her supervisor asked, coming around the corner.
"I'm not sure. You're okay with this?"
Nick used the rose to bridge the gap between them, running it lightly over her nose and lips. "She said she was okay with it *yesterday*."
"Contrary to popular belief, the office won't fall apart if you take a few days off, Lina." Marian chided her. "And you were so tense this morning. Go on. Have fun. Give us all the juicy details later."
"A few..."
"I'm here for a couple of days, and I'm greedy." Nick shrugged, watching her reaction. "But if you don't want to get caught in the circus after today, no pressure."
"Except I *have* to come with you today?" Lina raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore what exactly that damned rose was doing to her. But sometime in the last few days, someone had told him about his eyes and what they could do. She'd tried so hard to get him to ignore the fact that those eyes could speak sonnets to her. From the *look* he was giving her, all her hard work had ultimately been in vain.
Without another word, she scooped up her bag and jacket and took his hand. "I hope you know what you're doing, Carter."
"So do I."
As they slid into the Jeep, Nick glanced at her. "I know that look. Stop listening to her."
"Her?" Lina asked. Nick tapped her temple.
"The liar in there." he kissed the spot and held her, whispering against her forehead. "The one who tells you to hide because the real you is unlovable. The one who never trusted me. The one who makes you think you deserve misery. The one who wants to keep you the Ice Queen forever."
Lina pushed away a little, but remained in his arms. "She doesn't always lie."
"Yes she does. She's twisted and ugly and she makes you believe you're as horrible as she is. I'm going to kill her today."
She sighed against him. "I wish you would."
But Nick caught a flicker of distress. He cupped her face in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "What'd she say?"
"She said "And then who'll save you?"" was the whispered reply.
"Babe, you don't need saving from me. I'll take care of you."
"That's not what she meant." For a moment, Lina's eyes slid to the driver's seat.
"I'm sheilding," Nick reassured her.
She hesitated a little longer before admitting, "It's what I didn't want to talk about on the phone."
"Oh." He was surprised. "You're ready to talk about that?"
"Nooo," she admitted, "I'll never be ready. But if I don't tell you, I'm just leading you on."
"I don't mind being led," he squeezed her reassuringly. "Look, if you can hold off till tonight, I'll take the consequences." He silenced her protest with a finger to her lips. "Today we're going to pretend that the only abnormal thing about us is that goon in the front seat. Whether it means I end up horny and frustrated..."
"Nick!" she laughed.
"You know you wanted to hear it," he grinned at her. "Anyway, whether it's that or something worse I'll deal with the consequences later."
"I..."
"One day to hang out, talk, flirt - all the things we've wanted to do "for real". Then we can talk."
"You have an ulterior motive," she accused.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I want you to be comfortable with me again, trust me. I want to hear you," he gestured at his temple, "even just one word, without seeing you flinch. And, since I know your talks, I want you wanting to stay with me as much as possible while you're in the middle of telling me why this won't work."
"You're good."
"When I'm paying attention." The intense blue gaze was turned on to full effect again, and Lina almost didn't hear the last part, "And today, you have my full attention."