Bassist Instinct (The Rocker Series #2) Read online

  “I’m having a weird déjà vu, I’m feeling like I’ve known you all my life, but you’re completely unfamiliar and exciting to me at the same time. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it’s there. And I know for a fact I’ve never been kissed by anyone like that before,” his eyes bored into hers.

  “I’m betting you’ve kissed a few, too.” He looked a little repentant for a moment but he bounced back.

  “None so fine as you, love.”

  She stepped away from him. This was going too fast. She didn’t feel a familiarity with him, per se, but she felt a powerful attraction between them, and she was afraid he’d overwhelm her with it. Funny how the fear crept back once his lips left hers. The kiss was all him, she was just following his lead, wasn’t she? She didn’t have any expertise, she just did what felt right, and she was secretly delighted that it was up to standard.

  “We should catch up,” she said softly.

  “We’ll take it slowly, lass. I just feel an undeniable connection to you, but I feel pretty sure I’d know it if we’d met before,” he touched her cheek. “The last thing I want is to frighten you away.”

  Tate took her hand and they walked toward the reluctantly dispersing crowd.

  “I’m fine, Tate. Okay, I’m a little startled,” she said, her eyes looking large and vulnerable, tugging at his heart. “You’ve come out of nowhere.”

  “As I recall, t’was you who came out of nowhere,” he said clapping his hands together like a crash and she laughed.

  “I can’t believe I got his autograph,” Fiona thought she heard one of the teens say excitedly as they passed them. She looked at Tate who looked like he was hiding his face from the passing teens.

  “What are you doing?” She asked him. He looked at her and then over his shoulder at the kids walking the other way.

  “Nothing love, I had an itch, I was scratching my face,” he said taking her hand again.

  “With both hands?”

  “It’s an Irish thing, that’s how we scratch our faces,” he said with a grin.

  “You’re a lunatic, aren’t you?” She said and he just smiled. “Tess!” Tess and Xav turned and so did the rest of them. “My house isn’t far, I think I’ll go home from here.”

  “I’ll see her safe,” Tate called.

  “We’ll all see her safe,” Ryan said. “Which way?”

  Fiona pointed and they moved off that direction.

  “Will you invite me in, love?” Tate asked.

  “Not two minutes after you said we’d take it slow?” She said and he laughed.

  “It’s been more like three minutes, and yes, we’ll take it slow, unless you want to invite me in. I wouldn’t want to miss my chance,” he said, still grinning. “Just letting you know, without any pressure at all, I’m very interested, Fiona.”

  Tess came at them and linked arms with Fiona dragging her away from Tate, keeping Fiona from having to respond to him. She looked over her shoulder at him as Tess pulled her away and bit her lip, the very lip he had just had his own teeth around, and it tugged at his heart which surprised him. It should have tugged a lot further south of his heart.

  “Thank you for inviting me, Tess, your family is a lot of fun.”

  “I’m glad you could be convinced to come. I hope Tate wasn’t a nuisance.” Tess said and noticed her blush even in the dim light of the distant streetlamp.

  “He was charming, and I have to admit, it was nice to be flirted with again, particularly by someone so adept at it. Thanks for not telling them about my tragic past. It was such a relief that they didn’t have any presumptions about me. I’m tired of being treated so delicately at work, and by my friends. Your family is very normal for being so whacky.” Tess laughed.

  “Mom and Connor haven’t seen those guys in a while, they get kind of ridiculous when they get together. Kind of like children, actually.” They laughed. “But they are all very dear to me.”

  “They are lovely, and so are you. I’ll see you Monday afternoon,” she said.

  “If not before. Tate seems quite taken with you,” Tess said.

  “We’re just going out for coffee tomorrow morning, I won’t break his heart or anything,” she said.

  “Okay, don’t let him break yours, either,” Tess said.

  “Not a chance,” Fiona said and walked to her door. Once there, she turned and waved. Tate held his hand up and the rest of them chorused goodbyes. They started to wander back to R Street, Ryan ribbing Tate as much as he could, and Connor nibbling Genna’s fingers.

  Tate jogged over to Xav and Tess and put his arm around her. “Xav mate, can you give us a moment?”

  Xav laughed. “Sure,” he said and trotted forward to hang with Alex. Tess stopped and looked at Tate, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

  “She’s irresistible, Tess,” he said trying to look contrite only feeling too damned excited to succeed.

  “They are all irresistible to you, Tate,” she countered and his eyebrows went up.

  “Just so, but she’s different.”

  “Because I asked you not to bother her?”

  “Tess, she calls to me. I’ll be honest, if she was a homely lass and she walked into the house without my having met her hours before, that alone would have intrigued me, I think. Forbidden fruit and all that. But Tess, when I held her after her accident she trembled like a frightened bird in my arms, and she looked at me with those huge feckin’ eyes, and that ridiculous bike helmet which probably saved her life, I was already a goner. I don’t want you to be cross with me, though.”

  “I’m not cross, I just don’t want you to hurt her; she’s been through a lot recently.”

  “Aye, the fiancé. What happened, do you know?”

  “I’m kind of surprised she told you. He was murdered abroad, Paris, I think. She doesn’t talk about it. I met him once, and it wasn’t that long before he died. To tell you the truth, he gave me a creepy vibe, I didn’t like him,” she shivered and Tate put his arm around her and they continued walking.

  “You notice things, love, tell me about the vibe you got,” he said and Tess thought about it.

  “It’s hard to pinpoint. He was really good looking, tall, dark and very fit, and very polite, but here’s where it gets weird, Tate, he watched her like she was his prey.”

  “Tess, she’s a stunner, I probably had that look on my face all day.” Tess chuckled.

  “You totally did. I guess it was also the way she responded to him. At one point he touched her and she literally jumped, spilled her drink and everything. She’s usually quiet and unassuming, which is kind of ironic considering, but with him she was completely silent, almost shut down. I don’t know, maybe they were just having a fight or something. The next news I heard was that he was killed, and I went to the funeral with Lally. I could tell she was shocked, I mean who wouldn’t be? She was relieved to have me there, but I don’t think she was all there, if you know what I mean. She clearly didn’t recognize Lally today, and of course Lally wouldn’t have ever mentioned it; he’s the consummate gentleman.” She shrugged.

  “Lally went? His idea or yours?” Tess thought for a second.

  “His, he called to ask if I needed a ride,” Tess hadn’t even thought that was strange at the time, Lally just knew things.

  “Why would her being quiet and unassuming be ironic?”

  “She’s a concert pianist.” His eyebrows went up and he smiled.

  “Is she now? That explains why she was so impressive playing our song, she didn’t even glance at the keys. So, the fiancé, he didn’t make his move on you, did he?”

  “Absolutely not, he only had eyes for Fiona, it was like I wasn’t even there.”

  “Uncommon in itself, isn’t it?” They laughed.

  “Not as uncommon as you might think,” she put her arm through his and they swiftly caught up to the crowd.

  ***

  Once inside her townhouse Fiona took several Advil and then sat at her piano and played for an hou
r, concentrating solely on the rhythms and patterns, and trying not to think of Tate Dylan who had monopolized her senses for the past few hours. The man was the most exciting person she had met in a very long time. His kiss was the best in her lifetime, and he made it sound like it was pretty good for him, too.

  She had an unpleasant twinge when she thought of Dean. She felt awful that he died, but the shock of his death was more distressing than the fact that she’d never see him again. She was remarkably comfortable with that, but it was something she hadn’t shared with anyone, the guilt of it was too much. Now she found herself drawn to a very pretty man who was clearly interested in her who was extremely sexy and had great sense of humor, and it had only been three months since Dean was killed. What would Miss Manners say if she laid out the whole sordid tale to her? Fiona never planned on telling anyone, so the point was moot.

  Dean’s poor parents had wanted her to come to their house for Thanksgiving, but she was honest with them and told them she couldn’t bear to be there without him. That was true, but she had trouble bearing being there with him, as well. They were very kind, but they were so devastated it was hard to breathe in their presence. Her heart went out to them. She took the engagement ring that she had left in a box on the bookshelf out and looked at it. It was a very large diamond on a simple gold band. He’d inscribed it Always. Which now seemed terribly sad to her. She placed it back in the box and put it on top of the piano.

  Her phone rang and she jumped. Just thinking about Dean made her edgy. “Hello?”

  “Fi! Happy Thanksgiving! It is still Thanksgiving there, right?” Her brother Liam asked.

  “It is. Where are you?”

  “I am in Rabat, but finishing up here in a few days and heading back to DC.”

  “What are you doing in Rabat?”

  “Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. You know how it is, I was the guy who spoke Arabic and French, and I didn’t have any kids who would miss me on Thanksgiving.” It occurred to her that none of them did have kids. Their parents made it clear that they felt trapped by their kids, and maybe taught them that they shouldn’t be weighed down by them. Fiona wanted kids, but hadn’t found the right father for them. Maybe it just wasn’t going to happen for her. She thought of Tate. Or maybe it would. The ease of those thoughts should have frightened her but they didn’t, and that should have frightened her, too.

  “Hey, Fi, you still there?’

  “Yes, sorry. I’ve had a very distracting day.”

  “What distracted you?”

  “I think I’ve been overstimulated, I’m not used to so much social interaction.”

  “I have a favor to ask. I have a friend who will need a place to stay, can you spare a couch?” Liam asked. She was not really sure what Liam did for a living, but she did know he was paid very well for doing some kind of work that he never spoke about. It was odd that she’d never even been to his apartment, he never told her where it was. She thought he must be CIA, but weren’t they allowed to say who they worked for now? Come to think of it, Dean was a little squirrely about what he did for a living, too. Tate hasn’t said what he did, either, what was it with the men in her life?

  “Yes of course, your friend can even have a bed.”

  “Thanks Fi, his name is Gooding, Sam Gooding; okay? He’ll call you tomorrow and pick up a key. You can trust this guy, okay?”

  “Okay, is something going on I should know about?”

  “Sam just needs a place to crash, and he’s a little quiet, but he’s a good guy, okay?” That was the third okay, this friend, or the real reason he was crashing with her was going to be a doozy, she thought.

  “It’s fine, give him my cell number, I am going to be out of the house for a bit tomorrow,” she said.

  “Thanks Fi.”

  “What time is it in Rabat?”

  “Five hours ahead of you,” he said.

  “Don’t you sleep?”

  “Nope. Hey Fi, how’re you holding up?” Liam asked.

  “I’m good, I’m just back from dinner at a student’s grandparent’s house. Her mother is Geneva Fleming!”

  “Is she a musician or something?”

  “She’s a writer, a damned good one. Anyway, it was a very entertaining evening,” she said.

  “I’m glad you went out and didn’t sit at home feeling bad. Wait a second, is Geneva Fleming married to Connor Damon?”

  “Yes she is, do you know them?” Fiona said and Liam laughed.

  “Was he there, too?”

  “Yes, they both were, and some other friends, too, all of them Irish. Why?”

  “No reason, but you’re a funny one, Fiona, do you ever flip open a People Magazine while in the waiting room at the doctor’s office?”

  “No, I usually bring a book,” she said. He chuckled again.

  “I love you, Fi. Don’t forget to trust Gooding with your life,” he said. “You sure this is okay?”

  “It’s okay, Liam. I am okay, too.”

  “I hope so, and in a few days I’ll see for myself. I’ll text you details. I love you, Fi,” he said.

  “I love you, too, bye,” she said and they hung up. Hmm, from “he’s a good guy,” to “trust him with your life,” was quite a leap. What’s going on?

  She locked up and made her way upstairs. After making the guest bed she undressed and climbed into her own. Her phone rang again and she answered. “Hello?”

  “Dr. Brooks? My name is Gooding,” a deep voice said into her ear.

  “Oh, hi. Liam told me you were going to need a place to stay,” she said.

  “Yes, ma’am, I thank you for opening your home to me,” he said. “Can I meet you at the house tomorrow morning?”

  “Yup, why don’t you come at 9:45 or so, I have to leave at 10:00. But I can show you around and give you a key before I go.”

  “Are you usually this open handed and trusting with perfect strangers?” He asked and she laughed.

  “Um, Liam said you were to be trusted, and he’s never wrong,” she said. “Also, it’s Thanksgiving…”

  “Yes?” He asked.

  “Never mind, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

  “Wait, ma’am,” he said.

  “Fiona,” she answered.

  “Fiona. Please ask me for identification tomorrow morning, okay?” That was possibly the oddest request she had ever heard.

  “Okay, if you insist,” she said.

  “I do,” he said. Liam did warn her in his way.

  “Okay, tomorrow, then,” she said.

  “Will do,” he said and hung up. Okay…

  ***

  “I want to hear about the drunk and disorderly thing you referred to at dinner,” Genna said after her parents were in bed and the kids went off to do their own thing.

  “Yeah, especially if it involves nudity,” Piper piped up.

  “You seem to have a huge capacity for accepting the things I did as a lad, Genna, but eventually you will tire of hearing it and start to think ill thoughts,” Connor was serious and Genna had a guilty pang. He smiled at her and touched her cheek. “But this story is not the one to break your back.”

  “Which one is it, then?” Tate asked and when Ryan and Connor looked at him he shook his head. “No, mates, not that one.”

  “It’s not that bad, Tate-o,” Ryan said with an evil grin. Genna loved his evil grin, those stories were the funniest.

  “By Christ, is this ‘the crossing of the Amstel’?” The three band mates burst out laughing. “Okay then, but the water was cold, keep that in mind. No one likes judgey haters.” More laughter.

  “We were signed by Belladonna Records and were paid real money for the first time in our lives to make music. We cut our first album, Filthy Lucre, and Eammon wanted us to get our name out there. So he had us buy a great big tour bus…” Ryan began and Connor interrupted.

  “Rocinante,” he said.

  “Aye,” Ryan sighed slightly. “Rocinante. That was a great
chapter, wasn’t it?” Connor and Tate smiled at him and Christie squeezed his hand.

  “You spent the whole summer away from me, it couldn’t have been that great,” she said.

  “No, that was when I decided I couldn’t live without you, but I also knew I had the best mates a man could have.”

  “That’s all right, then,” Christie said with a stunning smile for her husband. He leaned over and kissed her.

  “You named your bus after Don Quixote’s horse?” Genna asked. Connor loved how she got every single literary reference he ever made, how did she do that? Aping Ryan, he leaned down and kissed her.

  “I was reading it at the time, and we were in Spain, and the poor old bus was way past its prime. Trust me, the name suited,” Connor said to grunts of agreement from the band.

  “I wish Razz was here to tell his part of the story,” Ryan said and Tate chuckled. “We started in the south, we circled Spain and moved through France. You lot found yourselves a pair of American girls in Arles, was it?” Tate shrugged and Connor shook his head.

  “San Sebastian, mine was a Hemingway fanatic.”

  “That’s right, San Sebastian. It was a good thing I had Razz to keep me company.”

  “Get on with the story, mate,” Connor said a little irritated by the topic shift.

  “We weren’t playing venues like we do now, these were small clubs and outdoor festivals where we were supporting the headliner. Mikey drove us and we wrote songs, played cards in the back, drank too much and saw the sights. We slept in these cubbies, couchettes, really, with a wee curtain separating us from the rest of the bus, there was very little privacy,” Ryan said glaring at Connor and Tate.

  “And they were minute, not built for someone my size,” Connor complained.

  “You would have fit in my couchette, lamb,” Ryan said to Christie. She beamed up at him.

  “I remember it being tight, too,” Tate said. “Like a torpedo tube.” Connor was nodding vigorously and laughing.

  “Because you both were sharing it with people,” Ryan complained. “My only companion was me hand.” Everyone burst out laughing.

  “We tooled around Germany, the Berlin Wall had only just come down and we were welcomed with more vigor than we deserved, I thought. They were so happy to have western influences, it was beautiful,” Connor said with a smile.