After The Music

“Forget it,” Thorn told him. He gave Sabina a long, insulting appraisal. “Your taste in women stinks.” He turned and walked straight toward an elegant blonde in a gold lamé bodysuit. The woman slipped into his arms, clinging to him like glue.

Sabina glared at him with eyes that burned when she saw him bend to kiss the blonde warmly on the mouth. She averted her gaze. “Al, I can’t stay here. I can’t possibly.”

“Sabina, I’m sorry…”

She spotted Jessica and motioned to her. “Can you run me home?”

“Sure, what’s wrong?”

“I just have a bad headache, Al,” Sabina lied smoothly. She couldn’t go into it now. “I’m sorry, I thought it would get better.”

“If it’s because of Thorn,” he began, glaring at his brother, “I apologize for his bad manners.”

“I’d like to tell him what to do with them, too,” she told Al. “But my head’s splitting. Jessica?”

“I’m ready. Come on. See you later, boss,” she told Al with a shy smile.

“I’ll talk to Thorn,” Al said brusquely.

“Don’t waste your breath on him,” Sabina added. “Good night.”

She walked out the door with a breathless Jessica right behind, grateful for the nippy autumn air and the dark.

“What happened in the kitchen?” Jessica demanded as they were driving back toward Sabina’s apartment.

“I antagonized him,” Sabina said stiffly. “Al will never forgive me, but I couldn’t stand that man another minute!”

“Al says that Thorn is used to expecting the worst and he usually finds it. He’s a sad kind of man, really. He doesn’t let anybody get close—he spends most of his time all alone.”

“Alone?” Sabina said gruffly. “That’s not what I saw….”

“Window dressing,” Jessica replied as she sped down the street where her friend lived. “His women come and go. Mostly they go.”

“How do you know so much about him?” Sabina asked.

“He comes in and out of our office. His own offices are in the new building, the addition. But he and Al have business dealings they have to discuss now and then. He’s always polite. Once, he even brought me coffee when I was hurrying to get some correspondence out for him and Al,” she added with a smile.

He could afford to be polite to Al’s secretary, Sabina thought angrily. But if Al got serious about Jessica, she knew Thorn would wage a desperate battle. He had said as much with that offhand remark at the party. And Al did feel something for Jess, Sabina was sure of it. She wanted so much to tell Jessica what she suspected.

“Thorn probably bribes people when he can’t get them any other way,” Sabina grumbled.

Jessica pulled into a parking space outside the apartment building and glanced at her friend. “I’ll bet he’s never needed a bribe.” She sighed. “But Al’s terrified of him, you know? So am I, really. If I ever looked twice at Al, I’ll bet Thorn would have me transferred to Saudi Arabia or somewhere.”

Yes, Sabina thought miserably, being nice to Al’s secretary was one thing. But Hamilton Regan Thorndon the Third would cut Jess up like sausage for merely smiling at his brother.

“Just remember one thing. Al isn’t blind about you,” Sabina said softly. “And if he cared enough, he’d even take on big brother.”

“He’d only notice me if I died and there was nobody to make coffee,” Jess groaned.

“Ha! Well, I guess I’ll go up and eat some toast. Damn Hamilton Regan Thorndon the Third, anyway,” she muttered. “He’s cost me my supper. Imagine having to work for him!”

“His secretaries kind of come and go, like his women,” Jessica confided. “He’s hard on women. They say he hates them.”

Sabina felt herself shudder. “Yes, I felt that. He’s very cold.”

“Not in bed, I’ll bet,” Jessica said under her breath.

Sabina’s face flushed, and she got out before Jess could see it. “Thanks for the ride! Want to have lunch one day?”

“I’ll call you. Are you sure you’re okay?” Jess added with a worried frown.

Sabina shrugged and smiled. “Just a little battle scarred.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I hit him,” she said, noticing the wary look on Jess’s face. “Then I dared the oil baron to hit me back.”

Jess looked uneasy. “That wasn’t wise. He has the memory of an elephant.”

“He tried to buy me for the night,” Sabina said curtly.

Jess made a soft sound. “Oh, my. No wonder you hit him! Good for you! Will you tell Al?”

She debated about that. “I’d rather not. Al doesn’t know about my background. Just tell Al I’m not sorry I did it, but I’m sorry I embarrassed him.”

“Al doesn’t embarrass easily.” Jessica toyed with the steering wheel. “I was pretty shocked when he asked me to hostess for him.” She glanced up. “He’s never invited me to his apartment before.”

“He’s started to notice you,” Sabina said cautiously.

“Well, at least Thorn didn’t toss me out tonight,” Jess replied sadly. “He strikes me as a little snobbish where his family is concerned.”

Sabina’s temper flared again. “What he needs is someone who can put him in his place. And if he isn’t careful, I may blacken his other eye for him!”

Jess laughed. “I can see it now—a TKO in the fifth round…”

“Good night,” Sabina said, closing the car door behind her. She waved at Jess and went upstairs. Of all the unexpected endings to what had begun as a lovely evening. Closing the door of her apartment, she decided to skip dinner. She’d lost her appetite anyway. Sleep would be a welcome relief. But instead of losing herself to dreams, her mind replayed an image of Thorn and the way he’d kissed her. He’d touched her deeply, in ways she’d never expected to be touched.

How could she blame him for thinking she was easy, after the way she’d reacted to his unexpected ardor? He couldn’t have known about her childhood, about her mother. She turned her hot face into the pillow. Now she’d made an enemy of him, and what was Al going to think? If only she’d stayed out of the kitchen, none of it would have happened.

She had a feeling she was going to be under siege shortly. The oil baron wasn’t going to stand for having her in Al’s life after this. She’d have bet money that he was already brooding about ways to get her away from Al, because she knew he had the impression that she and Al were more than friends. And part of her was even looking forward to the confrontation. She liked a sporting enemy.

Chapter Two

Sabina got up the next morning with a feeling of dread. Immediately, her mind raced back to the night before, and her heart burned at the memory of a hard mouth invading hers.

It had been the first time she’d ever felt like that. How ironic that it should be with a man who was quickly becoming her worst enemy. She had no inclination whatsoever for the lighthearted alliances other women formed. She knew too much about their consequences.

How odd, that Hamilton Thorndon the Third should think that she was easy. She almost laughed. If there was one woman in the world his money couldn’t get, it was Sabina.