Connor (10 page)

"Hmm. Well, she had a receptive audience in me. I loved it. She is so gifted. That last song about Colt… I felt like crying."

"Aye, she's a gifted wee thing, that's for sure. And she's a lovely person, too. I expected her to be… I don't know…arrogant and cut-throat. But she's nothing like that."

"Do you wish you'd found her first?" What had made her ask such a stupid question? But there was a certain note of longing in his voice that stirred jealousy in her.

Connor didn't look away from Colt and Alyssa as they made their way towards them. "No, she's too sweet for me. I'm more a savoury kind o' lad."

That's when he turned to her and winked, making it clear that he considered her savoury, rather than sweet. It shouldn't have pleased her as much as it did.

CHAPTER TEN

The ice sculpture was a monumental piece of fantasy artwork that really bore little relation to Alyssa's song. But it was interesting, which was more than could be said for the socialising so far.

While they loaded up their plates with 'finger food', which was more about looks than taste, they watched the Guild in their own environment. Everyone seemed to be posing for non-existent cameras; paying little attention to the people they were talking to. She heard discussions about money, fine wine and clothes, none of which interested her.

The steady, polite trickle of well-wishers came to make Alyssa's acquaintance, but they were more interested in having a new acquaintance they could boast about than any real interest in getting to know the young singer. Alyssa kept a smile plastered on her face and said very little. Every so often Colt would encourage her to eat something off her plate, but she seemed as repulsed by the food as she was by the company.

When Cam wandered over with Meredith in tow, Allie took a deep breath and internally groaned. It was show time. Cam placed himself on her left while Connor stood on her right, beside Alyssa. However, except for strategically positioning himself close to her, for several minutes Cam remained politely distant.

She saw him watching Randolph Hall, a tall elegant man with a receding hairline, out of the corner of his eye. At the moment the older man looked their way, Cam reached across the polite distance between them and made as if to wipe a crumb off her cheek, taking the opportunity to stare deeply into her eyes as he did so. It was such an uncharacteristically flirtatious gesture that she drew back and immediately glanced in Meredith's direction.

Luckily, Meredith was looking off toward the overladen tables with a bored expression on her face. Not so Connor, who almost had steam coming out of his ears. This was supposed to be a fake flirtation, Connor knew that, and yet he couldn't seem to get a handle on his possessiveness. He drew her against his side and his arm went around her shoulder.

Looking up into Cam's eyes she saw amusement dancing in their brown depths. "Calm it down, Paddy, we don't want to be letting any cat's out of the bag, now do we." His voice was so quiet in the room filled with chatting people that she couldn't believe she heard him. But Connor also appeared to have heard, because his nostrils flared and he glanced away, clearly trying to gain control.

When Alyssa said she wanted to visit the powder room, Allie took the opportunity to head along with her. She thought Connor needed a moment to get his cat under control and she desperately wanted to know what was wrong with her new friend, who seemed to be getting more drained the longer the evening dragged on. But when Meredith decided to tag along too, at least one purpose was defeated.

As soon as they were out of the room, Meredith lost her polite mask, and a predatory gleam lit her small, pale-blue eyes.

"It must be difficult to get used to all this attention after living on the streets for years," she said with saccharin sweetness to Alyssa.

Had she intentionally misunderstood Alyssa's comment in her introduction about singing for her supper?

"I wasn't homeless. I had a lovely little unit near Venice Beach," Alyssa replied in surprise.

"But you worked on the streets, you said so. That's pretty much the same thing, isn't it? And you couldn't have been making enough to feed yourself, let alone put a roof over your head, from that kind of
work
. Does it actually qualify as work?"

Now Allie was getting angry. Meredith was doing a perfect imitation of a mean girl from some high school coming-of-age movie. What was her problem? Did she resent Alyssa's fame?

"It…It wasn't as bad as that. I had some paid gigs at night that helped. Actually, I…I enjoyed busking. It was a great way to reach a wider audience," Alyssa said, reeling from the verbal assault.

"Of course it was, dear. And a great way to find a few paying customers, too." The suggestion of another form of street work was anything but subtle in her sarcastic tone.

"What's your problem? Are insults the only form of chat you know?" Allie spoke up before Alyssa had a chance to gather her wits to reply. She was not going to let this Guild Mean Girl get the upper hand.

"Insults? No, I was commiserating with her for having to live that sort of life. I imagine there's still the fear that any time now the public will lose interest and she'll be back on the streets again." Meredith smiled her triumph.

Never had the word
Godzilla
fitted her better.

"You're jealous. That's what this is about. Nobody values you for anything but your pedigree, and so you're jealous of someone who is so loved, talented and admired. You really need to get a life," Allie spat out in disgust, not caring if this backfired and lost her her job and her chance to infiltrate the Guild. She couldn't stand around playing nice when her new sister was being torn to shreds by a vindictive, entitled bitch.

"You mean I should give you
my
life. Don't think I didn't notice the way you were flirting with
my
fiancé. Do you really think that Cameron would look twice at someone like you, even half-dressed, as you are?" Meredith's voice had risen, as fury claimed her.

"Maybe not, but the only reason he looks at you is for your money!" Allie snarled back, barely controlling the urge to tell this nasty piece of work just what her loving fiancé really thought of her.

At that moment, Connor, Colt and Cameron came down the hall, having clearly heard the argument above the noise in the dining room. The three men reached the side of their respective females, Colt and Connor to protect, Cam to draw Meredith away, back toward the rest of the guests.

"Do you think I'm blind?" Meredith snapped at Cam as he pulled her along by the arm. "Do you think I didn't see you fawning all over that singer and making eyes at her friend?
I'm
your fiancé, Cameron. You will never look at another woman but me, or you'll pay steeply for it. Do you hear me? I don't share what's mine! Ever!"

Allie felt Connor recoil, as if from a physical blow. She looked up into his cat-eyes as she felt her own begin to turn. She'd never felt herself lose control like this. It was like she was simply an extension of Connor; a shadow of him, reacting when he reacted.

"Meredith, calm down, please," Cam spoke slowly and firmly, as he drew her further away from them. "You're over-reacting. I'm not interested in any woman but you. My interest in Alyssa is only for the kudos she brings me, nothing more. And that other woman… I don't even know her name."

"But you want to. I can tell you want to."

As she and Connor stared at the floor, trying to get their cats caged again, she heard a new voice enter the argument. This one was so chilling and proper it made Cam's voice seem warm and informal.

"Meredith, you're making a spectacle of yourself. Behave or I will have Cameron take you home."

"Father, you don't understand. I was provoked." Meredith's voice now held a whining note.

"You are a lady. Don't lower yourself to a slanging match. Now get back to the function and mind your manners."

If that was her father, Allie would have been wetting herself in terror right now. That voice belonged to a psychopathic killer: cold, unemotional, and yet so quietly threatening.

Meredith said no more, but Allie heard her muttering under her breath as she let Cam lead her away. Allie didn't know when her eyes had returned to normal, but now, as she looked up to see the owner of that voice walking towards them, she knew her cat was again under control. Glancing briefly at Connor, she noticed his too were fully human once more.

"Alyssa, I do apologise for my daughter's atrocious manners. The only excuse I can give is that I have spoiled her badly over the years. She is used to having the lime-light. Daddy's Little Girl, you know how it is. I made the mistake of singing your praises and she felt threatened by that, I imagine. I am truly mortified by her display and beg your forgiveness."

Allie glanced at Alyssa who was being held up by Colt. The singer tried to smile and nod but didn't quite succeed at doing either.

"Alyssa is suffering from jetlag and too little sleep," Colt spoke into the void. "I think it's time for us to leave."

The corridor suddenly became more crowded when their host joined the group. Standing next to the tall, thin Hall, Rothmen's much shorter, stockier form seemed almost common. But there was no doubt which man held the top position in the pecking order of the Guild. It was Rothmen all the way. His power seemed to engulf the other man, so he appeared shorter and far less impressive.

"I am sorry to hear that. Maybe Miss Aimes has been working too hard. I think a break from her hectic schedule might be in order, don't you?" He was addressing Colt, only briefly glancing at Alyssa as the subject of the conversation.

"My family and I are heading to the Caribbean later this week, to get away from this blasted climate for a while. I have a boat anchored there. I think she should join us. Bring her entourage, if she likes. There's plenty of room." The way Rothmen discussed Alyssa without addressing her directly was misogynistic crap. Allie bristled for her new friend.

"I was thinking of taking some time off to do something similar," Randolph Hall commented icily, clearly not wanting to be side-lined by Rothmen's intrusion.

"Then why not join us too. Bring your family, and young Cameron. It will be the perfect opportunity to get to know him better before he becomes part of your family. But Randolph, I will not countenance another display from your daughter like the one here tonight. You
have
spoiled that girl. She has no idea of her place. I expect you to make sure she is reminded of it quite firmly."

Hall blanched, and his poker-straight back straightened even more. "We would love to join your holiday group. And of course I will make sure my daughter behaves herself."

"And you Alyssa. Will you join us?" Rothmen looked at Alyssa as if it was a forgone conclusion that anyone invited to join this select group would agree. At least he spoke directly to her this time.

The singer looked at her mate, as if too bemused to know what she should do. Colt nodded slightly.

She mirrored his movement and then turned back to address Rothmen. "I would be happy to spend a few days with you and your family in the Caribbean. I'm not sure we can manage a week. I have a schedule to meet… but I think I can find a few days, at the very least."

Allie was surprised how completely Alyssa had rallied. She must have called on all her reserves to manage the feat.

"Good, good. Then get your man to ring my secretary and she'll provide you with all the details you need. You won't be disappointed. I call it a
boat,
but in reality there are some ocean liners that are smaller than my craft," the man bragged with a laugh. "We even have a small cinema with the latest releases on offer."

With that, Rothmen turned and strode away, Hall at his side like a well-trained, if rigid, gundog.

"You okay?" Colt asked Alyssa, brushing loose golden tendrils back from her too-pale face.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'm just tired and that bitch was so out of line I was floored. If Allie hadn't stepped in –"

"I wasn't going to let her get away with that crap. Suggesting you were a whore. Really, that
creature
's no better than a rabid dog."

Connor kissed the top of her head, as if proud of her. She looked up, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling spreading though her system. He
was
proud of her and maybe for good reason. Back at school, she'd never stood up to one of those mean girls for herself. But having that bitch attack her new sister gave her more than enough reason to let fly now. That Connor approved… Well that was just…nice.

"Come on, we've done our bit. Time to get the hell out of Dodge," Colt ordered tersely, leading the way towards the front door and the cold darkness beyond. The thought of going out into the freezing night shouldn't have been appealing. But it was far more welcome than remaining in this nest of vipers, Allie decided.

The limo ride back to the hotel was a silent one. It wasn't until they went up to Alyssa's hotel suite that they finally felt free to debrief. With Connor's arm over the back of the sofa, surrounding her without touching her, Allie felt oddly safe.

How could she feel that way when she'd known the man at her side for less than a day? But it was the longest day in her life, she was coming to realise, and every part of her had been forced into a new pattern of alignment. An alignment that felt right for the first time ever.

"So, that ended up with a positive outcome," Colt said, rubbing Alyssa's arm. "Even though it
was
unpleasant."

"How does Cam do it? I mean, being around those people all the time. My skin crawled every time one of them looked my way," Allie said, rubbing her own arms to remove the gooseflesh that had formed at the memory.

"They're like psychic vampires," Alyssa replied with a shudder. "They drain you of energy, not blood."

"Is that what happened to you? You looked sick when you finished your set."