That night, sated from a lavish dinner and two hours of passionate lovemaking, Lexi and Quentin lay spooned together under a blanket on the living room floor. A cozy fire crackled in the hearth, and soft, romantic ballads serenaded them from the CD player.
Lexi had made coq au vin and opened a bottle of wine. Instead of eating in the formal dining room, they’d headed to the living room and spread a big, thick quilt across the floor. And then they’d fed each other, sharing kisses between bites and sipping from the same glass.
Wrapped in Quentin’s strong arms, cocooned in heat and steel, Lexi thought she could getveryused to nights like this.
“What’re you thinking about?” Quentin murmured, nuzzling the nape of her neck.
She sighed, a soft, dreamy sigh. “Fate.”
“Fate?”
“Mmm-hmm. I wasn’t even supposed to be at that party the night we met. I had planned to go home for the weekend.”
“Really? I never knew that.”
She grimaced. “I got into a heated argument on the phone with my mother. So I decided not to go home after all. But my friends had already left for the party, so I didn’t have a ride. I could have caught the bus, but I didn’t have the address of the party. So I’d resigned myself to spending a miserable Friday night alone.”
Quentin’s cheek was now resting gently against hers. “So what happened?”
“I stepped out of my dorm room to get a snack, and that’s when I ran into some girls who were heading out to the party. I had a class with one of them, so she kindly offered to let me catch a ride with them if I hurried up and got ready.” Lexi smiled softly. “So just think. If I hadn’t argued with my mother, stayed on campus and run into those girls, I wouldn’t have gone to the party. Which means I wouldn’t have met you that night. Possibly never.”
A stillness settled over Quentin. “That,” he said quietly, “would have been unthinkable.”
She closed her eyes. “I know.”
Silence lapsed between them, both marveling at the simple twist of fate that had brought them into each other’s lives.
After a few moments, Quentin kissed her cheek and murmured huskily, “Let’s go into the bedroom.”
Her mouth went dry. “In a little while.”
He dragged his lips to her bare shoulder, nipping her gently. “I’d rather go now.”
She felt his heavy erection thickening against her butt, felt an answering tug of arousal between her thighs. But she wasn’t ready to go into the bedroom yet. She wasn’t ready to face the demons that haunted her, especially on this day.
Quentin had grown still again. “Lex—”
She sat up abruptly, dislodging the blanket. “While we’re taking a stroll down memory lane, you’re not going tobelievewhat I came across the other day when I was cleaning out my closet.”
Propping himself up on one elbow, Quentin watched as she padded quickly to the entertainment center and knelt down to retrieve an old videocassette. She popped it into the VCR/DVD combo and pressed fast forward until she reached the desired starting point, which she’d memorized years ago.
As she grabbed the remote control and rejoined Quentin on the blanket, he gave her a darkly amused glance that told her he knew she was stalling for time. She wondered if he knew why.
Shoving aside the uneasy thought, she grinned broadly at him. “You’re gonna getsucha kick out of this.”
“Hmm,” was his noncommittal response.
She hit play.
The television screen was filled with an image of several cloaked figures huddled around a circle. The eerie, haunting strains of gothic music could be heard playing in the background.
Recognizing the footage from an old college step show, Quentin groaned in amused disbelief.
Lexi grinned. “Shh! Here comes the best part.”
As they watched, the cloaked specters suddenly dropped to a crouch, revealing two tall, familiar figures in the middle of the circle. They stood back to back, their black hoods drawn menacingly low over their faces.
The sinister organ music abruptly segued to a pulsing drum solo. With military precision, the hooded cloaks were ripped off, and Quentin and Michael exploded into an electrifying step number that had their muscled chests gleaming and hips undulating in a fierce, primal rhythm that made every female in the crowd scream like fans at a rock concert. Lexi knew—she’d been one of them.
