Insatiable

Chapter Twenty-five

12:30 A.M. EST, Friday, April 16

910 Park Avenue, Apt. 11A

New York, New York

Mary Lou and her husband did an admirable job of making sure Meena’s wineglass was never lower than half full throughout the evening.

But Meena was careful to drink from it only sparingly. The last thing she wanted was to get plastered in front of people she had to see in the elevator every day…

Not to mention in front of the prince.

It wasn’t until Mary Lou was asking if anyone cared for coffee that she realized it was past midnight. Meena noticed her brother, Jon, looking surreptitiously at his watch. Apparently his dinner companion, Becca, hadn’t been able to take his mind off his celebrity crush, Taylor Mackenzie, which was no surprise. Few could.

“Oh,” Meena said with genuine regret. “I’m so sorry. I have to go. I have work in the morning. And I still have to get home and walk my dog.”

“I’ll do it.” Jon volunteered, hopping up from his place on the couch with a speed that Meena found a little embarrassing.

“I’ll join you, Meena, if you don’t mind some company,” Lucien said, setting down his wineglass. “I’d enjoy stretching my legs a bit after that delicious meal.”

Meena felt her cheeks turning red. She couldn’t believe she was blushing. That was something she hadn’t done in ages.

Until tonight, that is.

“I’d be delighted,” she said. She didn’t point out that Lucien had hardly touched a bit of that “delicious meal.” He’d said he still had a little jet lag.

Jon sank back down into his place. “Oh,” he said, struggling to hide his disappointment. “I guess you guys have it under control, then.”

Becca had taken out her cell phone and was scrolling through her applications, looking everywhere but in Jon’s direction.

“What a great idea,” Mary Lou said enthusiastically. “You two go out for a walk. It’s such a lovely night. Isn’t it a lovely night, Emil?”

“It’s a lovely night,” Emil said.

But Meena couldn’t help noticing he looked a little worried as he sent the maid to collect the prince’s overcoat.

“We’ll just go up the street,” Lucien was saying.

“Let me run and get Jack,” Meena said.

She slipped across the hall, aware that Jon had hastily made his good-byes and followed her, not seeming to care that his escape had been so awkward.

“What are you doing?” he asked when she’d unlocked the door and let them both into her apartment, then closed the door again behind them. “Are you actually into that guy or something?”

“Um, let me see,” Meena said. She plucked her coat off the rack by the door and slipped it on, cinching it tightly around her waist, while Jack Bauer, over the moon at seeing her, danced around her feet excitedly. “What’s not to like, exactly? His old-world manners, his dark good looks, or the fact that he’s way into me and is probably going to be the father of my children someday?”

Jon had slunk over to the couch and collapsed onto it. Now he lifted his head off one of Meena’s Pottery Barn throw pillows and stared at her. “I thought you didn’t want kids,” he said, “’cause you don’t want to be the worst, most smothering mother in the world, always following them around with Bubble Wrap and needles filled with adrenaline.”

“Fine,” Meena said with a sniff. “That was a figure of speech. I don’t really want to have his children. Seriously, though. What do you think of him?”

“He’s all right, I guess,” Jon said, leaning his head back down and picking up the remote. “If you like the brooding, mysterious type.”

“Honestly.” Meena took Jack Bauer’s leash off the hook on the wall and clipped it to his collar as he jumped around. “You have to get off that couch more, Jon. Lucien Antonescu is the perfect guy.”

“I’m just saying,” Jon said, flicking on the TV. “Don’t blame me if he tries to ravish you in a dark doorway.”

“I should be so lucky,” Meena said. “And you could have been a little nicer to Becca. She seemed really sweet.”

Jon looked confused. “I thought her name was Becky.”

Meena rolled her eyes. “If I’m not back in an hour, don’t wait up,” she said.

“Practice safe sex,” Jon called after her.

Meena threw him a disgusted look over her shoulder.

“Remember our conversation approximately five seconds ago regarding my not wanting to ruin the lives of any future progeny with my constant harping on their impending deaths? I never have anything but safe sex.”

“Good,” Jon said, and turned up the volume of Top Gear. “Because I’m too young to be an uncle.”

Meena turned away with another eye roll…although at the last minute she grabbed her other purse-the big one that had the stash of condoms in it left over from her ill-fated date with the high-cholesterol guy, which had of course been wishful thinking on her part-and left the apartment.

It never hurt, she supposed, to be extra careful. And prepared. Even though nothing was going to happen, of course. He was a prince! Princes didn’t do things like that. Not on the first date.

Lucien was waiting alone for her in the hallway, looking exactly as Jon had described him…brooding and mysterious. Meena’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

“Hi,” she said, feeling suddenly shy. Okay. What was she doing?

“Hello,” he said.

His gaze seemed to penetrate straight through her. Those dark eyes didn’t seem so sad anymore. She was convinced now that he knew not only that she’d grabbed her purse that had condoms in it, but that he knew exactly what she looked like without her dress on.

The strange thing was that she didn’t mind.

It was too bad that Jack Bauer did. Or at least she thought he did, judging from the way he carried on, tugging at his leash and growling.

“Sorry,” she said, embarrassed by her dog.

“It’s all right,” he said, smiling. He pushed the Down button. “He seems a bit high-strung.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” she said. “That’s why we call him Jack Bauer.”

“Jack Bauer,” he said, gazing down at the dog, who continued to growl up at him. “Oh, I see. After the character on the television program.”

“Right,” Meena said, pleased that he finally got an American popular culture reference. “You’ve seen it?”

“Enough of it,” he said. There was a world of condemnation in his tone. He did not like the show. “I don’t tend to watch programs with torture in them.”

“Oh,” Meena said. She felt mortified. His tone implied he had personal reasons to dislike these kinds of story lines. Had he himself been tortured while serving in the military or something?

It was entirely possible. Meena knew next to nothing about the history of Romania, much less its military.

But she thought she remembered something about…oh, something awful. Why hadn’t she Googled Romania really fast when she was in the apartment? Then at least she could have been informed.

“Well,” she said uncomfortably. “I can understand that. I don’t like to watch things where people die.” That touched a little too close to home for comfort. “But, anyway, Jack Bauer only tortures bad guys.”

“But can you be as certain as Jack Bauer is, Meena,” Lucien asked as the elevator doors slid open and he smiled down at her while politely holding them, “that you always know the good guys from the bad guys?”

This caused Meena to hesitate before stepping into the car. Jack Bauer, on the end of his leash, was backing away, growling, reluctant to leave the hallway. For some reason, Jon’s remark about dark doorways slipped into her mind, as did her flippant reply.

Did she know the difference between good guys and bad guys? Leisha insisted that David, whom Meena had always thought was a good guy, had been a bad guy…although Meena had never really been able to agree with her. In the end, hadn’t he just been following his own heart?

And truthfully, Meena was much better off without him. If she’d stayed with David, she’d now be a housewife in New Jersey, where David had moved to start his new practice, with his new wife and his new house. And his baby on the way.

Meena loved her job and her life in New York City, even if they weren’t perfect.

Given all of that, things with her and David had turned out all right in the end, hadn’t they?

And here was Lucien, who had saved her life. That made him a good guy, didn’t it? He was definitely a good guy.

All right, Jack Bauer might not have liked him.

But Jack Bauer had never liked Mary Lou or Emil, either…not since the day Meena had brought him home from the animal shelter.

And they’d always been lovely-except for making incredibly boring conversation on the elevator. But look at all the money they’d raised for charity.

Smiling back up at Lucien, Meena stepped carefully over the gap between the elevator car and the hallway floor, conscious of her high heels.

“I think you’re a good guy,” she said deliberately as Lucien joined her in the car. “And Jack Bauer does, too. He just may need a little more convincing than I do, because his brain is the size of a walnut.”

Unfortunately, the dog illustrated this fact by not quite making it all the way into the car before the elevator doors started to close. Meena had to turn and give his leash a tug. The dog let out a startled yelp and careened into Meena’s legs, which sent her lurching forward, right into Lucien’s arms.

“Oh,” Meena said, mortified. “Excuse me.”

“No need to apologize,” Lucien said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Meena said, suddenly unable to tear her gaze from his.

Neither of them, it seemed, was able to let the other go.

Instead, they stood looking into each other’s eyes for a good five seconds. Meena’s breathing felt a little shallow. She wondered if he felt the electrical charge that seemed to be pulsing between them…or if it was just her overactive imagination again. Her heartbeat was definitely quicker than usual and a little unsteady. The only sound, besides Jack Bauer’s panting, was that of the elevator dinging off the floors as they descended.

She didn’t want to break the silence between them, because it was the type of silence during which anything might happen.

He might, she felt, even tilt his head down and kiss her…if she kept her mouth shut long enough to let this happen.

But she couldn’t, of course.

“What happened to you that you can’t watch things where characters get tortured?” she asked in a voice that had gone a little hoarse.

She watched his face carefully to gauge his reaction.

But there was no discernible reaction in his features. Instead, he countered her question with one of his own.

“What happened to you,” he asked, “that you can’t watch things where characters die?”

She dropped her arms from his at once and turned toward the elevator door just as the letter L lit up and the door slid open to reveal the lobby.

“Oh,” she said with an airy laugh as she dragged a badly misbehaving Jack Bauer out into the lobby. “I just love happy endings. That’s all.”

“So do I,” Lucien said, following her with a smile. “Tomorrow I’m going to start watching this television show of yours.”

“Oh,” Meena said, delighted. “That’ll be a good episode. Cheryl is making out again with Father Juan Carlos, and the town gossip sees them, and all hell breaks loose. Definitely not to be missed.”

Lucien laughed. “Then I’ll be glued to the screen.”

They breezed past Pradip, who waved to them cheerfully with a “Good evening, Miss Harper!”

Then they strolled out into the evening air, which had a briskness to it now that night had fallen. Meena, feeling happier than she could remember being in ages, started in the direction she and Jack Bauer usually walked.

But Lucien took her by the arm and gently steered her in another direction.

“This way,” he said. “I have something I want to show you.” Surprised, she smiled. “Really?”

Then she realized he was walking her away from two men who appeared to be having something of an argument in front of 912 Park…and also in the opposite direction from St. George’s Cathedral.

And her heart swelled. He was protecting her!

It had been ages since a man (aside from her doormen, who didn’t count, because she gave them generous tips at Christmas) had cared anything about her physical protection. Jon seemed to think she could more than adequately take care of herself (and besides, he didn’t count either; he was her brother). Her father had pretty much given up speaking to her about more than perfunctory matters once she’d developed her ability to envision people’s future deaths (including his own). Both her parents seemed to view her as some sort of biological freak. Whenever she visited them in Florida now, Meena overheard them arguing in hushed whispers over which side of the family she’d inherited her ability from (there’d been more than a hint that Great-Aunt Wilhelmina might be responsible).

And while it was true that she could take care of herself-the odd bat attack aside-it was terribly gallant of Lucien to try to protect her. It made her feel warm and feminine.

Who said chivalry was dead?

“What sort of surprise?” Meena asked, containing her glee with effort.

“One I think you’ll like,” he said. They were headed up Seventy-ninth Street, toward Fifth Avenue. That part of town was devoted exclusively to deluxe apartment buildings, hotels, and Central Park…

And one other building, located at Eighty-second and Fifth, which they were fast approaching.

“The Met?” Meena looked up at Lucien curiously. He’d reached for her hand as they crossed Fifth Avenue and started toward the enormous building, sitting so imposingly lit up against the night sky. A few people sat along the steps, chatting, smoking, even reading books in the glow from the illuminated columns. Trying to ignore the tingle of excitement that shot up her arm at the touch of his skin to hers, Meena stammered, “But…but the Met…it’s closed this time of night.”

She wasn’t certain that as a foreigner-even one who taught at a university and read the classics for fun-he fully understood.

“To most people,” Lucien said with a mysterious smile. “Follow me.”

And, still holding her hand in his own, he guided her up the long steps that led to the front doors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Meena, distracted by Lucien’s touch, forgot to hold on to Jack Bauer’s leash as tightly as she should have, and just as they got to an unobtrusive side door, he managed to dart off.

“Oh!” she cried. “Jack!”

She dropped Lucien’s hand to chase after her dog. Jack ran only as far as a group of students who were sitting a few yards away, listening to one another’s iPods and sharing a pizza, in which Jack was extremely interested. By the time she’d caught the dog up in her arms and apologized to the students, who smiled warmly at her, she turned back and found Lucien standing with the door open, waiting for her to join him inside the darkened museum.

“Oh,” she said, glancing behind her. No one on the steps appeared to have noticed that her date had just broken into a New York City landmark.

Or so she supposed. Surely the prince didn’t have a key to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Or did he? Maybe all Romanian princes-slash-professors did. “You can’t just…How did you…?” She broke off, laughing. “Lucien, how did you get in there?”

He held up a black card with a magnetic strip on the back. “I told you,” he said. “A friend of mine is giving a lecture here this week. I thought you might want to see what he’s talking about. Come in. It’s quite all right.”

She still hesitated, glancing around her. “But…aren’t there security guards?”

“Don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of them.”

Meena raised her eyebrows. He would take care of them? What did that mean?

Oh…that he would bribe them. Of course.

Lucien was a prince. He was rich. He was used to getting his way. With everyone. Especially staff.

She supposed he had dozens of staff. Maids. Butlers, even. Staff for his summer palace. Pilots for his private jet.

Meena had staff-a housekeeper who came once every other week and refused to do laundry.

“But,” she murmured lamely, “I’ve got the dog.”

“No one cares about a little dog.” He looked incredibly handsome, standing there with the darkness behind him, one hand stretched out to her, the other keeping the door open for her. “Trust me, Meena.”

The incredible part was that she did. She hardly knew him at all.

But she did trust him.

Why wouldn’t she? He’d already saved her life, and had done so by risking his own.

What was a little breaking and entering, compared to that?

But Meena had never been a risk taker…not on her own behalf. Leisha had nailed it on the head when she’d accused Meena of having a hero complex. Meena would do anything to help save the life of someone else (if only they’d allow her to).

But when it came to herself? Though she could look into the future of complete strangers, she’d never been able to see what fate had in store for her.

And so too many times she’d done what was easiest-stay with a boyfriend who didn’t really love her; not complain about a coworker who was taking advantage of her-instead of what she knew, deep down, was right.

And now?

She knew if she slipped her hand into Lucien Antonescu’s, she wouldn’t just be risking possible arrest by the New York City Police Department.

She’d be risking her heart.

Was she really going to do this?

But what other choice did she have? Was she just going to sit on the couch like Jon for the rest of her life, waiting for the perfect person, the perfect job, the perfect life to come along?

How did she know that perfect person wasn’t standing in front of her right now? How did anyone know?

Easy. They didn’t. They took a risk.

She slipped her fingers into his.

Maybe she couldn’t see into her own future.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t have one.

“All right,” she said with a smile. “Show me. Show me everything.”