Page 9 of Nikolai
Her system, which hadn’t failed her yet, had given off no warning signals so far.
So…enjoy it.He would probably turn out to be terminally boring, or greedy, or something dire, and he’d be crossed off her mental list.But so far, he was definitely on it.
“Lotta complicated thoughts going on in that beautiful head of yours,” he remarked.She looked up sharply.
He gently ran a finger down her face, the gesture over almost before she felt what he was doing.“You don’t need to tell me what you’re thinking.Not going to pry.But I would love to know.”
Oh no.He was perceptive.This huge macho man, with muscles out to here, a man who worked in security, turned out to be sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others.
Parker was used to keeping her thoughts to herself, but on her many dates, it wasn’t hard.The guy was always more than eager to fill the void.More than willing to fill the airwaves with his job, always an important one, his car, cryptocurrencies, world events…
And she realized that this Nikolai hadn’t once talked about his job, about how important he was, though she’d got it from Aunt Caroline that the Consulate had hired one of the best security guys in the world.
“I was thinking all over again how beautiful Naples is,” she lied.She wasn’t thinking that at all and she was well aware how beautiful the city was.“And now that I don’t have to worry about people bumping into me, I can enjoy it more.”
He smiled and tucked her hand more tightly into the crook of his arm.“Don’t worry about other people tripping you up.”
Well, no.Not while she was by his side.He felt like a concrete pillar, and no one runs deliberately into a concrete pillar.
Such a beautiful place.It was possible to appreciate it now that she was all but invisible.The sparkling sea, with the ferries to the islands looking like tiny toy boats.Massive, centuries-old palm trees swayed gently in the breeze.Way farther down, you could barely see the huge cruise ships docked at Beverello Port, and farther still, on the horizon, across the Bay, Vesuvius.
This part of Naples was all baroque—huge sandstone palazzi dressed up as if for a Sunday parade.
And the light.Odes could be written about the light of Naples, a painter’s dream.Living here, she often thought it a pity that she had no artistic talent at all.Probably better that way.She’d spend all her time on her balcony trying to capture the colors.
Some of the excitement of the earthquake had died down, and traffic was slowly getting back to its usual chaotic self.
“Naples was the largest city in Europe in the seventeenth century,” she said.“Then it decayed quickly under misrule.”
“A lot of places decay under misrule,” Nick mused.“Seen it over and over again.And it’s a tragedy, every single time.”
“Like Rome.At the height of empire, it had over a million and a half inhabitants.By the sixth century, it was in ruins with fewer than thirty thousand inhabitants.Some say the population fell to fifteen thousand.From a million and a half.Almost all the buildings were decayed.”
Oops.She’d spoken without thinking and was probably boring him half to death.She looked up, expecting to find that usual expression of a suppressed yawn.“So sorry, I am probably boring you.I tend to get caught up in my enthusiasms.”
His pale blue eyes widened.“God, don’t apologize!This is fascinating.Like I said, I have seen so many places reduced to rubble.And a lot of atrocities where beautiful things were caught up in the madness and destroyed.”
“The statues of the Buddha at Banyan,” she murmured.
“Exactly.”They were at the end of Piazza della Repubblica and Nick stopped.“My rental is in Piazza dell’Olio.Do we dare take our lives in our hands and cross?”
She was charmed at the idea that he hesitated crossing the busy avenue.He looked like a blond Superman.Cars would definitely bounce right off him.But they wouldn’t bounce off her, and he seemed to have nominated himself as her protector, so they waited at the curb for traffic lights way up and down the avenue to stop cars and create a lull in the traffic.
Finally, there were no cars coming in either direction.It wouldn’t last.She could hear cars revving their engines.Neapolitans didn’t like traffic lights, particularly when they were red.
They looked at each other and grinned.
“Go!”he said and they went.
She didn’t know how he did it.His legs were much longer than hers, but he kept exact pace with her, only she’d somehow been kicked into a faster gear.In an instant they were across the street, just in time.Cars started whizzing past them.
Nick withdrew his arm from around her waist, and she realized he had almost carried her across without her noticing.It had been a little like flying.
And…plastered to that super strong body,she’dfelt invincible.As if the cars would bounce offher.It was a delicious feeling.
And…she’d felt heat.Not just from his body but from hers.She’d been so close she could feel all those muscles, which weren’t just for show.They were warm and steely and felt amazing.
Her entire body had been shocked by the contact, and even now, on the other side of the street, she could still feel him.
