.

one of those down-low brothers.” He hadn’t lied to Chandra. It had taken many years and countless therapy sessions for him to let go of the enmity between he and his father. “Women should be loved and protected, not physically or emotionally abused.”

      “Spoken like a true romantic hero.”

      “Give it up, Chandra. It’s not going to work.”

      “What’s not going to work?”

      “You’re not going to turn me into a romantic hero.”

      She wrinkled her nose in a gesture Preston had come to appreciate. “You think not, Preston?”

      “I know not, Chandra.”

      “We’ll see,” she drawled.

      His eyes narrowed. “What are you hatching in that very cute head of yours?”

      Chandra ignored his referring to her being cute. “Wait until I develop Pascual’s character and you’re forced to breathe life into what will become a vampire who’s not only sexy but very romantic. You’ll be the one who has to come up with the dialogue whenever he interacts with his romantic lead.”

      “We’ll see,” Preston said.

      “Have you thought of a name for your new play?”

      Taking a step, he dropped Chandra’s hand, pulling her to his chest. Lowering his head and fastening his mouth to the column of her scented neck, Preston pressed a kiss there. He increased the pressure, baring his teeth and stopping short of nipping the delicate flesh.

      “Death’s Kiss,” he whispered in her ear.

      Chandra turned her head, her mouth inches from Preston’s, breathing in his warm, moist breath. “You can’t kill your heroine, Preston.” Her gaze caressed the outline of his mouth seconds before he kissed her cheek.

      “We’ll see, won’t we?” he said, smiling.

      “What would I have to do to convince you to include a happy ending?”

      “I’ll think of something.”

      Bracing her hands against Preston’s chest, Chandra sought to put some distance between them. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

      Preston winked at her. “Not to worry, Chandra. You’re safe with me.”

      Chandra recoiled when his words hit her like a stinging slap. “The last man I was involved with said the very same words to me. But in the end I was left to fend for myself. Thanks, but no thanks, Preston. I can take care of myself.”

      “Was he your husband?”

      “No. Thank goodness we didn’t get that far. But we were engaged.”

      “Do you want to talk about it?”

      “No. Not because I don’t want to. It’s just that I can’t.”

      Preston dropped a kiss on her fragrant hair. “Then you don’t have to. Are you ready to eat?” he asked, changing the subject.

      “What’s on the menu for brunch?”

      Resting a hand at the small of her back, he escorted Chandra toward the kitchen. “You have a choice of fresh fruit, pancakes, waffles, an omelet or bacon, sausage, ham and grits. To drink, there’s herbal tea, regular and hazelnut coffee, orange, grapefruit or cranberry juice. As for cocktails you have a choice between a Bloody Mary and a mimosa.”

      “I prefer a mimosa.” Chandra flashed an attractive pout. “I’m really impressed with you, Preston. I’ve never hung out with a guy who could cook.”

      Preston gave Chandra a sidelong glance, his gaze lingering on the tumble of hair falling around her face. “I’m no Bobby Flay or Chef Jeff, but I can promise you won’t come down with ptomaine poisoning.”

      “I think I’m going to enjoy working with you.”

      And I promise not to like you too much, she added silently.

      It was what Chandra told herself every time she met a man to whom she felt herself attracted. It’d worked in the past and she was certain it would work with Preston Tucker.

      Chapter 4

      Chandra followed Preston into an expansive state-of-the art stainless-steel-and-black gourmet kitchen outfitted with Gaggenau appliances. “Very nice,” she crooned.

      “Should I take that to mean you like my kitchen?” There was a note of pride in Preston’s voice, as if he were talking about one of his children who’d aced an exam.

      She met his questioning gaze with a wide smile. “Did you think I was talking about you?”

      “I was hoping you’d think I’m nice.”

      Chandra sobered. “Does it matter what I think of you, Preston?”

      “Of course it does. After all, we’re going to be collaborating.”

      “Hold up, dark and brooding. First you want me to develop a paranormal character, and now you’re talking about collaboration.”

      “Pascual is yours, beautiful, and that means we’ll have to collaborate to make him a powerful and memorable character. I need for him to mesmerize the audience the second he walks on stage. Even before he opens his mouth, he must pull them in and not let them go until the final curtain.”

      “Are you going to include him in every scene?” Chandra asked.

      “No. It would make it too intense. Whenever he’s offstage I want to build enough tension for the audience to look forward to his reappearance. Enough shoptalk. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to eat.”

      Chandra was also ready to eat. Aside from the salad she’d eaten the day before, her only intake of food was a cup of coffee earlier that morning. “It looks as if you do some serious cooking in here.”

      “It works whenever I host a dinner party. There’s more than enough room for a caterer and his staff to work without them bumping into one another.”

      Preston’s kitchen was almost as large as the apartment she was renting from her cousin. It was furnished with top-of-the-line cookware and miscellaneous culinary gadgets suspended on hooks from an overhead rack.

      “How often do you have dinner parties?” she asked, recalling Denise telling her that Preston usually kept a low profile.

      “I always host one before the debut of a new play. I invite the entire cast and production staff.”

      She watched as Preston rolled back his shirt cuffs, exposing muscular forearms before washing his hands in one of the double sinks. “How long does it usually take for you to write a play?”

      He dried his hands on a towel. “It depends on the subject matter and my state of mind. My first one took several years because I’d reworked it half a dozen times. However, there was one I completed in four weeks, but it took its toll on my health because I’d averaged about three hours of sleep each night. I took a couple of months off, checked into a resort and did nothing more strenuous than eat and laze around.”

      Removing her suit jacket, Chandra hung it on a high-back stool pushed over to the slate-gray granite countertop. “You probably were burned out.”

      “Probably? I was. It was another year before I was able to focus and write again.”

      “How long do you project it will take for you to complete Death’s Kiss?” she asked.

      Preston, resting his elbows on the countertop, gave her a long, penetrating stare. “That all depends on my collaborator’s availability.”

      “And that depends on whether I can find a teaching position. I’ve applied to several schools with vacancies for Pre-K to 6. I’ll be available to you until I’m hired.”

      The