A Need So Insatiable

Chapter Four

Sophie

As soon as I park the bike, a few feet from Konrad Theatre, I swing one leg over and stand. Removing my helmet, I lock it inside the topbox, my jaw clenched to keep my teeth from chattering.

Ugh, I’m cold. Everything below my waist is frozen, and I can’t feel my fingers and toes anymore. I should have worn a sweater under the jacket.

Pulling up my collar to shield my neck from the cool breeze, I cross the parking lot, heading toward the main doors. I jump as a red Jeep screeches to a halt inches from my hip.

Shit!

“Watch it!” I glare at the driver hidden behind the wheel. I flip the idiot off, and make a mad dash for the doors. But instead of heading directly to Simone’s music room, I make a detour for the auditorium on my right. This was one of my favorite places when I was a kid. I remember sitting here for hours, watching Mom rehearse. It hasn’t changed much.

I drop onto one of the crimson, velvet-covered seats just inside the door. What would Mom be doing if she were alive? Would she sti--

The door suddenly bursts open, jerking me from my thoughts. I drop to the floor,  scuttling deeper into the shadows, my heart hammering in my chest.  

I hold my breath and wait. Silence. No footsteps. Nothing. I peek above the seat at the tall figure hovering by the entrance, a coat slung over his shoulder.

Definitely not one of the men I saw earlier.

He moves to stand below the lamp over the door, and his face comes into focus. His longish hair is a hundred definitions of tousled, strands sticking out in every direction. His strong jaw is covered in stubble, and a dark tie is recklessly thrown around his shoulders, as if it had been yanked from its place in a hurry.

Oh baby, those shoulders!

I can’t see anything beyond them. They fill the doorway quite nicely, wrapped in a white, button-down shirt. He drags a hand through his hair, causing the muscles beneath the fabric to shift.

Sweet Moses! I’ve seen men do the same thing a thousand times, but the way he does it . . . it’s like he invented that move. Like he owns it.

Finally, my gaze lands on his face, set in a fierce scowl, and I realize who he really is.

Freakin’ Rafael Van Rees. Mr. Untouchable.

I clench my hands, trying hard not to leap up and fangirl all over this god of the opera world. He’d probably set me ablaze with that glower, but dear God, what a way to die! If only I could introduce myself. But nothing shouts crazy more than me jumping from the shadows.

A moment later, he stalks out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Heart racing, I crawl from my hiding spot and follow, heading toward Simone’s music room.

I halt at the door, the sound of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Summer” reaching my ears. Peeking inside the room, I see Simone sitting in her chair, her desk scattered with sheet music and books. Her dark head is bowed, her eyes focused on the framed photo of her husband in her hands. She touches the photo with a trembling finger, and I step back to give her some privacy. I’ve caught her performing that same gesture several times since I started working with her on Love Unfathomable. She’d lost him during their honeymoon, while she was three months pregnant. Apparently, he’d ventured into an area closed off for skiing, and when he didn’t return to the hotel, Search and Rescue had gone out to look for him. They’d found him buried in an avalanche. The stress had caused her to miscarry, and she’d never remarried after that.