Guilt stabbed her in the stomach at his hurt look. "That's not what I meant. You know as well as I do that any child of mine will know this casino and hotel inside and out before he or she is three years old."

"Best you remember that," he said as a pleased smile curved his lips.

She gave him a squeeze and let go. "Well, I'm going to go find Michelle."

Nigel's cell phone started to ring as she opened the door.

"Tell me you have good news," he began, then blew her a kiss before she shut the door behind her.

"Rose!" Michelle called from across the casino's main room as soon as Rose shut Nigel's office door. Michelle darted around people, past rows of blackjack tables, her quick speed belying her height. Rose smiled that Mish's six-foot height always made it easy to find her in a crowd.

When the younger woman finally reached her and pulled her into a tight bear hug, Rose let out a cough. "Hey, ease up there, Mish. You might be as skinny as a twig, but you've got a grip like a lumberjack."

Michelle let her go, grinning. "Sorry, but I can't help myself. I'm just so glad to see you."

Looking up into her friend's face, Rose returned her smile. "It's good to see you, too."

Michelle tilted her head to the side and squinted. "Something about you looks different." She looked Rose up and down. "I can't put my finger on it, but you seem to glow. Ohmigod." Michelle's eyes lit up. She grabbed Rose by the hand and jerked her through the throng of people to the casino's exit.

"Hey, what's up?" Rose laughed at Michelle's strange behavior as her friend dragged her across the street and into the Five Star Hotel, punching the elevator button.

The elevator opened and Mish pulled her inside, pushing the number to take them to her room on the bottom floor.

As the elevator zipped down a couple of floors, Mish's deep blue gaze met hers. "You've met someone."

Rose's chest constricted at her comment. Was it that obvious? Had Duncan left his mark on her so thoroughly?

Avoiding Mish's penetrating gaze, she glanced at the elevator doors that had just opened when they reached the bottom floor and mumbled, "What makes you say that?"

"It's the look in your eyes, Rose." Without another word, Michelle yanked her out of the elevator and down the hall to her room. Picking up the keycard that hung by a string at her neck, Michelle slid it in the lock and opened her door.

Rose allowed Mish to drag her inside, then she moved over to the bed while Michelle shut the door.

Standing beside the door, an expectant look on her face, Michelle took two big steps, then took a flying leap to land on her bed. "You're glowing."

Rose's chest still felt tight at the fact Michelle had read her so easily.

"Do tell!" Michelle continued, facing her as she crossed her long legs Indian-style on the bed, an excited look on her face.

Duncan's vampire status aside, Rose preferred not to talk about him. She didn't even know what she felt for the man other than annoyed frustration.

At her silence, a hurt look replaced Michelle's animated expression.

"You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

Rose shook her head. "It's...complicated."

A horrified expression crossed Michelle's face. She reached out and gripped Rose's hand. "This new man in your life...he didn't hurt you, did he? I'll kill the bastard!"

Rose's stomach clenched at the idea that Michelle could think Duncan would hurt her. No matter what had passed between them, she knew in her heart he'd never intentionally hurt her. Ever.

But she understood where her friend was coming from. Michelle was the only person she'd told about the rape. As painful as it was to talk about it, she'd told Mish when the younger girl had turned sixteen. Rose wanted to protect her devil-may-care friend from herself, to warn her just what could happen if she didn't keep her faculties about her.

"I know what you're thinking." She put her hand over Michelle's and answered as honestly as she could. "I'm just not ready to talk about him yet, maybe...never. But I promise you I'll never allow another man to hurt me, not while I'm still breathing."

Mish gave her an understanding smile. "I just worry about you." Unbending her long legs, she let them dangle over the side of the bed and scooted closer to her. She wrapped her arm across Rose's shoulders. "You're my 'big sister'. I only want what's best for you."

Rose counted her blessings at the number of people who'd shown her love and kindness despite the rocky bumps she'd been dealt in life.

Tugging on a long dark curl hanging over Mish's shoulder, she said, "I love you, too, kid sis. I promise I'll tell you if and when there's something to tell."

At the dejected look on Michelle's face, she continued in an upbeat tone, "But I do have some news about the note my mom left me."

"Lay it on me." Michelle grinned, rubbing her hands together.

Pulling the envelope out of her purse, Rose opened the letter from her mother and relayed the contents to Michelle.

Michelle glanced at Rose's locket. "And you discovered the existence of this because of the locket she left you?"

Rose nodded, smiling at the excited blush that had colored Michelle's cheeks.

"When are you going to Ireland?"

She chuckled that her friend knew her so well. "As soon as I can get a flight, I'm going."

"I want to go with you. I've got savings. I'll talk Nigel into letting me take vacation early. He has plenty of backup dealers."

Rose met her friend's determined gaze. "This is something I need to do by myself, Mish. I have a feeling it won't be my last trip to Ireland. I promise you can go with me next time."

Michelle sighed her understanding. "You'd better keep that promise."

Rose nodded with a grin. "Now that I've spilled about my news, tell me about this event you're dragging me to this evening."

Chapter Seven

Rose stood, crushed in the crowd of Strainseir fans. Michelle hopped up and down in her excitement for the show to begin. Glancing down at Rose, Michelle yelled over the noise, "Try to look more excited, Rose. From what I've heard of this band, it'll be a show you'll never forget."

"The things I do for my friends," Rose mumbled as she prepared to plug her ears with her fingers. Women surrounded her, ranging in age from young teens to well in their fifties. The disparity in their ages surprised her. But hey, if a mother and her daughters could enjoy this music together, then the band couldn't be that bad, she thought, turning her focus to the stage.

The house lights went down, dousing the room in darkness. The deafening roar of screaming fans grew around her, making the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end. This was fandom at its heightened pitch. A blue light lit up the raised floor, creating a shadowed outline of each band member standing on stage.

The effect elicited the appropriate response. Fans rushed forward, causing her heart rate to increase as they crushed her body between theirs.

"Maybe we should go back to our seats," she called out over the din as she grabbed Michelle's arm.

"No way! I worked my way through this crowd. We'll lose our good spot." Mish's voice sounded just as caught up as the fans around her. She grabbed Rose's hand. "Stay close."

Taking a deep breath, Rose resigned herself to her current position and returned her gaze to the stage, focusing on the lead singer holding his guitar. The crowd began to chant "Stryker! Stryker!"

An electric guitar blared through the speakers, the music sounding familiar to her. Then the rest of the band joined in as the lead singer began to sing. The crowd went wild at the artist's rendition of "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thomas.

When several lights lit up the front of the stage, Rose's heart jerked and she squeezed Mish's hand.

"See, I told you they were fantastic," her friend called out in reaction to her tight hold.

Rose couldn't believe what she was seeing. Standing up there, wearing buttery-soft black leather pants and a black silk shirt, playing and singing was Duncan. Except, this wasn't a Duncan she'd ever seen before. He smiled at the fans and looked truly comfortable and in his element standing up in front of twelve hundred people, singing his heart out. Singing! And he said he didn't sing.

She wanted to grind her teeth at the outgoing, friendly persona Duncan willingly shared with total strangers, yet he held back from her. Why? she wondered. Yet, as annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but appreciate his musical talent when he set aside his electric guitar, pulled up a stool, took the acoustic guitar his band member handed him, and segued into a slower, angsty ballad called "Hallelujah" in the vein of Jeff Buckley. Damn, the man could belt out a tune...the kind that made goose bumps form on her arms and sent shivers down her spine.

Between songs, Duncan took the time to introduce the rest of his band, acknowledging their talent. As Duncan moved from his version of one famous song after another, he kept the crowd pumped by walking around stage, laughing and commenting at the crazy signs fans held up. His interaction definitely fueled the fans because with each song he performed they grew louder and louder.

At the end of one song, Duncan bent down at the edge of the stage to take some flowers from a fan. He kissed the back of her fingers and thanked her with a sexy smile. Rose couldn't help the jolt of jealousy that shot through her. Shrugging off the strange emotion, she told herself to focus on Duncan as a performer and not as a person.

An hour and a half later, Rose was just as caught up in Duncan's music, but the one thing that struck her was that none of the songs he'd played were his own. When he came back on stage for an encore, the realization hit her as to what had been missing. Duncan might be giving of himself in his music to his fans, but he would only give so far...even on stage, he held a part of himself back. She knew he was talented enough to compose his own songs. She'd heard him playing some of his classical music, seen his notes.

When another woman tried to get his attention from the edge of the stage, Rose's stomach clenched She refused to watch. Turning to say something to Michelle, she realized she was gone. Frantic, Rose glanced through the throng of people, her heart racing. Until her gaze landed on the head of dark curly hair at the front of the stage. The woman's hand Duncan was about to kiss was Michelle's!

Just before his lips connected with her fingers, Duncan's head snapped up and his gaze narrowed on the crowd as if he were looking for something or someone.

When his gaze zeroed in and landed on her, Rose's heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Without missing a beat, Duncan kissed Michelle's hand and stood saying into the mike in a teasing tone, "Are you all ready for a guitar lesson?"

"Yes!" the women screamed in unison, making Rose wince at the high pitch. A hush fell over the group and then women began to call out, "Pick me, pick me, pick me." One woman followed up the incessant yells by saying, "Honey, you can pick me anytime and anywhere you want." Duncan laughed heartily at her double entendre, winking at the woman's quick wit.

What the hell was the "guitar lesson"? Rose wondered.

"Hmmm, let me see." Duncan appeared to ponder and then suddenly he pointed to Rose. "How about the lovely redhead?"

"Ohmigod! Go Rose!" Michelle squealed from her position next to the stage.

Rose had no idea what this "guitar lesson" entailed but she was certain she didn't want to find out. Shaking her head, she started to walk backward through the crowd, but Michelle had started a chant, "Rose, Rose, Rose", and the women surrounding Rose joined in, shoving her up toward the front until she stood beside Michelle.

"I'm going to kill you for this," Rose said to Michelle through gritted teeth.

Michelle's only response was to kiss her on the cheek. "Have fun, Rosie." Then she grabbed Rose's shoulders and turned her to face Duncan as he bent down and took Rose's hand to pull her up on stage.

Once she was up on the stage, Duncan moved to lower the mike to guitar level, then he lifted his acoustic guitar off its stand and called her over to him with a smile.

Despite her efforts to not let the man affect her, Rose's heart rate raced as he unhooked the strap and placed the guitar in front of her. When he moved close, standing directly behind her, the crowd of fans went nuts. As they screamed out "you lucky girl", he whispered in her ear, "Following me, a ghra?"

Her stomach tightened at the seductive timbre in his voice. "This concert was Michelle's idea," she hissed above the roar. "I'm just as surprised as you are, Mr. I-Don't-Sing."

He chuckled, then said loud enough for the crowd to hear, "I think we'll need the strap for this to work standing up, don't you guys?"

His comment brought on even more catcalling and screaming from the fans. Duncan pressed flush against her backside and hooked the strap back on the guitar's neck, locking her body between his heated one and the guitar in front of her.

"That's better," he commented for the crowd's benefit. Though pressed against your front side is my preferred position, he suggested in a husky tone in her mind.

Heat rose in her body at Duncan's sexy comment. She inhaled deeply trying to calm her nerves, but her action made her realize just how good he smelled tonight. He'd played hard but had barely broken a sweat, yet the all-male smell mixed with his enticing cologne made her entire body clench in response. He wore cologne for his fans, too? She wanted to choke him. Unsure where to put her hands during this strange exchange, Rose placed one of her hands on the guitar's neck and laid the other one across the guitar's body.

Pressing his body fully against hers, Duncan's warm breath fanned against her neck as he placed his fingers around hers. He manipulated her fingers until she'd formed the note for G, then he strummed the guitar. While she held the instrument's strings down so Duncan could continue to strum, the pads of Rose's fingers began to go numb.

She couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips when she realized why the pads of Duncan's fingers were so rough. The piano might help him relax, but this was the instrument he played his heart out on.

As the music resonated throughout the room, Duncan's fans screamed, "More, more."

Unconcerned, Duncan switched her fingers to another note, then continued to play. He pressed his erection against her buttocks and echoed the fans' sentiments in a seductive tone in her head. My thoughts exactly, Roisin All I want...is more.

With the hot spotlight shining down on her and Duncan's comments turning her body into a molten furnace, Rose used sarcasm to call her libido back into order.

"I'll bet you use your vampire powers to play the guitar with the speed you do."

Duncan stiffened behind her as if insulted by her comment. "There's only one way I use my powers when it comes to performing."

Apprehension gripped her when several of the fans, in their fanatic rush to get close to Duncan, were trying to get past the Pavilion's security guards to climb up on stage.

When he finished speaking, Duncan waved his hand from one side of the stage to the other and a sudden calmness seemed to wash over the crowd. Women climbed down and backed away. They still smiled but the obsessed looks on their faces were gone.

"My God, that worked," she whispered. How cool would that be to be able to command a room like that? she wondered in awe.

Duncan chuckled. "It helps keep the band's life sane."

Once he'd unhooked the strap on the guitar and stepped away from her, Duncan lifted the mike back up to the correct height and addressed the crowd. "Thank you being such a fantastic audience tonight." Then he turned to her and Rose realized twelve hundred pairs of eyes were on her, waiting.

Unsure what to say, she put out her hand, saying, "Thank you for the lesson."

Holding his guitar by the neck, Duncan took her hand. "It was my pleasure."

Expecting him to kiss her fingers as he'd done with all his other fans, Rose held back a gasp of surprise when he gave her a sexy smirk and turned her hand over, planting a kiss on the tender flesh of her palm.

A collective "Awwwww" came from the crowd at his intimate kiss. His public display of intimacy caused heat to rise up her neck and spread across her cheeks. Unable to form a coherent response, Rose pulled her hand away and walked down the side steps of the stage.

As the stage lights went black and the house lights turned on, Michelle met her at the bottom of the steps. Jerking Rose into her arms, she hugged her tight, saying, "Stryker kissed your palm and pressed his body against yours! You can't take a shower for at least a week."

Wheezing from Michelle's tight hold, Rose pulled out of her arms. "Uh, I think I'll keep my normal bathing routine, thanks."

"How can you be so blase?" Michelle fairly screamed in her ear as they made their way out of the concert.