Diva (Jit'Suku Chronicles) Read Online Free Page B

were people who got to tell you what to do with your music.”
    “You’d be surprised.” She shook her head, setting the little ponytail of her hair to wagging. “It’s business, just a different kind. My recording label has a lot of say over what I do with my songs, and my manager, Binki, books my concert dates. It’s all I can do to squeeze in a few benefit shows each season, and they grumble at me all the while. Then I remind them who pays their salaries, and they eventually let me have my way, but it’s an uphill battle all the same.” The clock chimed softly, alerting the even shift change. “My goodness, is it really that late already? I’m sorry, John. I didn’t mean to keep you awake.”
    “Sweetheart, you could keep me up all night, and I would never complain.”
    He hadn’t really meant to say anything quite that provocative, but the slight flush on her cheeks made him glad of the fatigue that caused him to speak without thinking through all his words. He let the statement lie there between them, waiting to see which way she would go. He liked that she could keep him guessing. So few women could, in his experience.
    “Is it really true?” she asked softly, surprising him further. “That you listen to my recordings every night?”
    Solemnly, he nodded. “Every night I can manage. If I’m on station, in my own cot, I put in my earjacks and let you sing me to sleep.” His voice dropped low.
    “Get in bed.”
    Her softly spoken words shocked him awake. What, exactly, was she suggesting? He wouldn’t take anything for granted where this surprising woman was concerned. Slowly, he got to his feet and walked over to the huge bed that awaited him. It looked so inviting. It was, by far, the nicest accommodation he’d had since entering the service at the tender age of eighteen. He sank tiredly to sit on the side of the bed, watching her.
    “What do you have in mind?”
    “Just lie down and close your eyes, John. I’m going to sit here and play a few songs I’ve been working on. I was doing the same in my cabin before the comp pinged me, so I might as well do it here as there. I’ll stay until you fall asleep, okay?”
    John’s heart clenched. This was just about the sweetest thing anyone had ever wanted to do for him. But he couldn’t let her stay. It wouldn’t be right to take advantage of her generosity this way.
    “I can’t—”
    “You can, and you will. I’m in charge of this tub while you’re sleeping, Captain, and I decide where and when I’ll play my songs.”
     
    Maggie walked right up to him and pushed against his massive shoulder, but he didn’t budge an inch. The man was solid muscle, after all.
    “Come on, John. I’ve kept you up too long as it is. Please try to sleep, okay? I won’t rest easy until I know you’re asleep.” And she wouldn’t. She wasn’t just saying it to be nice. Somewhere, somehow, she’d come to care about this soldier, even on such short acquaintance. There was something about John that she recognized and understood on a basic level.
    She nudged his shoulder again, and John sighed. He untied the belt on his robe and shrugged out of it, nearly stopping her breath. The man was a living, breathing Michelangelo sculpture. Only better. He was so huge, she felt dwarfed by his size, but never intimidated. No, this was a man who understood how threatening he could seem and tempered his brute strength with snapping intelligence and compassion.
    John tossed his robe to the end of the bed and lay down under the turned back covers. He reached for the edge of the blanket at the same moment she did, their hands meeting with a little zap of electricity while his gaze shot to hers. Long minutes later, John moved his hand back, content, it seemed, to let her tuck him in.
    Maggie did so with a small pang for what could have been in her heart. This was a man she could easily love, but love was not something she could allow to interfere with her mission in life. She