by Tami Lund
I was dressed in a second-hand red kimono style evening gown that was stitched with lots of gold thread. I picked it up at the local Salvation Army store. It had a giant tear in the seam that rode up to my left hip, thanks to my attempt to scale the wall.
In retrospect, I suppose trying to scale a wall in an evening gown and high heels was not a particularly brilliant idea. Actually, trying to scale an eight-foot wall in any capacity was not a very good idea. I guess this goes back to not thinking things through…
The dark-haired man’s lips quirked as if he were trying not to smile, and he nodded toward the gate. “The entrance is over there.”
Well now what? I dipped my head and began nudging a stone with my sandal. All dressed up and nowhere to go, that’s how I felt at that moment. I glanced up and saw that the lip quirk was gone and he was staring stonily at me.
“Okay, fine,” I snapped. “I’m a local and I just wanted to see what it was like to go to one of these parties. I was supposed to be working as a server but I got fired a few hours ago because one of the guests tried to feel me up in a corner.”
I don’t know why I told him all this. I had no earthly idea who he was, although I was pretty sure he was somehow associated with security for The Resort. That place had nearly as much security as the White House. There were plenty of politicians who visited The Resort, so maybe that’s why.
“And how did that get you fired?” He sounded as if he was having a casual conversation over coffee.
“I sort of kicked him.”
Mr. Security Detail winced, so he obviously understood where I kicked the man.
“And my boss thought I reacted a bit harshly.”
“Did you want to be felt up by this guy?”
“No, of course not,” I answered indignantly.
“Then I’d say you reacted appropriately.”
I stared at him. “Uh, thanks,” I said finally.
Suddenly, the walkie talkie clipped to his belt crackled to life. He unsnapped it and held it close to his ear. I couldn’t understand a word over the static, but he obviously could.
“I have a situation that requires my attention.” His eyes scanned me from head to toe, and I had the distinct impression he was undressing me in his head.
I wondered if I’d have to kick him too.
“Come with me, I might be able to use your assistance.”
Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed my hand and began dragging me along behind him, toward the front entrance. When I realized he intended to walk through a small door built into the wall, between the wide, winding driveway and a small building that served as a security check point, I dug my heels into the pebbled path and we came to a skidding halt.
“What?” he asked impatiently.
“Are you taking me inside?” I asked.
He looked as if he was holding himself back from rolling his eyes with great difficulty. “Yes.”
“Okay, hang on.” I opened my little red clutch purse and pulled out a tube of red tinted lip-gloss. I couldn’t go in there with bare lips. As I applied the gloss, he really did roll his eyes.
“Hey, even us locals have standards,” I said as I capped the lip-gloss and dropped it into my purse.
He stared at my lips. I touched two fingers to them, checking to make sure I hadn’t inadvertently smudged my work. “What? Something wrong?”
He finally shook his head. “Your dress is ripped almost to your hip and you’re worried about lip-gloss?”
I’d forgotten about the dress. I glanced down and dismally realized he was right. “I can’t go in there like this.”
“But you’re wearing lip-gloss.” The amusement was back. I didn’t like the fact that I amused him in this way.
“My dress is ripped.”
“It isn’t frayed. It looks like it’s supposed to be that way.”
I glanced down again and stuck out my leg. The material slid away until my leg was exposed to within centimeters of my red bikini panties. Mr. Security Detail sucked in a breath and I thought this was a lot more skin than I exposed ever, unless I was wearing a bikini and lounging on the beach, or was in the shower – alone.
I glanced up. His eyes were still black and now his jaw was rigid. If I didn’t follow him onto the grounds of The Resort right now, I’d probably never get inside again. And I wanted to pretend to be on the other side, just for one night. I wanted to try some of those hors d’oeuvres I would have been serving tonight, if I still had a job.
I took a deep breath, pulled my leg back so that the fabric covered it again and said, “Okay, let’s go.”
When he opened the door and beckoned me inside, I asked his name.
“Carter.”
“Is that your last name?”
“No.”
“Do you have a last name?”
“Yes.”
I guess he wasn’t Mr. Talkative.
“What is your name?”
“Allison Bell.”
“Pretty.”
“Thanks,” I said, surprised by the compliment. “How long have you worked here?”
“Since it opened.”
“Do you live in town?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you from?”
“Dallas.”
He was definitely master of the one-word replies, but at least now I understood where the sexy accent came from. As I rummaged around in my head for something else to ask, he turned and said, “Would you mind being quiet now?”
I snapped my mouth closed and glared at him, but he’d already turned and was watching the path ahead of us.
In silence – me fuming and him concentrating – we followed a flagstone pathway that ran parallel to the wall surrounding The Resort. I could only see glimpses of the front of The Resort, between the trees and bushes and mounds and mounds of flowers everywhere.
I’ve never entered The Resort through the main entrance before. There was a service entrance around back that led straight into the kitchens and all the hired help and delivery vehicles has strict orders to use that entrance only. Using the main entrance was grounds for immediate dismissal. I sort of hoped I ran into my ex-boss tonight. I’d be sure to let him know that I used the main entrance.
After we walked in silence for at least five minutes, I became restless. We continued to follow the line of the wall, and it seemed to me that we were moving further from the main building of The Resort, not closer. “Where are we going?” I finally asked.
“Shh,” Carter said and we continued to walk in silence.
I became annoyed. I hated being shushed. I was ready to ditch Carter the Security Guy and slip into the party, too high slit in my dress be damned. I tried to pull my hand out of his grip but he only tightened his hold.
I was about to say something waspish when he stopped short and I barreled right into his back. He didn’t even bother to turn around. He simply reached behind him and caught me by the waist and held me like that. I heard rustling noises from some point ahead of us.
In the next instant, I found myself standing in front of Carter, with his arms wrapped around my waist. He pulled me so close it felt as if he were trying to mesh our bodies together. I looked up at him and caught the tiniest smile before his lips descended onto mine.
At first, I simply stood there, too stunned to do anything. And then I realized I ought to be infuriated and I should push him away. The problem was, Carter could kiss like no other man I’d ever experienced. Not that I’ve had a myriad of experience, but still, this particular experience was quite an exceptional one.
Completely outside of my control, my body reacted as if it couldn’t get enough of his kiss. I wrapped my arms around his waist and tried to pull him closer still. I felt something hard and cold scrape my right arm and I dimly thought it might be a gun in a shoulder holster but I didn’t let it distract me.
He cupped one hand on my neck, below my messy blond up-do, while one hand splayed on the small of my back. I felt his body react
to the intimacy of the kiss and I heard a small groan, and realized it came from me. I moved my hands to his face, palms on his cheeks, trying to hold him so he wouldn’t break the kiss. Preferably ever.
I heard an, “Oh shit,” from behind me and then Carter broke the kiss. I was so bemused I just stood there, glassy eyed, my hands still on his cheeks. The smile quirked again and he pulled my hands away and stepped around me, putting his body between whomever interrupted our kiss and me.
“May I help you, gentlemen?” Carter asked. I shook my head to clear the kiss-induced cobwebs and turned around. Two banquet servers stood in front of us on the path, and they were each carrying a laundry sack. The sacks were obviously full. I recognized both of them. I graduated from high school with them.
“Joey? Dave? What are you guys doing?” I stepped out from behind Carter. He glanced at me as his brow creased into a frown.
Joey squinted at me. He was about six foot tall, redheaded and gangly. “Allison? Damn, you look hot.”
I smiled. Well. It was nice to be appreciated. “Thanks,” I said cheerfully. It was the little things in life, after all.
I took a chance and glanced up at Carter. His face was so rigid, it looked as if it were carved from stone, and his eyes were as black as night. He glared pointedly at Joey. I swallowed convulsively and turned back to face Joey and Dave.
“How did you get to be a guest at this party?” Dave asked me.
Dave and Joey reminded me a little of Laurel and Hardy. Whereas Joey was tall and too thin, Dave was shorter and stocky, with dark hair and a thick neck. He had been on the high school football team, and was largely responsible for the one state championship our local high school has ever won. Despite a full-ride football scholarship, Dave only lasted one semester of college. He’s definitely not the brightest bulb.
“I’m, uh, his date,” I said, waving at Carter.
“Cool,” Dave said, clearly awed. “It’s not often the elite mingle with the locals.”
“What are you guys doing?” I asked again, conversationally this time.
They exchanged glances and looked guilty as hell. Joey glanced at the bag in his hand. “Uh,” he said. Dave began scanning his surroundings, probably looking for a hole to jump into. It was pretty damn obvious what they were doing.
“Seriously?” I asked, crossing my arms under my breasts. “Are you really stealing?”
They exchanged guilty glances again.
“Come on, you guys. You’re going to give the locals a bad name. It’s bad enough The Resort has cut off our tourism industry at the knees. Now everyone here will think we’re all a bunch of degenerates and they’ll fire everyone and then none of your friends will have jobs. Does that strike you as a good thing?” I tapped my foot for emphasis.
I steadily ignored Carter, because I could actually feel his anger. It radiated off of him in waves. Plus, I was still shaken by that kiss. And I suspected it had all been a rouse to catch Joey and Dave, not because he’d suddenly had an overwhelming urge to kiss me because he found me astonishingly attractive.
Joey dropped his bag and shuffled his feet. “Sorry, Allison. It was just so easy, and we don’t get paid much to do this job.”
“It’s better than nothing,” I pointed out. I looked at Dave. “Dave? Do you want me to call your mother?”
“Damn, Allison, that’s not fair.” He dropped his bag.
“Now get back to work and don’t do this again. Do you understand me?”
They both said, “Jeez, Allison,” and turned to go. Carter finally spoke up.
“Excuse me, but this is my responsibility, and I don’t think going back to work is such a good idea.”
I finally looked up at Carter. His face was a blank mask. Great. Blank mask was not something I could pull off. My mother told me all the time that the whole world knew exactly what I was thinking at any given time. You just had to look at my face.
I glared at him. “And what do you propose?”
“I report them to the banquet manager and ask if he wants to press charges and/or fire them.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said and Carter’s eyebrows shot into his hairline.
“We just caught them stealing. You think it’s ridiculous to report it?”
“They’ve had a change of heart. They’re giving us the stuff they stole and they’re going back to work.”
“And what makes you think they won’t do it again?”
“We won’t, we promise,” Dave and Joey said in unison.
“Because I’ll vouch for them,” I said. “I’ve known them practically my whole life. They’re good people. They won’t do it again.” I turned to Joey and Dave and they both nodded vigorously.
Carter looked like he was trying really hard to keep from doing something. Probably wring my neck. Finally, he turned his scary black eyes onto Dave and Joey, who both cowered under the look.
“I will allow you to go back to work. My entire team has their eye on you, and if you so much as step a toe out of line…” He sounded as if he were growling.
Joey put his hands in the air, palms out and they both began backing away. “No problem, sir. No problem. We’ll be good, we promise.”
Right before they both bolted, he said, “Thanks, Allison! See you around.”
I turned to Carter with a smug smile, thinking I’d done a pretty good job. He was still stone-faced. “What?” I said.
“I suppose I should have explained beforehand. My name is Carter James. I run J&J Security. We provide security for The Resort, as well as personal security service for a handful of guests who happen to be in residence at this time. Those men were stealing and I was planning to apprehend them. Since I was also dealing with the situation of you trying to sneak in, I decided, in an effort to ensure you did not get away, that you would come with me while I apprehended those two men. And you just let them go. Not only that, but you sent them back to work. You set them up to try again. Worse, I just let you do it.” He seemed mystified by this revelation.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s Joey and Dave. They’re harmless. Seriously, I’ve known them since kindergarten. They’re not too bright, but they’re harmless. And they usually only require one warning when they do something wrong. And what was with the kiss?”
Carter’s eyes flared briefly at the mention of the kiss. “I thought it would be an appropriate distraction, when they rounded the corner. If I would have been standing there with a gun in my hand, they probably would have bolted and possibly caused a scene.”
“Oh,” I said, because I was disappointed to hear him say that was the reason for the kiss.
“Not that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it,” he added.
I glanced up and saw that his lips were quirked into a semi-smile. His eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled like that, and I could see the beginnings of a dimple. I imagined his full wattage smile was something to behold. I swallowed convulsively. He took a step closer.
“I’d be happy to do it again,” he suggested, his voice barely above a whisper and sounding not unlike a cat’s purr.
I took a step back, because I refused to be made a fool again. “If you do, I might react the same way I did to that guest who fondled me in the hallway.”
Carter actually chuckled. “First rule of combat, Allison Bell, never let your enemies know your weapons. Now that I know your first reaction, I will forever be on the defensive. You’d never be able to get in a good shot.”
I had every confidence he was right, but I was sure tempted to try.
Carter picked up both bags in one hand and slipped the other into my hand. I focused on ignoring the heat that just engulfed my hand and was steadily climbing up my arm and then, I was sure, down to points that I didn’t exactly want to be heated at the moment.
“Let’s go return this merchandise. We’ll take a stroll by the appetizers so you can have your glimpse of the other side, and then I will escort you off the property.”
That sounded lovely to me, so
I didn’t resist as he began walking forward. After a short distance, the walkway opened up to a wide-open area that was paved in flagstones. Two oversized garages that looked nothing like garages, stood to the left and the main building of The Resort stood to the right.
The Resort was designed in a horseshoe shape, with the rounded end of the horseshoe facing the river. The walls were also made of flagstones, and the roof was covered with shaker shingles. It was three stories tall. I knew, from listening to the housekeepers in the break room during my short tenure working there, that every suite had an excellent view of the river.
The ends of the horseshoe housed the kitchens, since the hired help didn’t need to see the river. The inside of the horseshoe was a giant courtyard, complete with a fountain that sprayed water in time to classical music. The driveway wound around the fountain and deposited guests at the very center of the horseshoe, where they stepped into the large, plush lobby.
We stood behind the end of the horseshoe that was furthest from the entrance. I knew, from the brief time I worked here, that if you continued straight across the flagstone path, you would walk right into a spectacular ballroom that could hold three hundred guests for dinner and had its own flagstone patio overlooking the river. Everything was about the view of the river. Even in the wintertime, the view of the river was spectacular.
Carter led me across the flagstone driveway. When we reached the edge of the main building, another man, dressed completely in black, materialized out of the shadows. I gave an involuntary yelp and Carter squeezed my hand. Carter murmured instructions to the man and handed him the two laundry bags and the man disappeared into the shadows again. I felt goose bumps rise on my arms and I furtively glanced around, wondering how many eyes were watching us at this very moment. Carter, who apparently missed nothing, noticed.
“Yes, I have security well hidden everywhere. As well as cameras and audio devices. Rarely does anything get by us. That’s why The Resort uses us exclusively.”
“How come you don’t live on property, as the head of security?” I knew, also through gossip, that there was one suite reserved for what was known as the manager-on-duty, or MOD. At all times, twenty-four-seven, some sort of manager was on-site, in case of emergencies or guest issues.
