Scent of a Woman

by Joanne Rock

  “Do you have your boarding pass with you?”

  He felt his jacket pocket.

  “Yes.”

  “Then you can meet my wild alter ego. But only if you can catch her.”

  Spinning on her heel, she darted through the crowd toward the exit, her heart thumping with excitement to have fun and play. To flirt and be flirted with.

  God, she’d missed this.

  Laughing her joy, she turned to look over her shoulder as she bolted down a staircase and saw Adam close on her heels, his expression not quite as teasing as hers.

  Utter determination was etched in his features and Danielle could hardly wait to see where the day—and the night that followed—would lead.

  NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, Danielle was different today.

  He’d chased her off the boat and down the pier, but she’d managed to elude his grip whenever he got close. Then again, he didn’t mind giving her room to play her game since he could tell by her eyes they would be spending this night together.

  The realization tantalized him as much as her decision to ditch the perfumers’ luncheon in favor of spending time alone together. After his pool game with Ahmed, Adam felt all the more certain of the guy’s willingness to work with Prestige Scents. Adam didn’t need to schmooze his way through the shipside party to feel like he’d done his job today.

  “Are you coming?” she called over her shoulder as she neared the street where shuttles and taxis awaited cruise passengers who wanted to make the ninety-minute trip into Rome. He hoped the car ride wouldn’t dampen her spirit, but he looked forward to some time alone with her after the demands on her schedule the past two days.

  “Lady, you couldn’t lose me if you tried.” He caught up to her finally, steering her away from the public taxis to a car he’d called earlier in the day.

  “You planned to come into Rome?” she asked, voice lightly accusing.

  “No. But I’ve been hoping.” He nodded to the driver and tried not to notice Danielle’s enticing rear view as she climbed into the limousine.

  “A prepared man.” He stepped into the car and took a seat beside her on crushed red velvet that had seen better days. “I can admire that.”

  “Excellent. After having your brother give you an earful about my sordid past, it’s a relief to know you can still find things to appreciate about me.” He settled back in the seat as the car took off, the chauffeur leaving the privacy window closed and a bottle of local Italian wine chilling in a special compartment to Adam’s right.

  Just as he’d requested.

  And after the day of jarring personal and professional revelations he’d had, Adam appreciated the simple pleasure of having his demands met.

  “It wasn’t entirely sordid.” She arched a delicate eyebrow at him. “He e-mailed me a few of the articles and I found a delicious photo of you running on a beach in Nantucket in your swim trunks. All those flexing muscles—” she fanned her face “—they made quite an impression on me.”

  Shaking his head, he reached for the wine and removed the cork.

  “I’d rather make the impression in person. Especially since I remember the kind of article that went along with that picture.” He’d been labeled a playboy or an eligible bachelor, the kind of garbage that had led to his decision to play less of a public role in Burns Inc.

  Of course, being chased around by a prominent actress had meant renewed media interest in his personal life the last six months. The added attention was the reason he’d begged Joe to take his place on the Jet Ski with Jessica. No doubt a photo of his brother hurtling over the Jet Ski could be found somewhere on the Internet for anyone inclined to hunt.

  “That is why I thought you looked familiar when I first saw you,” Danielle said. “I’d seen your face in the social pages of our papers before, I’m sure. European papers tend to follow royalty and money over the Hollywood celebrities that Americans are so fascinated with.” Danielle took the glass of wine he handed her and clinked it lightly against his before stealing a sip. She closed her eyes in appreciation of the flavor and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her moist red lips and dark eyelashes.

  And with one smart choice in vino, the limo driver just tripled his tip.

  “Well, I don’t know how I’ve ended up as a footnote in one column after another given I don’t date that much.” Adam felt compelled to point that out. Those stupid articles painted a much different picture of him. “But after Jessica decided to introduce me to the world of paparazzi, I seem to have become a favorite subject. Nothing close to what truly famous people have to contend with, obviously. But it’s a strange experience.”

  “Your American starlet has been persistent and she obviously knows how to create her own small dramas for the cameras.” Danielle held the wineglass up to the tinted window. Tilting the glass to the side, she seemed to assess the color. “She is smart to know how to work the system to her advantage.”

  “Smart?” Adam considered. “Opportunistic, maybe.”

  Danielle laughed and recrossed her legs. Her toe grazed his calf and he realized she’d removed her shoes.

  “Let’s not talk about Jessica.” He set aside his wineglass, ready to be blunt with Danielle. “Let’s talk about tonight.”

  “You know the paparazzi might catch up with you at any port, don’t you?” Danielle’s eyes were serious as she peered at him over the rim of her glass. “It’s only a matter of time before the camera crew from Corfu tips off their tabloid journalist friends to your whereabouts.”

  “Let them come. At least when they take a photo of us together it will be an honest moment since you’re more to me than a business acquaintance.”

  Danielle set her glass aside, too. Her long, dark hair draped over her shoulder with the movement, veiling parts of her from his sight.

  He liked that about her—the way she could be sexy without saying a word. She exuded sexual confidence in other ways, too, by flirting with her eyes. The way she crossed her legs. Very hot.

  “You flatter me, Adam. But we do not have to resign ourselves to media intrusion. Maybe we should give anyone within a camera a run for their money.” The mischievous light returned to her eyes—the same one he’d seen on board the ship before she’d darted away from him.

  “I forgot you’re an Olympic runner in high heels.” He reached down to run his hand lightly up her calf and was gratified to see her shiver.

  “And Rome is a wonderful city to get lost in.” She gestured vaguely with her fingers and then rested them on his tie.

  “I’ll be sure to let you lead the way.” He lowered his voice as he homed in on her neck, needing a taste of her skin and a breath of her scent.

  “All I need to know is where we are ultimately headed. Did you have a destination in mind? A café? One of the galleries?”

  She arched into him as his mouth found the pulse throbbing just below the surface of her skin.

  “I thought we’d stop off in the park at Villa Borghese. Maybe walk to the Trevi fountain and past the Coliseum. I’ve heard it’s better to see a few things in Rome than to tackle too much.”

  “Oui. I have seen the park and it is beautiful.” Her breath huffed faster, hands alighting on his shoulders as she hummed her satisfaction. “We will let our feet follow paths that are over two thousand years old. Who knows how many other lovers have chased each other through the Eternal City?”

  He broke away, sitting up to look her in the eye.

  “You’re not trying to give me the slip the way you want to do to those photographers?”

  The instep of her bare foot rubbed against his calf with slow deliberation and that wicked smile of hers unfurled.

  “I am looking forward to being caught by you at the end of the night. Maybe sooner if we grow too restless on our trip into the city.” Her fingers combed down the front of his jacket and it occurred to him that wearing a suit wasn’t so bad when a woman like Danielle wanted to take you out of it. “That, I can promise.”

 
; Heat crawled all over his skin at her words, making him hope like hell the driver would floor it on the way back to the ship. He needed to get her alone, to peel away the exotic layers of this sexy French woman to find out what made her so different from other women.

  She made him want to do things he’d never cared about before—making a crazy dash through Rome sound like foreplay. She’d convinced him that her conservative clothes were sexier than tight T-shirts and tiny cut-offs. She even made him want to find out more about perfume just so he could keep up with her.

  He’d either lost his freaking mind or he was falling for her. Both possibilities scared the hell out of him. He’d seen what relationships could do to smart guys. The divorce rates of his friends were sky-high and his own long-term liasons had ended badly. For that matter, to call any of his relationships “long-term” would be a stretch at best with the work hours he kept.

  But there sat Danielle, the most incredible woman he’d ever met, and he was ready to do whatever she wanted.

  Hell.

  He closed his eyes and found her lips. The sweet flavor of her kiss silenced all the warning bells going off in his brain, making her taste, her pleasure, the only important things right now. He kissed her for an endless moment, savoring the sweet satisfaction of that simple joining.

  Her arms wound around his neck with no reservations, her breasts flattening against his chest, tantalizing him with images of what they could do until the car arrived in Rome.

  Groaning with need, he hauled her up into his lap, seating her crossways so that her legs sprawled out along the seat beside him. Her hair draped down on either side of her face, curtaining their kiss and releasing the scent of fruity shampoo. He smoothed one side behind her shoulder, needing to see his hand on her body as he touched her.

  “One question has been driving me crazy all week.” He slipped his hand into the slit at the side of her dress, the fabric already parting to reveal toned calves tanned from their day on Capri.

  “You wish to know the secret of my perfume success?” she teased, shifting in his lap so that her skirt slid farther up her legs.

  “I’m sure my brother wishes I were that dedicated to work.” He tugged her lower lip into his mouth and feasted for a long moment before he released it again. “I’m dying to know what kind of lingerie a sexy perfumer likes to wear.”

  “You naughty man,” she chided, undoing the knot in his tie. “I believe you were thinking about my underwear when I was trying so hard to teach you about distinguishing scents.”

  “Maybe the desire to find out more about your panties made me want to be a better student. I think the incentive of getting you naked one day really helped my learning curve in the fragrance department.” He fingered a sensitive spot behind her knee that made her breath catch.

  “You are lying to me already and we’ve only known each other five days.” She bent her knee farther, making her hem slide up until only the tops of her thighs remained covered by the purple silk. “And I was ready to believe you really needed my help.”

  “I do need you,” he assured her, grateful for the tinted windows that gave them privacy despite the daylight. They’d entered the outskirts of Rome and foot traffic slowed the pace of the limo as it made its way along the narrow roads.

  Danielle flexed her fingers against Adam’s broad chest, his words wrapping around her as seductively as his touch.

  He needed her.

  She knew the phrase might be just a general statement of physical desire, but to her it meant more. She felt the same need, and there was nothing remotely generic about it. Her thirst for Adam was far more than some random sexual itch. She longed for him at a deeper level, aching to connect with him, fearing she would fall apart if she didn’t fulfill the need. Her fingers flew over his shirt buttons, her whole body reacting instinctively as she unveiled his bare chest to her touch.

  “There is such vitality in American men,” she observed to herself as much as him, marveling at the sinew and muscle beneath his heated flesh. “You accused me of having a sensuous nature, but I see this is where you indulge your physical side. You, monsieur, are an athlete.”

  She traced the lines that separated his abdominal muscles, the rock-hard plates lining up into six neat compartments. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back against the seat as she touched him, and it pleased her to know she could affect him that way.

  “Work can be stressful.” He reached out to imprison her fingers for a moment as he stared at her, his breathing shallow. “The gym is a good place to work off that stress in a socially acceptable way.”

  “Ah.” She nodded her understanding and wriggled her fingers free again. “You need a release.”

  “Yes.” He slipped his hands beneath her hair and pulled her to him.

  She paused when they were nose-to-nose, breathing one another’s air.

  “I have an idea for a release you’re going to like much more.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  DANIELLE HADN’T REALIZED how much time had passed during those kisses until the driver’s voice startled her right off Adam’s lap.

  “I can’t take you any farther, sir, unless you would like me to take you to another park?”

  She realized the limo had stopped as she tried to calm her unsteady heart. Her lips were swollen, her hair spilling untidily around her shoulders.

  “Why?” Adam barked through the speaker. “Are we even close to the Villa Borghese?”

  “Yes, but the road is closed off here by the polizia and I’m afraid it will not open for some time. It looks like there must have been trouble at the Galleria Borghese because all the streets around there have been closed.”

  Straightening her dress, Danielle peered out her window to orient herself.

  “We can walk to the park from here. Or we can proceed straight to the Coliseum and see what we find along the way.” She had been to the Villa de Borghese twice as a girl. Her mother loved to visit art galleries of all kinds, and believed the Italian masterpieces were the best in the world. Danielle didn’t care where she and Adam went today as long as they spent time together.

  After those heated moments in his lap, she looked forward to returning to the ship.

  “How far is it?” Adam called to the driver, working on his shirt buttons. Outside, pedestrians walked past on the sidewalk near the closed street.

  “A few blocks. No more.” The driver launched into directions in broken English, but Danielle was already mapping the route in her mind.

  “I know where it is,” Danielle said. “Follow me.”

  She opened the car door on the side opposite him, not waiting for the driver to come around.

  “Danielle, wait.”

  She heard Adam’s voice behind her, but she wanted fresh air and a moment to steel herself before she fell into his arms again. She wasn’t usually this bold with any man, but she’d been cautious for so long that something inside her seemed to rebel this week, clamoring for her to run wild.

  Italian men were notorious flirts and they whistled their appreciation as she walked by. Unswayed by any man’s attentions save Adam’s, she shook out the shrug she’d discarded earlier and used it to protect her bare shoulders from the sun. The day had turned warm and humid, the city alive with scents of garlic and strong coffee, and a hint of the Tiber River nearby.

  After he paid the driver, Adam caught up to her, his tie still undone around his neck. That note of disarray sent a thrill through her, reminding her that they would be shedding far more than his tie tonight.

  When he reached her, he pulled her against him, his hands firm around her waist.

  “I’m not letting you five feet from me in a strange city with packs of wolves prowling the streets.” He eyed a pair of young men who edged past them, clearly not appreciating the extra attention she received.

  The thought pleased her more than it should.

  “You are jealous of strangers when only you get to take me home with you?” She couldn’t r
esist reminding him what awaited them.

  He muttered something under his breath, but she felt the vibration beneath her hands, resting on his chest.

  “Until then, we’re sightseeing, damn it.” Turning her in his arms, he didn’t chase her through the streets of Rome so much as propel her, and that turned out to be every bit as exciting.

  The day was improving by the minute.

  HOURS LATER they returned to the ship and the privacy of Adam’s suite. The car ride back to the port had required incredible restraint from both of them. All afternoon they’d savored the sights and sounds of Rome, but the pleasures of the Eternal City had almost lost out to the thrill of anticipation Danielle felt at the thought of being along with Adam tonight.

  “Danielle.” He spoke her name with a reverence that made her knees weak as he locked the door behind them. His penthouse suite was more lavish than hers, and chills chased up her spine as she acknowledged she was completely in his hands tonight. The lights in the room were on a dim, soothing setting. Wine and fruit had been delivered to the room earlier and now sat on a cocktail table near a chaise longue. The ice in the ice bucket hadn’t melted so much as a drop.

  All day it had been that way. Adam had commanded attention and good service for them at the coffee shops, at the small galleries and with the deferential driver who’d driven them back to port even faster than on the outgoing trip.

  “You live very well,” she observed, feeling a little out of her league with this man for the first time since they had met.

  Danielle had been so confident of herself, so certain her knowledge as a perfumer was superior to anything Adam might offer to win the Dubai account. But today she’d realized that Adam Burns was an extremely powerful man, and that intimidated her professionally even if it thrilled her on a more intimate level.

  And—she reminded herself—tonight definitely wasn’t about business.

  “Yeah? Having you here with me makes me think you’re right. I’m living very damn well tonight.”

  Compelled by the promise of his words and the heat in his eyes, Danielle closed the space between them and walked into his arms. Maybe it was the memories of their day in a romantic old city, but she could have sworn she heard violins swell triumphantly in her head.