‘Hmm.’ He’d rattled that off pretty fast.
‘Did I pass the test?’
She bit her lip.
‘Rielle?’
‘Yes?’
The hand at her waist tightened, and he pulled them into full contact from chest to thigh. It left her with no doubt where his real attention lay. She could feel the proof of it against her belly, and her knees went weak.
He nipped her earlobe. ‘Shut up and dance with me.’
She melted. She was on a date. It was about time she remembered that.
The night could have gone on for ever and it wouldn’t have been long enough for Rielle. She gave herself over to just enjoying herself, and her attraction to her blind date grew.
His attention didn’t wander any more, and, when the congressman recognised her and tried to cut in, he refused.
Dancing with him had been the best and worst idea ever. Best because it felt so good, and worst because her body was roaring with arousal by the time the singer sang the second song in his encore.
The President and First Man said their goodnights to the guests and headed upstairs to their private quarters. It was the sign that the night was over and time for reality to return.
Mel helped her with her coat, and they stepped outside to await their car. White puffs appeared where their breaths hit the crisp March nighttime air. The press had gone, and the moon was up. Rielle noticed the brunette getting into the car before them and was surprised to see her alone.
Had Mel noticed?
He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the woman as the car drove away.
Or was he just hiding it better?
Their ride arrived before she could make up her mind. He was so complicated. She hadn’t figured out anything more about him in the time they’d spent together. Anything other than the fact that they were physically compatible. There hadn’t been any hiding that.
He’d been charming, sexy, interesting and attentive all evening. It wasn’t just the best blind date she’d ever had. It was the best date, period.
Their car pulled up, and he opened the back door for her. ‘Do you want to take the car back to Luxxor by yourself? Or do you want to call them to come pick you up?’
She hesitated for only a moment before getting in the car and sliding over to make room for him. The car was a service, not a personal driver, and, unbeknownst to him, she’d brought a tiny canister of pepper spray in her purse. She hadn’t known him when she’d agreed to accompany him. She didn’t know him now, but she liked to think that she could trust her instincts.
Or were they really hormones?
Raging, charging hormones that had finally burst out of the cage in which she’d trapped them?
Her body felt as if it was lit from the inside.
He sat next to her, caught her hand and held it against his thigh on the short ride back to Luxxor. The lights of the city were bright on all the monuments, and busloads of tourists cruised by on nighttime tours. An ache settled in Rielle’s chest. The night was almost over. Her carriage was about to turn back into a pumpkin.
Would she ever see him again?
She liked him. She liked the way he made her feel. But, most of all, she liked the way she felt when she was with him.
Confident, secure, interesting and sexy.
Even with all that, she wasn’t bold enough to ask. Maybe this was all they had. They certainly couldn’t top it. And he hadn’t come to Luxxor looking for a relationship that was for sure.
Too soon, they were in Luxxor’s parking lot. Rielle saw her SUV, grey and unassuming, waiting for her. Mel got out of the car and rounded it to get her door.
His hand was warm and callused as it took hers once again to help her to her feet. Her dress flared out, tangling amongst their legs, but she simply laughed.
She smiled up at him. ‘Thank you. It really has been the best night of my life.’
They were standing at the verge of the streetlight’s luminosity. It barely reached them, but she saw his blue eyes spark.
‘There’s just one thing that would make it better,’ he said, his voice low.
He gave her a moment, a split second to process and decide. And then he moved in.
His head dipped, and his lips covered hers. Those raging hormones inside Rielle leaped. It wasn’t a polite first kiss or even a kiss that sought a reaction. It was the full-blooded, mind-blowing kiss of a man who knew how to touch a woman.
And wanted to.
He didn’t overpower, and he didn’t push. He simply wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her close. Closer than they’d been on the dancefloor. Their bodies were flush. Her breasts were plumped hard against his chest, and his hips burrowed into the notch between her legs. One of his hands slid under her hair, and he cupped the back of her neck as his mouth…
There was no other way to describe it. He made love to her mouth in a slow, deep kiss that shot to hell all her preconceived notions of intimacy.
The ache inside her began to pulse. It was hungry, needy, demanding.
She clung to him, kissing him back with everything she had. It was a kiss suited for the bedroom, with no clothes between them. It was a kiss that blasted away her thought processes, her doubts and her self-consciousness.
One of the shoulder straps slid down. Her hands were in his hair, and his bowtie had somehow come undone.
Oh, God, she wanted him. In the back seat of the car. Up in the office. Back at her place. She didn’t care where.
‘Rielle!’
The sharp cry carried across the parking lot like a javelin.
Mel slowly lifted her upright and his mouth broke apart from hers. It was only then that she realised he’d dipped her. ‘I think that means it’s time to go.’
She held onto his lapels, trying to orient herself. ‘What?’
‘Best night of my life, too, Beautiful. That’s the truth. Remember that.’
He stole another quick kiss before drawing away and getting back in the car. He seemed to move in slow motion, but the car had pulled out of the parking lot and was past the streetlight by the time Nina raced up to her in her high heels.
‘Oh, my God, Rielle. Where have you been? Are you OK? We’ve been so worried about you.’
Chapter Three
Rielle looked dazedly at her boss, trying to figure out where she’d come from…what she was saying…why Mel had rushed off so fast…She pushed back her hair as she watched the car go down the street and out of view. Her lips were pulsing and her body was thrumming.
‘Rielle!’
‘I got the license-plate number. Looked like a car service.’
It was the lower voice that finally penetrated the haze in her head, and Rielle turned sharply. Her lips parted in surprise. Tall, dark, handsome and glowering. It was Detective Morgan.
What was he doing here? Had Nina called him?
‘Who was that?’ Her boss caught her arm, and Rielle felt the tremble in her touch. ‘Are you all right? Tell us what happened.’
Why were they coming at her like this? Why was everyone so upset? She appreciated that they were protective, but she could kiss someone if she wanted. She lifted her fingers to her lips. It had gotten out of control, but it had been consensual.
Or hadn’t they seen her mauling him, too?
Embarrassed, she stepped deeper into the shadows. Was it that shocking that she had a libido?
‘But I did. I sent you a text message. I…’ She glanced at the detective. They had to talk carefully with him here. Nina knew that. Why was she putting Luxxor at risk this way? ‘I went out with him. Mel Summers. He’s a client.’
‘I got your text. That’s why I’m so confused.’ Nina was clipping her words, and her normally sleek hair was mussed. ‘We haven’t done any business with a Melvin Summers.’
‘Yes, we have. He’s in the database. I looked him up.’
‘Well, he’s not there now.’
Rielle sighed. She wasn’t up for dealing w
ith computer issues. It was too late and her head just wasn’t functioning right. ‘He has to be.’
‘He isn’t. More importantly, I don’t know him.’
Rielle went still. Her body was warm and fluid, but the still night air was beginning to feel heavy. ‘What are you saying?’
‘Maybe we should go back inside to the office.’ The detective held out a hand.
Both he and Nina were outside without coats. It was late, and the parking lot was nearly empty. Stars glittered against the pitch-black sky. Rielle accepted the detective’s assistance, because between the kiss and the confusion she was suddenly unsteady. She saw him swing an arm around Nina’s waist to herd her along, too.
And Nina accepted his touch.
What was going on? Had the whole world gone topsy-turvy?
They entered through the first-floor office where Luxxor’s Security division was housed. Rielle saw Twining and Howard, the two men who’d accompanied her and Mel to the White House. ‘Wait! They knew where I was and who I was with. They followed us to the reception. I told them everything.’
Twining hung up the phone, and his shoulders relaxed. ‘Rielle, you were supposed to call to tell us when you were coming back. We would have come over to escort you.’
She shot a look at the detective. She didn’t want any talk of escorting. Not now.
‘I felt safe.’
She met Nina’s gaze, and her boss’s chin wobbled. She, better than anyone, knew how much it would take for her to get to that point.
‘You haven’t been answering any calls,’ Howard said, chastising her.
‘I put my phone on vibrate after I sent the message to you. I didn’t want it ringing during dinner.’ Rielle talked directly to Nina. It was clear how shaken her friend was. For God’s sake, she’d contacted Detective Morgan. Nina had been doing her best to shake the persistent detective with all his questions about their business. ‘I’m sorry if I made a mistake.’
She didn’t usually do this. She wasn’t the one who went out with clients. She stayed behind at her desk, where it was safe and sheltered. She hadn’t been trained in the procedures that escorts followed.
‘I checked him out before I agreed to go out with him,’ Rielle insisted.
‘See?’ Howard said. ‘I told you he was in the database. Melvin Summers. We verified him, Nina.’
Rielle nodded, thanking the Security guard for the backup. They’d both looked. They’d both followed proper procedure on that.
‘Let’s go up to the main office, and you can show us,’ the detective said.
Nina’s eyes narrowed. The detective was not getting a look at their database, it was clear.
But the fewer ears on this, the better. Rielle was becoming overly warm, wrapped up in her winter coat. Her lips still tingled from the kiss Mel had dropped on her. She was confused, tired, and she just wanted to go home.
She didn’t understand why everyone was so bent out of shape. She’d gone on a date. She shouldn’t have to get approval to do that.
Was Nina unhappy he’d circumvented their process for hiring a companion?
She got into the elevator and leaned against the railing that encircled the interior. Nina stood stiffly at her side, but reached out and squeezed her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, Rielle saw the detective stroke Nina’s back. Nina stiffened for a moment. Rielle thought she’d pull away, but instead the powerful CEO’s tension released. Her shoulders lowered, and she started blinking fast.
Rielle blew out a breath. She wasn’t in trouble. Nina had been scared.
Why was everyone overreacting like this?
The elevator was quiet the rest of the short ride to the fourth floor. Nina fumbled for her keys to the office, but the detective smoothly took them from her shaking hand and opened the main office door for her.
Rielle looked around. It seemed like a million years since she’d been here, and it had an entirely different vibe from when Mel had filled the space with that impatient, driven energy.
Why was it that she could remember his name so well now?
Because she remembered the names of the men who kissed her like demons?
That energy that he encapsulated so easily filled her, and she whipped off her coat. ‘I’m getting to the bottom of this.’
‘Holy…shit.’
Rielle glanced towards the detective. What had he seen? What had he figured out?
He’d seen something, all right, but it wasn’t any clue Mel had left behind. The detective was staring at her with his jaw dropped open. He snapped it shut, but in that moment, he wasn’t looking at her as a cop but as a man.
A rough-hewn, sexy hunter.
It was a look he usually saved for Nina, and he quickly shot an apologetic look her way. Even if they supposedly had no relationship beyond the professional.
‘She looks good,’ he said. He rolled his shoulder uncomfortably and put his hand on his hip. ‘Well? She does.’
Rielle blushed. As much of a nuisance as the detective was, as much as he intimidated the bejesus out of her, she liked him. Nina liked him, too, loath as she was to admit it.
Rielle took the compliment because it wasn’t threatening – and because he was talking to Nina as if nobody else was in the room.
‘Thank you. It’s Nina’s dress,’ she said, trying to break the tension. She grimaced. ‘I hope it’s OK I borrowed it.’
Although, apparently, she shouldn’t have gone out at all.
‘Of course it’s OK.’ Nina’s composure finally broke, and she closed the distance between them for a tight hug. ‘It looks better on you than it ever looked on me, anyway. Keep it.’
Rielle hugged her back.
‘I’m so relieved you’re all right,’ her boss said.
‘What did I do wrong?’ Rielle asked. ‘He took me to the White House. We had a wonderful time.’
‘You didn’t do anything wrong. If you felt safe with him, then I know you were.’ Nina pulled away and rose to her full stature in her five-inch heels. ‘I just got nervous when I received your message and didn’t recognise the name. Then I came here and found your clothes.’
Oh, her clothes. Rielle spotted them folded up on the coffee table. That must have looked bad.
‘I’m not angry with you. I’m just not comfortable with how any of this went down tonight.’
‘Me either,’ the detective said. ‘Rielle, can you walk us through the evening? When did he approach you? What did he say and do?’
‘I was just closing up for the night when he showed up.’ As badly as things were going, she left out the part about forgetting to lock the office door. ‘He was looking for an es– He was looking to talk to you, Nina. He mentioned his date for the event had gotten sick, and he asked me if I’d like to go.’
She shook her head. ‘He’s in there. I know he is.’
She went to turn on her computer. She had to look for herself.
‘Wait,’ the detective said. ‘Don’t touch that. We may end up needing to dust this room for fingerprints. Was he ever in the back rooms?’
‘What?’ Rielle said in surprise. ‘No.’
‘Fingerprints?’ Nina said, echoing Rielle’s concern. ‘Why would we need those?’
‘What crime has been committed?’ As confused as Rielle was, she didn’t want Mel hunted down like a common criminal. All he’d done was take her out for dinner and dancing at an incredible venue. Maybe he’d lied about being a client. Someone had to have referred him.
‘My computer is already up and running,’ Nina said. ‘Use it.’
The long ballroom dress swished as they moved down the hallway as a pack. Rielle gathered the skirt in so it wouldn’t wrap around the detective’s legs. She moved swiftly to Nina’s desk while Nina blocked Morgan’s view of her monitor. He lifted an eyebrow. He turned instead towards the display of blue glass figurines, and her boss shifted in discomfort.
When their gazes connected again, the combative clash of personalities was back. ‘There�
��s one missing,’ he said coolly.
‘It didn’t belong here,’ she replied.
Rielle frowned, not understanding, but the intimate rapport between her boss and the cop was suddenly strained and back to normal. It made her feel somewhat better, like she was back on an even keel. She punched Mel Summers’s name into the search box and waited for his bio to pop up. Her stomach sank when the database came back with no results. They’d told her they couldn’t find him, but she was sure there was some kind of mistake.
‘He was in here. Howard saw him, too,’ she insisted. ‘It said he was a client, and the last time we’d…worked with him was two years ago.’
The detective wandered closer to the desk, and Nina folded her arms over her chest. His lips twitched as if he found that amusing. ‘And what kind of client is that, exactly?’
There were going to have to be careful saying any more. The detective had been snooping around their agency for too long now. Rielle knew he’d focused on Nina for other reasons, even if they didn’t acknowledge it out loud. It was apparent to anyone who came within fifty feet of the two together. Nina must have been very upset to call him.
‘Maybe I accidentally deleted his file.’ Rielle began trying to retrieve it, and did her best to skirt the detective’s question. ‘It said he was an accountant.’
Although she’d questioned that from the very beginning. The way he’d carried himself…how in shape he was – and in tax season, too…and his hands…
She pressed her lips together tightly. She’d felt those hands on her enough to know they were rough. Callused. They weren’t the hands of a man who spent all day on a computer or calculator.
‘An accountant for a timber firm that has subsidiaries in Sweden.’
Her heart began to pound faster, and her palms became slippery. Who had she been out with? Who had she just kissed?
‘Have you been at the reception this whole time?’ Morgan was now ignoring Nina and focusing on her.
‘Yes.’ And it had been wonderful. A fairy tale.
A fairy tale that was now turning twisted. Her Prince Charming was changing into a villain before her very eyes. Had he hacked into their database? He had high-tailed it out of there pretty fast once he’d seen Nina. Why would he do that?
Courting Danger Page 4
