She had her face lifted to him. Excitement was clear in her eyes. Happiness exuded from her smile. They looked like a power couple leading a magical life of parties and dancing and money.
‘Oh, no,’ she whispered.
It was a beautiful shot that told the wrong story. It was a moment in time that would capture people’s imagination and their attention.
She didn’t want the attention.
She folded the paper quickly when the waitress walked by her booth again. Inside her chest, her heart was pounding like a big bass drum. She jammed her arms into the sleeves of her jacket, left money on the table to cover the bill and hurried out into the cold. It caught her smack in the face, and she tucked her chin into her throat. Her gaze darted everywhere – the doorways, the cars along the kerb, the alley that she had to pass…
A picture in the newspaper was bad, but were there more online? Was it searchable?
Her heels beat a tattoo against the sidewalk as she hurried to Luxxor. She’d thought things had been bad last night.
But this was so much worse.
‘Bad day?’ Sienna asked.
Rielle sighed and rubbed a sore spot on her neck. ‘You have no idea.’
She’d had a lot of escorts heading out, now that Friday was here. They all seemed to have seen the picture and were commenting on her hot ‘boyfriend’. They’d kept asking his name, where they’d met and why she’d been hiding him.
Like she was a nun or something.
She hadn’t confessed that she’d only met him last night, and that she’d only gone on the date because none of them had been available. Or the right gender.
Sienna rested her hip against her desk. With her legs sleek and crossed, she looked ready for a magazine spread. ‘If it’s any consolation, you looked stunning.’
Sienna and Nina were the only ones who knew the full truth. The man in the photo wasn’t her boyfriend and he wasn’t a client. She didn’t even know his name.
‘Thanks, but now my photograph is plastered all over the society page of a major newspaper.’
‘Newspaper subscriptions have been plummeting.’ Sienna smiled weakly, but she knew she wasn’t helping.
Rielle finally gave up trying to search through their database for Mel’s picture. She braced her elbows against the desk and rubbed her temples. Her tension was resulting in knots that ached. ‘That photo is online, too.’
The photographer hadn’t gotten her name, thank God. She glanced at the database. Nobody could search for her either.
But they could open a newspaper and chance upon seeing her.
She stared at the photo. She’d had the newspaper on her desk all day. Sienna turned it in her direction to study it. ‘Do you think your guy knew the cameras were there? Is that why they didn’t get a good shot of him?’
‘He knew.’
Sienna ran a burgundy-coloured fingernail along the edge of the photo and Mel’s back. ‘I could wring his neck for the way he lied to you, but Nina said the date itself went well?’
Rielle glanced up in surprise, and Sienna lifted an eyebrow.
Rielle got up to straighten the magazines on the lobby table.
‘There’s a rumour about a hot kiss?’ her coworker said. ‘A melt-the-sidewalk kind?’
Rielle determinedly walked to the office door and locked it. Yet her shoulders slumped. She turned slowly. If anyone would understand, it was Sienna. Before she’d become their communications director, she’d fallen in love with the man she’d been assigned to escort.
‘That’s the part that’s so tough,’ Rielle confessed.
‘That you were attracted to him?’
‘Yes – and that I dropped my guard.’
‘You trusted him.’
‘For a moment.’ Or longer. She still felt herself wanting to defend him today. A part of her kept grasping for rational explanations for why he would have done the things he’d done.
And why he hadn’t gotten caught.
‘I’m relieved that he was good to you,’ Sienna said.
He’d been more than that. On the dancefloor, he’d felt strong and tempting. He’d been sensitive to her moods, and he hadn’t stopped her from contacting Security or Nina or anyone else she wanted.
‘Was Detective Morgan able to track down any information on your mystery man?’
Rielle shook her head. The detective had been grumpier than normal over that. The Secret Service had to have footage of Mel from the security cameras at the White House, but they weren’t sharing.
She bit her lip. Were they investigating them on their own?
‘He’s not my mystery man.’
Sienna’s icy blonde hair fell over her shoulder as she cocked her head. The look on her face was contemplative. ‘This picture says otherwise.’
She glanced at her watch and pushed to her feet. ‘Oops, Jason’s going to be wondering where I am. Are you ready to go? I’ll walk out with you.’
Rielle looked around the office. ‘No, I’ve got a few more things left to do. You go on ahead.’
Sienna frowned. ‘I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.’
Rielle wasn’t comfortable with it either, but she refused to change her habits again. Not for a man. ‘I’ve locked the door, and Security has been on the lookout for him all day.’
If anyone was more upset than she was about the whole situation, it was the guys on the first floor. They were the ones assigned to protect the safety of Luxxor’s employees.
Although she’d never once felt her stranger would hurt her.
She shook her head. He wasn’t ‘her stranger’, either.
‘Are you sure? Jason won’t mind waiting if you need me to hang out with you for a while.’
‘Oh, God. Please don’t tell him anything. All I need is him standing guard with a hockey stick.’
Sienna’s boyfriend had been a frequent guest of the penalty box when he’d played in the NHL. Now he was a master defenceman in the boardroom.
Sienna nibbled her lower lip.
‘Go,’ Rielle insisted. ‘I won’t be here much longer. I promise.’
‘Make sure the door locks behind me.’
‘I will.’
Sienna collected her purse. ‘And don’t be hesitant to push the buzzer for Security ever again.’
‘I won’t,’ Rielle promised. ‘You just be careful walking out.’
Sienna nodded. She stopped for a moment and then gave Rielle an impulsive hug. ‘I’m glad you’re OK.’
‘Thanks,’ Rielle said, her voice tight.
She closed the door behind her friend and heard the handle jiggle. Sienna gave her a thumbs-up through the window alongside the door before heading to the elevator.
Rielle turned to face the now empty office.
She did have work waiting for her. She’d spent so much time talking to people about her mysterious date, she hadn’t completed all her normal tasks. When she sat down at her desk again, though, she couldn’t help but notice how empty the office felt. How lonely and quiet.
She glanced at the bills awaiting payment, but turned to her computer again. She flipped through more listings, looking for a handsome face. Observant blue eyes. Wide shoulders…
‘Oooooh,’ she growled beneath her breath. She was so angry with him, but she was even angrier with herself. She’d known better than to let him pull her in.
Her mouth settled into a tight line, and she paid the bills. She checked to make sure she’d sent out all the dossiers for the engagements their escorts had tomorrow night, and finally looked through a quote from a company bidding to do remodelling work on their break room.
Her stomach growled as she examined the numbers, and she couldn’t concentrate.
It really was time to go home. She was hungry, she was tired and her sweet tooth was flaring up again. She hadn’t slept more than a wink last night. She pulled out her phone to order takeout. The salad wasn’t going to make the cut tonight, either.
She sighed. What did
she want? She opened her contact list and was searching for her favourite sandwich shop when another listing caught her eye. It was one that made her sit up straight in her chair.
Mel.
Short, to-the-point and a lie.
Had he seriously programmed his contact info into her phone? When had he gotten his hands on it? How?
Why?
She jabbed at his name before she could stop herself, and his number popped up.
That was something Detective Morgan could use.
Rielle felt irritation build up inside her. He’d toyed with her. There was no other way to put it. He was a ne’er-do-well, as her grandmother would say. He’d been up to no good last night, and he’d involved her. When she thought about all the possibilities of what he could be involved in, it made her uneasy.
And, at the moment, extremely ticked off.
She jabbed the call button before she could stop herself. She deserved to know why. She deserved the right to yell at him.
And she deserved to be spanked for being so stupid again.
She flinched when she realised she should not be making contact with him. It didn’t matter why he’d given her his phone number. She dropped the phone onto her desk with a clunk. He’d only manipulate her again. He’d talk to her in that low voice that occasionally showed signs of humour. He’d make goosebumps pop up along the back of her neck with his quiet chuckle.
Her thighs felt stiff as she marched down the hallway to Nina’s office. When had she become so easy?
Back in the lobby, she heard her ringtone start playing. She kept on going. The lights were off, but once she turned inside she saw it clearly.
The dress.
That dress that had made her feel like a fairy princess. It had also made her lose her mind.
It hung over the back of the door to Nina’s private bathroom. Rielle crinkled her nose at it. Nina was still trying to make her keep it. One way or another, it needed to be taken to the cleaners.
She ran her fingers along the soft material of the skirt and sighed. It really was beautiful. Dreamy, even.
Was that what had happened? Had she allowed herself, just for a moment, to dream again?
She let out a long sigh as her anger faded.
So she’d succumbed to a dark, handsome, sexy stranger – one who’d made her stomach tighten and her knees go weak. She was only human. Up until the very end, it had been a magical night.
She rubbed her lips together. She could still feel his kiss on them.
She couldn’t accept the dress from Nina. It was designer-made and way too expensive, but she could try it on one last time.
Alone in the office, she stripped in the bare light spilling in from the hallway. She kicked off her shoes and tugged off her bra. The dress felt silky and familiar as she slid it over her head. It fell into place like a comfy pair of jeans, only a thousand times classier. She tugged up the zipper as far as she could.
She imagined her stranger’s arms around her, pulling her close as they swayed in time with the music. Her nipples tightened at the memory, and her cheeks warmed.
He was dangerous, all right, in ways neither Nina nor Sienna would understand.
Off in the distance, she heard her desk phone ring. It was even easier to ignore.
She gave a turn and felt the dress billow around her. She stopped when she saw her reflection in the big plate-glass window. With the lights dimmed as they were, it acted as a mirror with downtown DC as a backdrop.
It had been so long since she’d let herself feel attractive and hadn’t felt the need to tone it down. It had been aeons since she’d felt young and pretty and sexual.
She stared at her reflection, lost in thought. Her fingers spread wide as she smoothed the dress over her hips. Time went by without her noticing.
‘Best night of my life, too, Beautiful. That’s the truth.’
His words whispered in her ears.
‘What’s wrong?’
Rielle jumped when, instead of a memory, she heard his voice for real. Low, harsh and clipped.
She spun around and let out a cry when she saw him standing in the doorway to the office with his hands braced on the doorframe. He pushed away and entered as silently as he’d traversed the rest of the office. The air didn’t even move as he slid between its molecules. His eyes were bright with alertness, and his body was tense.
‘Are you OK?’
She dove for Nina’s desk. There was an emergency button there, too. Her heart was pounding as she expected him to lunge at her to stop her.
Yet instead of coming at her, he held his hands up. ‘Hey, you’re the one who called me.’
Her head jerked towards him. ‘I didn’t call…’
But she had. She just hadn’t let it go through to voicemail.
She didn’t push the button. ‘Why did you put your number into my phone?’
He lowered his hands. He wasn’t wearing a tuxedo tonight. He was in jeans, a grey T-shirt and a brown leather jacket. They suited him better. Emphasised his edginess and his physicality. His eyes dropped to where her hand hovered over the desk, yet he didn’t give her an answer.
It brought her temper back to life, a temper she wasn’t used to having. ‘Your name isn’t even Mel, is it?’
That declaration didn’t even earn her a shrug. ‘No, it’s not.’
He was watching her steadily now. His expression was closed, but his blue eyes were sparking.
Rielle planted both hands on the desk and leaned towards him. Forget Security – she wanted some answers of her own.
‘You lied to me.’
He took the accusation, but didn’t fight it.
‘Why?’
A muscle in his jaw ticked. ‘I’m sorry that I had to involve you.’
Again, no explanation.
‘But I liked having you there with me.’ His voice softened, and his hands went to his hips. His body had loosened, and the hardness in his cheekbones had eased.
Rielle battled her attraction to him. ‘Why are you here? How did you get in? That door was locked.’
He cocked his head slowly. ‘You didn’t answer when I returned your call. I got concerned.’
So he’d broken in? Without her hearing? Without Security being alerted?
The hairs on her arms stood on end.
‘How did you get into our computer system? Who are you? What do you want from me?’ she demanded.
That muscle in his jaw tightened again, and the air pulsed. In the flash of a second, everything shifted and awareness changed. She took a step back. Goosebumps, just like she remembered.
‘Why did you call the cops on me, Beauty?’
She refused to feel guilty. ‘I didn’t call them. Nina did.’
‘Well, call your dog off. He’ll get nowhere on this.’
‘You don’t know Detective Morgan.’ She’d spent another hour with the man today going over details. She glanced at the phone.
‘You don’t want to call him. Don’t even pretend it.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘How?’
‘You’re wearing the dress.’
She flushed with embarrassment until her skin felt like it was blistering. He’d caught her dressing up like a moony-eyed teenager.
‘And you look as beautiful as ever.’
Holding his gaze became impossible, and she turned away. She folded her arms around her waist and looked out of the window. ‘Just go.’
Her gaze was drawn to his reflection as he rubbed the back of his neck. ‘You scared the hell out of me, not answering like that after you’d just called.’
‘I’m fine.’ She hadn’t thought he’d come. She hadn’t known what she’d been doing when she’d hit his number. ‘I just wanted to yell at you.’
His look turned rueful. He went still for a moment, but then pulled off his jacket. He put it and something else on the chair in front of Nina’s desk, and Rielle tensed when he started to approa
ch her.
The alarm. Why wasn’t she screaming for help?
Because she didn’t want it. Damn him.
His hands settled at her waist, and he moved up close behind her. Their gazes locked in the window. ‘Go ahead and yell. Chew me out until you’re good and done.’
‘No.’
‘I can take it.’
Her lips twisted. ‘I can’t think of anything to say right now.’
That tiny smile pulled at his lips.
‘I’m sorry I caused problems for you.’ His heat seeped into her back, and his hands felt strong on her waist. ‘But that’s all I’m sorry for.’
Rielle licked her lips. She knew better than this.
His lips brushed against her temple. ‘You’re a complication I didn’t expect.’
She was a complication?
He slowly swept her hair to the side. When he pressed his lips against the back of her neck, a shiver went down her back. All the way down. The dress was only partially zipped, and her exposed skin flashed hot and cold.
He kissed lower, between her shoulder blades, and she knew the exact moment he saw how bare she was. His teeth scraped against her spine, and his fingers bit into her sides.
Her own breaths came hard in her throat. He saw right through her. How could he read her like he did? She barely knew herself any more.
She felt him exhale in a shuddering breath, and she caught at the window frame.
He was fighting against the crazy impulse as much as she was, but then his hands moved from her waist. A moan caught in her throat when he undid the zipper all the way and his hands slid inside, skin against skin.
He was so dangerous for her.
‘Tell me your name,’ she whispered. Her belly quivered.
‘It’s safer for you not to know.’
Safer?
His hands slid upwards and closed over her breasts. He cupped them possessively as his mouth settled against her neck. Rielle trembled, and her head fell back against his shoulder.
She’d left the safe zone a long time ago.
‘You are so gorgeous,’ he said. His mouth zeroed in on the sensitive spot behind her ear as his hands took control. ‘Playing the gentleman last night was hard.’
Not as hard as her nipples. They were stiffening and filling as he plucked at them insistently.
Courting Danger Page 6
