Czytaj książkę: «Courting Danger»

Chapter One

Luxxor Limited’s office suite was quiet when Rielle decided to close up for the night. She tidied the magazines on the lobby table and put away the papers on her desk. The plush carpeting swallowed her footsteps as she turned off the lights in the break room, but she paused to take a look out of the window at the DC skyline. The buildings in the downtown area were low and sprawling, yet the Capitol and the Washington Monument stood tall.

At least they weren’t lit yet. It was still light outside. Then again, that didn’t mean she was going home any earlier than normal. Daylight Savings Time had only recently come into effect, and she was still trying to adjust to the change. The extra hour of sunlight would be nice if she had plans after work but, as it was, waking up to darkness in the mornings almost wasn’t worth it.

Because plans after work? Her lips turned up slightly at the corners.

She let her hair out of its barrette as she walked back to her desk. Her personal life wasn’t setting the world on fire these days. All that awaited her at home was a salad for dinner and a book. If she got really wild, she might rearrange the cushions in her living room or paint her toenails.

But that was OK with her. She liked the peace and quiet, especially the peace.

Maybe she’d even have a glass of wine with that book.

She checked Nina’s office to make sure her boss had closed down her computer, and was returning to do the same to her own when she heard a distinctive sound. It was one she heard several times throughout the day, only this time it sent a shot of adrenalin through her. She’d forgotten to lock the main office door.

She was usually much more careful than that.

She stopped, hidden in the hallway, and braced her hand against the wall. She’d been alone for over an hour. How had she become so careless? She waited for sounds to announce someone’s arrival, but she heard nothing. Had someone looked in and left when they found the office empty? The company’s last appointment had come and gone, and the normal office deliveries had arrived on time. Was it Nina or Sienna returning for something they’d forgotten?

‘Hello? Is anyone here?’

A low voice rumbled down the hallway, and her chest tightened. It was a man, but she didn’t recognise the voice. For a moment, she considered remaining quiet, but she licked her lips and made herself step forward. She was overreacting. If she wasn’t, there was an emergency call button hidden under the lip of her desktop. Security could be here in less than a minute if she needed them.

She returned to the lobby and scanned the area. Her gaze came to a screeching halt when it landed on the man who was already looking in her direction.

Oh. Wow.

Her wariness didn’t decrease, but a different kind of awareness flooded her. ‘Hello?’ she said huskily.

Somehow he’d known she was there, yet he seemed taken aback. His weight slowly rocked back from the balls of his feet, and his eyes narrowed. They were blue eyes. Startling blue. ‘Good evening.’

She wasn’t overreacting. The guy had danger written all over him, in that good-girls-beware sort of way. Tall and strapping, he had closely cropped dark hair and a rough-and-tumble aura that didn’t go with the tuxedo he was wearing. That wasn’t to say he didn’t look good. He looked damn good. The combination was powerful, and it hit her first in her belly and next in her knees.

Sex appeal oozed from him.

Which, of course, meant he was here for an escort.

His gaze was running over her just as alertly as she’d evaluated him, so Rielle quickly put herself behind her desk. She tucked her barrette behind her phone and fought the urge to run her fingers through her hair. ‘I’m sorry, but we’re closed.’

He cocked his head. ‘The door was open.’

And that had been a mistake.

‘Did you have an appointment?’ She knew very well he didn’t.

‘No.’ Her question had been sharp, but his blue gaze didn’t flinch. Instead, the lines of his face softened, and she had to lock her knees to keep them from melting. ‘But I’m in a bind. I was hoping you could help me out.’

She lifted an eyebrow. The man might be putting out pheromones by the bucketful, but her brain was still functioning – admittedly better on some levels than others – and she’d begun to sense danger of another sort. The entrapment sort. Luxxor was not a company that took walk-ins. ‘For whom are you looking?’

He walked closer to the desk, and she instinctively gripped its edge. The way he moved, all silent and stealthy. The expensive carpeting absorbed the noise most people made, but the air didn’t even stir at his approach. Her fingers edged closer to the silent alarm, but she didn’t push it.

Not yet.

‘I’m looking for Luxxor Limited. I know I’m late, but I need an escort for the evening.’

Her guard stayed up. She knew they were alone in the office – she was acutely aware of the fact – but her company’s clients knew better than to go spouting off so casually about Luxxor’s line of work. They signed nondisclosure agreements to ensure it. If he was wearing a wire, she wanted to make everything perfectly clear. ‘You need someone to attend an event with you tonight?’

‘Actually, I need someone right now.’

She shook her head. Luxxor went to extremes to satisfy its clients. She’d blush if she thought about how far some escorts went, but there was no way she could accommodate his request. The employees they had working tonight already had their assignments. Even if she did contact someone, the timing was impossible.

And for some reason, that relieved her. ‘I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone available on such short notice, Mr…I don’t believe I caught your name.’

‘Because I didn’t give it.’ He slid his hands into his pockets. The tuxedo looked good on him, but it was failing badly at taming him. Especially when he winked. ‘Tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine.’

Oh, no. She didn’t think so. She tucked her hair behind her ear, but then remembered the alarm. ‘As I was saying, sir, it’s too late to secure our services. I’m sorry.’

‘The name is Mel. Melvin Summers. I’m a client.’

He didn’t look like a Melvin. And Summers…The name didn’t ring a bell, and that was unusual in itself. She knew their clients, and she had a memory for faces. His she would have remembered.

‘It’s been a while since I…made use of your services,’ he admitted.

The way he said it made her stiffen. He’d been out with their escorts. He’d paid money for dates – or more. It was a good reminder because, being around him, her body was loosening and warming. It was uncharacteristic of her, especially with all the warning signals her brain was firing.

She smiled at him stiffly. ‘Let’s see just how long it’s been.’

She took her seat and her fingers flew across the keyboard of her computer. She waited for him to balk, but he merely crossed his arms over his chest and watched her. Rielle couldn’t have been more surprised when his bio popped up. She leaned closer to the screen to make sure. Melvin Summers. There was his picture. Last visit, nearly two years ago.

Well, props for that.

She frowned. Why would a man like him need an escort service? She tapped a finger against the space bar and mentally chastised herself. Many of their clients used Luxxor to save time. Busy people, busy lives. It was how the company stayed legit. Just because the man looked like sex didn’t mean he was here for it. ‘May I ask why the short notice?’

She never asked a client why they needed companionship. She’d never embarrass anyone that way. It was small-minded and intrusive. Not everyone had a significant other, and there were countless reasons for that.

‘It’s a work-related event. I was supposed to go with a colleague, but she became ill suddenly. I can’t go to this event stag. I’d stand out like a sore thumb.’

Stag was right.

‘What is it that you do?’ Rielle was trying her best to stay on topic, because something about the situation still didn’t ring true. She’d learned the hard way that she needed to trust her gut.

‘Accounting.’

Check. Or at least that’s what his bio listed as his field of work. She circled her finger around a key on the keyboard. He looked like an accountant almost as much as he looked like a Melvin. He didn’t seem like someone who could sit at a desk all day. Not with a rangy physique like that – or the tamped-down energy. There was an air of edginess around him. An overly keen alertness. He should be out climbing mountains or navigating obstacle courses. Modelling underwear.

She frowned. She’d confirmed he was a client, but that didn’t change anything. There was still nobody who could accompany him. She didn’t like putting Luxxor in a bad light, even if he had come in with a request they couldn’t possibly fulfill, but she had no other option. ‘I truly am sorry, Mr Summers, but we don’t have any female escorts available – unless that’s not what you’re looking for?’

The dry look he sent her parched her skin. She hadn’t thought he swung that way, but she tried to keep an open mind.

‘What about you?’

She blinked. ‘What about me?’

‘Why can’t you go with me?’

‘Me?’ Rielle gasped. ‘But…I…I’m not…That’s not what I do for Luxxor.’

‘Do you eat dinner?’

‘Of course, but –’

‘Do you go to parties?’

‘No.’ She hadn’t been to a party in years.

‘Do you slow dance?’

She swallowed hard. With him?

‘OK, forget what you do for Luxxor. Do you date?’

She didn’t. She wasn’t ready yet. ‘Mr Summers, this really isn’t proper.’

‘I don’t have time for proper.’ He put both hands upon the desktop and leaned in close. ‘Go out with me.’

The word ‘no’ should have been on the tip of her tongue, but Rielle couldn’t get it out. Not with the way he was looking at her. All challenging, impatient and evaluating…

‘Hold on.’ He pulled a white envelope out of his breast pocket. ‘Maybe this will convince you. This is where we’d be going.’

She took the envelope by the corner. It was heavyweight paper with razor-crisp edges. The name Melvin Summers was written on the envelope in fine calligraphy. It was obviously a special event, but her breath caught in her lungs when she read the invitation inside.

‘The White House? You’re inviting me to a function at the White House?’

His blue eyes flashed. ‘I knew that would get me somewhere.’

Rielle dropped the invitation. She wanted to be suspicious of it, but everything about it screamed that it was real. ‘No, no. I didn’t say yes.’

‘But you’re tempted.’ It didn’t matter what she said, he’d scented blood.

She sprang out of her chair. ‘That’s a reception to welcome the Prince and Princess of Sweden.’

‘Yes.’

‘But why?’

‘Why? It’s good for foreign relations. It’s polite for the U.S. to welcome them. They just got married.’

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. ‘No, why would you come here?’

His grin came and went so quickly, it was questionable if it had ever been there, but the edginess about him changed. Became sleeker and more approachable. ‘Word is that you’re all trained in protocol. You’re not going to grab the wrong fork or say the wrong thing.’

‘I haven’t had that training.’

‘But you have manners. You haven’t told me to get the hell out yet – which you should have, by the way.’

She knew, and it made her even more nervous that he knew. Nina would be horrified to learn that a stranger, even a client, was in the office alone with her after hours. Yet Rielle’s grandmother had been a stickler for etiquette. Learned behaviour was hard to shake.

She took a deep breath. This was just crazy. ‘I can’t believe you came here looking for an escort to meet the President with you.’

‘I came here looking for an escort, but I found a date.’ He watched her closely as he slid the invitation back into his pocket. ‘And a beautiful one at that. Come on, save me here.’

Warmth rose up in her. She hadn’t been called beautiful in a long time.

She dragged her hand through her hair, forgetting completely about the alarm button. She couldn’t go out with a complete stranger, not even to a dinner at the White House, as tempting as it might be.

Why not? the devil on her shoulder asked.

Because it wasn’t safe, the angel on the other replied.

But it could be.

She worried her thumbnail against the back of her chair. Luxxor had security. She could tell their crew about her plans. She could inform them who she was with and where they were going. Where on the face of the earth would there be more security than the White House? He was bold, but she doubted he’d try anything there.

‘Full disclosure,’ he said. ‘We’d probably only get to meet the President and First Man for thirty seconds, tops. We’d shake hands, say a few words, snap a picture and then be on our way.’

‘Only get to’?

Rielle fought not to roll her eyes again, but she caught him watching her. Studying her. Trying to figure her out.

It made her stiffen. She knew she should say no. She didn’t know this man. She shouldn’t go anywhere with him. Luxxor might have her everlasting loyalty, but there were limits to what she would do for them. Her salad and book were safer. Known quantities. Boring quantities.

Everything inside her wanted to say yes. Just dive in and go for it. When would she ever get a chance to go to something like this again?

She saw escorts leaving the office every day on high adventures. She’d heard the stories that Sienna, Dane and Genieve would tell, and she secretly envied them. They were wined and dined, entertained and offered opportunities solely because people had become so busy, they didn’t have time to form close connections of their own. She hadn’t been out on the town in so long. It had been a self-imposed limitation, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel constricting.

And she’d felt more alive and alert in the last fifteen minutes than she had in the past few years.

Of course, she wasn’t willing to go beyond drinks and small talk. Some of their escorts went beyond that. Way beyond that. She didn’t like to think about that aspect of Luxxor’s business.

But that didn’t mean a part of her didn’t secretly envy them, too. Sex was such a long-ago memory, she’d begun to forget what it was like. To kiss someone, to touch someone, to feel the stroke of a long, hard body atop hers…

With the way he was looking at her, though, she was starting to remember.

‘I can’t,’ she blurted, falling back into her safety zone.

‘You can’t go out on a date?’

She fidgeted. ‘It’s black tie. I don’t have anything to wear.’

The look of success in his eyes warned her she’d lost the battle. ‘Well, that can be fixed. We’ll go shopping first. I’ll pay for whatever you need.’

‘No,’ Rielle said, one last bit of self-preservation rising up within her. One last bit of fear.

Lines rippled across his forehead. ‘No, you won’t go with me or no to the shopping?’

She bit her lip. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but that was the biggest warning sign of all. She shouldn’t let politeness overrule her instincts.

The look of confusion on his face slowly slid into a look of concern. ‘Listen, nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen. I’m just looking for someone to have dinner with, to talk to and maybe share a laugh with about all the overly important people there. You can leave if you feel uncomfortable with me.’

But she did feel uncomfortable.

In a charged-up sort of way.

Rielle stared at him in surprise. She suddenly realised that her stomach was knotted and her nerves were jumpy, but she wasn’t scared of him. She would have pushed the emergency button if she was.

She sighed. She’d become so used to being careful that her radar was always cranked up to high. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Couldn’t she just let go and have some fun?

‘No to the shopping.’ She forced her shoulders to relax. She could make this work, and it might even be a good first baby step for her. She almost coughed. This guy was no baby step, but the controlled situation would be. If she wanted to get out there again, she needed to make a move sometime.

Why not now? It was the White House.

And he was easy on the eyes.

‘Let me see if my boss has anything I could borrow.’

‘Excellent.’ He folded his arms and stood in a wide stance.

‘Stay here,’ she ordered. She grabbed her purse, locked her desk drawer and made sure her computer was secure. When she turned towards Nina’s office, he started to follow. She pointed at a chair in the lobby. ‘Right there.’

He frowned. ‘Nothing too attention-drawing or flashy.’

‘I know how to dress appropriately.’

He gaze went over her in a flash of heat. ‘Point taken. OK, surprise me.’

Rielle took a step back. She’d had enough surprises tonight to last for an entire year, thank you very much.

She did not like surprises.

Still feeling somewhat vulnerable, she left him in the lobby and went to Nina’s office. This time, she remembered to lock the door behind her. Once secure, she rested her forehead against the wood panel. What was she doing? Her heart was racing, and her hands were trembling.

Yet she was excited.

She felt like Cinderella invited to the ball. Taking a settling breath, she turned and opened Nina’s closet. Her boss was always going out to various ceremonies and events, and she kept a supply of clothes here for that purpose. She didn’t think Nina would mind if she borrowed something. The trick would be finding something that fitted. They were nearly the same dress size, but she was taller and bustier.

She carefully flipped through the selection and heard the swish of expensive fabric. Nina was a clotheshorse, but she tended towards bold, jewelled tones. Rielle preferred softer pastels, and, like her date had suggested, she didn’t want to draw attention at this event. She merely wanted to be a fly on the wall as she soaked everything up. She’d never been to the White House for a public tour, much less invited to a party there. It was a rare opportunity.

With, quite possibly, an even rarer man.

She selected three dresses out of the closet and held them up in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. She needed something tasteful yet appealing. The blue one was the most professional and severe, but it was also too short. She could see that without even trying it on, but the soft yellow or mint-green ones might work.

She cast a cautious look at the door as she unzipped the dress she’d worn to work. There was something intimate about stripping with a stranger standing just outside the door.

Especially that one.

‘Melvin,’ she said as she slipped the yellow dress off its hanger. ‘Mel.’

Neither felt right on her lips, but she needed to get used to his name if she was going to be with him for the next few hours. She draped her own dress over the back of a chair and slid on the yellow gown. It was snug as it skimmed down her figure. She smoothed it over her hips and looked at herself in the mirror. It was pretty enough. The fit was OK, but it was snug in the bodice and loose in the waistline. The style was simple, but the colour washed her out.

She looked longingly at the mint-green one. It was her favourite of the lot, but it was also the most feminine. For that reason only, it took guts for her to even try it on. The man outside that door was the most masculine she’d ever met. She was only attending this function for Luxxor’s benefit – not to start anything else.

Yet she had to see what she looked like in the dress, even if only for herself.

She took it out of its protective plastic. The material felt unbelievably soft and billowy. She pulled it over her head and worked it down her body. The luscious fabric trailed over her skin, making it sensitive, yet as full as the skirt was, the bodice was fitted. It had a sophisticated crisscross pleating that hugged her curves before tucking into a diamante beaded waistband. The bodice fitted her perfectly, even if she couldn’t quite zip it up all the way on her own. There was only one problem. The sweetheart neckline and matching beaded shoulder straps wouldn’t allow her to wear her bra.

So that meant the dress was a definite no.

She wasn’t going bare up there while she was out with him.

She started to take the gown off, but when she peeked at the mirror, she lost her breath. The dress looked as if it had been made for her. It fitted her figure and the mint-green flattered her colouring.

She stared at herself for a moment. Then two.

Her fingers curled into her palms. She was already out on a limb…

She reached back, undid the tab of her bra and rolled her shoulders to get rid of it. She tossed it onto the chair, out of the way, and tugged the bodice back into place. The effect was perfect. Not overtly sexy or trashy. The dress was sweet and so, so pretty.

If she was going to the White House for a formal event, she was wearing this dress.

She hurried to Nina’s private bathroom. She didn’t know how patient her date was, but she suspected not very. She turned on the curling iron and used the time to freshen her makeup from the stash she kept in her purse. She wasn’t a high-maintenance type of gal. She preferred a natural touch. The dress wouldn’t look good with anything too heavy. She added some curl to her light-brown hair and, finally, evaluated herself in the mirror.

She looked like a princess.

She took a deep breath and felt something inside her that had been knotted for too long finally loosen. It had been a while since she’d felt this kind of confidence.

She borrowed a small white clutch from Nina. It was beaded too, and would match better than the heavy leather bag she normally carried. When it came to shoes, though, she was on her own. She couldn’t totter around on the heels that Nina normally wore, and she was tall enough that she didn’t need them in the dress. Thankfully, she’d worn nice taupe pumps today. They’d have to do.

Finally, she faced the door. There was nothing left to do but go back and face her date.

Her unbelievably sexy, intimidating date.

Her fingers felt clumsy as she opened the door, and her knees wobbled as she walked back to the lobby. She stopped abruptly before she got there. He hadn’t stayed where she’d put him. He was sitting at her desk with his feet propped up on her desktop.

Her gaze flew to her computer, but it was locked and awaiting her password.

‘Holy…shit…’

Her attention snapped back to the big man rising from her chair. His blue gaze was locked and loaded. He didn’t blink as he took her in from head to toe. She didn’t know if he even realised the words he’d murmured. They were uncouth, but pleasure rose inside her. From the way his jaw worked to the way his breaths came in his chest, he wasn’t being patronising. He liked what he saw.

And that added a whole new dynamic to what she felt flaring between them.

She smoothed the soft fabric at her hip. ‘Is it all right?’

‘All right? Are you insane? All those dignitaries are going to be tripping over their tongues.’

She looked down, worried. ‘Does that mean it’s too much?’

‘It’s just right.’ He reached out to touch a curl of her hair. ‘Forget what I said, you’d draw attention in a potato sack.’

Rielle froze. He was touching her. It surprised her, yet for some reason she didn’t pull back. And that surprised her even more. She looked at the man, so dashing and mysterious, while he stared back at her. Where had he come from? Why was he scrambling up her life like this? Why was she breaking her rules for him?

‘I told you my name,’ he said quietly. ‘What’s yours?’

She licked her lips. Was she really going to do this?

‘I’ll need it to get you on the guestlist.’

‘Rielle. Rielle Sands.’

‘As beautiful as the woman.’

His fingertips brushed against her jaw before he let them drop. ‘Anything else you need to do here?’

‘Actually…’ Her heart began to pound. ‘There’s something I need you to do.’

One of his eyebrows lifted.

Her weight went to the balls of her feet. For a moment she could do no more, but then she slowly turned to give him her back. She’d tried her best to zip the dress. She’d contorted every way she could, but she hadn’t been able to finish dressing. Her hand shook as she reached for her hair. Trust didn’t come easily for her.

But she’d already trusted him enough not to have Security remove him. Enough to agree to go out with him. Enough to strip down and change in a room right next to him.

These were no little things.

She pulled her hair aside. ‘Could you zip me up?’

She heard him inhale sharply.

‘Sure.’ When he exhaled, his breath was warm against her bare spine. ‘I can do that.’

Rielle closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted him to know she wasn’t wearing a bra. She hadn’t even wanted him guessing, but she hadn’t been able to devise another way around the problem.

He stepped up close, and she felt his size. She began trembling again and her muscles tensed. He caught the tab of the zipper and tugged the flaps of material together to cover her. His touch between her shoulder blades was warm and confident, but that was as far as he went. He pulled up on the tab, and the bodice closed snugly around her.

She cast a quick glance down. Her breasts weren’t bulging out of the neckline, but they did fill out the dress. It fit her like a glove, even if her nipples were perking up and stiffening.

But that had nothing to do with her clothes.

She couldn’t ignore how solid he felt behind her. Next to him, she felt delicate and defenceless. If she stepped back, she’d tuck right under his chin.

Her eyelids popped open, and she stepped forward. She was not defenceless. She quickly let her hair drop back into place. ‘Thank you.’

‘My pleasure.’

She shot a look at him, but he wasn’t flirting with her. The lines were creasing his forehead again. Like he was trying to figure out what made her tick.

She couldn’t take that look.

‘One more thing.’ She manoeuvred by him, and her skirt brushed against his black pants as she passed. The hiss of material sounded like a kiss, and her cheeks warmed. Was she going to have to listen to that all night? ‘I just need to call Security to tell them about our plans.’

He nodded, but his expression clouded over when she asked Security for a driver. ‘They won’t get past the checkpoint if they’re not on the invitation list.’

So she’d have to ride with him?

He watched her speculatively.

Warning bells went off. She wasn’t that careless. ‘Actually,’ she said into the phone. ‘I’ll need you to follow me there.’

‘Good girl,’ her date said softly. He took her jacket off the coatstand. ‘This is yours, I assume?’

Taking a deep breath, Rielle turned and let him help her put it on. She worried about wrinkling the lightweight dress, but it was only March. Spring was coming, but she couldn’t go without a wrap. She put her arms in the sleeves and was cinching up the belt when she felt him catch her hair. She went still as he lifted it out of her coat. His fingertips brushed against the nape of her neck. A shiver went down her spine as he smoothed her hair down her back.

‘Thanks for not buzzing them up when I set foot inside the door,’ he murmured into her ear.