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‘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?’
