“Oh.” Jan walked the short distance to the door, swiping her broken shoes up from the counter. She’d have to go shove them in the car for the duration of the party. “Well, in that case, enjoy the rest of your evening. Oh—” She glanced down at her new pair of shoes. “Come by next week, and I’ll give you a tour and your shoes back. Treble Studios in 18B on Imperial Street.”
“I know where it’s at.” Some emotion Jan couldn’t quite identify flickered through Erin’s eyes. There and gone before Jan could really think about it, but it left a weird niggle of doubt in the pit of her stomach. Probably triumph over how she was the one that had ended up with Dino. Or pity. “Guess I’ll see you later, then.”
“Yeah. Good night.” Jan waved as she walked out. “Thanks again for the shoes.”
“My pleasure,” Erin called as the door closed behind Jan.
Once out in the small alcove beyond the door, she stopped and placed a steadying hand on the wall and took a moment to gather her thoughts before seeing Dino again. First Dino, then Blake Rockford yesterday, and now Erin McCabe. She’d expected to encounter pieces of her past when she’d moved back to Las Vegas two years ago. What she didn’t expect was to encounter them all within the course of a week.
Dino peeked his head around the corner of the alcove and frowned at the shoes dangling from her hand. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. My shoe broke. We should put these in the car.” She glanced at the bathroom door behind her once more then latched onto Dino’s arm and pulled him away. The last thing she needed right now was him and Erin having a reunion in front of her. “Plus, I could use some fresh air.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Dino said, directing her toward a back exit. His pace was brisk, and she had trouble keeping up with him. He didn’t seem to notice, however, just tugged her along, his gaze darting around the room as if looking for suspicious activity and his expression hard. Gone was the dapper, debonair guy who’d escorted her here tonight. In his place was a man who was all business—tough as concrete.
A man on a mission to get her away from something. Erin, maybe? A surge of jealousy tore through her, and for one insane moment she wanted to grab Dino and make him forget about any other woman except her.
They pushed out the door and into the shadows behind the building, the cooler night air whisking the heat from her flushed skin. The rough stone of the building scratched Jan’s back through the flimsy gown as she leaned against it to catch her breath. She could smell the exhaust from the kitchen and hear the traffic at the end of the street. She felt like she’d just run a marathon in there. Dino had his back to her still, his shoulders tense and his attention focused on the alley in front of them. “You mind telling me what the—”
Jan never got to finish her sentence because, quick as lightning and twice as hot, Dino crushed her mouth beneath his, kissing her hard and long and deeply. So deeply she felt it all the way to her core. The shoes clattered to the pavement, forgotten. He pinned both her wrists gently to the wall beside her head and held her in place with his body, every muscle in his long, lean form straining against her as he plundered her mouth like it was his ultimate treasure.
With no food and two glasses of champagne swirling in her system, Jan gave in to her passion with little resistance. Touching him again, feeling his body pressed so close, so tight to hers felt so good, so hot, so right. She moaned low in her throat, and he released her wrists, cradling the back of her head with one hand while sliding the other into the slit in her dress, caressing her bare thigh beneath.
Craving more intimate contact, Jan traced her foot up the outside of his leg, raising her calf to wrap it around his waist, pressing their hips tighter together. The hard, hot length of his arousal pulsed heavy against her core, and a fresh wave of moisture gathered between her legs. With his thumb, Dino eased the material of her dress higher up her thigh, closer, closer, closer to where she wanted him, needed him, would die without him stroking her there. It had been so long, too long since anyone, since Dino had touched her like this, and the thought of them leaving this behind now, as they’d always done in high school, left her breathless with yearning.
A horn honked from the other end of the alley just as Dino’s fingers reached the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. He broke the kiss and turned his head away, so close and yet so far.
Jan kissed his temple then traced her lips down his cheek to nibble on his tense jaw. “What are you doing? Don’t stop.”
He exhaled long and slowly, giving her inner thigh one last, small squeeze before pulling back. “We have to stop, Jan. This was a mistake. My mistake.” He let her go and raked his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I was just worried.”
“Worried?” She straightened her dress and leaned against the wall, her knees still shaky from Dino’s kisses. “This is what you do when you’re worried? What were you worried about?”
“I got a message from the Rockford IT team while you were in the ladies room.”
“And?”
“And your stalker is here. Somewhere in the building. Whoever it is tried to access that e-mail address from somewhere in the Venetian.”
“Oh.” Jan clutched her stomach as nerves and nausea once more stormed her system. “What do we do?”
“Well, first I needed to get you out of there.” Dino paced the sidewalk in front of her, each word punctuated by a step. “Now, I think it’s best to get you home, where I know you’ll be safe.”
“Home? I can’t leave yet. We just got here. I’m supposed to perform later. Lou will flip.”
“Lou will have to deal with it.” Dino picked up her shoes then straightened and gave her a pointed stare. “Your safety is the most important thing right now. Whoever this person is got past not only me, but the hotel’s security as well. I don’t think our guy would actually try anything in such a public venue, but I can’t be certain. Please don’t argue with me about this, okay?”
After a few tense moments, Jan relented. With everything that had happened over the past couple of days, the last place she felt like being was on public display. She’d make up something to tell Lou and head back to her house, with its alarms and cameras and her warm and fuzzy flannel PJs. In fact, that scenario sounded like heaven right about now. “Okay. Let’s go.”
They made their way back into the ballroom, and Jan pulled Lou aside, explaining she’d been ill and was going home. He wasn’t happy about it at all, but one glance at Dino, and he’d given in without a scene. As they headed back through the desert night into Summerlin and eventually into her exclusive Queensridge section of the community, neither of them spoke, as if their silence might make them forget what had just happened between them. The air in Dino’s Tahoe was rife with secrets and tension.
Dino waved as they passed the guard’s station then punched in the security code to open the gate at the end of Jan’s long driveway a few moments later. She was getting used to having someone to deal with all these little details for her, to take care of her. And that was dangerous. Jan straightened in her seat and clutched her bag tighter in her lap, reminding herself that he’d be gone as soon as they caught this stalker, and she’d be alone, as always.
He swerved up and parked the SUV near her front door then got out and came around to help her from the vehicle. Even knowing she should let him go, knowing how devastated she’d be when he left, she couldn’t let him leave. Not yet. Still a bit wobbly on her feet, she asked the thing she vowed not to say, not knowing if it was for protection or something more.
“Do you want to come inside?”
Thirteen
Dino hesitated. Inside. The words conjured so many wicked thoughts he could hardly think straight. Hell yeah, he’d like to be inside. Inside her house, inside her body, inside her heart.
He knew he should have never kissed her again, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d done it almost without thinking. The thought of her stalker being so close had brought up all sorts of pr
otective urges, and in the heat of the moment, he’d given in. He’d like to give in now. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever.
But if tonight had proved anything, it was that he didn’t belong in her world of glitz and glamour. Not to mention that her stalker had gotten far too close for his comfort. He blamed himself. He’d been distracted by the party, the venue, the incredibly sexy picture Jan presented in that sheer wisp of fabric that she seemed to think passed for a dress.
No.
He forced himself to look away from the way the porch light shining down from above her door silhouetted her form and rendered the sparkling chiffon silk of her gown nearly see-through, and forced himself to focus on the reason he was here in the first place, the only reason that truly mattered tonight. Jan’s safety.
“I…” He started to say that it wasn’t a good idea, that he’d wait until she had herself locked away behind closed doors, then he’d head back to his own home half a mile away in Summerlin for the evening, but something in her eyes stopped him. Something in the way her small smile faltered and her expression showed a hint of fear before she quickly masked it.
He’d been so focused on keeping his damned libido under control that he’d completely missed the fact that beneath her brave exterior, Jan—his Jan—was terrified. Guess that’s what he got for thinking with his cock instead of his brain—a good swift kick in the conscience. “If that’s what you want, I’m happy to stay as long as you need.”
Her tense shoulders visibly relaxed at his offer, and she quickly unlocked the door and punched in her security code before leading him inside. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He hovered near the door, still not trusting himself to get too close to her. “Since I’m here, I’ll just run a quick check through all the rooms while you get comfortable. All right?”
“All right.” Jan headed upstairs, and he headed into her living room to do a quick sweep for cameras, bugs, any signs of a break-in or tampering. Room to room he went, hitting each area of the first floor before moving on to the second, getting lost in the monotony of his work so he wouldn’t get lost in his memories of Jan. Again.
Once he’d finished his inspection of the house, he took a seat downstairs in the living room and pulled up the footage from the security cameras Blake had had installed outside her home the day before. He logged into the Rockford servers remotely and went through the hours of tape on fast-forward, spotting nothing but a stray red-tail hawk and a couple of deer mice flitting in here and there.
Jan padded down the stairs again, stopping near the bottom of the stairs and looking around. “Dino?”
“In here,” he called, chuckling as she walked toward him in a set of pink flannel PJs festooned with cupcakes. She’d always loved her sleepwear, and he’d always loved buying her a new set every year for Christmas back in high school. The best part of the outfit though was the matching fuzzy fuchsia bunny slippers, their wide, crazy eyes and crooked ears greeting the world with a look of perpetual looney shock. “Nice outfit.”
“Thanks.” She leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed. “Did you find anything on your sweep?”
“Nope.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket and stood. “Nothing on the camera footage from outside either. So far, so secure.”
“Good.” She rubbed her arms as if she’d caught a chill and lowered her gaze. From where he stood, several feet away, Dino heard a low, loud rumble. Jan bit her lips and grasped her stomach, her freshly scrubbed and makeup-free cheeks flushing pink. “Sorry.”
He grinned. “Hungry?”
“A little.” She wrinkled her nose. “We did leave before dinner.”
“Yeah, we did.” Dino rocked back on his heels. “I’d say we could order out, but that probably isn’t the wisest move considering what’s happening. We could go out and get something, but you’re already changed.”
“It’s fine.” She waved him off and turned toward the foyer. “I’m fine.”
Annoyance sizzled through his bloodstream. If he heard once more about how “fine” she was, he’d scream. Jan was not fine, and neither was this situation. Still, he might not be a five-star chef, but he had a few basic culinary skills. He walked out of the living room and passed her halfway across the foyer.
“Where are you going?” Jan called from behind him.
“To make us some dinner.” He stalked into the large, well-appointed kitchen and opened the stainless-steel oversized fridge. Eggs, ham, cheese, a few fresh veggies in the crisper drawer—all the makings for his favorite dish. Omelets.
“You know how to cook?” she asked, trailing in after him.
“I’m a single guy who gets tired of takeout every night,” he said, piling up his ingredients on the island then turning to search in the dark mahogany cabinet for a mixing bowl. “Of course I can cook. What about you?”
“I used to have a cook come in several times a week, but then I was gone so much it didn’t make sense to keep her on the payroll.” He turned back around with a large ceramic bowl in his hands, and she shrugged. “Now I just make do.”
Dino shrugged out of his tux jacket and draped it over the back of one of the nearby stools then removed his cufflinks and laid them aside before rolling up his shirt sleeves and loosening his bow tie. “You do that a lot, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Make do.”
“No sense cooking a big meal for one, unless you want leftovers for days on end.” She slid onto a stool on the opposite side of the island to watch him while he chopped, her chin resting on her hand. “Most nights I’m too tired from being at the studio all day to care much about what I eat anyway. PB and J is my go-to meal.”
“That’s not very healthy.” He frowned over at her. “You need your strength for touring.”
“God, now you sound like Lou.”
“I’m glad somebody keeps an eye on you.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call what Lou does keeping an eye on me exactly.” She straightened and sat back. "Unless he thinks it’ll sell more records.”
The slight plaintive tone to her voice broke his heart, but he focused on the meal preparations and not the ache in his chest. The big chef’s knife he’d pulled from the rack slid through the vegetables like a hot laser through butter. “You keep your knives awfully sharp for someone who doesn’t cook."
"That one’s for protection."
Dino glanced up, remembering their earlier conversation about guns. At least she had some kind of weapon on hand. "You got a frying pan anywhere in here?”
“Yep.” She hopped down off her stool and walked across the room to a large cabinet. Inside appeared to be every conceivable size and shape of pot and pan imaginable. She pulled out one and held it up for him. “Like this?”
“Maybe a little bigger?”
“How about this?” Jan hoisted a slightly larger fry pan in the air, and he nodded. “Lid too?”
“Nah. Just the pan.”
“Okey dokey.” She walked around behind him and placed it on one of the large gas burners on the stove. “Oil?”
“Yes, please.” He couldn’t help but smile at just being with her, spending time doing normal, domestic stuff that other couples took for granted. Except, he reminded himself, he and Jan weren’t a couple, and this situation was far from normal. Dino cleared his throat as he mixed together the ham and veggies he’d diced into four eggs then tossed in a large handful of grated cheese before turning to face Jan. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She poured a large dollop of olive oil into the pan and lit the burner for him. Once the oil heated, he poured in the contents of the bowl then stood watch while it cooked. Jan leaned back on her elbows against the island and crossed her feet at the ankles. “It’s weird.”
“What?” he asked over his shoulder, keeping an eye on the sizzling food.
“I moved back to Las Vegas two years ago and never saw a soul from the old days. Now, in less than a week, I’ve seen three people I knew
from high school.”
“Three?” Dino divided up the large omelet into two smaller portions. “Plates?”
“Sure thing.” Jan grabbed them out of a cupboard near the fridge and handed them to him then gathered silverware and napkins for them. “What do you want to drink?”
“Water’s fine for me.”
She filled two glasses with ice and water and set them near the place setting she’d put out on the island. “Yeah, three. You, Blake, and Erin.”
He turned with the plates then halted at her words. “Erin?”
“Yeah, Erin.” She watched him through narrowed eyes, and Dino got the distinct impression he was under a microscope, though he couldn’t say why. “You remember.”
“You mean the redhead cheerleader girl?”
She gave him a disgusted look and plopped onto her stool, snatching her plate from his hand. “Yes. Her. She was at the party tonight. Lent me the shoes. Don’t act like you don’t remember her.”
Dino shrugged. "Only vaguely."
Jan was giving him a strange look, but he was too tired to start a fresh argument now. He slumped into his own seat and concentrated on his food. Truth was, he was starving too. He’d missed lunch earlier due to errands, and he’d been so distracted at the gala event that he hadn’t even snagged a single fancy appetizer those waiters had paraded around on their silver trays.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Jan said around a bit of food, “This is really good.”
“You sound surprised.” He hazarded a glance at her, only to find her staring at her plate.
“I never pictured a guy like you needing to cook.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” Tiny lines of concern formed between her dark brows, and he had the crazy urge to reach over and stroke them away with his thumb. Instead, he shoveled a huge bite of omelet into his mouth and kept his own head down. “Figured you had women lined up around the block just dying to do your bidding.”
“My bidding?” He snorted. “Sounds sort of medieval.”
Deadly Betrayal (The Rockford Security Series Book 1) Page 11