He cursed heatedly and abruptly stood up. "You just don't get it, do you, Christine?"
Calmly, she stared up at him. "No, I guess I don't."
"Then let me explain things in a way that you'll better understand. Yeah, I'm attracted to you. I can't deny that." Placing his palms flat on the table, he leaned toward her, his eyes blazing with intimidation. "And yeah, I'd like to fuck you every way imaginable that would make your traditional missionary position look tame in comparison. But your father hired me to protect you, not to have sex with you."
He was trying to make her back off, but she was so done being the kind of good girl who in the past would have dropped the subject and retreated. Hell, a year ago she never would have been bold enough to discuss sex and orgasms with a guy. But most important, she was done doing what everyone else wanted or expected her to do.
"My father has nothing to do with my attraction to you," she said easily. "I'm a big girl and if I want to indulge in an affair, that's none of my father's, or anybody else's business."
He didn't look one bit convinced. "When the guy you want to have the affair with is me, your security agent, it complicates everything. And because of that, I don't ever mix business and pleasure."
"You did last night," she pointed out oh-so-sweetly.
He didn't seem to appreciate the reminder. He straightened from the table, but he didn't say a word or move from where he was standing.
Pushing her own chair back, she picked up her plate and the empty glass of iced tea, and carried both to the sink. Then she turned around to face her bodyguard again.
"Look. Ben. I understand that you have a job to do, and I'm not asking you to compromise my safety in any way. Out in public, you can do what you need to do to ensure I'm protected, but here, in my house, there is no threat and I couldn't be more secure with an alarm system on at all times."
She strolled toward him, and he watched her approach through narrowed eyes. "With that said, why can't we enjoy each other like we did last night?"
Again, no reply, but that didn't dissuade her in the least. He hadn't flat out refused her, and if anything, his silence gave her hope that he was actually considering her proposal.
She came to a stop just a few feet away from him. "I'm not asking for any kind of commitment," she said, just in case that fear was running through his head. "I've had enough of that for a while and I want to enjoy my freedom and independence before getting serious with anyone again."
"So, all you want is sex," he said, his bland tone belying the heat flickering in his gaze. "No strings attached."
"Not just sex. Good sex. Great sex," she clarified, but she already knew that wasn't an issue when it came to Ben and her as a couple. "We have two more weeks together before the election is over, and I'm thinking that's more than enough time to enjoy this mutual attraction and get it out of our systems. And when your job is done, we part ways as friends."
For all her daring, determination, and no-nonsense approach to an affair with Ben, she already knew it wouldn't be so easy to let him go in the end. This was a man who didn't try to be something he wasn't, and accepted her for who she was, as well. That in itself was a novelty for her when it came to the men she dated. He was charming when he wanted to be, and he made her feel alive and sexy and desirable, too. And if a few weeks was all they had with one another, she wanted to make the most of their time together, to take everything he was willing to give.
The rules she'd just laid out between them had been all for Ben. To make it easy on him when the affair was over, so he could walk away without worrying about any expectations or pressures from her. She already knew by previous conversations they'd had, combined with the compact way he lived his life, that he wasn't a man looking to settle down with any one woman anytime soon. She supposed losing the woman you loved and adored in a country torn apart by war had a way of making a person more averse to emotional attachments-and more disposed to a single, solitary lifestyle.
"You're awfully quiet." She could only imagine what was going through that head of his, and knew there was nothing left to do but ask him one last question. The most important one of them all. "So, are you interested in a short-term affair?"
His jaw worked back and forth, and just when she thought he was going to give her an unequivocal no, he instead shocked her with his answer.
"I'll think about it," he said.
She realized that he was attempting to placate her with an answer that wasn't really an answer, but at least he hadn't flat out refused her, and that's all she cared about right now. Sure, she'd give him time to think about it, and then she was going to take matters into her own hands.
Starting tonight after the charity ball.
Chapter Eight
ARE you interested in a short-term affair?
He'd told Christine he'd think about it, and he hadn't lied. For the rest of the afternoon that question buzzed through Ben's mind like the greatest of temptations, seducing his body and senses with a dozen different erotic scenarios. At the most inappropriate times he thought about what it would be like to really make love to Christine, to be deep inside of her when she climaxed, to feel all those tight, rippling contractions around his cock as she came undone just for him.
On the drive over to the St. Claire Hotel to set up for the charity's silent auction, she kept up a steady stream of conversation, but instead of hearing what she had to say all he could do was watch her mouth move and remember how soft and sweet her lips tasted beneath his-and how badly he wanted to kiss her again.
Deeply.
Hungrily.
Greedily.
They arrived at the hotel, and since he refused to let her out of his sight she cheerfully put him to work setting up tables for the auction items while she and Madison draped them elegantly in panels of beige silk fabric. Christine leaned across the table to smooth out wrinkles in the material before pinning it in place, and her blouse pulled tight across her chest, outlining her perfect breasts and teasing him with a glimpse of those hard nipples he'd plied with his thumb and sampled with his tongue.
She'd bend down to pick something up, and her heart-shaped ass had him fantasizing about one of his favorite sexual positions.
She purposefully flirted and teased and sent him covert glances that kept him keenly aware of her all day long, and made him want her with each seductive smile and throaty laugh she sent his way. He'd spent their hours together in a stranglehold of desire, lust, and yearning for all the things Christine had offered him with one simple question:
Are you interested in a short-term affair?
After their work in the ballroom was done and the auction items displayed, they went back to Christine's place to take showers and get ready for the evening ahead. Standing beneath the hot spray of water and feeling the sleek caress of water and soap sluicing down his naked frame, it was Christine's hands he imagined were stroking across his chest, down his abdomen, and along his straining erection.
All he could think about was having an affair with her, and it was close to driving him insane. She'd planted the seed and all day she'd nurtured the idea, until resisting her, and everything she was suggesting, was nearly impossible for him to do.
Now, as he finished getting dressed, he suspected that tonight wasn't going to be any different than today-except this evening he needed all his instincts clear and on target, his attention sharp and unclouded by all Christine's sultry attempts to seduce him. Being completely aware of their surroundings and keeping her safe during the charity event was his number-one priority until he had her home again tonight.
But before they could leave, he had to wrangle a long strip of silk into something that resembled a bow tie to go with the designer tuxedo he was wearing, and he wasn't having much luck with the task. He scowled at his reflection in the mirror when he ended up with a tangle of knotted material around his neck, and with an impatient growl he gave it a hard tug to unravel the mess so he could start the frustrating process all over a
gain.
"Well, well, well," came a soft feminine drawl from behind him in the guest bedroom. "Don't you look nice."
"Except for this stupid bow tie," he grumbled irritably. "Who invented this contraption of material, anyway? And why couldn't you have gotten me one of those easy, pre-tied bows?"
"Because that would be cheating," she said, amusement in her voice. "You can't wear a cheap clip-on bow with a Hugo Boss tuxedo. It would ruin the entire look."
He rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Who would even know the difference?" Certainly not him.
"Oh, you'd be surprised."
He turned around to tell her that it was ridiculous that anyone would even care about a bow tie, but as soon as he saw Christine and what she was wearing his mouth went as dry as dust.
The black evening gown she had on for tonight's ball was an exquisite one-shoulder design, accented all over in beads that sparkled like brilliant jewels with the slightest move she made. The silky, shimmering fabric molded to her breasts, but from there the material lightly skimmed along her curves all the way down to the floor, gently emphasizing her womanly figure, rather than clinging to it. Of course, peeking out from the hem of her dress was a pair of black, open-toed, strappy high heels.
She'd swept her blond hair up into an elegant style of soft loose curls that left her shoulders completely bare, and her makeup had been applied in a way that made her blue eyes stand out and drew his gaze to her full, pink-glossed lips. Since the gown itself was so intricate, she'd kept her jewelry very simple-just a pair of diamond stud earrings that rivaled the lustrous shine of her eyes.
Somehow, he found his voice. "Wow. You look absolutely stunning." And she was so out of his league socially he felt like a fraud wearing such a high-dollar, designer tuxedo.
"Thank you." She smiled, her expression glowing from his compliment. "Now let's see what we can do about your bow tie."
"We can always throw it in the trash," he suggested with a grin.
"Sorry, but that's not an option." She turned him around so that he was facing the dresser mirror again and she was standing behind him. "Even in my high heels, you're too tall for what I need to do," she said, and moved away from him.
She returned a moment later, dragging the straight-backed chair that had been in the corner of the guest bedroom. She parked it behind him, then told him to sit down. Curious as to what she intended, he did as she ordered and lowered himself to the chair. She positioned herself behind him, the back of his head now resting gently against the soft cushion of her breasts-which wasn't a bad place to be, he decided.
She reached around him and took the two long ends of the strip of silk in her hands. "Tying a formal bow is just like tying your shoes," she said as she wrapped one end of the material around the other and made a loose knot at the base of his throat.
Her cool fingers brushed beneath his chin as she made some kind of loop with the fabric. "And you learned this how?"
"I did it for my father when I was growing up." She tilted her head ever-so-slightly as she continued manipulating the strips of silk. "Just yet another thing my mother insisted I learn for future reference. See, it did come in handy after all." She met his gaze in the mirror and grinned as she made one last adjustment to the immaculate bow she'd created.
"I hardly think your mother planned for you to use your bow-tying skills on your bodyguard," he pointed out wryly.
Finished with the bow, she smoothed her hands along the shoulders of his tuxedo jacket and bent low so her lips were close to his ear. "Then we won't tell her, now will we?"
She was teasing and flirting with him again, but Ben didn't disillusion himself that if Audrey every found out that her daughter was fraternizing with the hired help, especially him, she'd come unglued and all hell would break loose.
"It looks like we're ready to go," she said, stepping away as he stood up. "I just need to get through the auction speech tonight without getting nauseous or sick, and I'll be happy." She absently placed a hand on her stomach.
He wasn't used to seeing Christine insecure about anything, and this unguarded revelation of hers surprised him and made him see a whole different side to her. "Not much of a public speaker, huh?"
"No, not really," she said with a shake of her head. "I've even tried hiring a public-speaking coach to help with my nerves, but I still get that churning anxiety in the pit of my stomach as soon as I'm standing at the podium and I'm the center of everyone's attention."
"You'll do fine." Without thinking, he reached out and caressed the backs of his fingers along her cheek, and her gaze softened in response. "It's a quick speech and I'll be nearby. It'll be done and over with before you know it."
"I hope so." She summoned a brave, determined smile. "We'd better get going. I'd like to get to the hotel a bit earlier than everyone else to double-check the auction display."
"Okay." He followed her out of his room, his gaze taking in the bare nape of her neck and all the smooth, silky skin revealed by the one-shoulder design of her gown. He glanced lower, to the alluring sway of her hips and the tantalizing way the fabric skimmed over her bottom as she walked. As he inhaled, he realized that she wasn't wearing her normal vanilla scent tonight, but instead he breathed in a richer fragrance that was as mysterious as it was provocative.
Feeling that familiar buzz of arousal kick in, he forced his attention elsewhere. "By the way, I went through the guest list for the charity event tonight, and both Craig and Leanne are going to be there."
"Yes, as are over two hundred other people." She picked up a black shawl from the coffee table in the living room, draped it over her shoulders, then turned around to face him. "We all run in the same social circles, so it's inevitable that our paths will cross."
He pushed his hands into the front pockets of his black trousers. "I want you to stay away from both of them. Especially Craig."
She laughed as she grabbed a black beaded purse that matched her gown. "You play the jealous boyfriend so well, not that I mind."
Okay, that did sound way more possessive than he'd intended, and he tried to backpedal so he didn't sound like a Neanderthal. "I just think tonight will be less stressful if you keep your distance from those two."
She opened her small purse and looked through the contents. "You're probably right, but I'll be mingling with everyone, so I can't deliberately ignore them if they come up to me. It would be rude, and since I'm in charge of the silent auction tonight, I don't want to make a bad impression on anyone."
He nodded in understanding. "Fair enough," he said, though he just didn't like the thought of Craig anywhere near Christine, which meant he'd have to find creative ways to steer them both clear of the guy.
THE ballroom of the St. Claire Hotel had been transformed into an elegant and festive affair for the glitzy charity event raising money for the Children's AIDS Foundation. Everyone was dressed in black formal wear, with most of the women in the room wearing their most glamorous gowns and equally stunning jewelry reserved just for special occasions such as this.
Sitting at their assigned dining table enjoying a succulent Chateaubriand with béarnaise sauce and fresh steamed vegetables, Christine cast a surreptitious glance at Ben, who was sitting to her left, to see how he was fairing. For a man who swore on the drive over to the hotel that he had absolutely nothing in common with anyone at the gala and would likely stick out like a greenhorn, she had to say that he'd managed to fit in with the upper crust of Chicago quite nicely.
They'd spent the first hour and a half of the evening enjoying cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while mingling with her friends and other people she was acquainted with. When she introduced Ben, he shook hands with the men, and acknowledged the women with a charming smile and polite greeting that showcased him for the gentleman he was and made her feel proud to have a man like him on her arm.
Of course they ran into Craig and Leanne during the cocktail party and politely said hello to both, but didn't linger to chat. Christine noticed that
Ben was quick to avert their attention elsewhere, but that hadn't dissuaded Leanne from issuing her cutting stares from across the room, or stopped Craig from watching them from a distance with a look of irritation on his face.
By eight P.M. they were asked to be seated at their designated tables while the president of the Children's AIDS Foundation stepped up to the podium and gave a heartfelt speech about the organization, AIDS statistics, and how everyone's donation to attend the gala would help fund pediatric research and raise awareness about the children's fight against HIV.
Then came the beginning of a five-course gourmet meal, and when Ben furtively watched from the corner of his eye which utensil she used and when, this time she didn't try to trick him. While Christine found that she was only able to skim from each plate due to her increasing nerves for her upcoming speech, Ben didn't seem to have any lack of appetite. He finished each item that was set in front of him, and in between courses he kept up a steady stream of conversation with the men at the table, which included a doctor, a lawyer, and a local newscaster. All seemed fascinated by Ben's stint in the military, as well as his current occupation in a security firm.
As for the women at the table, well, they seemed very captivated by Ben's easy charm and his handsome good looks, not that Christine could blame any of them.
"Can I have one of those, please?" Madison, who was sitting to her right at their dinner table, said.
Christine glanced to the left as her friend indicated, and the only thing she found that Madison might want was the bread basket. "You want another roll?" she asked, just to be sure, since both of their main entree plates had just been cleared away.
"No. I want a hot guy like Ben," Madison clarified, grinning effusively. "He's been amazing tonight, and you'd never know that he wasn't a part of this crowd. Nice eye candy to have on your arm when you need it, too. Do you know if he has a brother?"
Christine held back a smile and shook her head. "Sorry, but he's an only child."
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