Determined to Protect, Forbidden to Love

by Beverly Barton

  Chapter 7

  Having acquired a guest list for this evening’s event, J.J. knew before she arrived that this would be a buffet-style dinner instead of the sit-down meal she had hoped it would be. A sit-down dinner usually limited the number to twenty or less, whereas with a buffet, the guest list could swell to fifty or more. From the wall-to-wall people she saw when they first entered Anton Casimiro’s spacious penthouse apartment in the heart of Nava, J.J. surmised that there were already a good fifty people in the huge living room/dining room combined. There had been no way she and Dom could check out the apartment beforehand, which they would have done on any normal assignment. And with a crowd this size, they would have used at least two more agents disguised as guests to mix and mingle. Although a part of her mind was immersed in her role of playing Miguel’s fiancée, the protector side of her personality told her to stay alert, to be vigilant and prepared for anything.

  Dom came up behind her and spoke quietly into her ear. “You stay with Miguel. I’ll start mingling and look things over. My gut tells me that we’re in for a surprise, and probably not a pleasant one, before the evening ends.”

  She nodded and smiled. And kept her hand securely in Miguel’s. She had no intention of letting him out of her sight, not even for a minute. In a crowd this size, it would be easy to become separated. And that’s all an assassin would need—one unguarded moment.

  As they entered the lounge, heads turned. Hushed whispers blended with the chatter, laughter and tinkling of wineglasses. Dom eased away from them and made his way practically unobserved into the crowd. Suddenly a hefty, bearded man wearing a flamboyant orange silk shirt burst through the crowd and, with arms outstretched, came zooming toward them. Thankful that she knew what their host looked like, J.J. tried to relax when Anton Casimiro encompassed both Miguel and her in a bear hug. When he pulled back, laughing, his dark eyes twinkling with mischief, Anton sized J.J. up and then grabbed her hand. After kissing her hand, he held it and while looking right at her, spoke to Miguel.

  “You lucky devil, you,” Anton said. “Your fiancée is the most delectable creature I have ever seen.” He kissed her hand again, then told her, “If he ever disappoints you in any way, come to me, lovely lady, and I will be very good to you.”

  Accepting Anton’s flirting in the good-natured way she was sure he had intended it, J.J. responded in kind. “I will certainly keep your offer in mind, señor.” She cuddled closer to Miguel. “But I know, in my heart, that Miguel will never disappoint me. In any way.” She winked at Anton.

  The world-famous tenor laughed boisterously. “Come, come. Everyone is eager to see you. Both of you.”

  When Anton led them from the edge of the foyer and into the lounge, the other guests applauded and several called out his name in a resounding cheer.

  “You must say a few words,” Anton suggested.

  Keeping his arm around J.J.’s waist, Miguel held up his other arm, signaling the guests to end their exuberant welcome. But only after he began speaking did the round of applause and cheering cease.

  “Thank you, one and all, for being here tonight.” He gazed lovingly at J.J. “Jennifer and I look forward to speaking personally to everyone. But this is a dinner party, not a political rally. Let’s eat and drink and enjoy one another’s company.”

  J.J. saw the woman halfway across the room, her gaze riveted to Miguel. Damn, how had she finagled an invitation? Her name wasn’t on the guest list. Undoubtedly she had persuaded some man—any man—to bring her here tonight as his date. If J.J. thought that Gala Fernandez’s interest in Miguel was only personal, she wouldn’t be as concerned. But all her instincts and training told her that there was more to Señorita Fernandez’s sudden appearances in Miguel’s life than met the eye. Although she’d been giddy and flirtatious this afternoon at the country club, the lady had also seemed slightly nervous. And tonight, as Gala gazed at Miguel, J.J. thought she saw something more than desire in the woman’s expression. But she wasn’t certain if that barely concealed emotion was fear, anger or concern.

  When a waiter approached with a tray of champagne flutes, J.J. accepted a glass, as did Miguel. But before either could take the first sip, several people cornered them and immediately gushed and gooed over Miguel. They were true fans, pledging their allegiance to the Nationalist Party and promising their full support for Miguel, not only with their votes, but with their checkbooks.

  While Miguel made small talk with his admirers, J.J. stayed right at his side, commenting occasionally when she thought it appropriate, always keeping in mind that she was playing the part of the demure, steadfast helpmate. In fact, while Miguel charmed the guests, she was worrying about the wine, the food and the catering staff. Emilio and Roberto had assured Miguel that the guest list, the caterers and the musicians for Anton’s party had been thoroughly checked out and, to-a-person, no one posed a threat. No one had any ties whatsoever to the Federalists Party.

  No one except Gala Hernandez, who had not been on the guest list.

  How easy it would be to poison Miguel’s drink or his food. And even though Anton had promised that each musician and caterer would be inspected before entering his apartment, it might be possible for one of the hired help for tonight’s shindig to manage to smuggle in a weapon.

  What about the guests themselves? J.J. asked herself as she continued smiling graciously while Miguel shmoozed with his constituents. Gala probably wasn’t the only person here who had finagled her way in, coming along as the date of an invited guest. However, considering that the woman wore a skintight red dress, J.J. doubted there was a concealed weapon on her.

  Glancing over the throng of celebrators, J.J. searched for anyone who looked the least bit suspicious.As her gaze surveyed the room, she noticed Dom mixing and mingling, doing just what she was doing—hoping to spot potential trouble. Preventing a disaster of any kind would have been so much easier if the Dundee agency was in charge. Having to placate Miguel’s ego and allow Emilio and Roberto to make decisions they were not trained to make undermined the Dundee agents’ efficiency. Having to do things Miguel’s way made their job ten times more difficult.

  J.J. recognized only a few people. Roberto had escorted Señora Fuentes and the two seemed quite chummy where they stood in the corner, sipping champagne and gazing into each other’s eyes. Across the room, seated on one of the three sofas, Josephina Santiago appeared deep in conversation with her nephew, Juan Esteban. Here and there, J.J. saw a vaguely familiar face, a few women she’d met at the country club earlier today and some people from campaign headquarters this morning. Emilio had phoned to tell them he and Dolores would not attend tonight since Dolores was still quite shaken by the snake prank at the club.

  For a man who knew his life was in danger, Miguel appeared calm, cool and collected. Was he really not concerned about his own welfare or did he think he was invincible? Perhaps neither. He was a man with a mission that apparently meant more to him than anything else on earth. Even more than his own life?

  When Gala Fernandez walked straight toward them, J.J. tensed. She tried to tell herself that the knot in her gut was there because she didn’t trust Gala, that she feared the woman was dangerous. But when Gala smiled at Miguel and placed her hand on his arm, J.J. realized she was jealous. The idea hit her like a bolt from the blue. She did not want this woman—or any other woman—touching Miguel in a familiar way.

  This is totally unacceptable, she warned herself. It was only natural to feel protective of a client, but what she felt went way beyond the norm. She felt not only protective, but possessive. The inner primitive female inside her was screaming, Hands off, bitch, he’s my man.

  “Good evening, Miguel.” Gala all but purred as she ran her hand down his arm. “I am utterly delighted to see you twice in one day.” She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips.

  Oh, get real, J.J. thought. How obvious could a woman be? She’d practically propositioned Miguel—and with his fiancée clinging to his arm. And
clinging was just what J.J. was doing. Realizing she was holding on a little too tightly, she loosened her grasp.

  “Señorita Hernandez, you look lovely tonight.” Miguel’s arm around J.J.’s waist tautened, drawing her closer. “Almost as lovely as my beautiful Jennifer.” As if it were the most natural action in the world, he leaned down and kissed J.J.’s temple.

  Skyrockets went off in her belly, surprising her. No, actually shocking her. Good grief, she had to get a grip. What was wrong with her? Feeling jealousy over a man she barely knew. Going weak in the knees because he kissed her forehead.

  Gala’s smile vanished for a moment, but she recovered quickly and replaced the genuine smile with a phony one. “You are a very fortunate woman, Señorita Blair, to have such a devoted fiancé.”

  “I am the lucky one.” Miguel lifted J.J.’s hand and held it over his heart.

  “If you will excuse me, I see my date is looking for me.” Gala quietly slipped away and hurried over to a short, stout man in his midforties, someone she had apparently taken advantage of in order for her to attend tonight’s dinner party. Poor fool. He probably had no idea what a sucker he was.

  “You laid it on a little thick, didn’t you?” J.J. removed her hand from Miguel’s.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  When those golden-brown eyes of his settled on her face, a troop of fluttering butterflies danced maddingly in her stomach.

  “Does Gala Fernandez frighten you so much that you felt it necessary to fawn over me to warn her off?”

  Miguel chuckled. “My dear Jennifer, the lovely and sexy Gala wants me very badly.” J.J.’s mouth dropped open. “The only thing is I’m not sure whether she wants to make love to me or to kill me.”

  J.J. let out a relieved sigh. “Then you don’t trust her anymore than I do, do you?”

  “No, I do not trust her. She is trying much too hard to insinuate herself into my life. Of course, it is possible that she finds me so irresistible that—”

  J.J. playfully poked Miguel in the ribs with her elbow.

  “What?” he asked guilelessly. “You doubt that a woman could find me irresistible?”

  “Oh, no, I don’t doubt it for a moment. You can be charming and attentive and make a woman feel as if she’s the only woman in the world. In a moment of utter weakness, she just might find you completely irresistible.”

  Leaning close—too close—his nose grazing her cheek, he whispered, “If only you were that woman, querida.”

  While her heart beat ninety-to-nothing and tingling warmth spread up her neck to flush her cheeks, J.J. struggled to think of just the right response. But she was saved by Roberto and Zita’s appearance.

  “Would you mind terribly if we left early?” Roberto asked.

  “No, of course not,” Miguel replied. “Is everything all right?”

  Zita Fuentes slipped her arm around Roberto’s waist. “Everything is perfectly fine. But I have a slight headache and Roberto has kindly offered to take me home.”

  Yeah, right, she had a headache. Surely Miguel didn’t buy that old excuse. It was obvious that these two wanted to go somewhere to be alone. Although they weren’t making a public spectacle of themselves, it was apparent they could barely keep their hands off each other.

  “Wait here,” Roberto said to his date. “I’ll get your purse and wrap and then we’ll leave.”

  J.J. wondered if she should say something to Zita, something to soothe the awkward moment. After all, Miguel had to realize that one of his best friends was going to take this woman home and make love to her. If Miguel had feelings for Zita or she for him, one or both of them must be slightly embarrassed and perhaps even upset.

  “I was surprised that Señor Casimiro has a jazz ensemble here tonight.” J.J. said the first thing that popped into her head. The cool jazz number the group was playing right now had caught her attention. The alto sax moaned the melody of “The Good Life” as the piano, bass and drums played softly in the background.

  “Anton loves jazz,” Miguel replied. “He plays the piano and sometimes sits in with the group. He has very eclectic tastes in almost everything, especially in music.”

  Suddenly Zita’s gaze zeroed in on J.J.’s left hand. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened into a perfect oval of surprise. “Your ring is lovely.” She looked at Miguel. “You chose it for her, of course.”

  “Of course.” Miguel looked like a man who’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing.

  “I don’t know what is keeping Roberto.” Zita glanced around the room, avoiding direct eye contact with either Miguel or J.J.

  Poor woman, J.J. thought. She’s in love with Miguel and it’s breaking her heart seeing him engaged to someone else. But the question that plagued J.J. was—did Miguel love Zita? If he did, wouldn’t he have shared the truth with her, that his engagement to J.J. was not real?

  “It appears he has been waylaid by someone near the buffet table,” Miguel said. “If you’d like, I can go rescue him.”

  When Miguel turned, intending to go toward the buffet table, J.J. clasped his arm, momentarily halting him. He gave her a puzzled glance, then sighed and nodded when he apparently remembered her cautioning him not to leave her side this evening.

  “No, that won’t be necessary,” Zita said. “I will go and wait for him in the foyer, away from all this noise.” She rubbed her right temple. “I am afraid my headache has become worse.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Miguel said sincerely.

  “Perhaps Señor Casimiro has some aspirin or—” J.J. offered.

  “I’ll be all right, thank you.” Zita all but ran away from them.

  J.J. glared at Miguel.

  “Why are you looking at me as if I were an ax murderer?” Miguel asked.

  “Just how involved are you with Señora Fuentes?”

  “Lower your voice, please. We don’t want anyone overhearing you. You sound very much like a jealous woman.”

  J.J. huffed. She was not jealous. She had simply asked a logical question. “It’s obvious the lady is upset that you’re engaged,” J.J. said quietly. “I think I have a right to know—”

  “Zita and I are not lovers,” Miguel said. “We have not even dated.”

  “But?”

  “But I had given some thought to courting her and I believe she found the idea quite agreeable.”

  “Are you in love with her?” Oh, God! She couldn’t believe she’d asked him that.

  Grasping her around the waist, he pulled her close and whispered, “Retract your claws, little she-cat.Your jealousy is showing.”

  J.J. gasped aloud, which made Miguel laugh. Several people near them turned to see what was going on.

  Miguel shrugged and laughed again as he faced those inquisitive stares. “I am afraid I said something that caught my fiancée off guard and embarrassed her. You know how young ladies can be when we men are too blunt-spoken.”

  The devil! The charming, smooth-talking devil.

  Forcing herself to smile at the onlookers, she didn’t withdraw when Miguel led her toward the balcony, where several other couples were dancing or gazing up at the moon. She balked when they reached the double set of open French doors.

  “You might consider the possibility that I’ll be tempted to toss you over the balcony railing if we go out there,” J.J. said for his ears only.

  “I will take my chances. I very much want to hold you in my arms right now. Besides, if we don’t dance at least one dance, everyone will wonder why not.”

  “I’m hungry,” she said. “Why don’t we eat first, then dance?”

  As if she hadn’t spoken, he led her out onto the balcony and pulled her into his arms. “First we dance. We can eat later.”

  “Of course, querido. Whatever you say. After all, you’re my lord and master and I would never want to do anything to displease you,” J.J. told him in English, a phony smile plastered on her face.

  “Quite a few people in Mocorito speak English. We wouldn’t w
ant anyone here tonight to realize you were speaking to me in such a sarcastic manner.”

  J.J. kept quiet as Miguel led her into the dance. She didn’t protest when he pulled her so close that her breasts pressed against his chest. Being this close to him was hypnotic. Like all his other attributes, Miguel’s dancing was flawless. As the music wove itself around them and their bodies moved slowly and rhythmically under the starry, tropical sky, it was all J.J. could do to keep her wits about her. This was like a scene from some old forties movie—an American heiress being wooed by a South American playboy. Only Miguel wasn’t actually a playboy and although she would someday inherit several Ashford millions, she wasn’t a true heiress, not in the traditional sense.

  When one tune ended, another began almost immediately, which probably explained why Miguel didn’t release her. The moment the music started again, a bluesy rendition of “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” he reached down and tilted her chin with his crooked index finger. Standing there in his arms, she looked up at him.

  Be still my heart.

  When had she ever been this foolish? Not even as a teenager had she fallen so hard and so fast for a guy.

  “After this dance, we can go through the buffet line,” he told her. “I would rather take you home early, but since I…we are the guests of honor, we can hardly be one of the first couples to leave, can we?”

  She managed to nod her head, temporarily rendered mute by the surge of passion heating her from the inside out. She had to put a stop to her raging hormones and do it ASAP. This guy was good. Damn good. He knew just what to say and do to seduce a woman, to make her feel as if she was special. But she knew better. She meant nothing to Miguel. For goodness sake, she was his bodyguard. Letting herself fall under his spell could prove dangerous for both of them.

  All he wants is for you to be his latest conquest. One more notch on his bedpost. Once he’s had you—

  What the hell was she thinking? No way was she going to give in to temptation.