by Lucy Monroe
That dangerous expression in his green eyes certainly implied he meant it.
He was right. It was time to go.
Ethan helped Beth into the passenger side of his low black Solstice. As she dipped down to settle against the leather seat, her skirt hiked up, showing him the top of honest to Hannah stockings. Did she wear them all the time? Or just for dates? This wasn’t exactly a date, but a get-to-know-you-better-for-the-sake-of-the-assignment dinner. She saw it that way, surely? But she looked sexier than he’d ever seen her.
The woman turned him on and in ways that other women had never touched. He’d dated women who dressed provocatively all the time, but the idea of Beth wearing stockings under her more conservative work gear made his cock lurch in response. Knowing she was wearing them instead of panty hose tonight had him hard and aching and he hadn’t even touched her.
Was not going to touch her, no matter what he’d fantasized about when he’d seen those kinky pink handcuffs in her bedside drawer. He needed to know her better to pull this job off, but he didn’t need to get involved with her.
That would be a bad idea.
He closed the door on temptation and sent a silent command to his hardened sex to settle down before going around to get into the driver’s seat. Only her muttering something about two pairs of panties as he shut the door did not help. He did not want to think about her panties. He really didn’t.
Did she wear a thong?
He wouldn’t put it past her, not the Beth Whitney he was getting to know tonight. Just the thought of her butt bare against that little black dress was enough to undo any good his self-lecture might have done. What the hell was the matter with him? He’d been vamped by the best of them, but he did not lose control.
So, why did he have an almost irresistible urge to pull his powerful convertible to the shoulder of the road and find out if sex in a two-seater was really impossible?
He wasn’t happy about using a nonagent as the contact with Prescott. The last thing he could afford to do was to mess up his own focus by getting involved with her. And he had a feeling that getting involved with Beth would be harder on his equilibrium than any other woman had been in a very long time.
She was just so surprising.
That book next to her bed…it had been hot. He wouldn’t mind reading it himself and not just for the obviously intense sex in it, but the story had sounded pretty good, too. Damn it, he was losing his mind.
He pulled up in front of the small Italian restaurant where they had reservations, only now realizing he’d spent so much time thinking about her, he hadn’t said a word to her for the whole drive.
She was busy looking out the window, but her hands were clenched in her lap and he wondered why. Was she still angry he’d invaded her bedroom? She was going to have a fit then, when they got back, because he had every intention of doing exactly what he’d said he wanted to. Go through her drawers. He needed to know her in a way only a lover would, or he would screw up his role in that capacity.
Failure wasn’t an option for him, especially when her safety was at risk.
She said nothing as he came around to open her door and she avoided his eyes when she got out of the car, but she took his proffered hand. She moved away from him as soon as she got vertical and clear of the car though.
He frowned. “Are you mad at me, Sunshine?”
Her gaze snapped around. Sherry-brown eyes looked at him blankly for a second and then she shook her head. “No, of course not. Why would I be?”
“You didn’t like me going through the stuff in your bedroom.”
She moved toward the brick building that housed the restaurant. “No, but I understand you think it was necessary.”
“It was.”
“I’m not talking about my sexual fantasies over dinner,” she blurted out, sounding pretty defensive.
Is that what had her avoiding his eyes? She was embarrassed by the prospect of talking about her sexual preferences? The woman was a mass of contradictions.
He couldn’t help smiling. “Do you have sexual fantasies?”
“Doesn’t everyone?” She stopped before the open door.
“I suppose…but I’ve always been more of an action man.” Though he knew images of her and those hot-pink handcuffs were going to play a starring role in some heated fantasies for some time to come.
He’d like to take her home and play a few of them out. Right now.
Her small pink tongue darted out to lick her lips in a gesture that was both nervous and arousing. “Yes.”
“Yes what?” He shook his head, clearing it. She hadn’t meant yes to his thoughts, but his sex was acting like she had.
“You’re an action man. I don’t see you merely thinking about doing something…I think you’d do it.”
His body thought so, too. “You’re right. Usually. Are you saying you’ve never used the handcuffs?”
“I told you…I’m not having this discussion over dinner.”
“We’re not in the restaurant yet.”
She took a hasty step over the threshold into the small restaurant. “Now we are.”
He laughed and followed her inside. “Don’t you know that denying my curiosity satisfaction just makes me more determined to know?”
“Don’t you think it’s time you learned to control that curiosity?”
“Now what would be the fun in that?”
She didn’t get a chance to answer as the restaurant’s owner, Vito, came forward with an effusive greeting before leading them to Ethan’s favorite table in a quiet corner. The ambient lighting and brick walls on two sides of the table enhanced the feeling of intimacy while dining. And Vito’s menu was superb.
Ethan’s mouth watered as the scent of garlic and his favorite pasta dishes assailed his nostrils. He was hungry and food was going to have to do.
“You bring a beautiful woman this time, Ethan.” Vito kissed his fingertips toward Beth. “Bellisima.”
She blushed a soft pink and Ethan smiled as he held her chair out for her, usurping Vito. “I agree, Vito. She is one-of-a-kind gorgeous.”
“This is true.”
That had Beth rolling her eyes at both of them.
“She no believe us. Why is this? You no tell her how beautiful she is before?”
“It’s an oversight, I admit.” Ethan took his own chair, letting one leg slide against Beth’s.
She jumped and moved her leg away, giving him a chagrined look.
Vito shook his head. “I think you are smarter than this, Ethan my friend. Tonight I help you make up for your foolishness. I serve you a dinner that would make the angels weep, no? Good food, it is the way to a woman’s heart.”
“I always heard it was the way to a man’s heart,” Beth said with amusement lacing her voice.
“Ah…men are more simple than that, but that is no a discussion for ears such as yours. It is a woman that requires the wooing and I will help my friend tonight with this.”
Beth laughed, shaking her head, and Ethan felt something tighten in his chest. He’d brought dates here before, but Vito did not act like this with them. He flirted, as all Italian males flirted, but he never made jokes about reaching the woman’s heart. What was it about Beth that brought that out in the savvy restaurateur?
She’d said she wasn’t into weddings, but even Vito saw the difference between her and the women Ethan usually dated.
“I go to order you dinner…you leave it up to me, no?”
The man had never made such an offer before, but Ethan trusted him. “That’s fine by me. Beth?”
Her lush lips curved in a sweet smile. “I’d be honored.”
Vito nodded, his expression filled with pleasure, and then turned to leave. A moment later, a waiter appeared with a carafe of red wine, which he poured before leaving them in solitude once again.
“Vito is a character.”
“You bring out a different side to him.”
“You mean he doesn’t call all your women beautiful and
promise them a dinner worthy of angels?”
“Now that you mention it…”
She laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
“But he has never offered to help me get to a woman’s heart…or to select my dinner for me.”
“He’s probably wondering what in the world you are doing here with a woman like me.”
She’d missed the point entirely, but he wasn’t going to belabor it. “What do you mean, a woman like you?” he asked instead.
Chapter 5
She rolled her eyes again. “Come on, Stud, admit it. I’m not exactly your usual date.”
He’d gotten the nickname at the agency long before Beth had come and it had never bothered him before. There was something about the way that she said it that made him feel as if she was mocking him though. The moniker Stud simply did not sound like a compliment when it rolled off of her acerbic little tongue.
“You’re an unusual woman, period.”
“I don’t think so.”
The waiter arrived again with a basket of fresh bread and the salad, then disappeared again just as quickly.
Ethan served her and then himself from the large bowl. “You’re wrong, Sunshine. You are different than most women in this town and yet you were born and raised here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“You’re fresh and sweet, and a man can’t help wondering how you maintained such an aura of innocence in a city so filled with anything but.”
“Are you saying I lack city sophistication?”
He looked her over, letting his gaze linger extra seconds on the parts his body craved to touch. Her little black dress was perfect and the last word in sophistication, not to mention sexy as hell. The way she’d styled her hair was both tantalizing and chic…her makeup was neither too gaudy nor underdone. Nothing about the individual elements lacked the polish he would expect of her mother’s daughter, but Beth still managed to project an innocence that challenged the predator in him to teach her the depths of her own passion.
“No. You don’t lack anything, but you don’t fit this city either. Not like your mom does.”
“Or the women you actually date.”
He shrugged, not sure what to say. It occurred to him that another woman might be justifiably offended by his comments, but Beth was only looking at him with curious speculation.
She sighed. “If you want the truth, I’ve never felt like I fit. Not my family. Not this city. Not any of it.”
“So, why do you stay?”
“I love my parents even if I don’t always get them and vice versa. Besides, D.C. is all I know. I’ve thought of moving…I just wonder if I’d fit in any better someplace else.”
“So, why take a job with the agency?”
“There were a lot of reasons. It was time to make some changes and that felt like the right one. I was also bored out of my mind doing investment counseling.”
“You got a degree in finance.”
“And didn’t realize until too late how much making money bored me. I love what I do for the agency…the way I get to be involved in so many different things and people’s lives.” She buttered a piece of warm bread and put it on his plate.
“Thanks.” He took a bite, his hunger warring with his need to know more about this surprisingly enigmatic woman. “But you don’t live the adventure yourself.”
“Until now.”
But that hadn’t been her idea and he was sure she would have refused if she could see another way around the problem. “What are you afraid of?”
“Who said I was afraid of anything?” She ate a bite of salad, her eyes closing in apparent bliss. She moaned. “This is good. The dressing is perfect.”
“Everything here is perfect.”
Her eyes opened and she smiled. “Good. I’m starving.”
He was, too, but the food was not as alluring as the woman sitting across from him. Or her secrets. “You like touching the pulse of a project, but you’ve never wanted to be out there where the blood is really pounding. I’m wondering what about life scares you so much you don’t want to live it.”
Her brow furrowed. “I never said I didn’t.”
“You read about what you want to do sexually. You don’t do it.” She hadn’t confirmed that, but he was almost positive it was the case. “You hide sexy lingerie beneath conservative business attire,” he said, taking another guess.
Her hand stilled with a forkful of salad halfway to her mouth. “You said you hadn’t gone through my drawers.”
“I haven’t…yet. I saw the top of your stockings when you got into the car.”
“Oh.” Her Madonna-like features blushed. “Conservative attire is appropriate for the office.”
“Maybe…but the more I think about it, the more I realize you hide your natural sensuality.”
“So, now you’re a mind reader and a pop psychologist?”
“No, just a man who knows a lot about women.”
“Now that I believe, but you don’t know as much about this one as you think you do.”
“I’m going to remedy that.”
“So you say.”
“It’s necessary. For the case.”
“What a convenient excuse to sate your overactive curiosity.”
“Isn’t it?”
She ignored that and tucked into her salad.
He let her eat in peace until she finished it and then said, “I still think you’re afraid to live.”
“Are you goading me for a reason?”
Was he? He guessed he was. He wanted to push her past her control and get to the real woman under the put-together, sunny exterior. “You don’t date agents…”
“That merely shows my intelligence, not some deep-seated fear of really living.”
“Why, Beth? What is so smart about refusing to date men who fascinate you?”
“You think agents fascinate me? Brother, you are so wrong.”
“I don’t think so.”
Her dark eyes snapped with irritation. “Stop being a prick.”
“Whoa…that’s a pretty strong reaction for what is essentially a harmless conversation. I must have struck a nerve.” And that interested him. A lot.
“Why don’t we dissect you and see how much you like it?”
“Go ahead, Beth. What you see is what you get.” He put his palms out in an open gesture. “I left my family behind in Texas when I realized I wanted more from life than I could find following in my daddy’s footsteps as a cattleman. So, I left that for my sister and both she and Daddy are happier for it. I like to test my limits with extreme sports and my job, which makes me a little more primitive than your average Washington politician, but that’s not something I’m ashamed of. I’m nowhere near ready to settle down, no matter what my mama might like, and I have very few sexual inhibitions.”
He didn’t know why he added that last bit—like a challenge—except he couldn’t get the image of those hot-pink handcuffs out of his head.
“Which is exactly why I don’t date agents.”
“Because of the lack of sexual inhibitions? I’d say that would be a benefit considering your leanings in that direction.”
“Because agents aren’t good long-term relationship material.”
“You said you weren’t interested in getting married.” And he’d about convinced himself to believe her because doing so would mean he could go after those pretty pink handcuffs with a clear conscience.
After the assignment.
If he made it that long.
“I’m not, but things happen. If you date a man, you can fall in love with him and end up married to him against your better judgment. My mother once told me never to date a man I wouldn’t want to end up married to.”
“That doesn’t sound like your mother. She seems like the type that would encourage dating whoever got you the connections most beneficial to her.”
“She’s not that much of a barracuda. Now if it were my Aunt Connie…”
“Your mom’s sister who is an actual politician, not someone who likes to play behind the scenes like your mom?”
“That’s the one. She makes my mom seem positively June Cleaver maternal by comparison.”
“So, your mom told you not to date agents,” he said, going back to the topic that interested him.
“She told me not to date a man I wouldn’t want to end up married to, and agents make lousy family men.”
Considering the fact her dad had been one, that said a lot about how Beth felt about him as a parent. “You don’t think agents should get married? At all? That’s pretty extreme, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t say that. You’re really into twisting my words tonight. I merely said that agents make lousy family men and that I have no desire to end up married to one. Ever.”
“It’s a good thing for you your mom didn’t feel the same way, isn’t it.”
“I don’t know. Is it?”
“Your dad is a good man.”
“Yes, he is. I’m very proud of what he’s accomplished with his life, but it came at a price.” She sighed, her expression not so much sad as determined. “He wasn’t the only one who paid it either. I know what it’s like to grow up with a very absentee father. Lots of kids do, but that doesn’t make it any easier to live with when you are one of them.
“Dad didn’t settle for a desk job until I was in my teens. By that time, Mother had developed a whole life independent of his. So had I. That works for them, but it’s not what I want for myself or for any children I might have. I’m not sure that what I do want is anything more than a pipe dream, but I’m not settling for something less. Which is why weddings and marriage are not high on my list of interesting conversational topics.”
It was a hint to let the subject drop, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to settle down right now either, but someday he had every intention of getting married. Maybe even having kids. Family was a good thing. He was just too busy enjoying the single life at the moment to have one. But she sounded like she really never planned to go that route, and something told him that would be a real waste.
She was warm and sweet…the kind of woman that would thrive in a family like the one he’d grown up in.