Courting Danger

by Kimberly Dean

  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?’

  ‘All right? Are you insane? All those dignitaries are going to be tripping over their tongues.’

  She looked down, worried. ‘Does that mean it’s too much?’

  ‘It’s just right.’ He reached out to touch a curl of her hair. ‘Forget what I said, you’d draw attention in a potato sack.’

  Rielle froze. He was touching her. It surprised her, yet for some reason she didn’t pull back. And that surprised he
r even more. She looked at the man, so dashing and mysterious, while he stared back at her. Where had he come from? Why was he scrambling up her life like this? Why was she breaking her rules for him?

  ‘I told you my name,’ he said quietly. ‘What’s yours?’

  She licked her lips. Was she really going to do this?

  ‘I’ll need it to get you on the guestlist.’

  ‘Rielle. Rielle Sands.’

  ‘As beautiful as the woman.’

  His fingertips brushed against her jaw before he let them drop. ‘Anything else you need to do here?’

  ‘Actually…’ Her heart began to pound. ‘There’s something I need you to do.’

  One of his eyebrows lifted.

  Her weight went to the balls of her feet. For a moment she could do no more, but then she slowly turned to give him her back. She’d tried her best to zip the dress. She’d contorted every way she could, but she hadn’t been able to finish dressing. Her hand shook as she reached for her hair. Trust didn’t come easily for her.

  But she’d already trusted him enough not to have Security remove him. Enough to agree to go out with him. Enough to strip down and change in a room right next to him.

  These were no little things.

  She pulled her hair aside. ‘Could you zip me up?’

  She heard him inhale sharply.

  ‘Sure.’ When he exhaled, his breath was warm against her bare spine. ‘I can do that.’

  Rielle closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted him to know she wasn’t wearing a bra. She hadn’t even wanted him guessing, but she hadn’t been able to devise another way around the problem.

  He stepped up close, and she felt his size. She began trembling again and her muscles tensed. He caught the tab of the zipper and tugged the flaps of material together to cover her. His touch between her shoulder blades was warm and confident, but that was as far as he went. He pulled up on the tab, and the bodice closed snugly around her.

  She cast a quick glance down. Her breasts weren’t bulging out of the neckline, but they did fill out the dress. It fit her like a glove, even if her nipples were perking up and stiffening.

  But that had nothing to do with her clothes.

  She couldn’t ignore how solid he felt behind her. Next to him, she felt delicate and defenceless. If she stepped back, she’d tuck right under his chin.

  Her eyelids popped open, and she stepped forward. She was not defenceless. She quickly let her hair drop back into place. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘My pleasure.’

  She shot a look at him, but he wasn’t flirting with her. The lines were creasing his forehead again. Like he was trying to figure out what made her tick.

  She couldn’t take that look.

  ‘One more thing.’ She manoeuvred by him, and her skirt brushed against his black pants as she passed. The hiss of material sounded like a kiss, and her cheeks warmed. Was she going to have to listen to that all night? ‘I just need to call Security to tell them about our plans.’

  He nodded, but his expression clouded over when she asked Security for a driver. ‘They won’t get past the checkpoint if they’re not on the invitation list.’

  So she’d have to ride with him?

  He watched her speculatively.

  Warning bells went off. She wasn’t that careless. ‘Actually,’ she said into the phone. ‘I’ll need you to follow me there.’

  ‘Good girl,’ her date said softly. He took her jacket off the coatstand. ‘This is yours, I assume?’

  Taking a deep breath, Rielle turned and let him help her put it on. She worried about wrinkling the lightweight dress, but it was only March. Spring was coming, but she couldn’t go without a wrap. She put her arms in the sleeves and was cinching up the belt when she felt him catch her hair. She went still as he lifted it out of her coat. His fingertips brushed against the nape of her neck. A shiver went down her spine as he smoothed her hair down her back.

  ‘Thanks for not buzzing them up when I set foot inside the door,’ he murmured into her ear.

  Her head whipped towards him.

  He took her hand. ‘Don’t worry. You were very sly.’

  Not sly enough. Clients weren’t supposed to know that emergency buzzer was there.

  Walking backwards, he tugged her towards the door – the epitome of the bad boy luring the good girl into doing something she shouldn’t – and she followed. He let go of her hand as she locked the main door, but tried to catch it again when they headed to the elevator.

  She wiggled her fingers away. ‘I need to text my boss.’

  He let her go and straightened his cufflinks.

  ‘Tell her I got the best of the bunch. You didn’t even have to dig into her little black book.’

  Rielle bit her lip. ‘She won’t be happy I’m doing this.’

  He punched the button for the elevator. ‘I am.’

  Their gazes locked.

  ‘How do you feel about doing this?’ he asked. The hallway was empty, but his low voice barely carried to her.

  The question was loaded – and he knew it. He’d been trying to read her ever since they’d first come face to face. How did she feel? She felt scared, excited, surprised, intrigued and confused. Her body and her brain were on two very different tracks. ‘Good?’

  ‘I’ll take it.’ His hand slipped around hers again, warm, strong and callused. ‘In fact, it gives me the incentive to make it the best night of your life.’

  The elevator rang out its arrival.

  The doors slid open, but his look was only for her. ‘Ready?’

  It was her last chance. She could still stop things. He was giving her a chance to back out. Instead, Rielle did something that shocked her. She squeezed his hand back. ‘Ready.’

  Chapter Two

  The drive to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was short, and Rielle only glanced back once to make sure that Luxxor Security was following them. Mel had a driver but, even with all the space, the back seat of the car felt close.

  It was the dress. And the man. They both took up more room than expected.

  With so much fabric, the skirt was difficult to contain, and it kept brushing against her date’s trouser leg. They’d barely driven a few blocks, and it was already draped across his knee. She wanted to fix it, but she wanted even more not to draw attention to it. He was already absently rubbing the fabric back and forth between his fingertips.

  He was quiet. A reception at the White House was not an insignificant thing. It had to be important for his work. She needed to remember that. Tonight was about him, not her. Once they set foot outside this car, she needed to do her part presenting a unified front.

  The idea made her toy with her skirt, too. How did Luxxor’s escorts do it? How did they go out with strangers and make them feel like old friends? Or more?

  She blushed.

  Around him, she was understanding the ‘or more’ part better. She didn’t know him, but he was handsome, reckless and unbelievably sexy. She could easily see how a woman could get caught up in the fantasy of it all.

  But she wasn’t escorting him tonight – not that way. He’d asked her out, yet that was somehow even more nerve-wracking for her. At least Luxxor’s escorts got dossiers on their clients and the events they were attending. Nina made sure they were prepared.

  She was flying blind.

  ‘Nina,’ Rielle said, flinching. She’d forgotten to update her boss on the situation. Hurriedly, she dug out her phone and fired off a text.

  ‘Did you tell her you’d gone off with the big bad wolf?’ Mel asked as she slid her phone back into her borrowed purse.

  His attention was back on her, and it was almost too much in the compressed confines of the car.

  ‘Don’t tease me,’ Rielle said, ‘I’m nervous.’

  ‘About me?’

  Yes. A little. OK, more than a little. She’d moved past the fear she’d experienced when he’d first walked in unannounced. He’d done nothing to make her think he had bad intentions, b
ut she hadn’t dated since…She hadn’t dated in a long time.

  And, as well-behaved as he was, he wasn’t safe.

  ‘I’ll be good.’ He let a beat pass. ‘Unless you don’t want me to be.’

  His thumb brushed against the back of her hand. It shouldn’t have been an erogenous zone, but heat bubbled up and made her fingers curl.

  She pulled her hand away and patted her hair. She looked out of the window as they approached their destination. ‘How did you get invited to this?’ she asked. ‘What does an accountant have to do with the Prince of Sweden?’

  For a moment, he looked taken aback. ‘Well…my company has subsidiaries over there.’

  ‘What does your company do?’

  ‘We’re in the timber industry.’

  OK, things were starting to make a bit more sense. ‘Is there anything I should know to help you tonight? Are there contacts you need to make? Any agendas I can help push?’

  He looked at her, eyes calculating. ‘No business tonight.’

  Only pleasure? Her stomach squeezed.

  ‘Somehow I doubt your sick coworker was simply supposed to be eye candy on your arm,’ she said dryly. An uncomfortable thought occurred to her. ‘Unless you’re more than coworkers?’

  The corners of his lips moved. ‘No, definitely not.’

  He didn’t seem to smile much, and the few glimpses of humour she’d seen seemed rusty. But devastating. When he smiled, she felt it all the way to her core.

  ‘So let me help you.’ She could use something else on which to concentrate, something other than being a charming date.

  ‘You already are helping. I just didn’t expect…I didn’t expect someone like you.’

  They pulled into a security checkpoint, and Rielle’s pulse quickened. It sped up even more when they were let through. This was really going to happen.

  ‘This is so exciting,’ she whispered.

  ‘Good,’ he murmured. ‘I think you need some excitement in your life.’