Courting Danger

by Kimberly Dean

  The detective cocked his head. ‘Why did you go with him? You seem like a smart girl. Why go out with a stranger like that?’

  Because he was hot and deceptively charming – as intense as he was. Because she hadn’t wanted to give Luxxor a black eye. Because she’d checked him out every way she’d known how, and he’d come up aces.

  ‘It was a black-tie reception at the White House,’ Nina said dryly.

  ‘And that’s the part that’s stumping me. He must have had an invitation.’ The detective rubbed his chin. ‘Those things are planned well in advance, and invitees have to RSVP. He had to be vetted by the Secret Service and White House staffers. Maybe they’ll share information with me if I explain the situation.’

  Rielle closed her eyes. She hadn’t meant to cause an uproar. Couldn’t they just drop it and have their IT staff close the apparently gaping hole in their software system?

  ‘The invitation was real,’ she insisted. ‘I saw it.’

  She’d touched it.

  That wasn’t all that she’d touched. She’d wanted to touch more. Her hands clenched to stop the sensation ringing in them. Damn him. He’d made her drop her guard, and she’d begun to fantasise.

  ‘I suppose Mel Summers could be his real name.’ The detective rubbed his chin, and his five-o’clock shadow rasped. ‘We could have missed one.’

  Rielle spun in the chair so fast, her hair flew around her shoulders. ‘What did you just say?’

  ‘We don’t think that’s his name,’ he said. ‘When you remained out of contact, we tried to call him. We managed to make contact with every Mel Summers in the area, but none of them knew anything about you. That’s why we got so worried.’

  ‘But…’ Her heart began pumping so fast, her head got dizzy. ‘Are you sure? How do you know you called them all?’

  ‘He could be new to town,’ Nina suggested. ‘Or maybe he travelled here for the event.’

  But he hadn’t.

  Rielle didn’t know why she was fighting. She’d known his name wasn’t Mel!

  She collapsed back into the big leather chair.

  Who had she just spent the evening with?

  ‘Could you give me a description of him?’ The detective cleared his throat. ‘We couldn’t see him very well with you…uh, in the way.’

  Oh, God. Could it get any worse?

  She dropped her face into her hands. She hadn’t only spent the evening with him, she’d danced with him, rubbed her body against his and kissed him silly. ‘He’s tall, dark-haired and fit. Blue eyes.’

  And callused hands and a devastating mouth.

  She felt Nina’s hand close over her shoulder and squeeze.

  She didn’t want to believe he was a bad guy. She wanted to keep her memories of going to the ball, being on his arm and sharing stories about the other guests.

  Being on his arm…

  She scrubbed her face and turned weary eyes on the detective. ‘They took a picture of us in the receiving line, but I didn’t get a copy.’

  Yet. He’d promised to send one to her.

  ‘That would help, if I could get my hands on it.’ Morgan tapped his pen against the pad. ‘Is there anything else you can tell me about him?’

  ‘He was complicated,’ she admitted. That was part of what had intrigued her. He’d hidden as much as she had, but both of them had pulled back layers as the night had worn on. ‘Secretive, now that I think about it.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘He evaded the paparazzi – and he hid me, too.’

  Damn him. She hated how every little good thing was being contorted.

  ‘He’s quick on his feet.’ He’d answered every question she’d fired at him, including the ones about accounting.

  But, through it all, she hadn’t truly bought any of it, had she? She’d questioned everything about him.

  Everything but that kiss.

  It had stopped the questions that had been whirling in her head dead in their tracks.

  ‘And observant.’ Her chin snapped up. ‘He was watching people – a brunette in particular.’

  The detective’s eyes narrowed, and he flipped to a new page in his notepad. ‘Can you describe her to me?’

  ‘Red dress. Long black hair. Olive skin. Exotic-looking, but stern. Pretty, but she didn’t look like a happy person.’

  Rielle remembered the woman getting into the car ahead of them. ‘She attended the event alone.’

  ‘What was the theme of the evening?’ the detective asked. ‘I can find out, but –’

  ‘Sweden.’ Rielle swallowed hard. ‘The Prince and Princess of Sweden are visiting.’

  The detective’s expression darkened. ‘I’ll find out who she was, too.’

  His dark gaze pinned Rielle. This was the hard-boiled detective she knew. The relentless pursuer. ‘Is there anything else you can remember? Anything that struck you as odd?’

  The whole evening had been out of the ordinary, but she shook her head.

  The detective’s stare was steady. ‘Did he hurt you in any way?’

  Nina flinched, but Rielle’s lips tightened. ‘No.’

  Whoever the stranger had been, he’d done his best to put her at ease. He hadn’t hurt her or forced himself on her in any way.

  He’d given her the best night of her life.

  ‘Good.’ The detective put his notepad back in his pocket. He nodded towards the door. ‘Nina? Want to make sure you lock up after me?’

  To Rielle’s surprise, her boss followed. She heard the murmur of their voices as they headed to the lobby together.

  ‘Oh, God,’ she groaned. She raked a hand through her hair and wandered over to the panoramic windows of Nina’s office. She hated people worrying about her, trying to protect her. She’d been so close to making her way back from that.

  She stared through the window at the Washington Monument. The white pillar glowed against the dark night sky. It was a postcard-perfect evening outside. Too bad she was only feeling the chill. She caught Nina’s reflection in the pane of glass.

  ‘You called your arch enemy?’

  Her boss shrugged and swept her hand across the back of a chair. ‘I didn’t think it all the way through.’

  So she’d been scared, and he was the person she’d called?

  ‘He’s a good man, Nina.’

  Their gazes connected in the window. ‘He’s a bull in a china shop. Aggressive, persistent, male.’

  ‘And you like all of that about him.’

  Silence greeted her in return, but for once Nina didn’t deny it.

  ‘I’m not the only one attracted to a man I shouldn’t be.’ Her boss toyed with her earring. ‘I saw that kiss.’

  Rielle closed her eyes.

  ‘If I hadn’t been so afraid for you, I’d be happy for you.’ Nina’s voice was low and empathetic.

  Rielle turned. The swish of the dress sounded out of place in the large office.

  ‘Did you tell Morgan the truth?’ Nina asked. ‘Are you really OK?’

  ‘I’m upset, and I’m angry. He lied to me.’

  ‘True, but you made some good points. Maybe some of it was real.’

  Her attraction to him had been real.

  Rielle shook her head. ‘He lied.’

  He’d wined her and dined her. He’d kissed her goodnight. She didn’t know what his endgame was, but she should have trusted her gut from the very beginning. Instead she’d gotten caught up in the fantasy, and he’d told her it had been the best night of his life too.

  ‘That’s the truth,’ he’d said.

  Maybe, but, if so, it was the only true thing he’d said all evening.

  She’d probably learned by now that his name wasn’t Mel.

  And she was probably pissed as hell.

  He could picture the way her lashes would flutter in surprise, and how her doe eyes would fill with disappointment, betrayal and fear.

  He’d seen the goddamn fear in her eyes too many times tonight, and he hadn’t liked it. He ha
dn’t liked it one bit. He hated that he was the one putting it there again.

  Yet it couldn’t be helped.

  His fingers drummed along the steering wheel as he sat half a block down from Luxxor Limited in a spot between streetlights. The Jeep was his own. The address he’d given the car service was nearby, but random. Neither they nor his escort could trace him back to his home or his vehicle. He knew he should just keep going, but something inside him had called him back. He’d used her, and he’d done it intentionally for his own benefit.

  He just wanted to make sure it didn’t have lasting repercussions for her.

  The tapping of his fingers slowed. He hadn’t thought that part through. He’d been honest with her about some things, and having to improvise on a date for tonight’s reception had been one of them. She’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time – from her vantage point anyway.

  He didn’t want that to cost her her job.

  ‘Damn it,’ he swore. His breath shone in the cold confines of the car, but he didn’t turn on the engine. He didn’t want her Security boys to see that he’d returned. He could deal with the cold.

  Hell, he needed a cold shower anyway.

  He dropped his head back against the headrest. He was used to adjusting course when plans fell off the rails, but he hadn’t been ready for her. When she’d come around the corner in that office upstairs, his train cars had smacked into one another until the only thing left revving was his engine.

  God, she was something. Beautiful, sweet, smart and yet in some ways hardened and skittish.

  He’d been trained to hunt, but he’d found himself in the strange position of gentling her and getting her to trust him. He’d needed her for tonight, and she’d come through with flying colours. He’d been the one who’d been a trainwreck. Around her, he’d never really gotten his cars back on the rails. She was sharp enough to notice.

  His phone rang, punctuating just how bad that was. He answered, but kept his gaze on the scene around him.

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Who the hell was that on your arm tonight?’

  ‘A date.’

  ‘I could see that. Who was she?’

  ‘Nobody you need to worry about.’

  ‘Where did you find her?’

  Oh, no. That bit of info wasn’t on the need-to-know list.

  ‘I picked her up when Romero went down with food poisoning. Don’t worry, she’s none the wiser. She got to eat some good food and dance to a decent band.’

  ‘I saw the dancing. Looked like you were both starstruck.’

  She’d been clear-headed enough to make you, buddy. He kept the thought to himself. They were trained to blend in, but she’d noticed the man on the other end of the line.

  The more he could divert attention away from her, the better.

  ‘You’ve cut her loose, right? One and done?’

  He was working on it. ‘You let me worry about her.’

  ‘She can’t get in the way.’

  ‘She won’t.’ He wouldn’t let her.

  ‘All right. We’ll talk more tomorrow.’

  Not about her they wouldn’t.

  He hung up and smacked the steering wheel.

  ‘Hell.’ He’d nearly fucked everything up tonight. He’d gotten sloppy. Why couldn’t she have just been an escort? This would have been so much easier if she were.

  Yet Rielle Sands was better than that.

  Way better.

  Movement caught his attention, and he stilled. They’d been in there for ever, but he finally saw a big guy exit the building. It was the one who’d been with her freaked-out boss.

  Crap. He hadn’t only drawn the attention of private security. The guy had cop written all over him. He watched as the man checked the shadows as he moved to his car. His jacket hitched up an extra inch on his right-hand side, where the bulge of a gun was barely noticeable.

  But he noticed.

  He kept a close eye on the man until his dark sedan pulled away from the kerb. Only then did he shoot another look at the fourth floor. The lights were still on up there.

  He waited in the darkness as the temperature dropped. Two cars stopped at the Security entrance to drop off a man and then a woman. Escorts, he assumed. They checked out together and headed for the Metro entrance a block away.

  It was only a few minutes later when the upstairs office went dark. His gaze focused on the employee exit. Counting in his head, he timed the elevator’s descent. He was only two seconds off before two women appeared in the lit Security office.

  The plate-glass windows offered no shield to his view.

  ‘Rielle.’ She wasn’t wearing the dress any more, but he could have ID’d her a mile away without a scope.

  Finally. She and the shorter blonde walked out to the parking lot together, and he nodded. That was good. They didn’t seem to be arguing. Her boss seemed to have calmed down. Nina, Rielle had said her name was.

  He barely noticed her.

  It was the taller woman with the light-brown hair that had all his attention. That hair felt like silk. He knew, because he’d been fighting to keep his hands off it all night.

  He just needed to see that she was OK. If she was angry, so be it. The strong emotion would serve her well, although it didn’t fit her sweet personality at all. He just couldn’t take tears. He couldn’t hurt her. She was like that pretty doe in the forest. He didn’t want his harsh world encroaching upon hers.

  He blew out a breath when the two hugged and got into separate cars.

  ‘OK, good.’ He could leave things now.

  He watched her get into the grey SUV, and he started the engine of his car. Air began to blow from the heater, but it was just as cold as the air outside. He’d been sitting long enough for the heating coil to cool down. It was time to put the transmission in gear and drive away.

  But he waited.

  She was driving home alone, a pretty young female, way too late after dark in DC. It wasn’t safe.

  He knew.

  So, once she pulled out of the parking lot, he positioned his vehicle behind hers. He stayed half a block back and didn’t make any sudden moves.

  He might not be a gentleman, but he was making sure she got home safely.

  Chapter Four

  Rielle didn’t sleep well that night. In fact, she didn’t remember sleeping at all. She played over everything in her mind, but she couldn’t figure out where she’d gone wrong.

  Other than to trust her hormones over her head.

  How had he done it? Why had he done it?

  She kept alternating between anger, fear and unrelenting curiosity. How had he fooled everyone? Or was it only Luxxor he’d tricked? Had he needed an escort, but didn’t want his name associated with them? If so, how had he gotten into their system? Twice? He couldn’t have made it into the White House with a false identity, could he?

  The questions were driving her nuts, so she gave up on sleep and dropped into the Apple Tree Grille for breakfast before work. She blew into her coffee and watched the people walking by outside. What were their stories? Was the man with the scuffed shoes scraping by in some government job or did he just have a new puppy? The young woman with the computer bag…had she just come from the gym or was that raggedy ponytail supposed to be fashionable?

  She and her date had played the game last night, but she hadn’t even been able to read him.

  Yet in many ways she had – and he’d known it.

  He’d evaded her at every turn. He’d always had an explanation. She was furious at having been played, but when she thought of the things that might have happened, going out with a stranger like that…

  But she hadn’t been afraid of him.

  She thought of the kiss they’d shared, and she burned her lip on her coffee.

  ‘Have you decided?’

  ‘Mmm.’ She pressed a napkin to her mouth and glanced at the waitress who’d come to take her order. No, she hadn’t made up her mind about him at all. ‘A cinnamon ro
ll, please.’

  After last night’s dinner, she shouldn’t have room for anything, but her sweet tooth acted up whenever her nerves did.

  She’d kissed him, and she’d liked it. A lot. He was a mystery man. An enigma. The memory of that hot kiss should frighten her, but it had been real.

  ‘That’s the truth,’ he’d said to her. ‘Remember that.’

  He’d known his cover was blown.

  ‘Here you go, hon.’ The cinnamon roll was spilling over with cream cheese frosting. Rielle swooped up a taste with her fingertip. It would mean extra time in the gym, but it was worth it.

  She opened the newspaper she’d bought at the newsstand a few blocks down and skimmed the headlines. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but maybe something could help her put the pieces together. She didn’t like the possibilities running through her head. Politics, foreign relations, computer hacking, identity theft…She didn’t want to get involved with any of that.

  Yet she couldn’t get the feel of his strong body out of her head. The sensation of his hand against her lower back. Her dress tangling with his legs…

  The front page had news of the visit by the Prince and Princess of Sweden. It delved into the relationship between the countries and areas where they shared interests: protecting the environment, guarding against terrorism, and increasing trade. She took another bite of her cinnamon roll and it nearly stuck in her throat when she turned to the society page.

  They had black and white photographs from the event, including one with her and Mel…her date …arriving outside the White House.

  Her coffee cup tinkled against the saucer as she quickly set it down.

  She’d been uneasy ever since last night, yet one glance at the photograph sent a shot of fear through her heart.

  Her head jerked as she looked around the restaurant. She pulled her coat up around her shoulders and slid the newspaper closer to the window where the light was brighter.

  Her date had turned away from the camera, but the picture showed off his tall form in a midnight-black tuxedo. He was close to blocking the view of her, too, with his head dipped down towards her. Instead of blocking their view, though, the photo gave the illusion that they were about to kiss.