Kimberly Dean - Courting Danger

Warmth rose up in her. She hadn’t been called beautiful in a long time.

She dragged her hand through her hair, forgetting completely about the alarm button. She couldn’t go out with a complete stranger, not even to a dinner at the White House, as tempting as it might be.

Why not? the devil on her shoulder asked .

Because it wasn’t safe , the angel on the other replied.

But it could be.

She worried her thumbnail against the back of her chair. Luxxor had security. She could tell their crew about her plans. She could inform them who she was with and where they were going. Where on the face of the earth would there be more security than the White House? He was bold, but she doubted he’d try anything there.

‘Full disclosure,’ he said. ‘We’d probably only get to meet the President and First Man for thirty seconds, tops. We’d shake hands, say a few words, snap a picture and then be on our way.’

‘Only get to’?

Rielle fought not to roll her eyes again, but she caught him watching her. Studying her. Trying to figure her out.

It made her stiffen. She knew she should say no. She didn’t know this man. She shouldn’t go anywhere with him. Luxxor might have her everlasting loyalty, but there were limits to what she would do for them. Her salad and book were safer. Known quantities. Boring quantities.

Everything inside her wanted to say yes. Just dive in and go for it. When would she ever get a chance to go to something like this again?

She saw escorts leaving the office every day on high adventures. She’d heard the stories that Sienna, Dane and Genieve would tell, and she secretly envied them. They were wined and dined, entertained and offered opportunities solely because people had become so busy, they didn’t have time to form close connections of their own. She hadn’t been out on the town in so long. It had been a self-imposed limitation, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel constricting.

And she’d felt more alive and alert in the last fifteen minutes than she had in the past few years.

Of course, she wasn’t willing to go beyond drinks and small talk. Some of their escorts went beyond that. Way beyond that. She didn’t like to think about that aspect of Luxxor’s business.

But that didn’t mean a part of her didn’t secretly envy them, too. Sex was such a long-ago memory, she’d begun to forget what it was like. To kiss someone, to touch someone, to feel the stroke of a long, hard body atop hers…

With the way he was looking at her, though, she was starting to remember.

‘I can’t,’ she blurted, falling back into her safety zone.

‘You can’t go out on a date?’

She fidgeted. ‘It’s black tie. I don’t have anything to wear.’

The look of success in his eyes warned her she’d lost the battle. ‘Well, that can be fixed. We’ll go shopping first. I’ll pay for whatever you need.’

‘No,’ Rielle said, one last bit of self-preservation rising up within her. One last bit of fear.

Lines rippled across his forehead. ‘No, you won’t go with me or no to the shopping?’

She bit her lip. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but that was the biggest warning sign of all. She shouldn’t let politeness overrule her instincts.

The look of confusion on his face slowly slid into a look of concern. ‘Listen, nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen. I’m just looking for someone to have dinner with, to talk to and maybe share a laugh with about all the overly important people there. You can leave if you feel uncomfortable with me.’

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.