She hesitated for only a moment before getting in the car and sliding over to make room for him. The car was a service, not a personal driver, and, unbeknownst to him, she’d brought a tiny canister of pepper spray in her purse. She hadn’t known him when she’d agreed to accompany him. She didn’t know him now, but she liked to think that she could trust her instincts.
Or were they really hormones?
Raging, charging hormones that had finally burst out of the cage in which she’d trapped them?
Her body felt as if it was lit from the inside.
He sat next to her, caught her hand and held it against his thigh on the short ride back to Luxxor. The lights of the city were bright on all the monuments, and busloads of tourists cruised by on nighttime tours. An ache settled in Rielle’s chest. The night was almost over. Her carriage was about to turn back into a pumpkin.
Would she ever see him again?
She liked him. She liked the way he made her feel. But, most of all, she liked the way she felt when she was with him.
Confident, secure, interesting and sexy.
Even with all that, she wasn’t bold enough to ask. Maybe this was all they had. They certainly couldn’t top it. And he hadn’t come to Luxxor looking for a relationship that was for sure.
Too soon, they were in Luxxor’s parking lot. Rielle saw her SUV, grey and unassuming, waiting for her. Mel got out of the car and rounded it to get her door.
His hand was warm and callused as it took hers once again to help her to her feet. Her dress flared out, tangling amongst their legs, but she simply laughed.
She smiled up at him. ‘Thank you. It really has been the best night of my life.’
They were standing at the verge of the streetlight’s luminosity. It barely reached them, but she saw his blue eyes spark.
‘There’s just one thing that would make it better,’ he said, his voice low.
He gave her a moment, a split second to process and decide. And then he moved in.
His head dipped, and his lips covered hers. Those raging hormones inside Rielle leaped. It wasn’t a polite first kiss or even a kiss that sought a reaction. It was the full-blooded, mind-blowing kiss of a man who knew how to touch a woman.
And wanted to.
He didn’t overpower, and he didn’t push. He simply wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her close. Closer than they’d been on the dancefloor. Their bodies were flush. Her breasts were plumped hard against his chest, and his hips burrowed into the notch between her legs. One of his hands slid under her hair, and he cupped the back of her neck as his mouth…
There was no other way to describe it. He made love to her mouth in a slow, deep kiss that shot to hell all her preconceived notions of intimacy.
The ache inside her began to pulse. It was hungry, needy, demanding.
She clung to him, kissing him back with everything she had. It was a kiss suited for the bedroom, with no clothes between them. It was a kiss that blasted away her thought processes, her doubts and her self-consciousness.
One of the shoulder straps slid down. Her hands were in his hair, and his bowtie had somehow come undone.
Oh, God, she wanted him. In the back seat of the car. Up in the office. Back at her place. She didn’t care where.
‘Rielle!’
The sharp cry carried across the parking lot like a javelin.
Mel slowly lifted her upright and his mouth broke apart from hers. It was only then that she realised he’d dipped her. ‘I think that means it’s time to go.’
She held onto his lapels, trying to orient herself. ‘What?’
‘Best night of my life, too, Beautiful. That’s the truth. Remember that.’
He stole another quick kiss before drawing away and getting back in the car. He seemed to move in slow motion, but the car had pulled out of the parking lot and was past the streetlight by the time Nina raced up to her in her high heels.
‘Oh, my God, Rielle. Where have you been? Are you OK? We’ve been so worried about you.’
Rielle looked dazedly at her boss, trying to figure out where she’d come from…what she was saying…why Mel had rushed off so fast…She pushed back her hair as she watched the car go down the street and out of view. Her lips were pulsing and her body was thrumming.
‘Rielle!’
‘I got the license-plate number. Looked like a car service.’
It was the lower voice that finally penetrated the haze in her head, and Rielle turned sharply. Her lips parted in surprise. Tall, dark, handsome and glowering. It was Detective Morgan.
What was he doing here? Had Nina called him?
‘Who was that?’ Her boss caught her arm, and Rielle felt the tremble in her touch. ‘Are you all right? Tell us what happened.’
Why were they coming at her like this? Why was everyone so upset? She appreciated that they were protective, but she could kiss someone if she wanted. She lifted her fingers to her lips. It had gotten out of control, but it had been consensual.
Or hadn’t they seen her mauling him, too?
Embarrassed, she stepped deeper into the shadows. Was it that shocking that she had a libido?
‘But I did. I sent you a text message. I…’ She glanced at the detective. They had to talk carefully with him here. Nina knew that. Why was she putting Luxxor at risk this way? ‘I went out with him. Mel Summers. He’s a client.’
‘I got your text. That’s why I’m so confused.’ Nina was clipping her words, and her normally sleek hair was mussed. ‘We haven’t done any business with a Melvin Summers.’
‘Yes, we have. He’s in the database. I looked him up.’
‘Well, he’s not there now.’
Rielle sighed. She wasn’t up for dealing with computer issues. It was too late and her head just wasn’t functioning right. ‘He has to be.’
‘He isn’t. More importantly, I don’t know him.’
Rielle went still. Her body was warm and fluid, but the still night air was beginning to feel heavy. ‘What are you saying?’
‘Maybe we should go back inside to the office.’ The detective held out a hand.
Both he and Nina were outside without coats. It was late, and the parking lot was nearly empty. Stars glittered against the pitch-black sky. Rielle accepted the detective’s assistance, because between the kiss and the confusion she was suddenly unsteady. She saw him swing an arm around Nina’s waist to herd her along, too.
And Nina accepted his touch.
What was going on? Had the whole world gone topsy-turvy?
They entered through the first-floor office where Luxxor’s Security division was housed. Rielle saw Twining and Howard, the two men who’d accompanied her and Mel to the White House. ‘Wait! They knew where I was and who I was with. They followed us to the reception. I told them everything.’
Twining hung up the phone, and his shoulders relaxed. ‘Rielle, you were supposed to call to tell us when you were coming back. We would have come over to escort you.’
She shot a look at the detective. She didn’t want any talk of escorting. Not now.
‘I