Tall, Dark...Westmoreland! / The Moretti Seduction: Tall, Dark...Westmoreland! / The Moretti Seduction. Brenda Jackson

the moment, he was the one person who could tell her exactly what she needed to know. “Senator Reed, that guy up there, the one who turned around to look at me. Who is he?”

      The senator followed her gaze and frowned deeply. “The two of you had to meet eventually. That man, young lady, is the enemy.”

      She swallowed deeply before saying, “The enemy?”

      “Yes, the enemy. He’s the man that’s opposing your father in his bid for the Senate.”

      Olivia’s head began spinning before the senator could speak his next words.

      “That, my dear,” the senator went on to say, “is Reggie Westmoreland.”

      It was her.

      Reggie knew it with every breath he took. Her lips were giving her away. And he wasn’t sure what part of him was recognizable to her, but he knew just as sure as they were standing there, staring at each other, that they were as intimately familiar to each other as any two people could be.

      It was strange. He’d been standing here with Brent, his brother Jared, his cousins Dare and Thorn, and Thorn’s wife, Tara. They’d all been listening to Thorn, a nationally known motorcycle builder and racer, who was telling them about an order he’d received to build a bike for actor Matt Damon. Then, all of a sudden, he’d felt a strange sensation, followed by a stirring in the lower part of his gut.

      He had turned around, and he’d looked straight into her face. His Wonder Woman.

      He couldn’t lay claim to recognizing any of her other facial features, but her lips were a dead giveaway. Blatantly sensual, he had kissed them, tongued them, licked them and tasted them to his heart’s content. He knew the shape of them in his sleep, knew their texture, knew what part of them was so sensitive that when he’d touched her there, she had moaned.

      She looked totally stunning in the stylish skirt and blouse she was wearing. The outfit complemented her figure. Even if he hadn’t met her before, he would be trying his best to do so now. Out of his peripheral vision, he noted a number of men looking at her, and he understood why. She was gorgeous.

      He lost control, and his feet began moving toward her.

      “Reggie, where are you going?” Brent asked.

      He didn’t respond, because he truly didn’t know what he could say. He continued walking until he came to a stop directly in front of the senator and the woman. The senator, he noted, was frowning. The woman’s gaze hadn’t left his. She seemed as entranced as he was.

      He found his voice to say, “Good afternoon, Senator Reed. It’s good seeing you again.”

      It was a lie, and he realized the senator knew it, but he didn’t care. Approaching him would force the man to make introductions, and if it took a lie, then so be it.

      “Westmoreland, I see you’ve decided to go through with it,” replied the senator.

      Reggie gave the man a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course.” He then shifted his gaze back to the woman. The senator would be outright rude not to make an introduction, and one thing Reggie did know about the senator was that he believed in following proper decorum.

      “And let me introduce you to Olivia Jeffries. Olivia, this is Reggie Westmoreland,” the senator said.

      At the mention of her name, Reggie’s mind went into a tailspin. “Jeffries?” he replied.

      “Yes,” the senator said as a huge, smug smile touched his lips. “Jeffries. She’s Orin Jeffries’s daughter, who is visiting from Paris and will remain here during the duration of the campaign.”

      Reggie nodded as his eyes once again settled on Olivia. He then reached out his hand. “Olivia, it’s nice meeting you. I’m sure your father is excited about having you home.”

      “Thank you,” replied Olivia.

      They both felt it the moment their hands touched, and they both knew it. It was those same feelings that had driven them to leave the party on Saturday night and to go somewhere to be alone, with the sole purpose of getting intimately connected. Reggie opened his mouth to say something, and then a voice from the microphone stopped him.

      “Everyone is asked to take a seat so lunch can be served. Your table number is located on your ticket.”

      “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Westmoreland,” Olivia said, not sure what else to say at the moment.

      She honestly had thought she would not see him again, not this soon, not ever. And now that he knew their predicament—that she was the daughter of the man who was his opponent in this political race—she hoped that he would accept the inevitable. Nothing had changed. Even with their identities exposed, there could never be anything between them beyond what had happened Saturday night.

      “It was nice meeting you as well, Ms. Jeffries,” said Reggie. And then he did something that was common among Frenchmen but rare with Americans. Bending slightly, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it before turning and walking away.

      Five

      Olivia found that every time she lifted her fork to her mouth, her gaze would automatically drift to the next table, the one where Reggie Westmoreland was sitting. And each time, unerringly, their gazes would meet.

      After their introduction, she had excused herself to the senator, smiling and saying she needed to go to the ladies’ room. Once there she had taken a deep breath. It was a wonder she hadn’t passed out. With his mask in place, Reggie Westmoreland had been handsome. Without his mask, he took her breath away. While standing in front of him, she’d had to tamp down her emotions and the sensations flowing through her.

      His eyes were very dark, almost chocolate, and their shape, which she had been denied seeing on Saturday night, was almond, beneath thick brows. It had taken everything in her power to force her muscles to relax. And when he had taken her hand and kissed the back of it before walking off, she’d thought she would swoon right then and there.

      “Libby, are you okay? You’ve barely touched your meal,” her father said, interrupting her thoughts.

      She glanced over to him and smiled. “Yes, Daddy, I’m fine.”

      “Westmoreland is the cause of it,” said Senator Reed, jumping in. “She met him right before we took our seats. He probably gave her an upset stomach.”

      Her father frowned. “Was he rude to you, sweetheart?” he asked, with deep concern tinged with anger.

      She was opening her mouth to assure her father that Reggie hadn’t been rude when Senator Reed said, “He was quite taken with her, Orin.”

      She ignored the senator’s comment, thinking that he didn’t know the half of it. Instead, she answered her father. “No, he wasn’t rude, Dad. In fact, although we spoke only briefly, I thought he was rather nice.” She smiled. “Quite the charmer.”

      “The enemy is never nice or charming, Olivia. Remember that,” the senator said, speaking to her like she was a child. “I strongly suggest that during this campaign, you stay away from him.”

      She was opening her mouth to tell the senator that she truly didn’t give a royal damn about what he would strongly suggest when her father spoke.