Had he believed her when she said she’d fallen asleep? Did he think she’d had a one-night stand? He might even think she spent the night with Quentin.
She shuddered at the very idea.
She told herself again not to care what Brody thought. What Brody thought of her was completely irrelevant. Still she found herself retreating to the great room to set the record straight.
He wasn’t there.
She listened, but she didn’t hear anything. So she headed down the hall, toward the main staircase, glancing into the rooms with open doors. She found Brody in an office, standing behind a desk plunking the keys of a computer.
“Find anything?” she asked.
He looked guiltily up, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing.
“Nothing,” he answered.
She waited to see if he’d elaborate.
“I was taking a quick check of my emails.” He hit a couple more keys. “We’ve got a big tour in the works.”
“Sounds exciting.”
He shrugged. “Fairly routine. But you know rock stars.”
“Big egos?” she guessed.
“Big everything. They need a lot of TLC.” He moved from behind the desk.
She struggled for an opening to broach the subject, but there was no way to nonchalantly work it in. She decided to tackle it head-on. “I did fall asleep last night.”
“Huh?”
“What I said earlier. That was how it happened. I had a few too many drinks and accidentally fell asleep on a sofa.”
His gaze narrowed, and he looked intrigued.
“I was telling you the truth,” she said.
“Okay.”
“Was that sarcasm?” She couldn’t tell if he believed her or not.
“That was. It’s none of my business.”
“I wasn’t with Quentin.”
Brody looked so genuinely surprised that she felt foolish.
She tried to backpedal. “I was remembering what you said Saturday night. You seemed to...well, allude to me possibly being after Quentin in an unsavory way.”
“You said you weren’t.”
“I’m not.”
“I believed you.” He seemed sincere.
Now she really felt foolish. “Good. That’s good.” She told herself to stop talking, but for some reason she kept on. “Why?”
He flexed an amused grin, brushing his fingers along the top of the wooden desk as he moved toward her. “You didn’t look like you were lying.”
“How does lying look?” What was the matter with her? She sounded silly, and she didn’t seem to be able to quit. “I mean to you. How can you tell?”
“I don’t know. How does anyone tell?” He stopped in front of her.
It was too close for comfort, but she didn’t move.
“Lack of eye contact,” he continued. “A tense, closed expression, halting speech, hesitation.”
He certainly didn’t look tense. He looked relaxed. He looked powerful, in control, and too, too sexy. She should look away and break the spell. She didn’t.
“Take now,” he said, leaning ever so slightly forward. “Your expression is open. You’re not nervous. You’re looking straight at me. It’s like you’re inviting me in.”
Uh-oh.
“Like you want me to see your innermost thoughts,” he continued.
She definitely didn’t want that. Her innermost thoughts were her business and hers alone.
“Like you’re thinking physical contact...” He brushed her fingers, gently holding the tips of hers with the tips of his. He drew in a deep breath. “Wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
She felt a warmth rise over her wrist, up the inside of her arm and through to her chest. She didn’t want him to let go.
He eased in, his intention clear. His hand wrapped itself fully around hers, intensifying the sensations. She lost track of time and place, forgot about everything but Brody as he drew her close.
His lips touched hers. The kiss was gentle. She hadn’t expected that. His free hand came to rest at her waist, again the lightest of touches. If he’d kissed her hard or pulled her fast and tight, she might have had the presence of mind to break away. But he was stealthy in his approach, slipping past her defenses, his actions so soothing that she didn’t realize her mistake.
The kiss deepened.
It felt good. It felt great.
She stepped forward, bringing her body against his, chest to chest, thigh to thigh. His hand moved along the small of her back, splaying warm and smooth against her spine.
Her lips parted, and he groaned, pulling back, breaking the kiss.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She felt her face heat in embarrassment. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”
Then she remembered the part she was supposed to be playing. Girls like Francie didn’t get rattled by a kiss. So instead of apologizing, she gave him a sultry smile and walked her fingers down his chest before dropping her hand to her side. “No problem. Just so we’re clear on Quentin.”
Brody looked confused for a moment. Then he seemed to give himself a little shake. “Glad we got that out of the way.”
She wanted to ask him if it was the question of Quentin that was now out of the way, or if their kiss was the thing that was out of the way. Had he been curious about kissing her? Had he been disappointed? Was he moving on?
A dozen questions bloomed in her mind, but she couldn’t ask any of them. The kiss was definitely out of the way. It was done. She was moving past it, past Brody, and back on to Annabelle.
Brody heard deep voices in the mansion hallway and kicked himself for getting distracted by Kate. She was gorgeous and sexy, and who could blame him for kissing her. But he’d let his guard down. Quentin’s computer was still on, and somebody was approaching.
It sounded like two of them. Their voices were guttural, speaking in Russian, Quentin’s security guards for sure.
He grasped Kate’s arm and drew her out of sight.
“What?” she started to ask.
“Shhh,” he cautioned.
She looked puzzled but stopped talking. For that, he was grateful.
The voices rose. The footsteps paused by the door. He pressed himself and Kate flat against the wall, ready to kiss her again if the men came into the room. He assumed a clandestine sexual encounter would be something they’d understand and accept.
Luckily, instead of looking in, they resumed walking and talking.
Kate whispered, “Are we doing something wrong?”
“No,” he lied.
He was definitely doing something wrong. She thought she was searching for his lost watch.
“I didn’t want to embarrass you,” he lied again.
“Embarrass