And what do you do for a living, Chloe?
She winced at his question. Shed give anything to do something exotic and sexy that would impress this man. But she was who she was. She sighed and answered reluctantly, Im a forensic accountant.
What does that mean? You do dead peoples taxes?
She smiled. No. It means I take apart companies books and find the discrepancies they may or may not be trying to hide.
Youre some sort of auditor, then?
Not exactly. Forensic accountants are used mostly in criminal investigations to find the money trail.
Who do you work for? Trent asked.
Im a freelance consultant at the moment.
Sounds interesting.
She laughed. About as interesting as watching grass grow, right? Actually, I find the work fascinating. But I dont expect other people to get it.
He wandered around the suite examining every detail, and although she enjoyed the view of him from so many angles, she was eventually prompted to ask, Are you always so restless?
Hmm, what? Oh. Yes.
And what do you do for a living?
Nothing.
She frowned. How do you support yourself, then?
He stopped roaming and turned to face her in surprise. You mean you cant smell the trust fund at a hundred yards? I thought all women could do that.
Sorry. Not me. Trust fund, huh? Big enough that he didnt have to work at all? Must be nice.
He resumed roaming, poking around behind the bar. Aha! he crowed. He turned around with a bottle of whiskey in hand. She recognized the label vaguely as an expensive single-malt variety.
So, how do you fill your time if you dont work? she asked curiously. Shed put in sixty- and eighty-hour weeks for so long, juggling bookkeeping jobs and school while she got her accounting degree and masters in forensic accounting she couldnt imagine doing anything else.
He set two shot glasses side by side on the wet bar and poured generous shots of amber liquid into each. He looked up at her and grinned. I play for a living.
Play? She couldnt ever remember a time when shed done that. Maybe when her folks were still alive. But even then, her hippie parents had been such flakes about money that shed ended up taking over the family finances before shed turned ten. Shed always been more of an adult than anyone else in the Jordan clan. And when her parents died in a boating accident halfway around the world from her and Sunny, orphaning them at ages thirteen and ten respectively, shed grown up for real. Fast.
Trent thrust a shot glass at her and, startled out of her grim thoughts, she took it.
Drink up. You need it.
She frowned down at the whiskey.
You had a bad shock and your nerves are fried. Think of it as medicine, he coaxed.
Mentally holding her nose, she lifted the shot glass and tossed down the shot of whiskey in a single gulp. Fire exploded in her throat and roared down into her belly. She coughed and swore as tears streamed down her face. Trent, the cad, laughed as she mopped at her eyes.
He neatly downed his own shot and went back to the bar for refills. When he came back with another shot glass for her, she waved it off.
Second time, it goes down as smooth as silk. I promise.
She snorted. Thats because every nerve in my digestive track is incinerated at the moment.
He smiled winningly. Exactly.
I shouldnt. Ive already had too much champagne she started.
He cut her off gently. Dont overthink it. Just trust me. You need this.
She did have a tendency to talk herself out of everything fun in life. And she was safely in her hotel room with a man her sister swore was a great guy. That pleasant, warm feeling spreading outward from her belly button really was very nice, too. She took the second shot and slammed it back before she could change her mind.
This time it made her feel light-headed. A little silly, even. Just what the doctor ordered.
Another? Trent asked.
Are you trying to get me drunk, sir?
He grinned unrepentantly. I am.
Why? she blurted. Whoops. She hadnt meant to say that out loud, but it just slipped out all by itself.
He answered, Youve looked uptight all day long.
I am not uptight!
Honey, if you were wound too much tighter, youd snap in two.
Okay, she was starting to feel a little dizzy. But nice dizzy. Like she wanted to throw her arms out and dance to the sensation.
Why dont we get you out of those shoes? Trent murmured, guiding her over to the edge of her bed and sitting her down on it. He knelt at her feet, sliding his big hand down the back of her calf with sensual leisure. I never have been able to understand why women wear these things. They look blasted uncomfortable.
He tossed one red shoe over his shoulder and she giggled as she wiggled her toes. But heels make our legs look so nice, she explained earnestly.
You dont need any help to make your legs look great, he announced as the other red stiletto went flying.
She stood up and hiked up her torn skirt enough to reach under it. It occurred to her in a distant corner of her mind that she would never, under normal circumstances, do something as intimate as take off her hose in front of a man like this. She stated, Now if you want to know whats really uncomfortable and stupid in womens fashion, its panty hose.
She started to peel hers down, but then warm, strong hands were there, pushing her fingers aside.
Let me get those for you. His hands were a warm slide down her thighs, leaving a trail of wanton destruction in their wake. As her legs positively wobbled, she grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. She lifted first one foot and then the other so he could remove her hose.
I say we outlaw panty hose, he declared as hers went flying over his shoulder.
She laughed gaily. I second the motion.
Turn around, he instructed.
She did so and was startled to feel her gowns long zipper sliding down. Cool air caressed her back. Warm hands kneaded her shoulders and she let her head fall forward with a groan of pleasure. His clever fingers went right to the massive knot that perennially twisted at the base of her neck.
Are you always this tense? he asked. His voice was smooth and deep and warmed her from the outside the same way the whiskey warmed her from the inside.
Pretty much, she answered honestly.
Do you need me to do something about it?
He already was. The knot was unraveling beneath his fingers like magic. And then his clever plan dawned on her. She craned her head around to look at him over her shoulder. Are you seducing me?
Would you like me to?
Well, duh. Youre a complete hunk. But me? What would a guy like you see in a girl like me?
He laughed softly. Have you looked at yourself in a mirror? Youre a knockout. Not too many women can pull off sophisticated and pure-as-the-driven-snow in the same look. He ticked off her additional attributes with his fingers against the side of her neck. You make me laugh. And youre smart or you wouldnt be a forensic accountant. And you have a kind heart or you wouldnt have suffered through your sisters wedding with a smile on your face all day.
I didnt suffer
Sure you did. Anyone who really looked at you could see it in your eyes. The way I hear it, you practically raised her. Shes your only family and shes starting a new life with someone else. No matter how much you love her, that has to hurt. Has to make you feel all alone in the world.
What a perceptive man to have noticed. And he must have a pretty kind heart himself to be here comforting her like this. Youre right, of course, she murmured. As the truth of his words sank in, a knife of grief and loss stabbed at her heart. Shed faced terrible loss in her life, agonizing loneliness. But this was right up there. Oh, Sunny. Im gonna miss you so much. Tears sprang to her eyes.
She started to turn around to face Trent, but his big hands forestalled her. And then something warm and resilient moved against her neck where it joined her shoulder.
Youre not alone, tonight, he murmured against her skin.
Desperate need for that to be true had her leaning back toward him, her whole being reaching out toward the solace he offered. Just once in her life, she would love for someone to be strong for her, to take care of her. His hands moved slowly across her stomach, easing her back against him even more closely as if he was telling her to lean on him. But if his hands were there, what was that touching her neck?
His mouth! As realization dawned, a host of delicious sensations ripped through her, radiating outward from where his lips moved across her skin. Languor and lust rolled through her, making a beeline for her knees and threatening to collapse them. Whiskey, thy name is temptation.
Was she seriously going to do this? Trent Hollings? The bachelor every female at the wedding had been throwing herself at? Of course, hed been the one to throw himself at her. Literally.
Tell me again not to overthink this, she muttered.
He turned her around then, his hands unerringly finding every hairpin and tossing them aside. He plunged both hands into her thick, blond hair and pulled the French twist down around her shoulders in lush waves. Her hair was her secret pride, and she was glad he could see it like this. She never wore it down in her daily life. In her career field, she needed people to take her seriously and not treat her like some kind of sex kitten. But tonight, she was okay with that. If Trent Hollings thought she was hot, she was darned well not about to talk him out of it.
Mmm. Better, he murmured. Ive been itching to do that all day.
Really?
He took her face in his big hands and tilted it up to his. Really.
She tensed as his head lowered toward hers. He paused, his mouth inches from hers, and breathed, Dont overthink this.
Right. Live in the moment. Go for it. Carpe diem. His lips touched hers and the platitudes fled in the face of this stunningly sexy man kissing her. His mouth was warm and smooth and confident, and in about ten seconds, hed blasted past all her experience in kissing. His lips parted hers and his tongue tested her teeth. She gasped at the invasion and he took immediate advantage of it to taste her more deeply.
His arms tightened around her, lifting her against his big, warm body. A hand slid up her back to her head, cradling it in a large palm and drawing her even further into the kiss. And then he was kissing her with his whole body. Whether that was him moving against her or her moving against him she couldnt tell and didnt care. Her dress gaped open in the back and his hand burned her bare flesh as it dipped inside the gown. She was shocked when his hand slid down to cup her derriere and Oh, God, shed forgotten she was wearing that silly thong Sunnyd talked her into. Something about panty lines ruining the lie of the gown.
He made a sound of surprised approval.
What? she blurted.
I didnt peg you for a naughty-lingerie kind of girl.
Painfully aware of the drawer full of cotton granny panties across the room, she didnt disabuse him of the notion. For the first time all day, she was grateful for the tiny scrap of spandex and lace nestled a little too intimately in her nether regions. Trents finger traced the thin line of the thong downward and she groaned in pleasure and embarrassment.
Youre overthinking, he warned laughingly. Let go and enjoy yourself.
Her knees did buckle then. He caught her up against him with ease and kissed her with gusto until her knees would bear her weight again. Ahh, youre going to be a joy to seduce. So artless. So natural. Such a nice young lady.
Is that bad? she asked, frowning up at two of him swimming in her gaze. She did believe she was officially buzzed.
Not at all. His fingers slipped under the shoulders of the lined gown with its built-in shelf bra. Which meant she wasnt wearing a blessed thing under the gown. Except that sexy little black thong, of course. He hooked the red silk and slipped it off her shoulders, kissing her skin as it was revealed. The gown whispered down her body to the floor in a bloodred puddle and she shivered. Whether it was the cool air on her skin or Trents hot mouth on her skin that caused it, she couldnt say.
Youre magnificent, Chloe. How is it some man hasnt snatched you up and made you his?
She blinked up at Trent as he straightened and shrugged off his tuxedo jacket. Nope, no padding in them there shoulders. His starched, white shirt clung to a physique that could make a girl weep with appreciation. Realizing belatedly that she was all but drooling at him, she answered, enunciating carefully so she wouldnt slur her words, Im too boring. And neat. Men hate neat.
Trent laughed as he stripped off his cummerbund and tossed it aside. Thats not how I hear it. Most men love a woman wholl pick up after them. When I settle down, Ill hire a butler to do the job. Itll save on resentment from the ladies in my life.
Ladies. Plural. Of course a man like him had scads of women chasing after him. Im just one more in a long string of conquests, arent I? she accused. Who knew whiskey brought out such a brutally honest streak in her?
He laughed lightly. Never. Youre one of a kind, Chloe Jordan.
At least he knew her full name. The way she heard it, that was an exception for most pick-up artists. For surely, this man was a master of the art. And yet, she couldnt bring herself to care as his hands slid over her ribs and cupped her breasts, lifting them and testing their weight. She wasnt all that stacked, although shed always privately thought her breasts were rather nicely shaped. Trent seemed to think so, too, as his mouth captured one pert, rosy peak and sucked gently. Lightning bolts started at his mouth and spread outward through her body.
Oh, my, she sighed. Thats lovely.
A strong arm swept behind her knees and she was tipped on her side all of a sudden as he picked her up and laid her on the bed. The down comforter gave beneath her weight, and the room spun lightly around her. And then Trent was there, stretched out beside her, propped up on one elbow, yanking the knot out of his bow tie with his free hand. Shirt studs went flying as he jerked his shirt free of his trousers and all but tore it off.
She reached up to help push the shirt off his shoulders and gaped as acres of tanned chest appeared before her eyes. Yowza, she breathed.
He laughed heartily and she glared up at him. Are you laughing at me? she demanded.