Diamond Dust (13 page)

Whoa. “You knew I had a guard?”

“You are a part of the Takhini pack, are you not? I assumed you’d be guarded. Any Alpha worthy of his position would care for his own.”

For someone who prided herself on staying in control at all times of her life and situation, something had gone radically wrong over the past couple days.

She practiced her deep breathing as the staff swarmed over Tyler, wiping his face and knuckles clean. He seemed totally unperturbed by the fawning attention. The short pause was enough to allow her to realign her thinking, and as the area cleared around them she spoke firmly.

“If you tell me more about the meeting at eight, then you can leave, and Monsieur Stephan here will get me froo-froo’d in no time.”

Instead, the annoying bear lowered himself into one of the luxury leather chairs strategically placed at the side of the room. “I’ll stay. In case you need me for anything.”

He had that air about him, the one of
I’m in charge
, and it put Caroline’s back up far more than it should have.

“You plan to stay while I try on underwear and dresses.”

His eyes snapped with amusement, a sparkle in the depths of the black. “You have a problem with that?”

Yes, but damn if she’d let him take the advantage in this round. Somehow in the past couple of minutes, things had changed. This assignment of hers wasn’t some favour she was doing for him. Or a job that would protect the Takhini pack.

This was a war on a personal level, and Caroline meant to win. Just like she never allowed shifters to know when she was afraid, he couldn’t find out how much having him here freaked her out.

So she did the only thing possible. She lied her ass off.

“No problem. Not for me.”

Then she loosened the robe and let it fall to the floor.

Chapter Nine

It was a good thing he was sitting down or Tyler would have fallen over.

Never in a million years would he have predicted her to be so bold, and yet—perhaps he should have. She’d done nothing but the unexpected since the first moment they’d met.

His bear poked him, eager for a glimpse of something more than her ankles. His gaze had dropped with the robe, so he started at her toes and worked his way up, slowly. Savouring.

She stood like a warrior, not a model, both feet planted firmly. Her strong legs had visible calf and thigh muscles, noted in passing as his gaze landed on the plainest pair of cotton panties ever. Cream coloured, they were thin enough the pale curls over her mound could be seen through the material.

He subtly adjusted position to allow room for his growing erection.

The visual tour increased in pace as his gaze rose past a trim waist he couldn’t wait to wrap his hands around. He barely allowed himself a glance at her chest, because getting lost while staring at her tits might be the equivalent of falling into horizon blindness.

So he ended up at her mouth a lot sooner than he’d expected where her expression could be labeled nothing less than a smirk. Her eyes said it as well. She was laughing at him.

Yeah, he pretty much deserved that. But then again, this was only the beginning of the evening.

“Did you get my list?” he asked Stephan, not looking away from her mocking gaze.

“Of course, sir.”

“Let’s try the blue set first, then, with the full-length gown. That will give you time for adjustments if needed.”

Her mouth tightened slightly as Stephan stepped in front of her and slipped off one bra strap. Then, damn it, there were too many bodies between Tyler and her for more than momentary glimpses. Flashes of naked skin that did more to tantalize than satisfy.

When the proprietor of the shop finally stepped away, Tyler found himself on the edge of his chair, a mere second away from bolting to his feet.

The view was beyond spectacular.

Caroline had been eased into a one-piece outfit with a corset-like top that emphasized the flare of her hips. The cups that held her breasts—he’d never been envious of a piece of fabric before. Only he was, the gentle swells of flesh rising above the shimmering silk moving slowly as she breathed.

Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders like she’d just crawled out of his bed, all soft and warm and satisfied, and damn it—

His bear was really working the imagery.

Tyler cleared his throat. Fought to use his vocal cords. “Lovely.”

It shouldn’t have come out so growly and lust-filled, not if he’d been in control, but that was the issue. He
wasn’t
in control. Not since he’d met Caroline.

He moved his gaze to the proprietor, catching his eye before flicking a glance toward the door. This probably wasn’t the first time Stephan had been silently ordered out of his own shop. The owner dipped his chin before gesturing to his assistants.

“We will be back in a moment,” Stephan declared.

Once the room was down to just Caroline and Tyler, the classical music playing in the background was softer than his panting, damn it.

Caroline shifted her stance. When she spoke, her words came out low and lusty, teasing his eardrums like they were erogenous zones. “I take it there’s a reason I need to have a fancy dress?”

He didn’t stop appreciating the view. “Next week Tuesday. There’s an event for the heads of the clans every few evenings beginning tonight, concluding in a formal dance.”

She glanced at the door the shop workers had vanished behind, then stepped off the platform and paced toward him. Slowly. Hips swaying as she moved, breasts wiggling just right, her naked flesh pale peach-coloured in the soft lighting. “So this
assistant
position you need me for. You want me to take notes?”

She was nearly close enough to touch. “No notes. There’s a secretary who does that. I need you to help me impress those clans who think I’m too impulsive because I’m single.”

Caroline planted her hands on her hips before easing her palms upward. He watched, mesmerized, as she caressed her rib cage, along the sides of her breasts, not stopping until she’d threaded her fingers through her hair.

He was going to die of a lack of oxygen. He seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.

When she pressed her fingers to his chest, he swore his heart stopped as well. Yes, he was going to die here and now, one body system shutting down after the other.

His cock would be the last thing to succumb.

Tyler shoved himself back as she wordlessly demanded until he was fully seated on the couch. Then, hallelujah, she climbed on top, her shins resting on the leather on either side of his legs.

“So, this is a date?” she asked.

Tyler attempted to focus on her face. “What’s that?”

“A date. You asking me to join you for the conclave isn’t a political arrangement, it’s a date.”

He’d swallowed his tongue. A second earlier he’d glanced down far enough to notice the material of her outfit, when she was in that knees-spread-wide position, barely covered her pussy. “Not a date. Political. Necessity.”

The words surprised him as they slipped past his lips.

“Really?”

Caroline eased herself closer. Closer. Until her torso rested right against his.

Their faces were only inches apart, the rest of them touching. The warmth of her sex centered squarely over the erection that bulged the front of his trousers. He was unable to resist sliding his hands onto her hips.

She licked her lips. “Political necessity. Good to know.”

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to touch next. Taste next. Her lips were so close. The scent of her attraction rose like a siren call. She undulated her hips, only a fraction of an inch, but it was enough to drag a groan from him as she rubbed his cock.

Caroline brushed her fingers lightly over his forehead, careful to avoid the cut. “Dangerous business, getting involved with bears.”

“I warned you.” He held her hips tighter and ground her over his aching length. So good, yet a million miles from what it was going to be like to sink into her warmth.

She thrust her fingers into his hair, her cheek against his. Her breasts crushed to his chest, intimately close but for the scrap of material she wore and his clothing.

He’d never wished for the magical ability to strip so hard before in his life. Not even the time he’d woken as a teen choking on his own T-shirt after accidentally having shifted in the night.

He moved her again. And again. This throaty little noise escaped her, and lust flared like a white-hot poker. One second more, and he’d forget all decorum and have her naked and bent over the back of the chair. He’d take her and make her scream.

She nibbled on his earlobe, and he fretted perhaps he wouldn’t even make it to the
strip them down
part. He was about to come right there, right then.

Her regretful sigh surprised him.

“Too bad we’re only getting involved for political reasons.” Another sigh, air brushing his cheek as she sat back, opening a space between them.

His bear screamed
nooooooooo
. His human mind boggled and attempted to make sense of her comment.

She cupped his cheek. “I understand though. Politics are very important, and you can trust me to do everything I can to help you.”

When she would have wiggled off his lap, he held her immobile. “Where are you going?”

She rolled her eyes. “To try on the gowns and stuff that I need to be a pretty political assistant to you. D-uh.”

Somewhere this had taken a wrong turn. “Wait…”

He couldn’t hold her in position without hurting her, so he released his grip, her warmth fading as she stepped back, hands folded demurely in front of her.

“See, if we were actually dating? Then we might have a few other things to discuss, but since this is all political, well. I’ll just have to keep my disappointment to myself.”

Oh fuck. “It’s not that I don’t—”

“What? Find me attractive? Of course it’s not. We did kiss yesterday, and it was kind of fun, but I find mixing work and play isn’t a great idea. No problem. Glad to have that all straightened up. I’ll be the very best political assistant you could wish for.”

She stepped onto the platform. Tyler dragged a hand through his hair feeling a little as if a train had just hit him. Especially when she squatted, knees wide, finger raised to her lips. Every part of her open to him, her breasts nearly spilling from the corset top.

“And Tyler?”

“Yes?” He somehow dragged his gaze back up to hers.

“Don’t think you can take any liberties while I’m assisting you. No kisses out of the blue, no secret groping. I’m the one in charge of this, and unless I decide I want you, hands off the goods.”

She rose to her feet, one hand presenting herself like the treasure she was. The sexy display ended when she planted her fists on her hips again. The bold move at the finish was racier than she probably realized.

Well, hell. That hadn’t gone nearly the way he’d expected.

The limo brought them up the winding mountain road toward their destination for the evening. The windows of the distant manor glowed amber and gold in flashes through the trees.

On the bench seat to her right, Tyler had remained silent for the past twenty minutes of the ride. After helping her into the limo, Justin had taken the seat across from them, and alternately grinned or fought to keep his amusement from showing.

Caroline ignored them both and folded her fingers together to stop from fidgeting. The dress she wore had a slit up one side that kept falling open if she didn’t keep her knees pinned to the leather seat. The dress itself was gorgeous. Soft silvery silk that clung to her curves, the deep V of the neckline magically staying in position over the bra Monsieur Stephan had fit her in, and she had to admit, the man knew how to make the girls look the best they ever had.

From the elaborate hairdo one of the shop assistants had created for her unruly blonde hair to the tips of her freshly manicured toes, Caroline was a fancy woman. A soft shawl lay over her shoulders to keep the chill in the air at bay. The three-inch heels on her feet were frighteningly comfortable—she would have sworn they were old and broken in, and not brand new from the box.

Yes, in an hour and a half flat she’d been packaged prettily for the evening. Still had no bloody idea what was coming next, though.

After her little ultimatum in the lingerie shop, Tyler had nodded curtly then vanished with a final comment he’d be back for her at six thirty. Even the fact he’d walked out with an obvious erection hadn’t been enough to satisfy the frustration raging through her.

Shifters didn’t think of intimacy the same way most humans did. She understood that. She really did.

Easier attitudes toward sex she could handle. But totally ignoring attraction and making it all about a job? Fuck that noise. Even when she’d gotten involved with Evan, the relationship hadn’t been completely about what they could do for each other outside the bedroom. There’d been an honest attraction between them.

Caroline resisted the urge to swing a fist and thump Tyler on the chest. She’d thought there was an honest attraction between her and the bear as well, but it seemed Mister High and Mighty couldn’t even confess to that.