Seduced by Fire (3 page)

She found Daniel easygoing and fun to talk with. He had an air about him that set her at ease. Except for the times—and it happened more than once, so she knew it wasn’t her imagination—that he looked at her with those blue eyes and the intensity took her breath.

There was something unusually captivating about Daniel. She just couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

T
he day of the melanoma benefit brought the exact amount of chaos and problems Daniel had come to expect of large fund-raisers. Which was why he was glad he’d paid knowledgeable contractors good money to handle the issues as they cropped up.

He’d arrived at the hotel three hours before the first guest was due to arrive. The time allowed him to oversee everything and still leave to change into his tux before he was scheduled to appear.

That’s not the real reason you came early.

No, the real reason was so that he could see her. Julie.

Who at that very moment was giving some poor delivery boy a firm talking-to about something. Her hands were on her hips and every once in a while, she would point to a nearby vase of flowers. The sight of her taking charge and setting whatever wrong to right made him grow uncomfortably hard.

Her brown hair was pulled haphazardly into a knot on top of her head. All too easily he imagined taking it down, running his fingers through it, giving it a sharp tug as he thrust into her needy body.

She turned and saw him. “Mr. Covington.”

Thoughts of Julie’s hair and what he wanted to do with it faded as the woman in question walked toward him. He hoped she didn’t see the erection those thoughts left in their wake.

When she stood before him, he noticed several strands of hair had fallen from the knot. He reached out and tucked one wayward piece behind her ear.

“I thought I gave you permission to call me Daniel?”

“It seemed more professional the other way.”

“Sir,” I want you to call me “sir.”
But he knew he couldn’t speak those words out loud to her.
“As long as you call me Daniel tonight.”

She nodded in response, a flush creeping up her neck. She cleared her throat. “Everything’s set up. Except for the centerpiece for the head table and that will be corrected in a few minutes.”

“Everything looks great. Your team’s done an outstanding job.”

“Thank you.”

He would look over everything in a few minutes. Though he really doubted he needed to. Julie and Sasha’s team really had done an amazing job. But for the moment, he had more pressing things to address. When he had asked her to accompany him, he’d forgotten something.

“Where should I pick you up tonight?” he asked.

She hesitated for a second. “We could meet in the lobby.”

“The lobby? No. Tell me where you live and I’ll pick you up.”

“I actually booked a room here tonight. My stuff’s upstairs, so I have time to change.”

“You booked a room? Why? Oh.
Oh,
” he said as understanding dawned.

She tapped her pen against the clipboard in her hand. The pink polo shirt she wore had not only her shop’s logo on it but several smears of dirt and green stains of some sort.

“Julie, I’m sorry. I gave little thought to how hectic the day would be for you.”

I only thought of myself. I wanted you on my arm for the night.

She waved her hand as if shooing away his comment. “You men. You put on a tuxedo and all is well. We women have to do our hair, makeup, and try to pull up sheer hose without messing up our manicures.”

Sheer hose. Her legs.

His hands spreading her knees.

“Don’t wear the hose,” he said through clenched teeth.

“What?”

Idiot.

“I mean, if it’s that much trouble.” His voice sounded coarse to his ears.

“Lucky for me, I didn’t actually bring hose. And”—she wiggled the fingers of one hand at him—“in any case, I have florist fingers.”

“You see, I look at those fingers and I see the hands of a woman who’s worked hard to get what she wants.”

“I suppose. But sometimes I think it’d be nice to have girlie nails.”

“It’s all about sacrifice.”

Her expression was thoughtful. Suddenly, he wished their date wouldn’t be shared by a hundred people. He wanted to get her alone and learn everything about her. Talk to her. Find out where she went to school, if she had any siblings, what her favorite food was.

Right. Because if you got her alone, that’s what you’d do. Talk.

Talk would be all they’d do, he reassured himself. The assumption had to be she didn’t live his lifestyle. Wouldn’t be interested in it. Even with that assumption, he was still drawn to her and wanted to spend time with her. What little he knew about her made him curious to know more. Plus, there was a certain look she’d had in her eyes that day at the coffee shop when she’d said she didn’t intend to be putty in anyone’s hands that indicated the exact opposite.

She was also Sasha Blake’s friend and business partner. Would she know about Sasha’s lifestyle? Had they talked about dominance and submission? Did that explain the sensuality she exuded? Questions for another place and time.

“Will you have time to get ready?” he asked.

She glanced at her watch. “The way I see it, I’ll need an hour and a half to finish up here. That leaves me plenty of time to get ready.”

“Ms. Masterson!” A hotel employee ran up to them.

Daniel moved out of the way. “I’ll let you get back to work. Meet you in the lobby in three hours?”

“Sounds good,” she replied before turning her attention to the young man at her side.

•   •   •

H
e arrived back at the hotel, dressed, two hours and forty-five minutes later. Though he always tried to be punctual, he had another reason for not being late that night: he wanted to watch Julie make her entrance.

When he reached the hotel, he saw a few early guests had arrived. They lingered in the lobby, making small talk before wandering to the ballroom. Daniel waved at a few people, but his gaze kept returning to the elevator doors.

They finally opened and she stepped out.

His breath caught.

Ninety-nine percent of the women attending the fund-raiser would dress in black. Julie Masterson was not ninety-nine percent of women.

Gone was the harried and stained florist from earlier in the day. In her place was a siren. Her gown was white and fit close to her skin, showing off the curves he imagined buried beneath her standard pink polo. Sheer beading draped itself over one shoulder, allowing just a peek of skin. Her hair was twisted up, leaving her neck long and bare. She looked even better than his fantasy.

She looked around the lobby for him and once her gaze settled on his, her mouth formed an
O
of recognition. She walked toward him, her hips swaying ever so slightly. Every step she took gained her more and more attention from the lobby crowd.

“Let me assure you,” he said when she finally stood before him, “that no one is looking at your fingers. You are stunning.”

“Thank you. My sister’s a buyer up in New York. She got this for me and tonight’s the first chance I’ve had to wear it.”

“You’ll have to give me her address.”

“You’re into clothes?”

“No. I want to send her a thank-you note.”

Her laugh was low, throaty, and the most seductive sound he’d heard in years. Once again, he was sure the intense sexuality he sensed in her was there.

He held out his arm. “Shall we?”

People surrounded them as soon as they entered the ballroom. Daniel was well-known for his work raising money for cancer awareness and research. While most of the time he was content to talk with anyone about his involvement, at that moment, he simply wanted to be left alone with Julie.

But that wasn’t an option. So he greeted everyone warmly, and thanked them all for coming. She stayed by his side while he talked, looking at him every once in a while with a curious grin on her face. She looked so lovely, he wondered idly if he’d have so many people swarming around if it wasn’t for his date.

They eventually made their way to the head table, where, finally, he could hear himself think. They sat next to each other, and he let out a deep breath.

“That was certainly interesting. Do you always inspire such an entourage?” Julie asked.

“Only when the woman by my side is wearing a gown like the one you have on.”

He was pleased to see she could handle a compliment. It bugged him when a woman got all flustered just because someone said she looked nice. But Julie just smiled in recognition of his kind words. “There were a good number of women in that crowd. They definitely liked the way the man by my side looked in his tux.” Her eyes were dark.

He leaned close so he could smell her. She smelled of oranges. “What about you? How do you think he looks?”

“You look perfectly adequate.” She said it with a straight face, but her eyes were laughing at him.

“You’re a dangerous woman, Julie Masterson.”

She placed her napkin in her lap with the utmost care and attention. “If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.”

“I’m just dangerous to my competitors.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

He had a feeling he didn’t have a bad side where she was concerned. He felt comfortable and easy around her. She was an intelligent self-made businesswoman. She made him laugh and she looked fantastic. And she was the sexiest woman he’d met in years.

“Tell me,” he said to her. “Why flowers?”

She shrugged. “My mom loved flowers. She had them all over the house and always said it was a travesty to save them for special occasions. I wanted to share her love and beliefs with everyone. Sasha and I found the shop a few years ago while walking through the historic district. We bought it and the Petal Pushers was born. Now it’s like I spend part of each day with my mom.”

“And yet you said you weren’t the flower type of girl.”

Her body stilled. “You remember?”

He ran a finger across her hand, swirled a figure eight on the top. “I remember everything about you.”

For the briefest moment, when he looked into her eyes, it was as if the rest of the room disappeared and there was nothing in the world except the two of them. Her hand turned over on the table, so the palm faced up. He dragged his finger along the lines there before settling his hand over hers.

How simple it was to engulf her hand in his. He had an overwhelming desire to engulf her entirely. Surround her. Protect her.

Tease and tempt her.

They jumped apart when a waiter placed their salads in front of them. Daniel looked up to find their dinner companions watching them intently. He was almost embarrassed to realize they hadn’t even noticed when the other diners sat down. But the truth was, he didn’t care. He couldn’t when she was overwhelming him like this. Now their dinner companions all averted their eyes, obviously embarrassed on their own parts to be caught staring.

“It must be you,” Julie said all calm and cool. “People never stare at me like that.”

“Maybe it’s the combination of us together.”

The air between them pulsed. Surely she felt it, too. They would probably be a dangerous combination together. Even more so alone. He wanted to test that theory.

Badly.

But the benefit wouldn’t be over for hours.

He pressed the palms of his hands against his thighs. Refocused his attention on the three other couples sitting at the table. Before he’d asked Julie to be his date, he’d been looking forward to discussing several new oncology breakthroughs with those in attendance. At the moment, though, all he could muster was small talk. After a few minutes, the other couples were talking among themselves and he could finally turn back to Julie.

“What does your mom think of your business?” he asked.

“She passed before it opened.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She took her time cutting her salad. She was very meticulous about it, cutting each piece into nearly identical sizes. “How about you? Why banking?”

Obviously, the conversation about her mother was over. He took a moment to follow her lead and cut his salad.

“It’s a family business. Something it was always assumed I’d do.”

“Is it what you really want to do?” Questioning eyes met his. “If you could do anything, what would it be?”

He chuckled. “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

“Something like that.”

“Outside of the fact that I’m thirty-five, I suppose when I grow up, I just want to know I’ve changed the world for the better.”

She muttered something under her breath, but all he could make out was “no wonder” and “pants.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just something Sasha said.”

Their conversation flowed smoothly throughout dinner. Julie proved to be witty and warm, a delightful combination. But as she talked about what she’d done to reach her goals, and the obstacles she’d overcome, she also showed him a will of iron. Her father had left when her sister was born. After her mother died, she’d worked two jobs while going to school. Somehow, she and Sasha had secured a loan for the shop and turned it into a successful business. He had a strong desire to bend that will of hers to his own, to show her what it was like to have someone protect her and take care of what she needed.

Careful, he told himself.

He had succeeded in arranging for one of the leading oncologists in melanoma to speak at the benefit, and for months he had been looking forward to the event. But sitting next to Julie close enough to hear her breathing and smell her orange scent made listening as the speaker went on and on about biomarkers almost more than his patience could bear.

When the gentleman wrapped up his speech, Daniel joined the audience in a standing ovation, but the truth was he already couldn’t remember what had been said and he clapped only because the talk was over. Julie was up on her feet beside him. She leaned her head near his.

“What a fascinating speech,” she whispered.

“I only heard every third word.”

She laughed, but he lifted an eyebrow to let her know he wasn’t joking.

They sat back down and chatted with their table companions while the orchestra set up. The local hospital’s chief of staff was seated across from Julie and she quickly became deeply engaged in conversation with him about ongoing research at the hospital. He was so impressed by how relaxed she seemed, despite the heady dignitaries she spoke with. All her questions were intelligent, and her tone was confident and friendly. Apparently, making her own way in the world as she had was its own reward.