Courting Danger. Kimberly Dean

open a newspaper and chance upon seeing her.

      She stared at the photo. She’d had the newspaper on her desk all day. Sienna turned it in her direction to study it. ‘Do you think your guy knew the cameras were there? Is that why they didn’t get a good shot of him?’

      ‘He knew.’

      Sienna ran a burgundy-coloured fingernail along the edge of the photo and Mel’s back. ‘I could wring his neck for the way he lied to you, but Nina said the date itself went well?’

      Rielle glanced up in surprise, and Sienna lifted an eyebrow.

      Rielle got up to straighten the magazines on the lobby table.

      ‘There’s a rumour about a hot kiss?’ her coworker said. ‘A melt-the-sidewalk kind?’

      Rielle determinedly walked to the office door and locked it. Yet her shoulders slumped. She turned slowly. If anyone would understand, it was Sienna. Before she’d become their communications director, she’d fallen in love with the man she’d been assigned to escort.

      ‘That’s the part that’s so tough,’ Rielle confessed.

      ‘That you were attracted to him?’

      ‘Yes – and that I dropped my guard.’

      ‘You trusted him.’

      ‘For a moment.’ Or longer. She still felt herself wanting to defend him today. A part of her kept grasping for rational explanations for why he would have done the things he’d done.

      And why he hadn’t gotten caught.

      ‘I’m relieved that he was good to you,’ Sienna said.

      He’d been more than that. On the dancefloor, he’d felt strong and tempting. He’d been sensitive to her moods, and he hadn’t stopped her from contacting Security or Nina or anyone else she wanted.

      ‘Was Detective Morgan able to track down any information on your mystery man?’

      Rielle shook her head. The detective had been grumpier than normal over that. The Secret Service had to have footage of Mel from the security cameras at the White House, but they weren’t sharing.

      She bit her lip. Were they investigating them on their own?

      ‘He’s not my mystery man.’

      Sienna’s icy blonde hair fell over her shoulder as she cocked her head. The look on her face was contemplative. ‘This picture says otherwise.’

      She glanced at her watch and pushed to her feet. ‘Oops, Jason’s going to be wondering where I am. Are you ready to go? I’ll walk out with you.’

      Rielle looked around the office. ‘No, I’ve got a few more things left to do. You go on ahead.’

      Sienna frowned. ‘I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.’

      Rielle wasn’t comfortable with it either, but she refused to change her habits again. Not for a man. ‘I’ve locked the door, and Security has been on the lookout for him all day.’

      If anyone was more upset than she was about the whole situation, it was the guys on the first floor. They were the ones assigned to protect the safety of Luxxor’s employees.

      Although she’d never once felt her stranger would hurt her.

      She shook her head. He wasn’t ‘her stranger’, either.

      ‘Are you sure? Jason won’t mind waiting if you need me to hang out with you for a while.’

      ‘Oh, God. Please don’t tell him anything. All I need is him standing guard with a hockey stick.’

      Sienna’s boyfriend had been a frequent guest of the penalty box when he’d played in the NHL. Now he was a master defenceman in the boardroom.

      Sienna nibbled her lower lip.

      ‘Go,’ Rielle insisted. ‘I won’t be here much longer. I promise.’

      ‘Make sure the door locks behind me.’

      ‘I will.’

      Sienna collected her purse. ‘And don’t be hesitant to push the buzzer for Security ever again.’

      ‘I won’t,’ Rielle promised. ‘You just be careful walking out.’

      Sienna nodded. She stopped for a moment and then gave Rielle an impulsive hug. ‘I’m glad you’re OK.’

      ‘Thanks,’ Rielle said, her voice tight.

      She closed the door behind her friend and heard the handle jiggle. Sienna gave her a thumbs-up through the window alongside the door before heading to the elevator.

      Rielle turned to face the now empty office.

      She did have work waiting for her. She’d spent so much time talking to people about her mysterious date, she hadn’t completed all her normal tasks. When she sat down at her desk again, though, she couldn’t help but notice how empty the office felt. How lonely and quiet.

      She glanced at the bills awaiting payment, but turned to her computer again. She flipped through more listings, looking for a handsome face. Observant blue eyes. Wide shoulders…

      ‘Oooooh,’ she growled beneath her breath. She was so angry with him, but she was even angrier with herself. She’d known better than to let him pull her in.

      Her mouth settled into a tight line, and she paid the bills. She checked to make sure she’d sent out all the dossiers for the engagements their escorts had tomorrow night, and finally looked through a quote from a company bidding to do remodelling work on their break room.

      Her stomach growled as she examined the numbers, and she couldn’t concentrate.

      It really was time to go home. She was hungry, she was tired and her sweet tooth was flaring up again. She hadn’t slept more than a wink last night. She pulled out her phone to order takeout. The salad wasn’t going to make the cut tonight, either.

      She sighed. What did she want? She opened her contact list and was searching for her favourite sandwich shop when another listing caught her eye. It was one that made her sit up straight in her chair.

      Mel.

      Short, to-the-point and a lie.

      Had he seriously programmed his contact info into her phone? When had he gotten his hands on it? How?

      Why?

      She jabbed at his name before she could stop herself, and his number popped up.

      That was something Detective Morgan could use.

      Rielle felt irritation build up inside her. He’d toyed with her. There was no other way to put it. He was a ne’er-do-well, as her grandmother would say. He’d been up to no good last night, and he’d involved her. When she thought about all the possibilities of what he could be involved in, it made her uneasy.

      And, at the moment, extremely ticked off.

      She jabbed the call button before she could stop herself. She deserved to know why. She deserved the right to yell at him.

      And she deserved to be spanked for being so stupid again.

      She flinched when she realised she should not be making contact with him. It didn’t matter why he’d given her his phone number. She dropped the phone onto her desk with a clunk. He’d only manipulate her again. He’d talk to her in that low voice that occasionally showed signs of humour. He’d make goosebumps pop up along the back of her neck with his quiet chuckle.

      Her thighs felt stiff as she marched down the hallway to Nina’s office. When had she become so easy?

      Back in the lobby, she heard her ringtone start playing. She kept on going. The lights were off, but once she turned inside she saw it clearly.

      The dress.

      That