Courting Gossip. Kimberly Dean

some of the chill. She sank deeper into the cushioned seat. She couldn’t stop shivering. Shock, no doubt. She plugged in her seat belt and watched him walk around the front of the car.

      He always got doors for her. Odd. Samuel never thought to do that, and he was of the older generation.

      Brody fired up the engine, and they were soon putting the Emissary Hotel in their back window. She watched as he checked the mirrors. He was still worried about being followed. Silence settled inside the smooth-running car. Finally, he settled back in his seat and glanced at her. The tell-tale muscle in his jaw was twitching.

      ‘Did they touch you? Were you hurt back there?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Would you tell me?’

      She rounded her eyes at him. ‘Yes. I’d tell you, I’d tell Nina and I’d tell the lawyer who would sue to get lots of money for me.’

      His gaze went back out the front windshield. The muscle had stopped its nervous dance. ‘When you said the senator was fighting with them, I didn’t think you meant physically.’

      She smoothed her dress over her thighs. It felt strange sitting with him in such close confines. ‘He surprised me when he did that, but it let me call the front desk. And you.’

      He paused a moment. ‘You came out of the—’

      ‘Because the hotel manager had a key! Ah! I knew you were going to blame me for that. Was I supposed to make them drag me out, kicking and screaming?’

      He didn’t answer, but he settled more easily into the driver’s seat.

      Genieve folded her arms over her chest.

      ‘You made up for it with that move with the detective,’ he said. He reached over to the dash and turned on her seat warmer.

      She let an eyebrow lift. Was that a compliment from Brody Haynes?

      ‘Wish I could say the same about your not-so-smooth move with my panties,’ she returned. ‘Did you have to go searching for them in front of everybody?’

      ‘I wasn’t going to leave them there for evidence or for some hotel employee to auction online.’

      Genieve shivered and snuggled against the heat she felt emanating all around her. She hadn’t thought of that. She didn’t like either option.

      ‘So are you going to give them back, or are you some kind of panty perv?’

      She knew she was needling him, but her nerves were stretched thin. He’d rode to the rescue, but he’d shown up in a suit and tie, looking stern and official. Did nothing ever ruffle him? Did he have a human side?

      His finger began tapping against the steering wheel, but he dug into his pocket and passed the scrap of silk to her. For the second time that night, Genieve felt embarrassment hit her. She’d tried to make him uncomfortable, but what was she supposed to do now? Put them in her purse? She didn’t have any pockets in the close-fitting dress.

      She cast him a secret glance. There was one other place they really should go – and she was suddenly overly conscious of being naked underneath her dress in his car.

      What the heck?

      Working against the seat belt, she leaned forward and slipped the panties over her shoes. She began sliding them up her legs, but she bumped against the door when the car suddenly swerved.

      Brody’s gaze snapped to the front windshield, but then back to her again. ‘What are you doing?’

      ‘Putting them on.’

      ‘Here? Now?’

      ‘You’d rather I wait?’

      Again, his finger began tapping, but he didn’t say anything. She didn’t hear a yes. She took her time sliding the black panties over her knees, but things got interesting as she began to work them up her thighs.

      Brody drove down the road with laser-like focus, but every few seconds that attention would swing towards her lap. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who was bothered by what she was doing. Genieve felt another shiver dance through her, but this one was warm. It wasn’t so long ago that she’d been intensely screwing an imagined image of the very man in this car. The real Brody Haynes was stubborn, cold and frustratingly unreadable. It almost seemed like a waste for him to be so insanely hot.

      The panties stretched wide across her thighs where her skirt had ridden up. Brody’s gaze swung her way again, and Genieve nearly broke out in a sweat. Her pussy clenched, and she had to take a moment. To get him back, she lifted her hips. He let out a cough, and her lips curled. Finally.

      She drew the panties up the rest of the way. Everything was hidden under her dress, but she took some delight in making him squirm. She’d been left in an uncomfortable state for too long herself. When she’d told the detective that those reporters had come at precisely the wrong time, she hadn’t been joking.

      And it hadn’t been the senator who’d put her in that state.

      Brody pulled over to the curb and stopped. Her head snapped towards him, and her mouth dropped open in surprise. She’d been teasing him. She hadn’t thought he’d actually do anything…

      He turned in his seat and met her look. Her heart beat once…twice…

      He pointed over her shoulder. ‘This is your place, right?’

      Her head swivelled around. He’d driven directly to her rowhouse. ‘Stalker,’ she muttered.

      She didn’t know how he knew things, but he did.

      She sighed and faced him again. She shouldn’t antagonise him the way she did. He had ridden to her rescue. ‘Thank you for coming,’ she said quietly.

      ‘I’m glad you called me.’

      He knew her first inclination would have been to call Luxxor – and that would have been the worst move in the history of the planet. She’d nearly peed herself when Detective Morgan had walked in the room. If he’d caught Mr Henry or any of the other Luxxor security team there, the jig would have been up. She still wasn’t convinced her little deception had put him off the scent.

      Brody got out of the car and she waited for him to come around and get her door. His hand was warm and steady as he helped her to her feet.

      ‘You don’t need to walk me to my door,’ she said as he began to move along with her.

      He cast her a look and then shook his head. ‘You’re not staying here. We’re just here so you can pack a bag.’

      She stopped halfway up her front walk. ‘Where am I going?’

      ‘Anywhere but here.’ He glanced up and down her street and then took her elbow to keep her moving. ‘Let’s get inside.’

      Genieve walked more slowly, not convinced this was a good idea. OK, maybe staying here tonight wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t want to wake up to the press knocking on her door in the morning. But that wasn’t the problem.

      She didn’t mix her business with her personal life. This was her home.

      ‘Genieve,’ he said impatiently.

      When he saw the look on her face, his hold on her changed. His expression closed, and he dropped his hand. ‘Would you like me to wait in the car?’ he asked, his voice flat.

      ‘No.’ The answer was out before she thought about it. She shook her head briefly and moved past him to unlock the door. ‘Come in. Please.’

      He followed her inside and looked around when she hit the light. ‘This isn’t far from the hotel. Why didn’t you and Samuel just come here?’

      The look she gave him could have sliced diamonds. ‘I don’t bring clients here.’

      He frowned. ‘So Gunderson has never been here?’

      ‘Not