Weekend in Vegas!: Saving Cinderella!

Then don’t touch her again, he told himself. He didn’t intend to. But how he wanted to.

It was a new day, one that had so far gone smoothly. Alex hadn’t sent anyone to unknown locales. Nor had she followed her instincts and upbraided a man who had been loudly berating his wife about some nitpicky thing she had forgotten to do.

On the other hand she might have done that…if Wyatt hadn’t appeared. He had clamped one hand on the man’s shoulder and firmly if not gently shepherded the man to the side. Wyatt’s eyes had brooked no argument, his voice had been commanding, but he had given the man an out, casually drawing him into conversation about how vexing travel could be. When the story of a plane stranded on the tarmac for hours had spilled out, Wyatt had relented, called for a bellboy to deliver the couple’s luggage to their room and presented them with complimentary tickets to the spa for massages.

As they moved away, Alex could hear the man apologizing to his wife. “Nice,” she said to Wyatt. “But the man looked as if he would explode when you pulled him aside. How did you know he wouldn’t take your interference out on his wife?”

Wyatt stood very still, that cool stare trapping Alex in his sights. “You disapprove of my tactics, Alex?”

Alex was sure that she was blushing. “On the contrary. I’m glad that you took him aside and defused the situation. But…I was afraid he was going to hit you.”

Wyatt shook his head. “He wasn’t the type. I know the type.”

The way he said that…as if he’d met men who’d used their fists on him…

She remembered what Randy had said about not knowing much about Wyatt. She should keep that in mind. A woman who couldn’t handle men she knew well should definitely not tangle with men who were mysterious. Or dark. Or dangerous.

Slowly, so that he couldn’t see how he affected her, she took a deep breath. “I’d better get back to work.”

He tilted his head in acquiescence. “You should know that a few customers have complimented me on your helpfulness, and…”

“And?” She waited.

“And on your smile,” he said, as if he hadn’t really intended to admit that.

But his comment warmed her and emboldened her. “It never hurts to smile,” she said. “Even if you’re a McKendrick.” Because he didn’t smile. Not much.

And yet he looked amused. His eyes lost some of that fierceness. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “Maybe I’ll even write it down on a blue notepad.”

Then he walked away. Had Wyatt McKendrick, he who kept his distance from his employees, just teased her?

He had. And that sent a tingle in a zipping, swirling course down her body.

Don’t be affected, she told herself. But she found herself looking for him when her day ended. Which made her angry. Whether the anger was because she was looking for the man, or because she was unsuccessful in her quest, maybe even wondering if he was with the pretty restaurateur, she didn’t want to know.

Besides, she had things to do. Last night she’d hit the town with a digital camera and her notepad, scoping out sights for a time when a customer might need help. But, being unfamiliar with the territory, she had covered very little ground. Tonight she would cover more.

Wyatt was on his way to his penthouse apartment late in the day when he turned a corner and nearly ran over Alex. She’d been walking while looking at a map and she bumped up against him, the map crumpling and tearing.

Instantly he caught her, stopping her forward momentum, heat branding him as his palms closed around the bare skin of her upper arms. Fragrant skin. Smooth skin.

Stop it, he ordered himself, glancing down. She was looking a bit dazed.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t even looking where I was going.” For two seconds they stood there, connected, as Wyatt tried to ignore how she felt…and how she looked, with those big, startled blue eyes.

Then reality kicked in and she took a step backward, gathering the crumpled, crinkling paper and trying to smooth it into something resembling a map again as he released her.

Walk away, he told himself. Treat this situation the way you would with any other employee.

But Alex wasn’t like any other employee he’d ever hired. There was something about her that was difficult to ignore. Which was unfortunate. Ignoring people, not letting them get to him, was what enabled him to be who he was. It was how he had managed to survive a brutal childhood.

“Do you need directions?” he asked, ignoring his own good advice.

She smiled, that brilliant, room-brightening smile that his customers seemed to warm to. “I’m just having a little trouble figuring out where to start.”

“Start?”

“Memorizing the city. I realized that if I’m going to be effective I need to know Las Vegas almost as well as I know San Diego. I have to be able to envision a place when someone asks me a question, so I’m trying to experience as much of the city as I can. Last night was easy. A cabdriver took me past a few of the popular restaurants for a survey of what’s available. But what I really want is to totally lose myself in the whole Las Vegas scene. I thought I’d walk this time and surround myself with the city, but I’m having trouble deciding where to begin.”

“Alexandra, you don’t have to put in extra hours.” He expected loyalty from his employees, but not servitude. He was the last man who would ever ask for that.

She frowned. “I’m not asking you to pay me for this. It’s something I need to do for me. Tomorrow will be my third day on the job, and I’m determined to close the gaps in my knowledge.”

“You’re doing a good job.”

She tilted her head. “Thank you. I’m not doubting myself. The past two days have been good. I’m starting to feel more settled. I just want to push myself a little harder, learn more. I have goals. By the end of this week I intend to be a winner at the ‘totally invisible concierge’ game.” She gave him a dazzling conspiratorial smile that made his pulse leap.

Wyatt didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was never going to be invisible. She was too darned electric, attractive, alive. But he knew what she meant. She didn’t want anyone to be able to notice that she was still learning her job, so here she was with her map and her determination. And, yes, her good idea. Well, almost a good idea.

“I applaud your dedication,” he said, “but wandering the streets alone with your head buried in a map? I don’t think so.”

Her chin lifted slightly. “I’m fully capable of taking care of myself. I know self-defense, and I have hairspray, a lighter and sharp keys in my purse.”

“And if you’re distracted, you’ll never even get to them. You’re not doing this.”

Ah, the pretty sky eyes could flash angry sparks. Wyatt knew he shouldn’t allow himself to be intrigued by her mercurial spirit, but what man wouldn’t be? The woman was like an erratic fire, burning low and warm one minute, then leaping to an eager flame when something entranced or challenged her.

“Let me rephrase that in a less condescending way,” he said. “You’re off the clock now, and that means you’re not answerable to me, but if my presence won’t be unwelcome, I’ll show you Las Vegas up close.”

Alex hesitated. Then she raised one brow. “Do you really expect me to tell my boss that his presence would be unwelcome?”

He fought the urge to smile…and then he lost the battle. “Actually, yes, I do. As I mentioned, you’re on Alexandra time now. You call the shots.”

She studied him. “You don’t have to be my bodyguard.”

Bad choice of words. It made him far too aware of how attracted he was to her curves and her pretty long legs. None of that changed the fact that sending Alex out with nothing but a map, a smile, innocent blue eyes and a can of hairspray buried in her purse would be an invitation to men with the wrong things on their minds. Men like him…except he was not going to touch her. And that’s an order, McKendrick.

“If I’m asking you to point out the sights of my city, then it’s only right that I should show you that city.”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to give him another out.

“Alexandra,” he said, “let’s go.”

“Is that an order from my boss?”

He frowned. “That’s a request from an impatient…”

Man, he’d been going to say. “Tour guide,” he finished a bit lamely. He could not begin to think of them as man and woman.