Courting Danger

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 dress that had made her feel like a fairy princess. It had also made her lose her mind.

It hung over the back of the door to Nina’s private bathroom. Rielle crinkled her nose at it. Nina was still trying to make her keep it. One way or another, it needed to be taken to the cleaners.

She ran her fingers along the soft material of the skirt and sighed. It really was beautiful. Dreamy, even.

Was that what had happened? Had she allowed herself, just for a moment, to dream again?

She let out a long sigh as her anger faded.

So she’d succumbed to a dark, handsome, sexy stranger – one who’d made her stomach tighten and her knees go weak. She was only human. Up until the very end, it had been a magical night.

She rubbed her lips together. She could still feel his kiss on them.

She couldn’t accept the dress from Nina. It was designer-made and way too expensive, but she could try it on one last time.

Alone in the office, she stripped in the bare light spilling in from the hallway. She kicked off her shoes and tugged off her bra. The dress felt silky and familiar as she slid it over her head. It fell into place like a comfy pair of jeans, only a thousand times classier. She tugged up the zipper as far as she could.

She imagined her stranger’s arms around her, pulling her close as they swayed in time with the music. Her nipples tightened at the memory, and her cheeks warmed.

He was dangerous, all right, in ways neither Nina nor Sienna would understand.

Off in the distance, she heard her desk phone ring. It was even easier to ignore.

She gave a turn and felt the dress billow around her. She stopped when she saw her reflection in the big plate-glass window. With the lights dimmed as they were, it acted as a mirror with downtown DC as a backdrop.

It had been so long since she’d let herself feel attractive and hadn’t felt the need to tone it down. It had been aeons since she’d felt young and pretty and sexual.

She stared at her reflection, lost in thought. Her fingers spread wide as she smoothed the dress over her hips. Time went by without her noticing.

‘Best night of my life, too, Beautiful. That’s the truth.’

His words whispered in her ears.

‘What’s wrong?’

Rielle jumped when, instead of a memory, she heard his voice for real. Low, harsh and clipped.

She spun around and let out a cry when she saw him standing in the doorway to the office with his hands braced on the doorframe. He pushed away and entered as silently as he’d traversed the rest of the office. The air didn’t even move as he slid between its molecules. His eyes were bright with alertness, and his body was tense.

‘Are you OK?’

She dove for Nina’s desk. There was an emergency button there, too. Her heart was pounding as she expected him to lunge at her to stop her.

Yet instead of coming at her, he held his hands up. ‘Hey, you’re the one who called me.’

Her head jerked towards him. ‘I didn’t call…’

But she had. She just hadn’t let it go through to voicemail.