Scent of Persuasion: Sensory Ops, Book 2 Page 4

  “I enjoyed myself.” Kami’s shoulders softened as she returned Jane Ann’s embrace.

  “I have your email. You must come again next year, even if this one runs you off.” Leon jerked his thumb at Breck and winked. “But I’m going to hope he’s more intelligent than that.”

  “That’s an invitation I couldn’t refuse if I wanted.” Kami smiled and kissed Leon’s cheek. “And I’ll expect a dance.”

  “I’ll check in later.” Breck shuffled Jane Ann and Leon on their way, knowing they planned to stop by the hospital on the way home. “Be safe.”

  Jane Ann hugged him again and held on a moment longer than normal. “She’s a sly one. I like her,” she whispered in his ear.

  He wanted to ask what she’d meant, but she pulled away too quick. “Drive safe.”

  “No worries. I’m staying in the apartment upstairs tonight.” Once the Masters were in the elevator Breck turned back to the ballroom. A few guests remained, and would until the band called it quits at midnight, but with the bidding closed and the winners announced, most had gone. “It occurs to me that you danced with several men tonight, Kami.”

  “Part of the job as your hostess.”

  “Which you handled beautifully.” More beautifully than he’d expected, and she’d been more gracious or maybe just better equipped to handle lecherous men, than the brunette he’d seen Vivianna addressing at one point. That woman—Ava, if he recalled correctly—had looked more like Kieralyn when she itched to have a gun in her hand.

  “Thank you—”

  “Except for one thing.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. His body reacted instantly to the press of her soft curves.

  “What’s that?”

  “You didn’t dance with me.”

  “You didn’t ask.” She wrapped one arm behind him and reached across herself with the other, resting her palm on his stomach.

  “I’m asking now.” He covered her hand and assured himself the sentimentality he was feeling toward her was a strict product of a successful night. She was being paid for a job, and he would be a fool to ignore the opportunity. “Will you dance with me, Kami?”

  She tilted her head slightly and met his gaze with her sparkling green eyes. “I would love to.”

  Breck led her to the dance floor. The band shifted to an instrumental piece, slow and somewhat melancholy. Sexy. He set her hands on his shoulders and then placed his at her waist.

  Kami fitted her body to his. Their cheeks brushed as they swayed to the beat. Without her shoes, she’d fit neatly tucked against him with the top of her head under his chin. Her heart wouldn’t beat right against his, like it did now, unless he picked her up.

  He turned his face into her hair and inhaled her sweet orange blossom scent. “Sorry you didn’t win the Heat packet. Though I don’t recall meeting a Channing Harris.”

  She shrugged and wiggled against him. “No worries. It went to a great cause.”

  Wishing Trevor had been able to see the night’s success, Breck settled into dancing and was surprised as always that the childhood lessons from his mother had stuck with him. Tonight’s difference was the pleasure the moves and the music brought him. Since losing his mom, he’d found no interest or delight in either.

  With Kami’s arms around him, he wondered what else he’d missed out on. And that was a dangerous thought.

  She sighed. Warmth washed over his neck and slid beneath the collar of his shirt and down his back. Her body pulsed with each move. He hardened against her thigh.

  “This is nice.” She hummed low in her throat—a sultry accompaniment to the song that had the hair at his nape standing at attention.

  He scanned the few remaining couples as he guided her in a circle. He wanted them gone. The tuxedo jacket grew warmer by the minute with his rising temperature. He wanted Kami to himself. He wanted to discover the treasure of what she concealed beneath her silken dress.

  He’d paid for an escort all night and though he hadn’t intended to keep a woman with him until morning, the temptation of Kami and hot sex had him reevaluating his plans.

  He swallowed and glided his palms up her back. The strings would snap against the smallest pressure. The dress would fall to the floor. If they were alone…

  He kissed her beneath the lobe of her ear. His pulse raced as the band shifted into a song about sexy love that had a throbbing opening beat more suited to a flirtatious striptease than a slow dance. “You’re staying the night.”

  She arched intimately against him, her pelvis bumping his erection, and moaned deep in her throat. “If you like.”

  “We’ll both like it.”

  “That sounds like a promise.”

  “As soon as the last couple walks out that door it’s a promise I’ll make good on.”

  “I look forward to pleasing you.”

  “Yeah? How do you plan to do that?”

  Kami shifted against him in perfect sync with the music. She moved slightly away and he instantly missed her body against his. She gyrated in front of him in time to the music. She was ripe seduction without crossing lines of propriety in the ballroom. Her eyes locked on his as she sang the lyrics about being addicted and making love.

  “For starters, I’m going to strip you naked.” Her soft voice incited a deeper arousal.

  He rested his hands on her swaying hips and leaned close to her ear.

  “I’m going to remove this perfectly proper tuxedo from you one article at a time.” Her voice whispered on a warm breath beneath his ear.

  A bead of sweat dripped along his spine. Oh hell. He wanted the room empty. Now.

  “I’m going to taste you and strip your façade of refinement away as easily as the clothes fall from your body.”

  Two couples remained beside Kieralyn and Ian. There were thick, potted bushes on the terrace. He could pull Kami behind one and… Surely he could entice her into relieving some of the pressure she was causing in his pants. Maybe then his temperature would drop a few degrees.

  “I figure we’ll start on your couch.” She ran her fingers into his hair and pulled gently. “Though your desk looked tempting.”

  “I have an apartment up there.”

  “We’ll go there second. Or third if we use the desk and the couch.” She rolled her hips again. “I smell your arousal.”

  His dick swelled more, making him grateful for the fairly loose fit of tuxedo slacks. He checked the room. One more couple gone. When that last one left he was dragging her to the elevator. Ian and Kieralyn could handle themselves.

  “I’m going to use my tongue and find out if all of your body is as amazing as the small bit you allowed me to see earlier.”

  “Keep talking and you won’t survive the ride up.”

  “Trust me. I’m ready for a ride. Up or down.”

  He swallowed. How had he thought, even for an instant, she wasn’t an experienced escort? The nervousness she’d first experienced in his office had long since vanished.

  “Good night, Breck,” Kieralyn called out. He glanced up to see that the last couple had gone and his teammate was pulling Ian toward the door.

  “Good night.” He momentarily extracted himself from the enticement of Kami’s arms. “See you tomorrow.”

  “First thing.” Kieralyn and Ian left. Breck thanked the band and directed Kami toward the private elevator that went to Trevor’s executive apartment. He stood on the opposite side of the car from her, desperate for a little breathing space, but she moved to him and slipped the buttons of his jacket free.

  “This isn’t the same elevator.”

  “No.” If he took her to his office, if she did a hint of what she’d mentioned, he wouldn’t be able to work there again.

  Knowledge shone bright in the emerald depths of her narrowed gaze. “You’re avoiding the couch and desk. You think that’s going to help maintain control?”

  “Yes.”

  Kami flattened her palms on his stomach and slid them down his
hips. Her thumbs grazed his erection through the slacks.

  He sucked in a breath and pressed against the wall behind him. She perused him with her eyes, hesitating at his lips. Her chin jutted out. Her tongue swiped across her sinfully red lips. “You’re doomed to disappointment. I’m going to shatter you.”

  His dick throbbed in anticipation. He stiffened his fingers in the air beside her. She wanted to shatter him. Damn if he didn’t think she could. He enjoyed sex and sought out women with no interest in strings.

  Kami was the ideal woman. Though, unless he failed to get himself in hand—literally if need be—she’d break him. She would ruin the delights of other women for him.

  The elevator chimed seconds before the doors slid open. Grateful for the reprieve, he set her away from him and led the way into the apartment.

  Trevor had stuck closely to his personal tastes and turned the private rooms into a retreat. A massive leather couch and matching recliners with beer can and remote control pockets in the arms faced the giant TV dominating the west wall. Sturdy, dark, wood tables, covered with sweat rings dating back to their college days, sat between the chairs and couch.

  Kami slid her hand over his back as she headed toward the streamlined kitchen. Trevor didn’t cook often, but his kitchen—here and at his home—was equipped for most anything. Kami gripped the back of a barstool in her slender fingers and sent it spinning. Nodding, with their gazes locked, she sauntered along the length of the small kitchen island, trailing her fingers over the edge, and headed toward the dark, wooden half-wall that lent privacy to the bedroom.

  She peaked around the corner and whistled low. The shifting muscles of her bare back teased him from across the room. She’d have seen the bed sitting before a solid wall of windows, overlooking Biscayne Key in the moonlight.

  “You’ve got some set up here, Breck.”

  “It came this way, but thanks.” Until tonight, he’d avoided the suite, as it too blatantly reminded him of Trevor and what he stood to lose.

  Kami’s hips swayed teasingly as she moved to the recliners and worrisome, fearful thoughts evaporated into a mindless haze. She stood behind one and pushed on the back. It rocked wildly. She smiled. “It’s not your office, but it has possibilities.”

  He wasn’t sure what had caused it, but something was shifting inside. Maybe it was Jane Ann’s hopes for him. Maybe it was watching Kieralyn and Ian together. Maybe it was Kami’s appeal.

  They couldn’t have a relationship beyond tonight, but until the dance ended he’d pretend that hope existed. Somewhere a woman existed who would make him feel a love like songs spoke of. Somewhere a woman existed who would give him everything he’d seen in the Masters. Somewhere a woman existed that would help fill the emptiness gaping inside.

  Not now and not her, but not never.

  Chapter Three

  The apartment was immaculate and ultra-masculine, and after spending more time with Breck, it still didn’t suit him. Maybe the ring-stained coffee table did, but he struck her as a man with simple, functional tastes. He was intense, but the décor was darker than he seemed to be. The new CEO of Blue Chip Technologies didn’t add up. Then again, the same could be said about her.

  She was being paid to have sex with the man and had been commanded to return to the Elegant Entertainment mansion with his hairbrush. The command coated her with a heavier slime sensation than the sex. With Breck, thanks to the chemistry between them, she could enjoy sex, if she managed to stop thinking about the money aspect.

  The hairbrush, though… It stood to reason his brush would be needed for DNA, but the supporting rationale was missing. What would an escort agency need with a man’s DNA? If the DNA was somehow tied to Channing’s death, how? And how could she prove it without playing a part in endangering Breck?

  Questionable logic aside, she’d been warned that failure was not an option. The eerie danger glinting in Madame V’s eyes had been all the confirmation she needed. She would have to weigh the angles and possibilities later.

  She was an actress, and had known this role would be difficult. She hadn’t considered that she might be used for darker intentions. And every molecule constructing her guts twisted with certainty that she’d gotten in over her head with Madame V.

  Standing behind the swaying chair, swiping her hands across the quilted throw to banish some of the nervous moisture, Kami promised herself she could do this. She was an actress. This was a performance.

  She could mislead a nice man if it meant finding justice for Channing. If her wary instincts proved true and she found out Breck was in danger, she’d find a way to warn him.

  “Is there a stereo in here?” Music relaxed her.

  “You want to dance?”

  “We weren’t so awful at it downstairs.” In Breck’s arms, she’d forgotten she was on a job. She’d been half of a couple attracted to each other until he’d stepped away in the elevator. She wanted that feeling back.

  “No, we weren’t.” He revealed a hidden cabinet and pushed a couple of buttons. Hard and fast music throbbed into the room. “Not really dancing music.”

  “Not the kind I had in mind for the moment anyway.” She shoved her nerves down and licked her lips slowly. “We need to work up to that kind of…intensity.”

  “Right.” He dialed through the CD player.

  The haunting strains of violins swept through the air. Passion rose and fell in the melody with a slowly building tension. The strength of the music swelled in her with bravery. She rounded the chair and walked toward Breck. He crossed to her. His stride was smooth and precise—commanding. Her stomach fluttered.

  In the middle of the floor, he took her in his arms and held her close. A rumble vibrated his chest against hers.

  He rolled his hips forward. She moved back.

  He stepped back. She moved in.

  Give and take, advance and retreat, they moved as one with the music.

  Breck’s erection grew and pressed against her hip. Considering the almost constantly soaked state of her underwear, she would have to toy with going commando if there were going to be future encounters with him.

  He swiped his tongue along the rim of her ear and slid his hands down to cup her ass. Her breath caught, and as if they’d been dancing together for years, he led her body in seduction.

  Her blood heated even as her mind kicked rebelliously against the oppression of depravity darkening her desire. That a man attractive enough to have any woman he chose was okay with paying for sex should make it easier to be the payee. She slammed a door against the thoughts and gave her body the reins. She was simply a woman enjoying the stimulating company of a yummaliciously attractive man.

  She eased her hands inside his jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. He released her long enough to free himself of the sleeves.

  Never missing a step, his body continued guiding hers. Of all the man she’d danced with, he was the strongest leader. He was also the most compelling and fun man she’d met in a long time. He wasn’t afraid to laugh, and though she’d not had much to laugh about lately he’d had her laughing a few times.

  Unbinding his tie, she set to work on the buttons of his shirt, wanting a longer study of the body she’d glimpsed at the beginning of the evening. She’d watched him, knowing what he hid beneath the fine clothes. Now she would have time to appreciate it. She would see all of him. Explore all of him. Feel all of him.

  It’s been so long.

  Swaying with him, brushing her body against his, aware of the silk of her dress shifting against her legs, she tugged his shirt free of his pants and shoved it off and to the floor. He toed out of his shoes and socks. His movements, bumping his body against hers, lit flames low in her belly that incinerated some of her lingering insecurities.

  Kami closed her eyes and arched her body against his in a roll that started at her shoulders and ended at her pelvis.

  Breck shifted them away from his shoes and growing pile of clothes and she capitalized on the resu
lting space by slipping her fingers into his waistband.

  “Kami.”

  “Yeah?”

  He cleared his throat. “Never mind.”

  Grinning, she worked the fasteners loose and pushed his pants and boxer briefs to the floor, leaving him naked before her.

  The music changed to a thumping beat with an erotic undertone that mirrored the mood she needed to maintain. The driving rhythm pushed more doubts from her mind.

  She traced her fingers over his body as she stepped back. Moving in time with the beat, she circled his gloriously hard body. Every inch of him was finely sculpted and aroused.

  She bit her bottom lip as she moved back to his front. He could reach her, pull her back to him with no effort. He seemed content to watch her dance around him, as if he was excited by it.

  Their gazes locked.

  His pupils flared as she gyrated her hips. She placed her hands at her neck, keeping her touch light as she imagined he would. Keeping her eyes steady, watching the signs of his building arousal, she slid her fingers down her shoulders and hooked a finger under each stringy strap.

  Smiling, she eased the straps off her shoulders. Down her arms. Over her breasts.

  Her nipples hardened and saluted him as she worked the silk lower. His throat jumped.

  With a shimmy of her hips, the silk slithered to the floor. Her thong rubbed her clit as she stepped free of the fabric.

  His dick jerked as if begging for attention. He wasn’t looking at her the way a man involved in something torrid and dirty might. He was as deeply invested in this as she.

  She suppressed a moan.

  “I had an image in my head.” She stepped toward him, rested her hands on his chest and urged him to the nearest recliner. The confidence from having complete power over herself and Breck enveloped her.

  “Yeah?” He half croaked the word, turning it into several syllables.

  “Mmm-hmm. Of me reclined in this chair with you between my knees.”

  His hands skated over her arms. His fingers trembled. “Sounds like a good vision.”