Page 5 of Temptation and Treachery
“You had a cheese Danish earlier, and you went right past the maple, so I figure you’ll probably get something with fruit.”
Her chest tightened. He’d seen her at the airport. That’s where she’d had a latte and snack. Wonderful, his first image was her stuffing her mouth with sweets.
“You made me wish I’d grabbed more than just coffee,” he said absently.
She faced forward to find the clerk giving an exaggerated exhale. Somehow, Celeste managed not to squirm. What he said, or maybe the way he said it, sent Vix into action. She slinked onto the counter in a skin-tight dress, offering several options for him to grab.
“Maybe I’ll just have cheese,” she squeaked, hoping to appease the clerk so she’d stop glaring at her.
“We could share,” Rio offered.
Somehow she managed to keep her jaw from dropping. He’d come up with a perfect solution, until a man in an apron came by and pulled a long rack from the display. She may have whimpered. The clerk turned back, her features tightening as she realized she was about to be asked for one of the pastries that had just gone to the back.
Rio leaned in, “Amanda,” he said in a tone that sounded both understanding and pleading. “Do you think you could get me one of each Danish so we don’t hold you up?”
The woman stood staring at him, her cheeks turning a light pink. Celeste watched, fascinated, as the clerk stuttered through her reply “I-I-I-I, uh… I can take ’em to your table.”
“Sounds great.” He smiled. “Think you can add in some coffee?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, still holding the cheese Danish. Rio dropped some bills on the counter and ushered Celeste to the nearest table, pulling out her chair.
Seconds later, Amanda set a plate and two cups on their table while the people in line waited.
Celeste looked at the array. “I wonder what that one is,” she said, pointing at a piece with an amber topping.
“Want me to ask?”
Celeste gasped. “No.” Glancing up at him, wide-eyed, she zeroed in on the tilt at the corner of his lips, then narrowed her eyes. “You’re laughing at me.”
His eyebrows went up, past the edge of the dark glasses, in what was surely feigned innocence.
“Let me see your eyes.”
He pulled down the sunglasses to show almond-shaped, hazel eyes with a rich fringe of dark lashes. Her gaze brushed down smooth, closely shaved cheeks, to where a smile danced along his lips.
Vix’s jaw dropped, and she adjusted her blouse until a lacy black bra peeked out from her cleavage.
How could a man end up with lashes like that when hers were so pale sometimes she couldn’t see them in the mirror. Oh God. And earlier she’d thought traveling with him would be a challenge.
…
What exactly did a guy like him say to a “nice girl”? He had no clue. But they’d sat together long enough for her to taste each of the half-dozen Danish and pack the leftovers. He kept imagining breaking off the next piece and feeding it to her, just to keep that sublime expression on her face.
Giving in to the hopeful expressions from the line of customers, they decided to finish the coffee and leave. Now he needed to regroup before he ended up hard enough to push the door open with his fly.
“We’re still early,” Celeste said, checking her phone as she picked up her purse. “Maybe I should stay back and do some reading.”
Again with the escape tactics. “That kid at the hotel didn’t seem like he knew what he was doing. How about we check on our rooms before we end up sleeping on a park bench?”
She hesitated, clutching the to-go container. “I suppose you’re right.” She followed along, like a prisoner to sentencing. “It just seems like you don’t care for the idea of me reading.”
A fat raindrop slapped his shoulder while two hit the ground ahead of them. In seconds, rain pelted the sidewalk around them. She shrieked, stuffing the container in her bag as she huddled into her coat. With one quick move, he looped an arm around her waist and ducked into the doorway of a closed store.
The deep-set entrance offered enough shelter for them both if they crowded into a corner. The single, wide step brought her to eye level, and a devilish streak made him want to goad her now that he had a captive audience. “That depends,” he said, studying her startled expression. “Were you actually going to read, or were you planning on doing surveillance?”
“I-I don’t know what you mean.” Her eyes widened until the blue irises floated in a sea of white.
“Really…” He layered in enough doubt to make her chew her bottom lip. So that’s how she was going to play it. Fine. Pushing a woman like her, sweet and a little innocent, could go one of two ways. She would either be shocked and disgusted or intrigued and turned on. He’d be damned if he didn’t find out how she rolled. Bracing his hand on the wall, he blocked the rain and any view from the street. Her gaze shot down to his chest, then skittered back to his face. “You don’t remember the way your eyes dragged across me on the plane?” He stared at her parted lips, but nothing came out. He gave her one more bump. “Or the way you were checking out the hard-on you gave me.”
