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“Yes, of course, it’s been a rough couple of days for you.”
“I know,” she murmured. “But this mattress is like incredible. It’s almost therapeutic.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed your first night here.”
She was right about that. The mattresses should be incredible. His father, to Dane’s surprise, paid about $100,000 for each of the Italian-designed custom-made comfort beds in the palace.
Dane thought his old man went a bit overboard though with the four-poster style therapeutic beds. The man treated his home like a five-star hotel. Each bed was specially designed for full body comfort. But Dane wasn’t about to divulge those details to Olivia.
Dane’s eyes were drawn to Olivia’s incredible silhouette. If he thought she was sexy in her gown and on the night before Christmas when they’d dined at the restaurant, she was way sexier now.
He couldn’t deny how attracted to her he was. Her lovely bright brown eyes, her soft features and velvet-smooth voice and the way her dark silky full-volume hair cascaded down her back.
Forget it, Dane. Nothing good can possibly come of this.
“What’s wrong?” Dane said, noticing his pretty guest’s furrowed brows. His gaze traveled to her sweet lips when she bit down on the lower one. Just the other night, he’d had the pleasure of tasting those soft lips of hers and oh, how he wanted to repeat that experience. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman tasted so good.
Dane could think of nothing more than the countless ways he could pleasure this woman and make all her troubles go away.
He wanted to taste a whole lot more than her lips, but he had to do everything within his power to resist the temptation. She was off limits. No way would he even think about seducing a woman following a serious rebound. He really wished they’d met under different circumstances.
“It’s just…I got another text.”
“Another text?”
“Yes.” Olivia walked over to the bed to retrieve her cell phone.
Dane trailed behind her then took the phone from her and read the message. “How the hell would he or she know that a detective was on the case?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea,” Olivia admitted, hugging herself. “What makes you think it could be a she?”
“It’s very possible,” Dane said. “But not to worry. I’ve already got things looked into and first things, first. You need to eat. Breakfast is ready and waiting for you in the conservatory.”
“The conservatory?”
“Yes, it’s the sun room on the west side off the main floor. It’s got a clear view of the lake and lots of pretty flowers inside—” As pretty as you are. “So you’ll enjoy your meal there.”
“Will you be joining me?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Of course.”
“Okay, I’ll join you shortly.”
“Well, I hope you give me directions to the conservatory. You’re going to have to give me a map of this entire place or I’ll get lost.”
Dane smiled. “You won’t get lost. I’ve tagged you with a device from JoJo’s security store.”
“You what?”
“I’m just kidding.”
She frowned playfully. He wanted nothing more than to see her relaxed, not worked up to death over some anonymous threat. It was security’s job to handle that for her.
“And lucky for you, JoJo, a trusted friend of my friend’s family, is still here. He’s an investigator who always gets results.”
“He is?”
“Yes, he’s going over some things with Jonah, so I’ll let him have a look at this. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”
“Dane, what am I going to do?” Olivia curled up into his chest.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and felt the warmth of her beautiful body on his. God help him. He could feel his erection hardening.
Bad timing. Really bad timing. This was the last thing he wanted right now. He should be there for her as a friend, not having carnal feelings for her. Whatever transpired under the mistletoe that night, he told himself, was just that—a mistletoe kiss. His body wasn’t buying it. Why was he having thoughts of them curling up on the bed, naked as the sun and just as hot as their bodies entwined with each other on top of the red silk sheets?
Dane pulled away from Olivia gently. He must control himself. This was beyond ridiculous. This was how it all started with his ex Sophie. She was on the rebound and wanted a shoulder to cry on and when she was through that not-wanting-to-be-alone stage, she’d up and left him high and dry. It wasn’t love, it was loneliness. And now he was smart enough to tell the difference.
He told himself he felt sorry for her more than anything else. A nice girl like her didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve that creep of a man who put her in this situation as his last parting gift—rest his soul, Dane thought bitterly.
“Are you okay?” she asked, as if she couldn’t understand why he wanted to keep his distance. He hoped her eyes wouldn’t lower to the tent in his pants. So he turned to leave.
“Listen, why don’t you get ready?” Dane suggested. “I’ll see you downstairs.”
“Oh, um…okay,” she said softly.
Emotion climbed inside Dane’s throat. He didn’t know why but instinctively he wanted nothing more than to protect Olivia. Heck, she’d done so much to protect her clients and those people at the shelter. He was impressed by her background and the way she handled herself and still tried to show a brave face during her cancelled wedding in front of her guests.
God bless her.
But God help him.
He really needed to eject any kind of erotic thoughts of this beautiful woman out of his mind. They would only spell trouble for both of them and genuinely complicate things.
* * *
Olivia was left more dazed and confused than this morning when Dane closed the door behind him. She’d felt the hardness in his pants when she’d hugged him. She wanted him to touch her again, her body cried for it. Her nipples were still erect and tender and strained. She couldn’t understand her feelings.
She should still be overcome with grief over Jack, even though he’d dumped her just before their nuptials. Yet, her feelings for Dane were so intense. They were intense from the moment he rescued her from what would have been a disastrous and humiliating day.
Was she confusing feelings of gratitude for something more?
Her body’s reaction to Dane told her the answer. She was falling for him. Extremely hard. And the crazy thing was she’d never, ever felt that kind of explosive chemistry with Jack, not even when they’d first met. Or any guy. Not that she’d had many boyfriends to begin with. Jack was actually her first real boyfriend.
She rummaged through her suitcase wondering what to put on for breakfast in a conservatory. What does one wear? Should it be formal? They couldn’t possibly expect her to be formal. But she still felt as if she were at a five-star hotel.
The Belmont family really knew how to live large. She was getting a firsthand taste of high-class living. She was sure royalty couldn’t possibly live any better than this. My goodness, these people had a room or quarter for every occasion and meal. Dining in the grand dining room that looked like the size of a ballroom. Then breakfast in a glass conservatory with flowers, overlooking the lake. She’d ordinarily have breakfast on the run, while commuting to work or eat it in her tiny kitchenette of her apartment—her former apartment.
Olivia swallowed hard. She had to get used to the idea that she was between homes. She knew she could stay with her aunt in her two-bedroom apartment downtown, but with Bria there, too, it would be overly crowded. Here at the Belmont Palace was a saving grace; she’d have her own space as well as privacy and security. Right now that was all she wanted.
That and being beside the most gorgeous guy she’d ever met in her life. Dane Romano Belmont.
* * *
JoJo looked at the text message, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Well?” Dane delved eagerly.
“The guy’s cold,” JoJo answered, coolness in his own tone. “Cold and stupid.”
“Stupid?”
“Yes, very stupid. We have reason to believe the culprit might have been a guest at the wedding.”
“A guest?”
“Well, probably not an invited guest. They were probably hoping to see Jack there. We’re going through security tapes now.”
“Right. I see,” Dane said, as he sat in the study with JoJo. Currently, Jonah was in his room with the physiotherapist he saw twice a week.
“We’ll be able to get to the bottom of this soon,” JoJo said. “I’m going to get a list of all the guests from both Jack and Olivia’s sides at the wedding and ask around to see if they’ve noticed anyone suspicious at the ceremony.”
“Good. Just keep me posted.” Dane really couldn’t wait to find out who the hell was making Olivia’s life a living nightmare. Sure, he hadn’t known her long, but he considered Olivia family now. And nobody messes with his family.
* * *
Olivia left her room and walked down the long corridor, again admiring the artwork on the wall. She made her way down the winding staircase, feeling as if she were in a movie. She could not get over how luxurious the home was.
