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At the mention of the woman’s name, Addy’s gaze dropped. He cursed himself for being an idiot as he backed them closer to the open doors leading out to the balcony.
“Is that what this whole charade is about?” she asked when she looked up at him again. “Have I been promoted to your round-the-clock protection from the she-wolves of the world?”
She couldn’t be jealous. Yet the thought nearly made him miss a step.
“No.” He lowered his voice, knowing how the walls had ears at events like this. “You and I have a whole lot more at stake between us and I think you know it.”
“If there’s more at stake, you might want to up your game while we’re in public, since newly engaged men don’t tend to prowl the perimeters of parties alone.” She practically vibrated in his arms as he drew her out onto the balcony and into the farthest deserted corner.
He couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken to him with so much fire in her eyes.
“You’re jealous.” He tested the idea by saying it out loud as he studied her in the moonlight. The song came to an end.
He didn’t let go of her.
“And you’re mine for four weeks, Dempsey Reynaud.” She tipped her chin up at him. “I suggest you act like it if you want to pull off this ruse of your own making.”
Heat rushed up his spine in a molten blast. The need to offer her what she’d asked for made him grip her tighter, pulling her hip to hip, chest to breasts.
And if that was a little too much PDA for a charity event, too damn bad. It wasn’t anywhere near enough for what he wanted to do with her. She felt even better up close than he’d imagined, and his head had been full of inventive scenarios all week.
“Careful what you wish for, Addy,” he warned her, grateful for the night shadows that kept them hidden.
He’d been a gentleman for her sake. At least now she would know exactly how much he was feeling like her fiancé. Her hips cradled the hard length he couldn’t begin to hide.
And that was when things got crazy. Because instead of storming off like his affronted best friend, Adelaide gripped the lapels of his tuxedo and pressed a kiss to his lips.
Five
Adelaide saw stars.
Clutching Dempsey’s jacket, she fulfilled a secret dream as her lips brushed along his. They stood under the night sky, his back shielding her from view. Behind her, the iron bars of the balcony pressed against her spine. In front of her, warm male muscle was equally unyielding but oh-so-enticing.
She’d seen a chance to surprise him—just as her mother had suggested—and she’d taken it. She knew better than to think this fake engagement was going anywhere. But she could use this time to indulge herself and her long-standing fantasies about Dempsey. Because in less than four weeks, things were going to change between them forever when she left her job with the Hurricanes.
Her senses reeling, she broke the kiss, needing to put some distance between them. He didn’t move far from her, though. It took another long moment before he released her.
“Let’s go,” he urged, threading his fingers through hers and claiming a hand.
Blinking through the fog of desire, Adelaide followed him, her steps smaller and quicker by necessity due to the fitted gown. Her lips tingled pleasantly, her nerve endings humming with awareness of the man beside her.
“Are you sure we should leave?” She glanced around the private rooms at the full dance floor, the crammed gaming tables, the busy bar stations. “As hosts of the event—”
“We’ve done our part,” he assured her. “The event planner will take it from here. And I’m dying to get you alone.”
To explore what she’d started? She hadn’t missed the indication of attraction when she’d been pressed up against him. But she couldn’t afford to trade her heart for a night in his bed, and she knew herself well enough to know that was a very real possibility. Her feelings for Dempsey had always been strong. Complicated. And this engagement wasn’t exactly simplifying matters.
“I didn’t mean to send mixed signals.” She hated to have this conversation here, in a quiet corridor as they waited for an elevator. But it was too important to wait. “I got caught up in the moment—” She bit her lip to refrain from telling him about her mother’s suggestion that she surprise him.
She’d taken the gamble, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for the payout he had in mind.
