FIFTEEN
I went back out to the event and bee-lined directly for the bar. If ever I needed a drink, it was now.
Zane might disagree. Hell, if my head was on straight I would too, but it wasn’t.
Nothing was straight. Everything was off kilter as my formerly happy world tilted.
“What can I get for you?” The bartender leaned toward me to be able to hear my reply over the noise of the thickening crowd.
I glanced past him at the selections and nearly cried when I saw they had a full selection of top shelf bourbon.
“Hudson. On the rocks.”
He nodded and grabbed a glass.
It was as if I was distracted and hyper-observant all at once. I heard the sound of the metal scoop hit the ice and the ice fill the glass.
My thoughts were all over the map. My mind pinging wildly like signals off a cell tower.
I was aware of the other patrons. One woman had on far too much perfume and one old guy was speaking much too loudly.
I had to fight the urge to touch the comm in my ear and make sure it wasn’t showing.
Meanwhile, I kept one eye on the escalator to see who was arriving, especially keeping watch for Viktoria, who might possibly be a target.
A target for what and from whom I still didn’t know.
Hell, Zane didn’t even know where the threat would come from, if it came at all.
How had I gotten involved in this shit?
Oh yeah, that’s right. I let Zane do me a favor.
That would never happen again. From now on if that man did anything for me I was paying his going rate and asking for a receipt to confirm there was no debt owed.
“Everything all right?”
I was wound so damn tight, the sound of Alex’s voice close behind me made me jump. I forced myself to turn slowly and smile down at the face of the woman I’d been picturing a future with just a few hours ago.
“Everything is fine. They have my favorite brand of bourbon so I’m more than fine.” I hoped the joke would mask my nerves.
Act normal. The specter of Zane’s warning haunted me.
What would normal me do? The Brent who didn’t suspect his date of being a corporate spy if not an international assassin?
I knew the answer. He’d lean down and kiss those lips that were still too damn tempting.
Zane’s other words of wisdom flew unbidden into my brain.
She wants to blow you, let her.
Jesus. I would too. Because after envisioning that scene it was the only thing I wanted. Her lips wrapped around me.
That couldn’t happen here and now as I waited for my drink, but this could—I thrust my hand beneath her hair, pulled her closer, leaned down and kissed her.
She’d left her hair down tonight. I tangled my fingers in her long tresses and really kissed her. No chaste peck on the lips, but a full out, tongue thrusting, completely inappropriate for a public venue kiss.
I didn’t know if I was madder at her for possibly being a liar or at myself for not being able to control my desire for her. All I knew was I felt better after crushing her mouth with mine and claiming her with that angry kiss.
“Sir.”
The moment ended as quickly as it had begun.
My drink was ready—it didn’t take all that long to pour some bourbon over ice—and there was a line of patrons not so patiently waiting behind me as I blocked their way to the alcohol.
I dropped my hold on Alex. Ignoring the shock on her face, I turned away from her and toward the bar.
I took the drink and thanked the bartender as casually as if I hadn’t just had my tongue down my date’s throat right in front of him and the Van Gough.
This was turning out to be the most surreal night of my life.
“Sure you don’t want anything?” I asked Alex, taking a healthy swallow from my glass before she even had a chance to respond.
“No, thank you.” She continued to watch me closely.
I was done with her scrutiny. My bourbon muscles making me brave, I laid my arm around her shoulders, angled us both forward and said, “Then let’s go mingle.”
“Mingle?” she asked.
“Sure. Isn’t that what these things are for?”
If she were talking to someone else, I’d have a chance to observe her. Maybe glean some answers to my many questions while she made conversation with the other guests.
That gave me an idea.
“Who do you know from this organization, anyway?” I asked.
“What?” She looked surprised by my question.
“You had two tickets so I assume you have a personal connection to the not-for-profit running this thing.”
Her eyes widened and she sputtered.
If she couldn’t even answer the simple question of where she’d gotten the tickets something was very wrong.
Holy shit. Was Zane right?
With every fiber of my being I didn’t want him to be right. I wanted Alex to be just the struggling college student who liked to volunteer and had dreams of entering the workforce.
But now that I looked at her more closely, there was a level of confidence within her, a strength that was in direct opposition to the other side she liked to trot out for me—that being the shy woman in the red dress who looked uncomfortable accepting a compliment and dodged attention.
I was so stupid. A woman who didn’t like attention, the way she pretended not to, would never have worn that dress.
Alex was a honey pot.
Jesus.
It took me a moment, but once I wrapped my head around that concept I realized that made me Winnie the Pooh, the bumbling fool willing to do anything to get me some of her honey.
Somehow mixing characters from a children’s story with the sexual game of intrigue we were involved in seemed particularly wrong to me.
Fuck. This whole thing felt wrong to me.
“Brent.”
I jumped again as Zane’s voice filled my ear.
Did he expect me to answer? Now? Couldn’t he hear that I was standing right next to Alex and couldn’t reply?
“I’m sending you backup,” he continued without waiting for a response. But all his information did was raise more questions in my mind.
Why was he sending backup? Had he learned something new? Was Viktoria in danger? Was I? And who the fuck was he sending to help me?
“I’ll let you know when he’s in place. It might be awhile so keep acting normal until I get back to you.”
Easier said than done, but at least I knew a bit more than I had before.
Meanwhile, both the conversation and my steps had lagged during the little one-sided conversation in my ear.
I glanced down to find Alex starring at me.
“Sorry. I just realized I forgot to email my assistant in Virginia to tell her that I might not be in until late Monday.”
“Oh?” she asked.
I forced a smile I hoped looked genuine. “Yeah. You see, there’s a very tempting woman who I was hoping would keep me occupied late tonight, so I’ll have to take the train on Monday morning instead of tomorrow.”
Her gaze met and held mine and in her eyes I imagined I saw emotion that actually looked genuine. This woman was either the best actress on the planet or Zane was very wrong.
Or maybe there was a third option.
Perhaps she was as confused as I was, physically craving this person in front of me more than I’d ever wanted a woman in my life—wanting her to be the kind of person I’d believed her to be—all in spite of the evidence that she might well be working against me.
Fuck it.
I downed the remainder of the drink and ditched the glass on a nearby tray. Then, right there in the middle of the bustling crowd, I grabbed Alex’s face between my palms, stepped in close to her body and took possession of her mouth one more time.
If I was Winnie the Pooh in this scenario, I intended to gorge myself on the honey pot in my hands.
I’d worry about the consequences later.