He traced her curves with his eyes again. She wore her beauty the way other women wore perfume, he mused. He doubted a man in the world could resist her charms.
The thought made him remember that he would not be the only man enjoying the gorgeous vision she presented tonight. Red Wolf’s townsmen would be treated as well.
Horny bastards all of them, and as her bodyguard, it was his duty to put an end to trouble before it even began.
He folded his arms across his chest, his stance rigid as a frozen tree. “No, I don’t like the dress, and you aren’t wearing it. Put something else on.”
“Something else?” She picked up her skirts and swept them outward. “But Roman, this gown is perfectly suitable to wear to supper.”
He glared at the gown, trying to think of something wrong with it. “It’s too tight. You won’t be able to eat—”
“I will be able to eat just fine.”
He watched the play of shadow between her lush cleavage. “Button up the front.”
She looked at the bodice. “This dress has no buttons on the front.”
He stared at the gown again. “It’s dragging the ground. The streets are dusty.”
“I can have it laundered.”
“Well, the chairs at Victoria’s are full of splinters.Jaggedsplinters. They’ll rip that dress to shreds when you sit down, so take it off and put something else—”
“Victoria’s?”
“Victoria’s Cafe. It’s the only restaurant in Red Wolf, and the chairs aren’t fit for more than firewood!”
She slid her gloves on. “Roman, perhaps you should tell me the truth about what is bothering you about my appearance.”
He suspected if he didn’t tell her, she’d analyze it out of him. “All right. The truth is that that dress is going to attract every ruttish son-of-a-bitch in Red Wolf. You’ve already had your ridiculous fliers distributed, Theodosia, and the men here have already read them. You’re probably the only new woman in town, so they’ll know right away that you’re Theodosia Worth and are willing to pay gold to be bedded. They’re going to crowd around you—”
“As my hired bodyguard, you will take the proper measures to—”
“I can’t fend off a whole damned herd of panting—”
“A herd?” Theodosia smiled. “Really, Roman, you exaggerate.” Still smiling, she draped her lacy shawl over her shoulders and headed out the door.
Roman followed, growling curses all the way. Before they’d even left the hotel, he’d glared down three men, elbowed another four out of the way, and revealed his Colts to two others.
“I don’t know why we couldn’t have eaten in the room,” he muttered, escorting her down the boardwalk.
She slipped her gloved hand into the crook of his elbow. “I thought it would be nice to dine in a restaurant, but let’s not linger. It’s possible a few men will come to the room later, in answer to my circular, and I must be there to meet them.”
Roman decided he would keep her out well past midnight. He’d order a twenty-course meal, then relax for hours over coffee. After that, he’d walk her around the town and show her… Show her what?
Damn Red Wolf for being such a boring place!
“This is it,” he said, stopping her in front of Victoria’s Caf6 and escorting her inside.
The small restaurant charmed Theodosia. Clean, well-starched tablecloths of yellow-and-white gingham and small terra-cotta vases filled with red poppies covered every table. Shiny copper pots and pans, baskets, and paintings of flower gardens hung on the bright yellow walls, and someone had swept the polished wooden floor clean of all debris.
“Judging by this restaurant, I would venture to guess that there dwell civil people in Red Wolf, Roman. That, of course, raises the odds that a few intelligent men will be calling on me.”
Roman scanned the gathering of people in the cafe, his gaze meeting that of every man who looked at Theodosia. Some turned back to their meals, but others defied his silent warnings and ogled the woman at his side. “They all look pretty damned stupid to me.”
“Roman!” a woman called from across the room. Theodosia watched as the well-endowed woman sashayed toward Roman. When the lady reached him, she circled her arms around his waist and kissed him full on the mouth.
A totally unfamiliar emotion sizzled through Theodosia, melting the smile from her lips. She tried to step away.
