“He’s not getting lucky either,” Becca said with a grin.
“I second that.” Grace said with a chuckle.
The sisters split up around the room, each taking a direction and circling the partygoers as if they were prey. One of them was bound to recognize an unwelcome face or get a funky vibe. Ghosts swirled in and out of groups, stopping to listen to conversations.
“He’s not going to know anyone,” Harper said, trying to keep her lips as still as possible as she talked, hoping not to look like she belonged in a mental institution for having a conversation with herself. “He won’t be in a crowd. Look for loners.”
“Or wait staff,” Becca said.
Harper hadn’t thought about the waiters and waitresses mingling with the guests, offering food and hors d’oeuvres. If someone actually wanted her dead and knew her better, all they’d have to do was put arsenic in the chocolate desserts. She could sniff out dessert fifty yards away, in a room full of sweaty cowboys.
She grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waitress, knowing the person after her was male. Still, it was just for show. No way was she drinking anything unless she personally pulled the cork.
Harper stood in front of the dessert table and inwardly cursed that she wouldn’t be sampling any of that sugar tonight.
“Don’t even think about it,” Quinn said into the earpiece. “We don’t know if any of that is contaminated.”
“No one else is getting sick,” Harper mumbled as a man grabbed a pastry and shoved it into his mouth as he walked by. Her heart dropped into the pit of her empty stomach.
“Not yet,” Quinn said. “Give them a few hours, and if no one’s croaked, only then can you eat.”
“They need a special place in hell to string a man up by his balls for denying me the right to eat perfectly fine chocolate,” Harper mumbled and spun around, back to the crowd. Her night wasgetting longer, and she was getting more pissy by the minute.
Three hours went by, and the party was winding down. The unwrapped gifts they’d collected for the orphanage for Christmas had exceeded previous years. Thank God it wasn’t her year to organize the delivery to the orphanage so the orphans had something to open on Christmas Day. Harper plopped down at an empty table and kicked off her shoes to alleviate the pain in her feet. Her stomach grumbled in protest just from looking at the half-eaten cake someone had left behind. The bottled water she drank left her feeling bloated and waterlogged. How was anyone supposed to endure these parties if not in a tipsy haze?
A strong hand landed on her shoulder, making her body tense until she locked eyes with the owner. Ryker Cage.
“I thought you could use this. I know I could.” He lifted the unopened bottle of champagne and set two flutes on the table.
“You must be a mind reader.”
He smiled without responding, making quick haste of opening the bottle. He poured them each a glass and handed her one. “Looks like Richard didn’t like the venue.”
Richard Grant. A name she’d now take with her to the grave. The only man ableto separate her from her chocolate deserved to die a slow, painful death. A smile slipped on her lips. “I guess we’ll save the ball crushing for another day unless, of course, I find him hiding under my bed.”
Ryker sat back in the chair and held her gaze. There was something deep and mesmerizing in his eyes that shielded his mystery. She’d miss their weekly chats when everything was said and done. Ryker’s gaze caressed her face and dropped to her lips. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come clean early on.”
“Me too.” Those two little words spoke volumes, but that was all he deserved.
Ryker lifted Harper’s foot to his lap. She could feel the bulge in his pants as he settled his big fingers in the ball of her foot. He pressed, making her eyes slide closed in momentary bliss. A soft moan slipped from her lips. He worked the soreness out of one, and then she lifted the other one and wiggled it in his face. He chuckled.
“You’re kind of pushy,” he said through his smile and chuckled.
“You offered.” Harper shrugged and sipped her champagne. Damn him. Not only was he hung like a bull, but he also had magical fingers.
“Is that all it takes because I have a lot more to offer, if you just say the word.”
She slipped her feet free and tucked them back into her shoes. “Office relationships are frowned upon at our company. I guess my dad didn’t give you the rule book.” She tsked and smiled as she rose.
“Good thing this isn’t a relationship.” He rose, crowding her with his body. His warm palm cupped her arm as he lifted her chin to meet his gaze. Harper’s entire body went from half asleep to electrified just by his touch. He leaned in, and she held her breath.
His breath was hot in her ear. He whispered, “Come home with me.”
He pressed a sensuous kiss at the nape of her neck.
“Deep throat that microphone like a rock star.” Quinn’s voice broke Harper from the erotic haze, coming loud and clear over the transmitter still in her ear.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t even know where home is,” Cara said.
