Panic sets in and my first thought is to take flight and leave before Cameron gets here. Or I could be as reckless as Iceman thinks I am. I can be that woman. Or I can at least pretend to be for one night. I take a shaky breath. “I could see if I can book a room.”
“I have a room,” he says. “I’ll be heading back to Chicago first thing tomorrow morning, but that still leaves the whole night.” He inches closer until we’re almost nose to nose. I can feel his warm breath on my wet lips. “I can give you everything you want, Grace. Multiple times.”
The corners of his mouth tug when I shift in my seat. He knows the effect his words have just had on me.
“Are you sure this is whatyouwant?” I ask, recalling how he’d dismissed me earlier. A man who looks like he does must have his pick of beautiful women. I’m nothing special.
“Goddamn it, Grace,” he says hoarsely. “I’ve been watching you from the moment you stepped into the hotel. And I’ve been imagining all the things I want to do to you to the point of distraction.” His eyes bounce between mine as he reads my shock. His shoulders sag. “You have no idea how fucking beautiful you are. How unworthy your bastard of a husband is. And that tells me what I knew from the start. You’re going to be trouble.”
“Only for one night.”
It’s meant to reassure us both, but it might just be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.
“We’re needed in the lobby,” the second security guard interrupts. I’d completely forgotten he was there. “Rory’s looking for you.”
He must mean Rory Moncrief. He and his family own amultinational hospitality empire, and if money and power weren’t enough, all the Moncrief men are built like Celtic warriors and are known for their trademark wild red hair. They should be intimidating, but according to Brooke, he’d been utterly charming when they’d met to discuss her proposal for the Exemplar.
“Duke, he’ll only come searching for you,” his co-worker adds when he doesn’t get a response.
Iceman’s name is Duke. Surely a nickname, but it suits him.
“I have to go,” Duke says to me. “But I’ll be back when Cameron arrives.” He heaves himself up to his full height, towering over me. Picking up one side of my dress, he covers my bare thighs. “In the meantime, no one else comes near you, Angel.”
I play with the stem of my espresso martini glass, but it remains otherwise untouched. I can’t get drunk. My two previous cocktails have given me the courage to stay, but one more might be my undoing. I wouldn’t want Duke to question if I was too drunk to consent to whatever I’m about to do.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Grace?” Cameron hisses in my ear, an echo of the voice of doubt in my head I’d been trying to ignore.
My husband appears on my left where Duke had stood, but he occupies far less space. Cameron is of average build and while he’s naturally lean, he’s not toned. I found him attractive once. Other women still do. You have to get to know Cameron really well to see the ugliness that lies just beneath his skin.
“You’ve had a wasted trip. Go away,” I hiss while quickly scanning my surroundings. There are a couple of men in dark suits nearby with earpieces. I know they work with Duke because they’ve been chasing away any man who’s got within six feet of me since he left. He said he’d be back by now. He’s not. Am I being served another lesson on how not to trust a man’s word?
Cameron grabs my wrist and my martini glass almost tips. I yelp in shock, as does Cameron when a tattooed hand clamps on his shoulder.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” warns one of the security guards charged with watching me.
“And who are you?” Cameron demands. The man simply stares and Cameron has the good sense to release his grip on my wrist. He turns to me and scowls. “Isthisthe man who thinks he can fuck my wife?”
“No. That would be me,” comes a deep voice from behind me. A thick arm wraps around my waist and I lean back into solid muscle. Duke’s mouth presses against my ear. “Sorry. I got held up, but I’m all yours now.”
As I turn my head, Duke doesn’t move away and my lips ghost his. “You came at just the right time.”
“And so will you, Angel,” he promises.
Cameron makes a weird gulping sound as he swallows. He flinches when Duke turns his attention back to him, but in the next breath he puffs out his chest. Idiot.
“We both know the Moncriefs wouldn’t want a scandal spoiling an important night like this,” Cameron warns, albeit with a slight wobble to his voice. “I presume from the earpiece, you’re an employee and not a guest, so I suggest you back the fuck away from my wife.”
I lose the warmth of Duke’s embrace as he positions himself between me and my husband. Leaning to the side, Ican still see enough to enjoy how far Cameron has to tip back his head to hold Duke’s gaze.
“What scandal would that be?” Duke asks in a disarmingly pleasant tone. “There isn’t a single person in this room who will admit to seeing me cause you grievous bodily harm when I smash your face against this bar, and I’m pretty sure that includes the woman you’ve cheated on multiple times.” He looms over Cameron. “But feel free to put my theory to the test.”
Cameron takes a step back only to slam into another wall of muscle. It’s the man who’d been standing with Duke earlier.
Duke cocks his head at my husband, waiting until it’s clear he’s not going to get a response. “Max here will escort you out of the hotel. I don’t want to see you again. Nor does your ex-wife, and I strongly suggest you’re gone by the time she gets home.”
Cameron glances to me, eyes imploring. “Grace…”
“He’s right,” I tell him. “I don’t want to see you again. I want you to sign the divorce papers I left out for you and get out of my life.”
