Eric gave the bar another sweep. He didn’t see Julie. But she was here. He knew it.
It would have helped if he knew which alias she had chosen for the night. He saw a man on the dance floor grab an unsuspecting woman’s ass. If it was Trashy Julie, he was going to get her out of here fast. If it was Almost Bare Julie, he would approach her with great caution.
Eric reached for his cell phone. He hesitated as he stared at the screen. He had called her throughout the day, but she hadn’t taken any of his calls.
Of course she hadn’t. He basically said she wanted sex with him to prove something. He wanted to kick himself after he suggested it, but he didn’t trust the attraction between them. He couldn’t imagine why someone as sweet and innocent as Julie would want anything to do with someone like him.
Eric returned the phone to his pocket and did surveillance around the dance floor. Julie wouldn’t hang around the corner or in the shadows. That wasn’t how she would get information. She would capture the spotlight or be in the center of the action.
One thing he could never accuse Julie of was cowardice. She was gutsy. He’d usually admire that in a colleague, but sometimes the gutsy move was showing patience or making a sacrifice. He didn’t think Julie was capable of that.
The woman in front of him flagrantly gyrated her hips to catch his attention. Eric gave her a cool stare. She stopped and quickly moved away.
If only Julie had shown that kind of common sense, he thought as he walked onto the dance floor. She needed to learn not to tease him or push her luck.
A movement caught his eye in the center of the crowd. He slowly turned his head in time to find a woman moving with mesmerizing grace. Her arms were raised, her hands curved like a ballerina as she swayed to the music.
Julie.
Eric stood motionless as he watched Julie dance. She tilted her head back and grabbed the full length of her straight hair. She piled it up on top of her head as she moved to the hypnotic beat. He stared at her, wanting to sweep his tongue along the curve of her neck and taste her fragrant skin.
He fought against the pang of jealousy as she danced in sync with another man. She was the focus of many, but she didn’t notice. Even from where he stood he could tell she wasn’t aware of her partner. Julie was lost in the music.
Eric swallowed hard as Julie rolled her hips to the primitive beat of the drums. Her fire-engine-red dress pulled against her curves. She really shouldn’t dance in that dress. It was short, tight and strapless. Every man held their breath in anticipation of a glimpse of more.
Sweet and innocent. The words mocked him. He hadn’t seen this side of her, or he never allowed himself to see it. It didn’t go with the image he had of Julie Kent. He would never make a move on Good-Girl Julie with her ladylike dresses and shy blushes.
But each alias revealed a side of her. She could be sophisticated or bawdy. Rebellious and mysterious. Julie wasn’t pretending to be someone else. She was exploring what was hidden behind her good-girl image.
And tonight she was Femme Fatale Julie. She could seduce with just one knowing look. Enchant and hold a man spellbound. Charm him into telling his secrets.
She could do that without the makeup and the red dress, Eric decided as he cut a path through the throng. She got him talking about stuff he didn’t tell his partner.
He shouldn’t have told her how he felt about being a special agent. He never planned to, but he wanted her to understand what could go wrong. Instead, he shared something he wasn’t comfortable with. That wasn’t like him. As a child he had learned never to discuss what was going on in his home or in his life. A part of him knew Julie wouldn’t use it against him, but another part of him was waiting for his words to come back and haunt him.
Eric reached Julie. Her dance partner glared at him, ready to defend his find. Eric glared right back at him and took a step closer. The other guy paled and took a step back. When Eric took another step forward, the guy melted away in the crowd.
He seized Julie’s wrist and whirled her around. She gasped and wobbled in her sky-high heels. She opened her eyes and grabbed his arm as she regained her
balance.
“Eric!” Her eyes were wide and she clung to him. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same.” He took another close look at her dress. He wasn’t sure what was keeping it from falling.
“I’m dancing.”
“Dance with me,” he challenged her.
Julie slid out of his grasp. “Sorry, not unless I can prove my power over you.”