Selena laughed and turned back to face him, putting her hand on his chest. His body reacted instantly to the heat from her palm, blood rushing to the surface of his chest, and to other places, too.
“I sometimes forget who I’m talking to. It’s a Scottish expression. It means I’ll be staying away from her.”
He liked when she laughed. Particularly when she threw her head back to do it and revealed the golden expanse of her neck. There were too many darn folds in her costume. The parts skimming her body were revealing, giving a hint of something without giving too much away.
Enough to drive a man plain crazy.
Her gaze swept around the room. “Okay, fill me in. How many of the women in this room are your exes?”
His drink caught at the back of his throat and he spluttered. Straight to the point. Exactly what he liked about her.
He laughed. “You don’t actually want to know that, do you?”
She folded her arms. “Sure, I do. I don’t want to be attacked by some jealous ex in the ladies’ room. I like to be prepared.”
He shook his head and glanced across the room. “There are a couple of women in the room that I’ve dated. But nothing serious. Not at all. And more importantly, I don’t want you doing anything to mess up that costume.” He didn’t say the rest of his words playing around in his mind. Some women were more than a little superficial. There was never a truer saying than beauty was only skin deep. Colt’s body was the walking example of that and some women couldn’t handle anything less than perfection. What if Selena didn’t like what she found underneath his designer clothes?
She took a sip from her straw. He tried not to focus on her lips, but it was almost as if she knew he was watching. Her tongue came out and ran along them, making them glisten in the dim lights. “You don’t?”
“No. I definitely don’t.”
Her eyes flicked to the left. “What about Helen?”
He raised his eyebrows. “What about Helen?”
“What will she say about the fact that we’re together? Did you tell her you only invited me as part of the staff?”
“Did I?” He moved closer and put a hand on her hip, the thin material did nothing to hide the warmth of her skin. He could only imagine how silky smooth it felt underneath.
She lifted her hand and placed it on his shoulder, pulling him a little closer. “I’m not sure, Colt; we didn’t really discuss it.” Her voice was low. “Want to let me in on the secret?”
He’d every intention of letting her in on his plans—just not in public. His plans were only for two. “What I do in my time is none of Helen’s business. She knows that.” He leaned forward and murmured in her ear. “And I don’t believe we signed an official contract.”
Her eyebrows rose. “So, that’s how you’re getting around it.”
Yep. And Helen couldn’t argue with it. Selena hadn’t signed a contract with terms of employment. Thank goodness. It had been a verbal agreement and that was good enough for him.
He made to walk over to the bar, and she grabbed his arm. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t leave me here unguarded. Josh is doing the rounds, and I don’t want to have to listen to him.”
“You really don’t like him, do you?”
“Do you?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t like him much at all.”
She lifted her hand and pointed to Josh, who was standing a few people away. “I mean, what does he actually do?”
Colt shrugged. He’d already made his feelings clear about this to Helen. But it wasn’t really something he should discuss with someone from the clinic.
Selena’s eyes narrowed as she watched him. He could almost hear the whirring of her brain. “Do you actually know how many thousands of dollars of receipts he owes the clinic for expenses?”
“What?” Colt felt a chill sweep over his body. He tried not to think about Josh at all. “I heard you ask him for receipts. I assumed it wouldn’t be for much. Want to tell me the amount?”
She murmured a figure and his mind boggled. What? He’d never really had much to do with the day to day running of the clinic. Maybe he should be paying more attention. He couldn’t imagine why Josh would need to be reimbursed for costs like those. “Leave it with me.”
Selena faced him and his attention was instantly back on her. The Josh stuff could wait. He would file it into the back of his head and follow it up later.
“What do you say we do the clinic thing for a while, then we get out of here?” He let his words hang in the air.
She moved her head. There it was again. A reveal of lightly tanned flesh. One of her buns was starting to untwist, leaving blond tendrils of hair scattered around her neck.
He caught one with his finger.
“Are you implying we should be doing something else, Dr. Travers? Why, I hardly know you.” There was wicked grin plastered across her face and a glint in her eyes. She’d put her second hand on his chest now and any attempts at decorum were about to be lost.
“Maybe I’d like to get to know you a little better.”
“Now, now, Dr. Travers. First, I was a patient. Now, a member of staff. Didn’t we have an agreement about a countdown?” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “In one week and two days there won’t be a single reason we can’t get involved. No boundaries.” She was taunting him. Seeing how far she could push him. And he liked it.
It was the gel between them. The thing that made electricity spark every time they were together. She sparked off him. She challenged him.
She moved in front of him and picked up the cocktail menu. All he could focus on was the way the slinky, white material clung to the outline of her behind.
“You broke the boundaries the second you put that goddamn costume on,” he growled.
“Still liking it then?” She perused the menu, and the waiter was back in a flash ready to do her bidding.
“Can I recommend the Trapeze Artist’s Special? It’s rum-based and flavored with orange. I think you’ll like it.”
“Sounds great.” She leaned against the marble counter as she watched the bartender make her drink.
“Personal service now, I see.” It irked him, even though he tried not to show it. He didn’t like the way the young barman was looking at her. His palms were itchy and every part of his body was on full alert. A w
hole new sensation around a woman. Was this what it felt to be jealous?
There was a ripple around them as someone entered the room. Magdalena had arrived, and she was wearing as little as possible.
A purple-sequin bikini adorned her perfect fiftysomething body. She should well flaunt it—she’d paid a fortune for it. Around the bikini was a bunch of purple balloons inflated to give the illusion of a bunch of grapes. How long would it take for the balloons to be popped and Magdalena have everyone admire her wonderful body?
Selena mirrored his thoughts. “Wanna take bets Josh Ridgeway will be the first guy to pop one of her balloons?”
Colt tried to hold back his laughter. As if on cue, Josh wound his way across the room with his spiky Borg head, straight into the path of Magdalena and her entourage.
“Isn’t she booked for Tuesday?”
Colt nodded. “Here’s hoping there are no problems. Past experience has taught me the quicker we can get Magdalena in and out, the better.”
Selena sighed. “It appears to be a common complaint with the celebs. The whole world seems to revolve around them. How can you stand it?”
Colt shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. They pay our overinflated prices and it means we can support places like Helen’s House. It’s the only reason I put up with their crap.”
“Finally.” There was a look of triumph in Selena’s eyes. “You’re admitting your prices are overinflated.” She was poised over the frosted glass she’d been given and was about to take a drink from a straw that was speared through a clown’s nose.
He watched, hypnotized as she ran her tongue along her plump lips, then wrapped them around the straw. He could feel his stomach clench. He really didn’t need his imagination kicking into gear right now. If only she could use that tongue in some other places…
A blob of the thick, frozen cocktail spilled over onto the outside of the straw, and she caught it with a flick of her tongue. His heart pounded, blood racing through his veins. He was about to be undone.