Weekend Agreement (14 page)

Plucking the glass from her fingers, he set it on the table, putting his down after draining the contents. “Dance with me, Charlotte.”

It turned out that in spite of the champagne, Cole danced like an expert. He twirled and guided her around the dance floor with the ease of a professional. Good thing one of them knew how, because Charlotte wasn’t paying a lick of attention. She was busy looking for Daniel. A perverse part of her wanted to see if he looked at the actress with the same smoldering intensity he showed her.

“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look?” Cole was asking.

“Several times. Keep it up and you’ll turn my head.”
In more ways than one.
A red dress caught her attention, but before she could focus, Cole spun her around.

“Good to know. Maybe I’ll be able to tear your attention away from my brother.”

Never going to happen.
In a way she felt sorry for Cole. He had to know he was a bland substitute for his older brother. “How are your business plans coming along?”

“Business?” He frowned.

“Your racing boat idea.”

“Oh that. Coming along. Right now it’s still in the funding stages. Once we have the investors, my friend and I will look at finding someone to draw up the design for it.”

“You won’t do it yourself?”

“I’m more of the idea man. You know, the guy who dreams up the concept. I’ll let other people handle the actual business end of things.”

Charlotte nodded. She understood now why Daniel had been reluctant to invest.

Where was Daniel anyway? She looked around the room again. Finally she spotted the actress—how she’d missed her before Charlotte didn’t know—but she was dancing with William. Daniel was nowhere to be seen.

Cole’s large hand moved upward, splaying on the center of her back and pulling her closer. “Daniel missed out. You’re not only beautiful, you’re a terrific dancer.”

They twirled, and Charlotte used the momentum to slide back from his grasp slightly. “Don’t you think you could do better than spend the night hitting on your brother’s”—she almost said “date”—“companion?”

Cole’s smile turned oily. “I can do lots of things better than my brother.”

Thankfully the song ended, and begging off a second dance Charlotte loosened herself from his grip. His drunken flirting might be benign, but it still made her uncomfortable. Cole in general made her uncomfortable. She supposed it was because she saw too much of Vivian in the man.

After telling Cole she was going to take a quick walk around the room, she headed toward the windows, hoping to spy Daniel. She was in luck. He stood not far from her destination, locked in conversation with his mother. Daniel’s back was to her, but it was obvious from the look on Vivian’s face that the conversation wasn’t a pleasant one.

“Good Lord, Daniel,” she heard Vivian say, “must you see conspiracies in everything?”

“When it comes to you, yes,” he answered. Hearing the bleakness in his voice, Charlotte’s heart constricted. He’d said the same thing this afternoon. And now here he was, faced with them again. “I’m sure the minute Valerie heard the words ‘magazine spread’ she jumped right on board.” He shook his head. “You really are a piece of work, you know that? Both of you.”

“I wouldn’t have to go to such trouble if you’d simply cooperate once in a while. But, no, you have to make everything about you. Your dates, your money. Tell me, does this cynicism of yours apply to your professor friend as well?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’d like to know too,” Charlotte asked aloud.

Two pairs of eyes turned in her direction, Vivian’s glittering as hard as the jewels around her neck and Daniel’s wide and indecipherable. “This is a family matter, Professor Doherty,” Vivian said, ice coating her words. “It’s none of your concern.”

“On the contrary, you mentioned me. I’d say that it does concern me very much, and I’d appreciate you keeping your thoughts to yourself.” Folding her arms, Charlotte returned the woman’s stare, chill for chill. “In addition, whatever Daniel thinks of me, or doesn’t think of me, isn’t your business either.”

Vivian looked like she’d been slapped. Like a pro, however, she quickly recovered her bearings, superior air and all. “Well-played,” she said, patting her hair, then, she brushed past them.

Daniel didn’t say a word. He remained with his back to her. Outside, the storm winds rattled at the window. The storm was rattling inside too. No matter what Vivian did, she was still Daniel’s mother and insulting her may—scratch that, probably did—cross the line.

“I can apologize if you want me to,” she told his back.

“Don’t, Charlotte. Don’t say another word.” When he turned, his eyes were blacker than she’d ever seen. But not with anger. No. An emotion far stronger churned in their depths. So strong Charlotte’s heart leap to her throat.

His arm slipped around her waist. “Dance with me, Professor. Right here, right now.”

She melted into his arms and found herself enveloped by the same feeling of rightness that came from holding his hand. Their bodies swayed in synergy, locked in a private little dance their bodies instinctively recognized. Like two peas in a pod.

Or two lovers.
Charlotte shivered.

“Cold?” Daniel’s voice was low and honeyed. As he spoke, he stroked her spine. He knew full well the real reason for her reaction.

Shaking her head, Charlotte gave herself over to the pleasure accompanying his touch. One song blended into another and still they danced. Neither of them said a word. The possessiveness of his embrace said all she needed to know. Lifting her head, she saw him gazing down at her through heavy-lidded eyes. One hand broke free long enough to caress her cheek. A tremor ran through her as his feathery touch traced the outline of her jaw. His thumb played with the swell of her lower lip. Anticipation replaced the sound of music in the air. She tried to whisper his name, but the ability to speak, along with her breath, had died in her throat.

It seemed an eternity, but at last his head dipped toward hers. When their lips finally touched, the kiss was lighter than a breath. Still, to Charlotte it tasted like water in a desert. Dimly, her closed eyes sensed the flashing of the storm. The crackle of thunder mingled with the blood pounding in her ears.

And then the room went dark.

…

A collective groan filled the room. Daniel couldn’t agree more. He’d suspected the storm would eventually knock out the electricity, be he had to say the power grid’s timing truly stank. Reluctantly, he let go of the woman in his arms, again agreeing when he heard Charlotte sigh.

“Guess the storm is closer than I thought,” he said, brushing a tendril from her cheek.
In more ways than one
, he added to himself.

“What do we do now?”

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to finish the kiss he started, but with a couple hundred people panicking around them, that wasn’t possible. Instead, he slid his hands down Charlotte’s bare arms and maneuvered her away from the crowd. “Stay here,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

Thanks to the candles and tealights flickering away, the room wasn’t completely dark and he could navigate his way to the staging area with ease. Across the throng, he thought he saw William attempting to do the same, but he was bogged down by Vivian and unfortunately had to deal with her first. And Cole… Well, Cole would have a delayed reaction time by this hour, so there was no knowing where he was.

“No need to worry,” he said in a loud voice as he stepped in front of the band. No point using the microphone. “We’ve got an emergency generator for exactly this kind of problem. I’m on my way to turn it on right now. No sense traipsing about in the dark. Stay here, find a glass of champagne, and the party will resume before you know it.”

The fuse box was located in the basement, off the kitchen. Grabbing a candelabrum off a nearby table, Daniel set out, again cursing the timing. He already missed the scent of Charlotte’s skin—vanilla and spice. And her warmth. His fingers missed the sensation of her sheer silk gown as they traced across her back.

He knew when he saw Charlotte on the stairs, looking like a Greek goddess come to life, that she’d test the physical limits of his desire. But when she told off Vivian… Good God! Her outrage pushed his arousal into overload. Suddenly he didn’t give two hoots about some stupid clause or the money he’d lose out on. He wanted her. Tonight.
Now
. Imagining her splayed across his sheets, he quickened his pace, jogging down the corridor and into the kitchen where Paul and the catering staff were panicking.

“Thank goodness,” Paul gushed when Daniel pushed through the door. “Please tell me you know where the generator switch is.”

“Going to turn it on right now,” he said, and yanked open the basement doors. The only room he was interested in keeping dark was his own.

Halfway down the stairs, a hand wrapped itself in his. A smile curved his lips upward. “I thought I told you to…” Smelling gardenias, he let the sentence drift off.

Valerie.

“You’re a hard man to catch up with,” she said, coming into his line of vision. “Do you know how difficult it is running in these heels?”

“Why were you chasing after me in the first place?” He’d hoped his quick dismissal of her earlier gave her the message he was no longer interested.

“I don’t like the dark.”

“So you left a semi-lit room to run through a dark house?” The excuse was transparent, even for her.

She offered a practiced, shy smile. “I thought I’d feel safer with you. Besides, this will give us a chance to be alone to talk.”

“We talked upstairs.”

“No, I mean really talk. I know you’re upset about Steven, but you have to know, he means nothing to me.”

That, thought Daniel, as he stepped off the bottom stair, might be the first truthful comment to ever leave her lips.

“I didn’t even want to go to that premiere.” Which, naturally, she followed up with a lie.

“Must have been awful for you, being forced to endure all that press attention,” Daniel said stonily.

“I would have rather been with you,” she purred.

They’d reached the fuse box. Taking advantage of the fact that they were no longer moving, she pressed her body tightly against his. Her hands snaked around his torso, slipping beneath his jacket, her fingers toying with the studs on his shirt. “Your mother did us a favor by calling me,” she murmured. “Now that I’m here we can get back on the same page.”

Daniel smiled to himself. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Mmm-hmmm. Wouldn’t you? You know we’re good together. We understand each other.”

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. Daniel could feel her breath tickling his ear. He felt the swell of her breasts pressing between his shoulder blades, and her hips moving against his rear.

His libido felt nothing. Or rather, next to nothing. What he felt was annoyed that she was down here wasting his time and keeping him from the woman he truly wanted.

“Oh, I understand you all right,” he said, flipping on the generator. “I’m just not sure you understand me.”

“Why don’t you fill me in then? Tell me what you want?”

Want? She couldn’t begin to give him what he wanted. Using his free hand, he pried himself loose from her grasp and turned around. In the candlelight, Valerie glowed like a beautiful, perfectly designed angel. A woman most men would kill for. And truth be told, for a while they
had
worked well together, like a shark and its remora. But he was no longer interested in a symbiotic relationship. He wanted something more, something that he sensed lurking just off the precipice, intangible and unidentifiable.

Something that he wondered might not be waiting upstairs.

“Sorry, Val,” he said, heading toward the steps, “but I’m afraid we’re all played out.”

Her perfect lips drew into a pout. “You can’t mean that, Daniel. I came all this way…”

“Ah, but I do. Cheer up, though, at least you got the magazine coverage my mother promised you. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have business to finish upstairs.”

Chapter Eleven

Throughout the ballroom, people milled about using what light the candles threw to guide their way. Vivian’s voice could be heard above the din imploring the band to play, and for people to drink up. And most people did. Dealing with the power outage was far preferable to battling the storm outside. Pressed against the wall, Charlotte sipped a glass of champagne and tried to calm her pulse. In her case, the racing had nothing to do with the power failure and everything to do with the moments right before, when Daniel kissed her.

They’d been dancing around the physical attraction since the beach. There was no doubt he wanted her. Did he want her as much as she wanted him? She didn’t know if that was possible. Her body literally ached for his touch to return.

Judy, of course, would tell her she was being a fool and reading too much into the moment. So what if Daniel broke their proprietary clause, she would say. To him, the money he stood to lose was a drop in the bucket. The equivalent of someone like him buying an expensive watch. Charlotte, however, wasn’t so sure. Judy hadn’t been in Daniel’s arms or felt the spark that ignited when their lips touched. She hadn’t seen the emotion shining in his eyes.