Her corset was held together in front by a row of bows. She reached down, found the end of one of the ribbons, and tugged it almost open. Then she put the ribbon to his lips. With a jerk of his head, he finished the job. Her breasts spilled out of the garment…just enough to be a tease.

She lifted up on her knees a little. Like lightning he grasped the end of the next ribbon with his teeth and tugged that one open, too. Her breasts tumbled out, brushing his face. He groaned, trying to catch a nipple with his tongue and teeth.

“Uh-uh,” she scolded, wagging a finger. Feeling the intimate contact like a wave of shivers.

“Let me,” he pleaded.

“Finish undoing the bows. Then we’ll see.”

His hot breath puffed over her skin, his wet tongue grazed her flesh as he bent to his task. Her nipples spiraled harder. Achy coils of desire tightened around her center.

He made quick work of the bows. Clever man. The corset slid to the floor. On impulse, she unclasped her G-string and let it slither off, too. She wanted to be completely naked for him.

His expression was pure sin as his gaze caressed her.

“You are so damn beautiful,” he whispered.

Still up on her knees, she bent forward, offering him her breasts. She wanted to feel his mouth on her. He latched on like a hungry babe, suckling one then the other, until she was panting with need.

With a groan, she pulled herself away. “Any more and I’ll come,” she murmured.

“Do it,” he urged. “I want to see you come apart for me again.”

“Not here.” She eased out a shuddering breath.

He blinked and glanced around, as though he’d completely forgotten where they were. He’d dug his fingers deep into the divan back, holding on to the cushions with a death grip, but now he eased them off and flexed them. “God. You’re right. What was I thinking?” He nuzzled his lips against her throat. “Let’s get out of here.”

“I still have another show.”

“Forget it. You’re coming home with me.” He stood up, sweeping her into his arms. “Now.”

She didn’t protest, other than to insist on picking up her discarded costume and his jacket and tie. He and Lecherous Lou seemed to have some kind of understanding. Hopefully she wouldn’t lose her job over this.

Not that it would change her mind if she did. She was ready to be his. In every way. More than ready.

Conner drove like a madman, making the trip to his house in less than twelve minutes. He didn’t want to waste a single second. He wanted to be inside her, now, finding release for this volcano of desire roiling inside his body.

Before leaving the club, he’d allowed her to slip back into her pencil skirt, peasant blouse and do-me shoes, but nothing else. He could see her tawny nipples through the almost-sheer fabric of the blouse. He was dying. He needed her under him.

As soon as they got inside the door of his mansion, he had her up against the wall, his mouth to her breast. She moaned, clasping his head in her hands, pulling him closer.

“Conner,” she pleaded, her voice strangled, writhing against the wall as he ground the silk blouse onto her nipple with his wet tongue.

“I’m here, baby.” He threw aside his jacket and practically ripped the buttons from his shirt, ridding himself of it. She lifted her shirt up over her ample breasts, baring them for him. They were breasts a man could lose himself in. Soft, round, full. Perfect.

He could smell the feminine scent of her desire, lightly musky and spicy, an alluring aphrodisiac that made him twitch in an agony of want.

With a growl, he banded his arms around her and carried her into the living room, swept the things off a low coffee table, and lowered her onto her back on it. Wrenching her legs apart, he tasted her, covering her with his mouth and tongue.

She gasped, arched and splintered apart. So fast he didn’t have time to enjoy it. So he did it again.

When he finally climbed up on the table and lowered himself on top of her, she was totally wrung out and he was ready to detonate. He grasped under her knees and spread them.

“Protection?” she managed to murmur.

“Taken care of,” he told her. Thank God he’d tucked a few condoms in his trouser pocket. Just in case.

“Mmm.”

He thrust into her. The feel of her hot flesh surrounding him burst through his consciousness like a kaleidoscope of erotic sensation. He froze. If he moved a muscle he’d be lost. She held him tight, her chest expanding and contracting against him. It wasn’t helping. He groaned.

“Conner?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Is anything wrong?”

“Other than me being about to shame myself and totally ruin my macho reputation?”

She let out a surprised laugh. Her muscles contracted around him.

Jeez-uz.

“Baby, have mercy,” he begged.

Her eyes softened, joy suffusing her whole face. She was so lovely his breath caught in his lungs. Was it really possible he had done that to her? Made her so happy she glowed with it?

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

So he did. Long and wet and thorough as a spring downpour in the Mojave. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him tight and used her heels on his backside to push him deep, deep, deep into her. So deep he found he couldn’t hold back.

“It’s okay. Let yourself go,” she whispered into his mouth, her voice low and thready with emotion.

He shuddered, fighting it. Not wanting it to be over so quickly. “Too soon,” he gritted out.

“We have all night,” she refuted breathily.

Which was a good thing, because he had no more strength to resist.

An overwhelming surge of pleasure crashed over him. And he surrendered. Surrendered to the carnal bliss. Surrendered to the emotional rightness. Surrendered to the deep inner knowledge that after this night, he would never be the same man again.

This was just the beginning.

Chapter 12

“No, Dad. Because I don’t—” Speaking on the phone, Conner did not look like a happy camper. In fact, he looked downright angry. “What about Mike? Why can’t he—”

Vera wrapped the silk robe Conner’d lent her a bit tighter around her body and sank a bit deeper into the leather recliner she was curled into, trying to make herself invisible. They were in his study while he’d put out a fire or two at work. This didn’t sound like work, though.

“Yes, Dad. Of course I am. But—”

They’d made love all night. And all morning. And half the afternoon. They’d shared passions and done things together she’d never done with another human being. He’d claimed her body; she’d given him her heart and her soul.

But she still felt like a trespasser in his world.

“Fine, Dad. Yes, I understand.” He slammed the phone down with a curse, a scowl etched on his face.

She didn’t dare ask him what was wrong. Not her place.

“Too early for a drink?” she ventured. It was just past four. Hell, it was five o’clock just down the road in Denver. At least she thought it was. Of course, one never knew with Mountain Time.

He looked up, apparently surprised to see her sitting there. Oops. Should have kept her mouth shut.

“Come here,” he ordered.

She untangled her legs and did as he bid. Normally she wasn’t such a “yes” girl, but last night she’d quickly realized the considerable benefits of doing as he asked.

He patted the desk blotter in front of him, and she duly climbed up and sat.

“Open your robe.”

She smiled. The man was truly insatiable. Okay, this she could do. Her body already quickening, she unbelted the robe and held it open in anticipation of whatever he had in mind to make himself forget the conversation he’d just had with his father.

He didn’t touch her. Just looked. And looked.

“You have the body of a goddess,” he finally said. “You could have any man you want at the charity ball tonight.”

“Why would I want anyone else when I have you?” she asked, reaching out for his hand and raising it to her cheek. She kissed his palm. He frowned.

She knew it was the wrong thing to do. Men didn’t like it when a woman got all clingy after sex. But she just couldn’t help herself.

Heart on her sleeve? Look it up. Her picture would be right there under the definition.

Did she care?

Ask her tomorrow.

She brought his hand to her breast. He cupped her, running his thumb gently over the nipple. Shivers of pleasure went up her spine.

“And you make love like a god,” she murmured.

Abruptly, he rolled his chair forward and leaned her backward onto his arm, bracing her as he took her other nipple in his mouth. Using his tongue, he imitated what his thumb was doing to the first one.

She sucked in a sharp breath, already rushing toward climax. Her body had gotten so tuned to him, physically, all it took was a touch or a kiss and she was practically there.

He withdrew, kissing her on the mouth instead. A sweet, tender kiss.

Her stomach sank.

A goodbye kiss.

Momentarily stunned, her heart squeezed painfully. Wow. That had happened more quickly than she’d thought.

But okay. She was a big girl. She could handle it.

She steadied herself, physically and mentally, for the inevitable.

“Are you ready for the ball?” he asked. “You still okay with what you have to do?”

The question caught her off guard.

In between their lovemaking and occasional foraging trips from the bedroom to the kitchen, they’d talked about what she would do tonight, how she’d go about getting the information about Darla that they needed. How to lure Darla’s accomplices in the jewelry theft ring out into the open. Alleged accomplices.

Vera was still convinced Darla was innocent. But she’d sworn to do her best for Conner and she would. She’d rather know the truth about her sister, either way.

“Of course,” she answered. She was nervous as hell about it but ready as ever. She thought about that phone call. “Why? Has something happened?”

His gaze dropped to her breasts again, and he stroked his hands over them possessively. “No,” he said. “Nothing that affects anything important.”

Now, there was a nonanswer if ever she’d heard one.

“What was that argument with your father all about, Conner?” she asked, a sick foreboding knotting in her stomach. “What did he want?”

Her lover leaned over and pressed his lips to her abdomen, trailing down to her belly button. He flicked his tongue into it. “Nothing important,” he repeated.

Which probably meant it was. So important he didn’t want to tell her. Which probably meant she wouldn’t like it, whatever it was.

His tongue trailed lower still. “Spread your legs.”

“Conner—”

“Open them.”

He was definitely trying to distract her.

It was working.

She moaned as his tongue slipped between her folds, still swollen from hours of lovemaking. It felt warm and silky on her tender flesh. So good.

Ah, well. She’d find out soon enough what the problem was. No sense borrowing trouble.

Meanwhile, she planned to enjoy every minute she had left with him. And this was a very, very good start.

He had to tell her.

Consumed with guilt—and fury at his meddling father—Conner helped Vera into the white stretch limo he’d ordered to take them to the Lights of Las Vegas Charity Ball.

She looked like a princess in the strapless sapphire-blue satin gown he’d selected for her tonight. Worldly, sophisticated, stunning. He wanted her to be on his arm. All evening. So there’d be no possibility of other men charming her, dancing with her, tempting her away.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Dear old Dad had unknowingly made certain of it.

The old bugger’d be even more delighted if he actually knew what he’d done. Conner’s father was a stand-up guy, but completely unreasonable when it concerned the family’s reputation. Dad had tolerated Conner’s rakish behavior—barely—up until now only because he was young, single and male. But he couldn’t imagine Michael Rothchild ever in a million years condoning his son taking a stripper to a high-profile social event like this one. Much less dating one. No matter how amazing a person she was. Or how incredibly gorgeous.

Conner took his place beside her in the limo and tucked her under his arm. She nestled against him, resting her hand on his thigh.

“Nervous?” he asked.

She nodded. “Terrified.”

“Don’t be. You’ll do fine. And you look exquisite.”

She smiled up at him as she had so often today. Happy. Trusting. “Thank you.” Her long lashes swept shyly downward, making his heart squeeze.

“You take my breath away, Vera Mancuso,” he said and gave her a lingering kiss.

“The feeling’s mutual, Conner Rothchild,” she whispered.

He reached into his pocket for the velvet pouch he’d had his secretary deliver to the house that afternoon. From it he pulled a solid gold Byzantine rope necklace that had been his grand-mother’s. “I thought this would go nicely with your dress.”

“Oh, Conner, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, fingering it reverently after he’d fastened it around her neck. “But—”

“There’s more.”

When he pulled out the ring, her eyes went wide as saucers. “My God! Where did you get that? I thought the Tears of the Quetzal was stolen!”

He slipped it on her finger.

“It’s a copy. Paste. The thief left it in place of the original when he stole that from police evidence. Not sure how he got hold of this one. It was supposedly in my aunt’s jewelry box in her bedroom. My grandfather had it made decades ago for family members to wear out in public. Before he decided the ring was cursed and locked it away for good in a vault somewhere. Anyway, LVMPD turned over the paste ring to the FBI, too, and Duncan said we could borrow it tonight, thinking its appearance might help lure the thieves.”

Conner had debated long and hard with himself about this. Having Vera wear the fake Quetzal could potentially put her in danger from the psycho thief. But as long as she only wore it at the ball, where security would be ultratight, and went home with him afterward, she should be safe. It also reassured him knowing that Duncan would have his men watching his property all night, too.

As an extra precaution, Conner had hired a bodyguard to discreetly follow her around at the ball, because Conner wouldn’t be able to watch over her personally.

She held her fingers up to the limo’s overhead light. Even in the dim wattage, the faux chameleon diamond shot off a shower of purple and green sparks, almost like the genuine article. “Wow. If I hadn’t had the real thing on my own finger, I’d sure be fooled. It’s nearly identical.”

“Not many could tell the difference,” he agreed.

Just then, the limo made a turn into a circular driveway. Damn. His time was up.

Vera peered out the tinted windows at the private mansion they’d pulled up in front of. “Where are we?” she asked.

“My brother’s house,” Conner said, steeling himself to meet her eyes. “We’re picking him up, along with his date. And mine.”

She did her best to hide her visceral reaction, but he clearly saw the flash of shock and devastation in her eyes before she managed to mask them. Her lips parted, then closed. “Your…date?”

Damn his father. “The daughter of an important client. She flew in from Paris yesterday and—”

Vera held up her hand. “No, it’s okay,” she said, though she couldn’t quite squelch the strain in her voice. “You don’t have to explain. We agreed I’d be coming as your assistant, not date. It’s more believable this way.”

So much for happy and trusting.

“Vera—” He reached for her, but she scooted away, all the way to the other side of the limo. He moved to go after her.

“Don,’t” she said, just as the door opened.

He halted, torn. She was his lover. He should never have let his father bully him into this farce. And yet…there was a microscopic part of him that was secretly relieved not to have to reveal their relationship just yet—and bear the brunt of social and familial disapproval.

He was such a damn coward.

“Howdy, bro,” his brother, Mike, stuck his head in the door that had been opened by the chauffeur and greeted him. “Hey, now, what have we here?” Mike’s confusion was obvious when he spotted Vera sitting in the corner. Then he really looked at her, and his face lit up. “A threesome? You dirty old man, you.”

Mike, or Michael Rothchild Jr., was the older brother, but acted like a kid sometimes. He had no emotional radar.

“Just get in the damn car,” Conner said evenly.

Mike stepped aside and his striking blond fiancée, Audra, slid into the seat opposite Conner. She leaned over and airkissed him on the cheek. “Hi, Conner. Good to see y—” She also spotted Vera and halted in mid-word. “Hello,” she said, glancing between her and Conner. “This is, um, interesting.”

“My assistant, Vera Mancuso.” Conner cut off her blatant rampant speculation. She was as bad as his brother. The perfect pair. “Vera’s helping me with a case tonight.”

Audra’s brows rose delicately. But she refrained from comment, because Conner’s date had just glided onto the seat next to him. She was model-thin with shiny black hair and long legs exposed by a slit running up the side of her gown. Way up. Aristocratic features, olive skin, a long neck and slim arms dripping with jewelry. The woman oozed class and sophistication.

His father knew him well. She was just his type.

Up until two days ago.

She raised her hand, European style. “Annabella Pruitt,” she said in a cultured voice. “Enchanté.”

He knew he was expected to kiss her hand, but he couldn’t make himself do it. He shook it awkwardly instead, introducing himself, trying to subtly ease his body closer to Vera, who sat primly on the other side of him, maintaining a perfectly blank face.

“Did I hear you say assistant?” Mike queried after he’d climbed in and gotten settled next to Audra. He smiled at Vera when Conner introduced her to him and Annabella. “Just like my little brother to be working a case on a night like this,” he said with good-humored disapproval.

“That’s why he brought me,” Vera said smoothly, the first peep she’d uttered. “So he wouldn’t have to work. Now he can devote all his time to his lovely date.” She smiled genially at the other woman, but Conner knew better than to think he’d been forgiven.

“Now that’s a waste of a beautiful woman,” Mike remarked disgustedly, and Audra smacked him in the arm—but there was no heat in it. “So what kind of case does one work at a fancy ball?” he asked, patently intrigued by the whole situation.

“The confidential kind,” Conner interrupted before Vera could answer. He sat back and folded his arms over his chest irritatedly. This was so not the night he’d envisioned.

Audra hadn’t taken her curious eyes off Vera. “I didn’t know Conner had hired an assistant,” she ventured. “You’re very young. Are you a junior associate in the firm? Paralegal maybe?”

“Confidential informant.” Conner cut off whatever Vera’d opened her mouth to say. “She knows people.”

“You do look familiar,” Mike said with a curious tilt of his head. “Have we met somewhere? At another charity event perhaps?”

Vera’s glued-on smile didn’t waver. “You probably know my sister, Darla St. Giles.”

Mike’s brows shot into his scalp. “Good God. Darla has a sister? How did I not know that?”

“Vera isn’t into Darla’s social whirl,” Conner supplied.

“I prefer to stay out of the tabloids.” She folded her hands in her lap.

And that’s when Mike noticed the fake ring on her finger. His eyes bugged out, and his shocked gaze snapped to Conner.

Annabella apparently noticed it, too. “What an unusual ring you have,” she said. “May I see it?”

“Of course,” Vera said, and held out her hand. Annabella let it rest on her fingers as she examined it. Over his lap. His brother peered at him over their fingers. Conner peered back, grinding his jaw.

“Extraordinary. Where on earth did you get it?” Annabella asked.

“Why,” Vera said innocently. So innocently he knew he was in trouble the second the word left her mouth. “From your date.” Her lips smiled up at him, but her eyes were shooting daggers. “Conner gave it to me earlier tonight.”

Chapter 13

She pretended she was onstage.

That was the only way she could get through this. Being onstage gave her permission to be someone else: a brave, confident woman whose power came from deep within her. Not the terrified, heartbroken, barely hanging on woman she really was.

She could do this.

She had to do this.

The thought of everyone’s shock in the limo when she’d announced Conner had given her the Tears of the Quetzal gave her the boost she needed to pull this off. They’d naturally all jumped to the same wrong conclusion. Oddly enough, Conner hadn’t corrected it. He’d actually glanced at her just as surprised as the others, but she could have sworn she’d seen him hide an amused smirk. Anyway, she’d set them straight herself, five seconds later, by adding, “For the investigation, of course!” in an innocent exclamation. But those five seconds had been glorious.

What. Ever. Now she was on her own, Conner having wandered off with his glamorous date, leaving Vera standing alone in the middle of a huge ballroom full of high-society mucky-mucks. And the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her. Conner had warned her to be on the lookout for the man who’d attacked her on the street. Thank you so much for that.

Damn, she needed a drink.

“Darla?” A surprised male voice assaulted her. “Is that you, babe?”

This one, at least, didn’t sound dangerous.

She turned. Nor did he look like the Hispanic guy from the fuzzy traffic cam photo—but that was fairly useless. He was a raffish man about her own age, all decked out in the latest trendy Eurotrash style, blond hair going every which way.

“No,” she said, taking a breath of relief and putting on her brightest smile. “I’m Vera, her roommate. Have you seen her by any chance?”

“Wow. You sure look like her. I’m Gabe. No, I haven’t…”

And so it started. If she thought she’d be left alone, she’d totally misjudged Darla’s friends. They might be wild and crazy, but they circled wagons for one of their own. She’d met some of them at the apartment already, so she wasn’t totally out to sea. They took her under their wing, pulling her along with the flow as they made the social rounds, laughing, dancing and speculating madly with her over where Darla could have disappeared to this time. No one was worried about Darla. While everyone remarked on her ring, and a few had even read the newspaper reports that linked the ring to Candace Rothchild’s murder, no one seemed overly interested in it other than as a ghoulish souvenir of that tragedy. Unique, expensive jewels with a history were a way of life for these people. And everyone had on their most unique and expensive pieces for tonight’s ball. Hers was just one more fabulous diamond to admire, gossip about, then forget.

And speaking of forgetting…she didn’t think about Conner more than once, all night.

Okay, once a minute, all night.

But she was proud of the fact that she didn’t track him all over the ballroom, keeping tabs on his movements, how many drinks he had, how many times he danced with that bite—er, date, or if he ever looked across the room, searching for Vera.

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