Dangerous curves, p.12
Dangerous Curves, page 12
Dominique could understand why they hadn’t.
She didn’t even know why she’d accepted Kevin’s offer to come. She knew it had been a challenge she should have ignored. Partying wasn’t her thing and she felt as out of place as a giraffe among flamingos. Most of the guests were women—the ratio seemed to be three to one—and she didn’t do chit-chat well. She’d had plans to make a quick exit when she’d spotted Kevin in the hallway with a woman pressed so close to him, if she pressed her body any closer, she’d be behind him. Seeing him in action was always amusing because he handled women well. He’d end conversations without being rude or insulting, flatter without sounding glib or insincere. He had his choice of women, who were putty in his hands. She wondered why he didn’t disappear upstairs with one of them. Was it his leg?
She didn’t care. What he did was none of her business. She watched the woman run a bright pink fingernail along his jaw.
She realized that seeing him with other women didn’t make her feel jealous. He never inspired that in her. He never made her feel ignored or discarded. She could see why he had so many female friends.
Kevin was easy to love. And loving him wouldn’t feel like a risk. A woman would be cared for and treasured and not mind that she’d just be one of the many who adored him and wanted him to be happy. Kevin didn’t need her. He didn’t need anyone. He had all that he needed. Looks, money, attention.
She wanted to walk out the door.
If only it hadn’t been for his damn mouth—the way it curved slightly down when he was hurting—she’d be in her bedroom, out of her dress and heels and sitting on her couch with a nice roll of hob nobs, looking through the report from the investigator she’d hired to watch Cassie’s family. She wanted to make sure her father wasn’t having anyone follow Drake or the kids. So far it seemed his only interest was Kevin. She hadn’t told Kevin what she’d learned about him getting into the wrong car or the bugged necklace. She wanted to find out more first. Their search for a fourth passenger had come to a dead end and her father wasn’t talking. She and Kevin had spoken to the technician on call that day who’d given Kevin the car, but he didn’t remember anyone being with them. She wanted to go home and come up with her next strategy.
Unfortunately, his mouth bothered her.
Dominique walked up to him and whispered in his ear, “Don’t fight me on this,” then collapsed against him and said, “Damn, I think I twisted my ankle.” She took off her shoe and winced. “Stupid heels. Could you help me to the couch?” She turned to the woman he’d been flirting with. “Sorry about this.”
“Not as sorry as you will be.” She looped a possessive arm through Kevin’s. “I was here first.”
Dominique sighed, she was not in the mood to fight over him. “You can follow us.”
“He’s not going anywhere.” The woman tightened her hold and Dominique saw Kevin wince.
This wasn’t going to be easy. She looked like the type of woman who was in the mood for a fight, so Dominique knew a belligerent attitude would make things worse. She would go on the offensive. She widened her eyes as if in shock. “Wait. Do you think?” She rested a hand on her chest. “It’s nothing like that between us. I’m his cousin.”
“His cousin?”
“No,” Kevin said.
“Yes,” Dominique quickly corrected sending him a daggered look. He stared back without flinching.
“Which one is it?” Pink Nails demanded.
“We’re distant cousins.”
“Very distant,” Kevin muttered.
“And my foot really is killing me. I’m not used to these kinds of parties.”
Pink Nails measured her up and down. “Is that why you’re dressed like you’re going to a funeral or something?”
Dominique kept her smile although the woman had insulted one of her best dresses. “Yes. So could you just give us a couple minutes?”
She looked at Dominique, then Kevin.
Kevin winked at the woman. “We’ll finish our discussion later.”
Pink Nails pursed her lips. “Promise?”
He smiled and that was all the assurance she needed. She let his arm go, brushed her lips against his cheek, then sauntered away. Dominique looped her arm through his. “What is wrong with you?” she asked as they walked towards the lounge. He rested heavily against her and she fought not to buckle under his weight. “You nearly ruined it.”
“I don’t like pretending we’re related.”
It hurt that he disliked her so much, but she kept her voice nonchalant. “I’ll think of something else next time. No, wait…there won’t be a next time.”
“I don’t care as long as you promise to burn that dress after tonight.”
Dominique looked down at herself. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Too many things for me to list. It’s so bad it’s actually making my eyes water.”
She thought she looked lovely. Her mother said it was her killer dress. What was so awful about it? And why did he care anyway? Why did she? “It’s my best dress. My mother bought it for me.”
“You mean your grandmother.”
“No,” she said through clenched teeth. “My mother. My very stylish, beautiful mother.”
“Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.” He lowered his arm and whacked her on the bottom. “Don’t frown, cousin,” he said in a low voice, smiling at her look of stunned outrage. “You can be annoyed with me. Even angry, but don’t frown. It makes me look bad. Women are always happy in my presence.”
Dominique’s voice returned to her. “You are a—”
Kevin tapped the corner of her mouth. “If you don’t smile, I’ll kiss you.”
Dominique plastered a smile on her face. “You still are—”
He patted her hand that was resting on his arm. “Thank you, cousin. I’ll tell Aunty to send you another dress. The cut and lines are all wrong in this one. Your figure disappears and the color.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “If I could strip you down, I would.”
“I’m sure you would like to try,” Dominique said in a grim tone.
“To redress you,” he clarified. “Although the other idea is tempting,” he said, his low voice turning to velvet.
A delicious shudder heated her body. They were surrounded by people, but he made her feel as if they were alone. The voices around them became a faint hum, the low lights and music fell away. He filled every crevice of her mind, gripping her heart with a longing she desperately wanted to forget. They didn’t have a chance. He didn’t like her. She’d betrayed him. It could never work. She didn’t want to remember what his lips tasted like, the feel of his arms around her, the sight of him naked. She didn’t want to care about the soft whisper his shirt made brushing against her sleeve.
She frantically scanned the room and spotted a place to sit. It didn’t look comfortable, appearing like an expensive artistic design made for style over function, but she hoped they’d reach it before someone else did.
“What’s the sudden rush?” Kevin said, when she sped up.
Dominique kept her eye on the goal. She was going to get him in that chair and then disappear. “I know you’re hurting, just bear with me.”
“I’m trying.”
“I wonder if I should get you a cane.”
“Buy me one and you’re fired.”
“Oh, I guess bruises are the price I pay for this job.”
Kevin looked instantly chagrined. He loosened his grip. “Damn, sorry. I didn’t realize I—”
“You’re pushing your body past its limit,” she said, for the first time wishing his house wasn’t so big. Her intended object felt miles away.
“I just need to sit down.”
“Why didn’t you tell her that?” Dominique asked, more frustrated by the distance of the seat than with him. “She’d lie down next to you if you wanted her to.”
“Jealous?”
“What?” She sounded more bitter than she wanted to. “Of something that could never be?”
Kevin opened his mouth to respond, but two attractive women in form-fitting dresses interrupted him. “Oh Kevin, we—”
“Sorry,” Dominique said, faking a grimace. “But he’s helping me to the couch. I twisted my ankle.” She exaggerated a limp and led them over to the available seat. He sank into it with visible relief, but one of the women dressed in orange took the extra space beside him.
“I really need that seat,” Dominique said.
The woman looked up at Dominique in challenge. “What are you going to do, sit on me?”
It was a tempting thought. The cute little stick of a girl could be snapped in two.
Kevin patted his lap. “Wouldn’t you prefer to sit on me?”
The woman eagerly did so, but instead of sitting on the one leg he directed her to, she sat on both. He briefly closed his eyes and tightened his jaw. Dominique gritted her teeth. He was trying to be Mr. Smooth and hurting himself in the process. She resisted the urge to yank the woman off of his lap. Instead, she grabbed a glass from a passing waiter and poured it in the woman’s lap.
The woman jumped up outraged. “You fat bitch!”
Dominique sat down next to Kevin. “I know.”
The woman glared at her, then stormed off. Her friend sent Dominique a nasty look before she followed behind her friend.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Kevin said.
“Stop being a martyr. Your eyes nearly rolled to the back of your head when she sat on you.”
“It was from a moment of ecstasy.”
Dominique couldn’t stop a smile. “You were in agony.”
“Same thing.”
She shifted in her seat. “These chairs are as uncomfortable as I thought they would be.”
“You pretend that they’re not.”
She turned sharply to him. Was he pretending right now? She thought of the nights when he had to pop his white pills. “Are you feeling better? Do you need a drink?” She placed the back of her hand against his neck. “At least you’re not sweating.”
Kevin brushed her hand away. “Stop fussing over me. You’re determined to ruin my image tonight, aren’t you?”
She let her hand fall to her lap and gripped it in a fist. He was right. He had an image to maintain and it wouldn’t be with someone like her. She should leave him alone. That’s what she wanted to do anyway. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll—”
He tapped the corner of her mouth. “Watch that frown or I’ll have to kiss you.” He glanced towards the entrance of the lounge. “And I won’t care who…” His words fell away. He softly swore.
She turned to see what had caught his attention and saw the skinny stick marching towards them with Pink Nails following. Both looked to be on the warpath.
Kevin held up his hands. “Ladies, I—”
“You lied to me,” Pink Nails said, her gaze pinned on Dominique. “You’re not his cousin, are you?”
“Yes, I am and I’m sorry about your dress,” Dominique said, looking at Skinny Stick. She stood up, but remembered too late that a movement like that could be seen as aggressive. She saw the woman’s gaze narrow and knew she was in trouble. She didn’t even see Pink Nails raise her fist, but she felt the punch. It hit her across her face with such force that she stumbled back, tripped over her own feet and hit the ground hard.
She didn’t know why she looked over at Kevin first. She saw him surge to his feet—too quickly—and cringe, but this time she wondered if it was from pain or embarrassment. You’re determined to ruin my image tonight, aren’t you? She was doing him more harm than good. She shouldn’t have tried to help him; she didn’t have his finesse with people. She only knew how to make enemies.
Dominique surged to her feet, wiping the blood from her nose. “Good one. You caught me by surprise,” she said, then punched Pink Nails in the gut. The woman doubled over and dropped to her knees in pain. “Now let’s see if you can catch me,” Dominique whispered in her ear. She sent Skinny Stick a savage look. “You can have him, but stay off his lap,” she said. She didn’t look at Kevin, although she could feel his eyes on her. Instead she took off her shoes and ran out of the room.
Chapter 26
“Remind me to never invite you to another party.”
Dominique stared at Kevin, stunned. She’d changed into a pair of sweats and had opened her front door, for some reason expecting Ferguson to tell her what a mess she’d made. She hadn’t expected Kevin.
Kevin stood there with shadows in his eyes: a mixture of pain and something she wasn’t able to read yet. She looked past him at the twenty-something stairs he’d had to climb to reach her door. “What is wrong with you?” she said, although the power of her words were muffled by the icepack she held against her nose. “You should be resting.”
“I’m fine now,” he said, pushing past her.
“With the help of a little white pill?”
He took a seat then smiled at her. “You sound sexy even when you nag.”
“I’m not nagging…wait, what?”
He patted the space beside him. “Let me see.”
“What are you doing here? What about your guests?”
He sighed and stood. “Don’t pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.”
She turned her face away. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
He wrapped his hand around her wrist. “I may have a bad leg, but I’m still stronger than you.” He lowered his voice. “Want to try punching me in the gut?”
“She hit me first.”
Kevin flashed a wicked grin. “I know. I saw. For a moment I imagined you mud wrestling.”
“I have the advantage of size,” she said in a sour voice.
His grin widened. “I know that too.” He reached for her ice pack. “Now let me see.”
Dominique removed the pack with exaggerated reluctance, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart.
Kevin inspected her swollen nose then nodded. “At least the bleeding stopped and your nose isn’t broken.”
“She caught me by surprise,” Dominique said, setting the ice pack aside. “It’s no big deal.”
He sat on her couch. “You should have let it rest.”
“She was hurting you,” Dominique said, looking around her. It had never bothered her before how sparsely furnished the room was. Now she regretted that there was only a couch. She didn’t want to sit beside him. She didn’t dare to when she couldn’t keep her heart under control.
He frowned. “I didn’t hire you to be my damn bodyguard.”
“I was trying to help you.” She folded her arms. She’d stand. He wouldn’t stay long anyway. “Why do you pretend to be okay when you’re not?”
“Because that’s what I do,” he said, resting one arm along the back of the couch. “I make people happy.”
Why did he have to look so at home? It was a casual innocuous movement, but it felt like an invitation to join him. Dominique folded her arms tighter. “At your own expense?”
He winked. “If that’s what it takes.”
“That’s stupid.”
“At least I don’t get punched in the face.”
He had her there and for some reason his words and expression reminded her of her grandmother, who’d nearly fainted when as a six-year-old, Dominique had fallen face down into a mud puddle, ruining her new Easter dress. She could just imagine how ridiculous she looked getting knocked out by a woman half her size. She burst into laugh.
Kevin stared at her open mouthed. “You think this is funny?”
His surprise made her laugh harder. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Are you laughing at you or at me?”
She pointed to herself then gasped. “I must…have looked…like such an idiot,” she said. “Oh my God.” She fell onto the couch before her legs gave way and covered her face. “She knocked me down with one punch.” Dominique looked up at him and wiggled her fingers. “And didn’t even break a nail. It’s like some warped comedy sketch.”
Kevin shook his head. “You’re a strange woman,” he said, but she heard laughter in his voice.
She wiped her eyes and nodded. “I know. But you’re right, never invite me to parties. They’re always disasters for me.”
“Always?”
“Always. I remember my prom…” She stopped.
Kevin leaned forward. “What?”
Dominique slid away from him. “I keep forgetting how you are. You’re too easy to talk to. You don’t want to hear this.”
He slid over closing the gap between them. “Yes, I do. Go on.”
She shook her head. “I can’t focus when you’re this close.”
He slid back. “Better?”
“Yes.” She clasped her hands together ready to share her story. “Okay, it was my prom night. I had on this beautiful dress—”
Kevin lifted a brow, doubtful. “Better than the one you had on tonight?”
“Of course. It was silver and gorgeous.”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“It was. And it had a long skirt that brushed against the ground and made me look as if I were floating. I loved it. Well, it got caught in the door as I was getting out of the limo. But I didn’t know it and neither did the limo driver.”
“Oh no,” Kevin said, guessing the outcome.
“Oh yes. I went one direction and the limo went the other, taking my skirt down the block. I wanted to die.”
“What did you do?”
“I ran after the limo of course.” She pressed her hands against her cheeks. “What a sight that must have been,” she said with a giggle. “But I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sure you can see my humiliation online somewhere.”
A sly smile touched his mouth. “I may have to do a search.”
“Just don’t tell me about it. Ever.”
“What happened?”
“I was able to catch up with the limo at a stop sign, but let’s just say the evening was ruined.” She looked down at her lap, amusement making room for embarrassment. “I’m really sorry I ruined your party.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. She’d had too much to drink.”
