She had a mad urge to see if she could break through that air of icy reserve and blurted, “And so, are you?” The words were out before she could think better of it.
He made a leisurely perusal of her face. “Am I what?” The words were softly spoken, but Kim’s spine stiffened. There was a threat there somewhere, and she’d never been good at backing down.
She licked her lips slowly and then said quite precisely, “Are you well-endowed, Jake?”
Her question was worth the look of surprise that flickered across his face. But then the surprise was gone and a very unexpected satisfied smile settled in its place. He took her hand. For a moment, he stroked her fingers gently, and when she didn’t pull away, he moved it toward him and held her palm flat against his groin. Kim gasped.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Whatever she expected, it hadn’t been this. She tugged her hand, but he held it firm. Jake’s face was devoid of expression, giving no clues to his thoughts. The air charged with a strange tension, and his flesh swelled and hardened beneath her fingers.
He was becoming aroused. Even with her meager experience, she could tell. She had to put a stop to this now.
She forced herself to relax, made the tension drain from her body. “Er, yes,” she muttered.
“Yes? Yes, what?”
“Yes, you are definitely well-endowed, Jake. Congratulations.”
He laughed softly and released her hand, which was a relief, as she was beginning to think well-endowed might be something of an understatement.
“Now, if you want proof that I do indeed ‘know exactly what to do with it,’ then I’m afraid we’ll have to go somewhere a little more private.”
Had her best friend and boss really just propositioned her? Or was she still riding that crazy bus with Nadia? Of course, if he had, it was only payback for daring to embarrass him with his girlfriend’s comments. “Er, no. I’ll take Nadia’s word for it.”
“Spoilsport.” He took a step back and let his gaze wander up and down the length of her body. Kim squirmed under his scrutiny. Was he actually serious? Kim wasn’t sure what to think about that prospect, but nothing good was coming to mind. “Have I told you that you look incredibly beautiful tonight?” he asked.
“Why should you have told me that? You’re making me nervous here, Jake.” No lie. Kim may have been out of the game for a while, but she knew a come-on when she saw one. Jake’s turning all of his attention to her suddenly was not something she would ever have seen happening, and she didn’t know how she felt about it. Well, she did know how she felt… Like running. In the other direction.
“What? Being told you look beautiful makes you nervous?”
The door to the ballroom opened and the music drifted through. One of the serving staff crossed the hallway with a tray and Kim waited until he had disappeared through the door into the kitchen before she answered. “Actually, it’s a first. Now, hadn’t you better go and see Nadia? And I need to get back to my circuit.”
“Nadia is history,” Jake replied coldly.
Once again, she narrowly resisted punching the air. She refused to analyze that reaction, either. “Oh, dear. Nothing I said, I hope. But don’t you think it might be wise to go see what she’s up to? You never know who else she might be regaling with your personal measurements, and not everyone might be as discreet as me.”
“Very funny.”
“It wasn’t intended to be funny. The woman’s a raving lunatic, and you need to be careful. Anyway, fascinating as this conversation is, I am now going to go back to circulating. Enjoy the rest of the party.”
As she was about to move off, a man came through the swing doors from the kitchens. He was dressed as a waiter, but instead of serving people, he appeared to be waiting for something or someone. He also seemed vaguely familiar and not quite right in his uniform. It could be that his dark-blond hair was overly long, or that his cool gray eyes held no hint of servility. She cross-checked his features against her memory of the activists she’d studied and came up with a name.
“What is it?” Jake asked softly at her side.
“That man over there. The waiter loitering by the kitchen doors. I recognize him from Dave’s files. His name’s Nick Winters. I’m certain it’s him.”
She got her cell out of her bag and texted Dave. “Why don’t you go back to the party?” she said to Jake.
“I’ll wait.”
“I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.”
“I’ll wait until Dave arrives if you don’t mind.”
“Suit yourself.”
Dave exited the main room, and she groaned dramatically. Nadia was still at his side. She turned to Jake. “You’re going to have to get her away from here.”
Jake walked over, took Nadia’s arm, and led her away, but not too far.
“How do you want to play this?” Kim asked Dave.