But despite what Dragos said about civil unrest, this summit was too important to ditch. People protested any number of things, yet this issue had infiltrated the U.S. government. Lawmakers were unsettled, and that meant the worst kind of trouble if they couldn’t repair relations.
Pia wasn’t exactly sure what the worst kind of trouble would mean. Her imagination wasn’t good enough to create something that seemed dire enough, but she did know the schism would be felt across the entire country and throughout the rest of the world.
What was a bout or two of vomiting in the face of something like that?
So she lied. Well, misdirected, at least.
“I was up all night having crazy monkey sex,” she said, turning away from Eva’s too-sharp gaze to go back into the bedroom and look for her purse. “Of course I look like shit. That’s why I’m going to slap ten pounds of makeup on my face after I take a shower.”
Eva shrugged. “Okay. Need anything else?”
“No thanks, you can go get ready now.” With Dragos so touchy at the moment, Eva was not just Pia’s main bodyguard but probably her only one for the week.
“See you downstairs.”
As Eva left, she pulled the door closed behind her, and Pia was finally alone. She located her purse, tucked on a table by a large vase filled with purple irises and yellow roses, and pulled out the jewelry box holding the diamond pendant.
She didn’t have time to be sick, but luckily she had something she could do about it for now. If she was still sick later, she would see a doctor next week when she got home.
As soon as she settled the necklace into place around her neck, she felt better, steadier. That’d do.
With a renewed sense of purpose, she turned back to the bathroom. Now it was time to get down to business.
By the time Dragos stepped into the bedroom, she had showered, dried her hair and rolled it up in hot curlers, and she sat at a vanity in a royal blue dressing gown as she applied the requisite ten pounds of makeup.
He walked over to her, hooked a finger into the neckline of the dressing gown and pulled it away so that he could kiss her naked shoulder. At the touch of his warm, firm mouth on her skin, a shiver of pleasure ran down her spine, and she leaned back against his thighs with a throaty murmur. She had to make a conscious effort to remember to hold on to her mascara wand as he cupped her breast.
“We don’t have time for that,” she told him.
“I know,” he murmured, massaging her through the thin silk. “I just couldn’t help touching you.” He grew still. Then his hand left her breast to touch the diamond pendant as his gold gaze met hers in the mirror.
“No, I’m not,” she told him in answer to the question he hadn’t asked. “I’m wearing it as a precaution. You know, just in case. I don’t want to throw up unexpectedly on anybody important this week. Besides, it’s pretty.”
His hard mouth pulled into a slow, sexy smile. He touched the diamond where it dangled just above the hollow of her breasts. “It is pretty, isn’t it? And it’s resting in one of my very favorite places in the world. I look forward to taking it off later this evening.”
She looked forward to taking it off later too, but for an entirely different reason. Hopefully by that point the strange bout of sickness would have passed and she would be back to normal.
Careful not to mess either her curling hair or her makeup, she turned her head to press a kiss against his forearm. His hand traveled up to caress the line of her neck. “What are you wearing this evening?”
“I decided to go ultrachic,” she said. “So I settled on the black sheath Dior.”
“Perfect.” He smiled. “I’d better shower and shave, and we’ll leave in a half an hour. Is that enough time for you to finish getting ready?”
“Absolutely. All I have to do is take the curlers out, pin up my hair and slip on the dress.” She turned her attention back to her reflection and picked up her lipstick. Around the O she made with her lips, she said, “Oh, and also do this.”
He murmured, “You look good enough to eat.”