Sebastian easily covered the last few steps to reach her side. The guests she spoke to noted his arrival, some smiling in flattering greeting while others looked simply awed that he approached them. Whether in dragon form or human, Sebastian Bernal always garnered tremendous respect.
Alerted by the glances in his direction, Lacey cut herself off mid-sentence and swung around to look at him. The immediate light flush that heated her cheeks told him she, too, felt the attraction between them. “Mr. Bernal,” she said, smiling that professional smile despite the pink in her face. “I was just explaining the history of how the museum acquired several of the pieces here in the rotunda.”
Was it just him, or did she sound a shade close to breathless? Sebastian’s dragon rumbled in satisfaction. He liked it.
“I trust you all are enjoying the evening. We’re delighted to be able to host the wedding of the decade.” Sebastian made sure his smile included everyone there, even though every piece of his being was attuned so closely to Lacey for a split-second he literally wondered if he was leaning toward her.
“Oh, it’s such an amazing setting for the ceremony, Mr. Bernal,” one of the women in the group said, brazenly practicing what she apparently thought was her most seductive smile on him. “It was incredibly generous of you to allow the Harringtons to hold it here.”
The woman literally lowered her head so she could look up at Sebastian from beneath her eyelashes. It made her look drunk and idiotic. Sharply curbing the desire to tell her to find some other rich fool to hook her avaricious claws into, he awarded her his best gallant smile. When he murmured the pat lines about how the center would be opening to the public for weddings and other events beginning in the fall, the woman’s cooing gush of appreciation nearly made him lose his patience. Masking his irritation, he turned to Lacy.
The unmistakable heated flare of Lacey’s interest tickled at him. His dragon pushed at him to claim her and drag her off to his lair. Forcefully shoving down his baser instincts, Sebastian merely said, “Please, everyone, keep enjoying the center. The bar is open, and the docents are present for more private tours and to answer any questions anyone may have. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening. Now, Ms. Whitman,” he said, turning decisively to Lacey. “The bride and groom have a few specific questions about your area of expertise. I need to steal you away. The rest of you will have to excuse us.” He smiled, executing a gentlemanly bow to the group, all of whom laughed and waved them on. Except, of course, the woman who wanted more of his attention. Her eyes glared daggers at Lacey as Sebastian turned his back on them, putting his hand on the small of Lacey’s back to guide her away.
And that sort of response was why this encounter with Lacey would be only for one night. Women were like that. He didn’t need the drama. His dragon angrily muttered at him that Lacey was nothing like the others. Since his dragon side had been the one to get him into trouble before, Sebastian ignored it. Lacey was female. Enough said. This was a one-time thing. It was merely to thoroughly satisfy the promise of the tempestuous, steamy kiss they’d shared the other night before being interrupted.
He fully intended he and Lacey would this time enjoy one another’s bodies with no disturbances. Besides which, if his desire was thwarted once again, he was likely to blast the museum with a frustrated, red-hot breath that would literally burn it down.
He doubted the board would in any way appreciate that.
As he whisked them both away, Lacey’s rich voice teased his senses as she said in a skeptical tone, still a little breathier than usual, “I saw the bride and groom not ten minutes ago hiding behind the statue of Ixchel. They were making out like they were teenagers instead of a newly married couple.” She shot a sidelong glance at him as he maneuvered them toward the hallway to the administrative offices. “I highly doubt they want a private tour right now. A private room seems more like it.”
The gorgeous laughter that flipped him inside out rippled beneath her words. Her hip bumped against his as she gently sidestepped another small group of people. From the swiftness with which she moved away from him after that happened, not to mention the tantalizing spike in her sweet arousal that he could smell, told him she was putting on an act for everyone as well.
“No, they don’t,” he admitted without shame as he steered her away from the rotunda to the corridor that led to his office, nodding at the security guard who blocked anyone from attempting to explore into that part of the center as they swept past. “But I certainly need a private room with you.”