Page 37 of Dangerous Temptation

Elena smiled politely when the waiter approached with their food, but she forgot everything else when she saw what the chef had prepared. She didn’t want to appear unsophisticated, but it was hard not to stare at the creations. Both dishes looked like works of art.

The seafood tasted like culinary art, too.

Jean-Georges was out of range for poor college students, and it was her first experience at a three-Michelin-stars restaurant. She wasn’t going to waste the experience worrying about gawkers.

She took a bite that melted in her mouth. ‘From what I’ve read, you started Wolfe Pack while you were still in college.’

‘I didn’t think I was being entrepreneurial. It was another project built out of boredom, but it kept growing. More and more pieces were fitting together in my head.’

‘Enough so that you left school?’

‘It wasn’t a decision that was easily accepted at the time. Believe me.’ He buttered a piece of black bread that had come with his meal. ‘But I knew I was onto something. I was determined to see where it would take me.’

She’d seen that unflinching determination. It had brought him far but, truth be told, it hadn’t been that big of a risk. He’d had old Wolfe money to fall back upon.

Or maybe that was exactly what he’d been trying to get away from.

‘I think you’ve done OK for yourself.’

Their gazes locked, grey to brown. For a moment, she thought she’d put her foot in her mouth. There was the scandal. He’d spent time in prison. Yet the molecules in the air between them started vibrating. She felt a pull, almost like gravity, in his direction.

His voice dropped low. ‘Yeah, I really have.’

His leg brushed against hers. His eyes twinkled with secret knowledge, but the light in them went steady when he focused on someone beyond her.

Elena straightened, concerned. She looked to her left, but it wasn’t what she expected.

The press hadn’t gained entrance and there were no protestors with signs.

Her stomach tightened all the same. A tall, buxom blonde was headed towards their table.

She recognised the woman instantly. It was Barbie, the movie star from the website pictures.

‘Hello, Alex.’ The woman’s voice was sultry and cultured.

‘Barbara.’ He stood and took the hand she offered. She kept coming and he greeted her with a kiss to the cheek.

‘I’m sorry to interrupt.’ Her mouth curled upwards when she glanced in Elena’s direction, but the smile held the warmth of a reptile. ‘Hello.’

Elena returned the smile through gritted teeth. ‘Hello.’

The blonde had bombshell written all over her. She dressed to highlight her assets, and she knew just how to pose to best show them off. Her dress even sounded sexy as the silk brushed against Alex’s suit.

‘I’d heard you were in town,’ he said. ‘A new movie?’

‘Yes.’ The expression on the woman’s face brightened. ‘I was hoping we’d run into each other. Why haven’t you called?’

Elena began to tap her foot underneath the table. She was sitting right here!

‘We always had so much fun together,’ Barbara pouted.

It didn’t take a brain surgeon to understand what kind of fun that was.

An ill-tempered light came into Alex’s eyes and he gestured to the table. ‘Barbara, this is Elena.’

‘Bardot. I know.’ The condescension in the woman’s voice couldn’t have been clearer. She lifted her chin and her hair moved stiffly. ‘I’m a friend of Candace.’

Candace. Her stepmother. Elena’s jaw clenched.

The plastic blonde was about the same age, she thought cattily.

Although it was hard to believe that this woman was still friendly with her stepmother after her fall from grace.

No money, no brunches. No cash, no wardrobe.

Last she’d heard, the Bardot apartment had been taken away and the family had moved in with relatives.

Candace had taken her misfortune much harder than Yvonne had.

The loss of her husband hadn’t affected her as much as the loss of wealth.

She’d whined and cried but had taken no steps to support herself.

The elegant movie star bit her lip and looked back and forth between the two of them. ‘Sorry if I’m interrupting a business meeting.’

Elena cocked her head. What?

That muscle ticked in Alex’s jaw. He was not happy. ‘We’re here on a date.’

‘Really?’ The woman patted her hair and swivelled her hips. She pressed her hand to her cleavage, but she quickly realised that her former lover’s attention was no longer on her. She followed his gaze to Elena, and her astute eyes narrowed. ‘You are very pretty.’

Elena was taken aback. ‘Thank you.’

She bit the side of her cheek and lied. ‘I’m a big fan.’

Barbara’s lips pursed, and her gaze swung back and forth between the two of them. ‘I apologise for the confusion, but I heard that the two of you worked together on that Fonzie thing.’

Elena had taken a sip of wine, but she nearly choked on it. Half of her wanted to laugh and the other was outraged. ‘Excuse me?’

‘We just met recently,’ Alex said, his voice like glass.

Barbara’s expression went innocent. ‘Honestly? Because Candace swears that Randolph and his daughter talked all the time about the markets and that type of thing. Maybe I just assumed …’

They hadn’t talked all the time. One call every three months or so was not often. So what if they did talk about economics? It was the one thing they still had in common.

Elena’s fists curled. Everything inside her propelled her forward. She didn’t know what she intended to do, but she started to get up.

Alex’s hand settled heavily on her shoulder.

‘Barbara, I think your date is trying to get your attention.’

The woman looked over her shoulder. Almost as if a switch was thrown, she arched her back and waved flirtily. ‘Sorry, that’s my director.’

She was smiling when she turned to say goodbye. ‘Have a nice dinner. I’m glad you’re out, Ax.’

She moved in for another peck, but he pulled back.

The look on the woman’s face faltered, and fear flashed momentarily in her eyes.

She stepped back quickly, but gathered herself enough to walk back slinkily to her table.

Alex stood stiffly, watching her go. His face was hard and the air around him bubbled.

With that dark five o’clock shadow, he looked dangerous.

Elena took a sip of wine that went more smoothly down her throat. She looked around discreetly, hoping few had heard the exchange. She was mortified to find people staring again.

He held out his hand. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

She caught it fast. ‘Yes, please.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said in the car.

‘It’s not your fault,’ she murmured as she watched the lights outside the Bentley go by.

‘She was a shiny bauble to have on my arm as I went to society events.’ He spread his legs wider in the back seat and raked a hand through his hair. It had grown somewhat, but still seemed tussled. ‘And she was an easy lay.’

Elena flinched.

He caught her hand. ‘I didn’t say a good one.’

She inhaled deeply. ‘If she’s a friend of my stepmother’s, I know exactly what type of woman she is. Candace is the queen of the gold-diggers.’

And a bitch.

But that went without saying.

She rubbed her temple and felt Alex’s grip on her hand tighten.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t stop her sooner,’ he said.

She’d come perilously close to stopping the woman herself. The comment about her father had been cheap, and it had blindsided her. Yet the way the woman had touched Alex with such familiarity and thrust her breasts in his face had almost been worse.

Elena let out a breath and her eyes fluttered closed. She’d almost put her fist in the woman’s overly white teeth. She couldn’t imagine the brouhaha that would have caused. In Jean-Georges? With the press watching their every move and hanging on every word?

‘James, pull over here,’ Alex instructed suddenly.

Her eyes popped open. They were stopping? All she wanted to do was get back to the penthouse.

Alex caught her chin and lifted her face. The garish lights of New York City spilled into the car, and she couldn’t hide her mood. His thumb ran across her lower lip. ‘You need a drink.’

She needed a pitcher.

Elena wasn’t in the mood, but she got out of the car, accepting Alex’s hand. She glanced up and down the street but didn’t see a pub. She didn’t see any camera flashes, either. Apparently James had lost the paparazzi. The driver was good.

The wolf in Alex was still looking for threats.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her across the sidewalk to a building.

They stood on a landing where three steps led down to a basement level.

The blues club was hidden away and there wasn’t a name on the door.

The nightspot was shadowy and exclusive, and Elena felt more relaxed the moment they stepped inside.

The crowd here was looser and more accepting – or they just didn’t care who’d stepped into their midst. Compared to the white starkness of Jean-Georges, the club was a panacea for the eyes.

The lighting was dim, and the air was hazy.

The tables were small, but visitors were more into each other than into their neighbours.

Heads were bent together and glasses clinked.

Alex pulled out a chair for her, and a waitress appeared the moment he took his seat. She wrote down their order and moved along.

Elena turned towards the stage when she heard a bass being tuned. ‘Live music?’

‘It’s what they’re known for.’

By the time the waitress returned with their drinks, the band had started their set.

The music had a throbbing beat and a seductive melody, but that was the way blues were.

It suited Elena’s mood perfectly. Heartache and pain.

Temptation and soulfulness. She swayed in her seat, drawn in by the ambience.

The second number was slower and sexier. They hadn’t even hit the chorus when Alex stood and held out his hand.

‘Dance with me.’

Her heart gave a little flutter. She hadn’t expected dancing. Taking his hand, she slipped from the chair. They moved to the tiny wooden floor and she turned into his hold.

They said that some men danced the way they made love.

Her thighs turned to jelly when she discovered he was one of those rare few.

He drew her so close, her breasts plumped against him.

She rested her head against his chest, and their thighs brushed as they moved.

‘I thought it was your mission to go incognito tonight.’

He’d chosen tables on the edge of the rooms and had discouraged anyone who paid too close attention. Here, though, they were the only ones on the dancefloor. The mood-lighting wasn’t bright, but they were still out in the open and on display.

‘I changed my mind.’

‘Why?’

His hand stroked the small of her back. ‘Barbara.’ He frowned down at her. ‘She thought we were business partners.’

‘Oh, the Fonzie thing.’ Elena rolled her eyes and followed as he circled them over the polished floorboards.

Alex wasn’t laughing. ‘People are seriously asking that question. I had a reporter throw it at me this morning.’

She rubbed her lips together, considering how to answer. She’d been through this thing once before. She didn’t want to go through all the questions and suppositions again, yet she cared for him. ‘I can take it.’

He stopped moving. ‘I’ve got a better solution.’

There, in the middle of the pulsating dancefloor, he kissed her long and slow. A hoot went up, followed by cheers and a smattering of applause.

And cellphone flashes.

People were taking pictures of them. The club might be discreet, but people knew who they were and they were putting on a show. They’d be in all the newspapers and supermarket rags by morning.

Spinning her around, he dipped her sexily. ‘It’s time we dispelled the rumour that I’m into you for your criminal mind.’