song led into a second as they moved slowly together, in perfect rhythm.
“Why are you hiding in the shadows, Roman Weber?” Keira asked as the second slow song ended and the band took a break for the bouquet and garter toss.
“I’m dancing in the shadows with a gorgeous woman,” Roman replied.
“Not hiding from the garter?”
He smiled. And still hadn’t slipped his arm from her waist or released her hand from his chest.
“No. Although I will admit, shamefully, since I’m a grown man, that I’m trying to avoid my mother and her nagging agenda at events like this.”
Keira smiled. “Mom’s not a big fan of you working at Omega Sector?”
“Oh yes, believe me, she is not happy about my chosen profession.”
She couldn’t blame a mother for being concerned about her son’s well-being. Keira could feel the muscles of the chest beneath her fingers, the light balance he had on his feet. Roman was definitely an active agent. Probably regularly in the line of fire. A mother could be forgiven for nagging about that.
“I understand the hiding. Even if I wasn’t trying to avoid the bouquet, I generally avoid crowds like this.”
He eased back so they could see each other’s eyes. “Law enforcement agents?”
“No.” She shook her head, smiling. “The other ones. Rich and privileged, with an agenda of their own.”
Roman studied her for a long moment in a way she didn’t really understand.
“What?” she finally asked.
“Nothing.” His gaze turn into something softer, more inviting. “You’re trying to get away from these people. I’m trying to get away from these people. What do you say we just get out of here together, right now? I have a suite upstairs.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“It can just be for more dancing. I promise.” That smile again that took her breath away. “All I’m trying to do is save you from the plant-damaging violence of the bouquet toss. Although I agree, you could definitely take out most of the women here.”
Despite what some people might think of her because of her past profession, giving in to an instant attraction wasn’t Keira’s normal way of doing things. Letting a man get close to her was difficult. Hell, given her previous marriage, even being attracted to someone was a novelty.
But the attraction between her and Roman Weber was something fierce. She couldn’t deny it even if she wanted to.
And she didn’t want to.
For the first time in her life, Keira threw caution to the wind. “What if I’m interested in more than just dancing up in your suite?”
His grinned widened. “Then I would ask why the heck we’re still here talking about it.”
He let go of her waist and pulled her to the door.
They didn’t leave the suite for the next day and a half.
They hardly left the bed except to grab what they ordered from room service.
Keira couldn’t stop smiling. She came back out of the bathroom midday Monday after brushing her teeth and attempting to do something with her hair, hardly recognizing the woman she’d seen in the mirror.
Spending the weekend in bed with a man she hardly knew really wasn’t part of her MO. She may have been an exotic dancer, but that hadn’t meant she’d allowed men close to her. As a matter of fact, stripping had been the furthest thing from intimacy for her.
While onstage, she’d known exactly what moves to do to make the most money and gather the most attention. And even offstage she’d always been confident and capable, her thriving salon business now proof of that.
But when it came to intimacy with a man, Keira was much more wary. Her confidence much lower. She could thank Jonathan Cunningham for that. After her disastrous sham of a marriage, she’d been afraid to get close to anyone.
She could count on two fingers the number of relationships she’d had since her divorce six years ago. And that was including whatever was going on with Roman right now.
He’d already taken her phone’s calendar and scheduled her to have dinner with him every night this week, so evidently he planned on them seeing each other again after they left here.
And she couldn’t stop smiling. Not her fake-but-sparkling stage smile, but her legit, bubbling-from-somewhere-deep-inside smile.
“I like that look on you,” he said, as she crossed to him with the sheet wrapped around her.
“Sheets are all the rage this season.” She twirled as if she was on a runway, then let out a yelp as he grabbed the sheet and pulled it off her.
“That’s even better,” he murmured, using the sheet still wrapped around her hips to pull her closer. His lips melded to hers and she melted into him.
“You know we have to leave this room sometime,” she finally said against his mouth.
“How about if I quit my job at Omega and you close the salon?”
She giggled. “I’m pretty sure they’d kick us out of here soon, when we run out of money.”
“Argh. Damn consumerism in the US.”
His phone buzzed again on the nightstand. Hers had been doing the same thing for the last few hours.
The real world was calling.
It was late Monday afternoon. The salon was closed on Sundays and Mondays, so it had worked out fine to be here with Roman. But she had paperwork to do and the salon involved much more than just cutting and styling hair.
But she hadn’t explained any of that to Roman yet. Even though he was law enforcement, she still wasn’t completely comfortable sharing the Fresh Starts salon’s true purpose. Those secrets weren’t fully hers to tell.
“I’ve got to get back to the salon.”
“I thought it wasn’t open today.”
“It’s not. But paperwork and shipments and handling stuff all keep going no matter what day it is. The glorious life of a small business owner.”
“And I guess I’ve got to go back to Omega and sit at a desk all day.” He gave the most adorable pout, lying there against the pillows.
“Aw.” She trailed her fingers down his cheek. “Poor little SWAT team member frustrated by having to use his brain?”
She joked, but the burn scars he had across his chest and shoulder from his close call with death two months ago were anything
