me from what? From you?” she flung at him as the evidence of his arousal grew against her.
He managed to put a little distance between them, though not much. The loss of contact disconcerted her in ways it shouldn’t. What was wrong with her?
“From yourself,” he growled in her ear. “From the incompetence of your staff.”
“A funny way you have of doing it,” she snapped, trying so hard to concentrate on what was wrong with this picture instead of what felt right.
His touch. His breath in her ear. The scent of him. The solid feel of him standing behind her. Veronica fought for control. “I have protection, in spite of what you might think. That man will be fired immediately. Another will take his place.”
“Very good, Veronica. I’d thought you would be soft on him.”
“I’m never soft,” she said as another tremor passed over her. His fingers began to slide slowly across her abdomen.
“Are you quite certain?” His voice was seductive and beautiful in her ear. So much in that sentence. So much she couldn’t begin to speak to.
“You can let me go,” she repeated.
“I’m not so sure.” His fingers moved slowly, so slowly. The pressure of them against her body was light, yet she felt them as if she was naked and he was stroking her like a lover.
She closed her eyes, swallowed hard. My God …
The lights flickered once more….
And then snapped out, plunging them into darkness.
THE sudden silence was crushing. Veronica could hear his breathing, but nothing else.
“Now what?” she asked, her voice so loud to her ears. Catching at the end. Sounding husky. Needy.
For this man? A stranger to her?
It was unfathomable, and yet nothing was as it should be. Nothing had been as it should have been for months. In truth, her entire life had spun out of control and had yet to spin back.
“We wait,” he said, his fingers stilling.
“For what? Don’t you have a flashlight or something? For all your fine talk about being the best, you seem unprepared.”
“I am definitely prepared,” he growled in her ear, his breath tickling the fine hairs on her nape.
“Prove it,” she said, her voice even huskier if that were possible. Dear God, what was she up to? There was no way on earth she was truly egging this man on, was there? She might find him amazingly attractive—devastatingly so—but she was not about to lift her gown and wrap her legs around his body in reality.
No matter what Brady seemed to think she was capable of. No matter what she might have done a little over a year ago when confronted with a man of such beauty and power as this sexy tiger in black.
The old Veronica would have made him blush.
“I’m beginning to understand you,” he said in her ear. “You challenge those around you as a way to deflect attention from yourself. And yet you’ve been elected to a very public position. Odd, is it not?”
A stone dropped inside her stomach. It was too close to the truth. Too close to who she’d been before she’d lost her way. “Save yourself the trouble of trying to analyze me, Mr. Vala.”
“Don’t you think you should call me Raj now?” His hand around her wrists was hot, his skin still burning hers with his touch. Though it was dark, she closed her eyes.
Raj. It was exotic, like him. She wanted to say it aloud, wanted to try it on her tongue.
But she would not.
“I see no need,” she said. “As soon as the lights come back on, I don’t ever intend to see you again.”
“You need me, Veronica. Whether you wish to admit it or not.”
She swallowed. “I don’t need anyone.” She’d made sure of it over the years—and she’d only been wrong once.
His hand dropped from her waist. A moment later, she felt the tips of his fingers sliding along her spine where her dress opened, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “Mr. Vala …”
“Raj.”
“Raj,” she said, giving in to his demand because she hoped it would stop the insane stroking of her skin. It did not.
She wanted. And yet she couldn’t allow this side of her nature to surface, not now. Not ever again. The only way to protect herself from harm was to suppress her feelings. Feelings of need, of loneliness, of desire.
Human feelings.
No.
Veronica sucked in a shaky breath, fighting for control. “This isn’t very professional, is it? Do security consultants usually attempt to seduce their charges?”
The torturous track of his fingers ceased. Her heart hammered in the thick darkness. She’d scored a hit, but it didn’t make her feel any better. In some ways she wanted to take the words back, wanted him to continue the light stroking of her skin.
He did not. “Forgive me,” he said, his tone clipped—but whether it was with anger at her or himself, she wasn’t certain.
A moment later she was moving sideways, falling—but just as she was about to grab for him, about to wrap her arms around his neck so she didn’t fall, he eased her down on a bench and let her go. She searched the blackness for him, but could see nothing. Panic filled her until she willed it away.
“Don’t leave me here,” she said, nearly choking on the words as she did so. She hated to admit weakness, hated to admit she did need him, at least for the time being.
“I’m not leaving,” he replied, his voice coming from across the room. But she could hear the door easing open. He was going to leave her alone in this dark, lonely room. She would be lost, as lost as she’d been at sixteen when her father had locked her in a closet to punish her for trying to run away.
Blindly, she shot upright … and fell forward as her foot hit a nearby table.
Somehow, she managed to catch herself, but not without bending her wrist too far. She cried out as needles of pain shot through her arm.
“What are you doing?” Raj demanded.
She groped her way back onto the bench, relief flooding her as she held her wrist, sucking in deep breaths to keep from crying. “I thought you were leaving.”
“I told you I wasn’t.” His voice sounded closer now. A second later, light illuminated the small room.
