Zane could think of teeth he’d rather have removed than attend the typical “aren’t we great journalists” event. But having skipped out on the past few, and being on both Gil Beringer and Jack Hiller’s shit lists, he knew Mediacom’s yearly awards ceremony tonight was a must-attend. Which was fine, since it gave him an excuse to distract Naomi a little more while at the same time showing Jack what a good boy he was being by spending an entire evening getting advice from his image consultant.
So here he was, standing outside the Ritz-Carlton, feeling stiff in his tux and waiting for Naomi, who’d insisted they meet at the hotel instead of riding together. He had a good hunch she was just afraid of being alone with him for too long, but she’d failed to calculate that the Ritz-Carlton was full of hotel rooms, and if Zane had his way, he’d have her naked in one of them before the night was through.
A cab pulled up to the curb a few minutes later, and the door opened. First came a pair of legs, long and silky-smooth, with feet clad in glittering black heels that strapped around the ankles, then came the rest of Naomi. He took in the sight of her wearing a tight black dress shimmering with beads and felt himself grow warm around the collar. Maybe they could just skip the awards ceremony and go straight to a private room--
“Hi,” she said, smiling as the cab pulled away. “Sorry I’m late.”
“I think I can forgive you,” he said, closing the distance between them. When she was a few feet away, he extended a hand to her and pulled her closer. “If you kiss me.”
She smiled and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek. “No public displays of affection. It wouldn’t do a thing to improve your playboy image.”
“I didn’t realize I’d have to stop being a playboy too.”
“You just have to stop acting like one in public, if you want to conform to Mediacom’s expectations of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No more dishonoring the virtue of princesses, no more making out with women in public, no more sex scandals, period--international or otherwise.”
He sighed. “Sounds like loads of fun.”
She took a step back, making the distance between them more appropriate for a boy scout and his scout leader.
“Shouldn’t we go in there now?” she asked, nodding at the glowing entrance of the hotel, where Mediacom employees and their dates were streaming in at a slow pace.
“I don’t suppose I could talk you into going upstairs to a private room instead. Since you’ve already nixed the public displays of affection...”
Her gaze narrowed. “Jack Hiller didn’t hire me to have sex with you.”
He snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her closer as they walked toward the red carpet leading to the door. “He should have. Everything would be so much simpler.”
“I’m beginning to think you’re a hopeless case.”
“Good, then maybe you’ll give up this makeover crap and do what we both know we want to do.”
She shot him a look. “I don’t give up that easily. You may be a hopeless scoundrel inside, but I can at least dress you up like a professional on the outside.”
“It’s all about appearances, isn’t it,” Zane said as they entered the lobby.
Following the signs, they made their way along with a stream of Zane’s coworkers to the lower level ballroom where the event was being held.
Inside the ballroom, people stood around in small groups making chitchat. Zane groaned inwardly. This was going to be one long damn night if he couldn’t talk Naomi into sneaking off somewhere and getting naked.
Getting undressed could liven up even the most miserable and boring social functions, Zane had learned long ago.
And the sight of Naomi all dressed up, looking her most polished, with her lips a perfect, glossy red, her hair draping her shoulders like satin, her skin glowing in the soft light... It was enough to make a man lose interest in everything else.
How the hell was he supposed to engage in small talk with a bunch of big-headed reporters when there was this gorgeous, prissy sex-goddess-in-the-making standing right next to him?
With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her through the crowd and straight to the nearest secluded corner.
Naomi gave him a once-over. “You clean up nicely,” she said, “but if you’d really like to look the part, you’ll need to cut your hair.”
“Could we skip the image advice for tonight? I invited you here as my date.”
She smiled. “Okay, sorry. I don’t normally date my clients.”
“Glad you made an exception for me. Why did you?”
She glanced away from him, her gaze following a couple Zane didn’t recognize as they passed by. When they were gone, she looked back at him, and he could see a spark of mischief in her eyes. “Maybe it was the heat--maybe I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Or maybe you’re just attracted to me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s unbecoming of a gentleman.”
“Remember--no advice tonight. And if you think you’re going to turn me into a gentleman, you’ve got a steep mountain to climb.”
Naomi smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. And if you must know the truth, you’re right, I did agree to come here because I’m attracted to you.”
Her honesty almost threw him off guard. It was so out-of-character for a girl like Naomi to just come right out and state her feelings.
But Zane was the master when it came to throwing people off guard.
He leaned in close. “Then you are going home with me tonight, right?”
She turned to face him, confusion in her eyes. “Why would you think that?”
“Our agreement, remember? When you decided to show off your linguistic skills.”
Her cheeks colored. He knew damn well she’d been hoping to forget about that whole agreement-in-French issue.
“What about our agreement?” she asked.
“I’ve held up my end of the bargain so far by going along with your consultation today...”
“Yes, you have,” she said, her tone uncertain.
“You do realize what I asked you to do with me, right? You said you understood.”
“Oh. Well, honestly, I may have fibbed a tiny bit. I mean, I have a general idea what you asked me to do.”
He smiled. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Her blush deepened. “Okay, I lied. I don’t have a clue what you said, and I couldn’t even remember enough of it to look it up later in my French dictionary.”
“Hmm. It probably wouldn’t be very nice of me to hold you to an agreement you didn’t understand.”
“So long as it’s not illegal, I guess my word is my word. I have to hold up my end of the bargain, right?”
“Maybe you should find out what I said before you decide that.”
“Are you going to keep me in suspense any longer?”
“I said I wanted to make love to you.”
The rosy color drained from her cheeks. “Oh.”
“Were you thinking I’d asked you to redecorate my apartment?”
Naomi expelled a nervous laugh. “I had a feeling you’d said something a little scandalous, but I thought maybe you’d just asked me to kiss you, or...touch you, or something.”
He draped one arm over the back of her chair. “’Or something’ is right.”
“I shouldn’t have expected anything less,” she said, her light-hearted tone sounding a little forced.
Zane sobered. “I wouldn’t ever expect you to do something with me that you don’t want to do.”
She gave her chin a defiant tilt. “Who said anything about not wanting to do something with you?”
“I’m talking about not wanting to do it with me. There’s a big difference between something and it. You can back out now, and I’ll forgive you.” He flashed a smile, hoping to ease the tension in her posture.
“I don’t go back on my promises,” she said.
“So in other words, you’ll screw my brains out tonight if I ask you to?”
“Are you asking?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m saying yes,” she said, all the uncertainty gone from her voice. She regarded him like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and would stop at nothing to get it.
Again, she’d almost managed to throw him off guard, but he loved a girl who could be sure of her decisions. His blood was already pumping faster through his veins, anticipating the fun to come. There weren’t many things he loved more than getting to know a woman’s body for the first time, exploring her, learning what made her cry out with pleasure.
Across the room, Jack Hiller spotted them and headed in their direction. Damn, that man had lousy timing.
“Jack Hiller at two o’clock,” he said.
Naomi casually glanced in Jack’s direction. “I’ve never met him in person. We’ve only talked on the phone.”
“Our story is, you’re here on official business, as my image consultant, got it?”
She smiled. “Got it.”
It was time to behave like a good boy, wipe away his smirk and exude professionalism. Definitely not time to make it clear that he was about to get naked with his image consultant.
But before Jack was within hearing range, Zane leaned in close and whispered, “Soon as this thing’s over, I’m going to take you upstairs to a nice, private suite and show you exactly why I have such a bad-boy reputation.”
