Dangerous Curves (4 page)

“
O
h
, I'm sorry,” she said, quickly leaving the room to the sound of laughter.

She sat in the hall, her face burning. An art class and he was clearly the model. She'd made an idiot of herself. Why couldn't she have just taken a seat and pretended it was no big deal? It wasn't as if she'd never seen a naked man before.

Okay, to be honest, she hadn't seen a naked man like that before. She'd seen naked men in paintings or as statues. If she was really honest, she'd admit to seeing one in a porn movie that had been as unimpressive as the storyline and another youthful mistake she'd made with a guy who liked to keep the lights off, but clearly couldn't find his way in the dark.

No, she'd never seen a naked man lying on his side in broad daylight as if he'd commanded the sun to touch his skin with reverence and grinned with the arrogance of a god. He was perfection. There was nothing wrong with him. She'd briefly heard a rumor that he'd been disfigured after the accident and although that had quickly been disputed, she couldn't believe how it had ever gotten started. He was beautifully made with hazelnut skin. More muscular than she'd imagined him to be, heralding a quiet strength that was both virile and sensual. She'd expected a more lithe, carefree figure considering his reputation. She'd expected him to be more boyish in physique. But from what she saw, he was pure male.

Dominique touched her cheeks and took a deep breath. She'd made a miscalculation, but she wouldn't again. She had to stay cool and focused. He was a player. She'd underestimated the type of playboy based on photos she'd seen of him partying, but now she'd gotten a fuller view. She briefly closed her eyes. No, fuller view wasn't the right word. A better perspective. Yes, that was it. She'd gotten a different perspective of him. Of course he was attractive; her sister wouldn't have fallen for him otherwise.

Dominique quickly rose to her feet when the door opened and students streamed out of the room. She tugged on her sleeves, smoothed down her hair and waited. Cool. She'd play it cool, she reminded herself as her heart raced. He was going to walk through those doors any minute and she had to make a good impression. She was just his driver. He couldn't suspect anything else. She could do this. She was a professional.

Kevin walked out of the room, now fully dressed, wearing dark trousers and a checkered shirt. He looked at her and she wished he hadn't. He sent her a brilliant, brown gaze filled with mischief and he flashed her a knee-melting grin. “Ready to go?”

She swallowed and forced herself to stare at his face and not dip lower. She didn't want to remember the sight of his bare chest, the shape of his legs, the size of his…“Yes, sir.”

He nodded or winked, she wasn't quite sure what because it was fast, but she felt the impact. Warmth swept through her and she stood paralyzed a few moments as she watched him walk down the hall. It took her a moment to realize she hadn't moved and she raced to catch up with him.

“What's your name?” he asked.

“Dominique,” she said, matching his gait. His pace was slower than she'd expected it to be, he didn't seem to be in a hurry.

“You don't have a last name?”

“Cartw--Carter,” she said remembering her cover. She glanced at him to make sure her lie had gone over smoothly and again regretted meeting his eyes, but this time for a completely different reason. The look of mischief had disappeared, replaced with a look of such genuine interest that she stared at him for a second too long and stumbled over her own feet. She quickly caught herself and waved him off when he reach out to help her. “Don't worry I walk better than I drive.” She paused. “No wait. I mean I drive better than I walk.” She inwardly cringed. Now she sounded like an idiot on top of looking like a klutz.

A soft smile touched his mouth. “I know what you meant.”

Damn his eyes. She couldn't stop looking at him. At them. They kept pulling her to him. He didn't have to be very charming with eyes like that. But she could see something else that surprised her.

She could see shadows in his eyes, as if he were in pain, but there was no visible sign of what had caused it. He didn't limp or use a cane or have any slow, awkward movements. For a brief moment she felt a little guilty about her deception, but then thought of her sister and knew that men could be clever actors. But the shadows seemed real and they bothered her.

No, she couldn't feel sorry for him. What she had to do was necessary. She'd find some dirt on him or find a weakness and use it and then leave. He was a player and she'd play his game.

“But are you sure?” he asked.

She glanced away, annoyed that her eyes kept being drawn to the shadows haunting his gaze. She didn't want to care. “Am I sure about what?”

“That your name is Carter. You sounded like you hesitated, or are you just flustered?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Was that your first live drawing class?”

Gorgeous and smart. That was going to be a problem. She kept her gaze straight ahead measuring their steps to the door. “Well, I—”

“Kevin!” a voice called.

They stopped and turned to see a woman racing down the hall. Dominique felt such gratitude for the interruption that she had to stop herself from running and giving the woman a hug.

The older woman stopped in front of them. Up close Dominique noticed the brunette wig, lack of eyebrows and the woman's puffy, round face, but the look of delight on her face made none of that important. “I'm so glad I got you before you left. You forgot your phone.”

“Oh thanks, Elizabeth,” Kevin said, taking the cell phone and putting it away. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned as if in pain. “I'm dying.”

“Why?”

He turned his cheek to her and tapped it. “Because I haven't been kissed by a beautiful woman today.”

Elizabeth Kirkpatrick playfully hit him on the arm and giggled like a school girl. “You're such a flirt.”

Kevin's face fell and he looked as pathetic as a puppy left out in the rain. “That means you won't kiss me?”

“If I were thirty years younger and not married—”

“You'd still be beautiful.” He glanced down and picked up something off the ground Dominique couldn't see. “Wow, look at that. Someone dropped this,” he said, handing it to the woman. “This must be your lucky day.”

Elizabeth took the object from him, then stopped when she realized what it was. Dominique could understand the woman's disbelief. She leaned in closer just to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. When Elizabeth flipped it over she realized they weren't. He'd given her a hundred dollar bill. Her green eyes filled with tears. “Kevin, it's too much.”

“It's nothing.” Kevin looked at the floor as if he were searching for something. “I wonder if I can find some more.”

She tugged on his sleeve. “No, don't.”

He tapped his cheek again. “Can I get a kiss now?”

She kissed him, then held the money close to her chest. “This helps more than you know.”

He squeezed her arm with affection. “Tell Jed I say hi.”

She nodded, then turned and left.

Dominique watched her go, seeing Elizabeth wiping her eyes. When she turned, Kevin was halfway down the hall. She rushed to catch up with him. He didn't walk fast, but he didn't stand still long either. She couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. Was he a magician? How had he managed to make that money appear out of nowhere? She hadn't seen him reach for his wallet and when he bent down she could have sworn there was nothing in his hand. She opened her mouth to ask him how he'd done it, but he spoke before she could.

“Yes,” he said, “it's cancer.”

Dominique paused. She'd been so busy focusing on the money she hadn't paid attention to the reason why he'd done it. She thought about the wig and the puffy face and the sudden tears and felt in awe of his compassion. How he'd told Elizabeth that she was beautiful and made it sound as if he meant it. “I'm sorry.”

“Treatment seems to be working, but it's still hard.”

Dominique nodded, not sure what to say. She didn't understand why he was sharing that with her. He spoke to her as if they were friends instead of employer and employee. She'd never seen a man of his status do that before. She was supposed to be part of the furniture—used and ignored. Maybe he was thinking aloud. She hadn't even known him an hour and he was already confusing her. Who was this man? Seeing him as a nude model, yes that made sense. Seeing him as a man who cared for a married woman with cancer? No, that was harder to swallow. But it didn't matter. She wouldn't be swayed. Hadn't Berton appeared to be one thing and then turned out to be another? Hadn't her father taught her what men were really like? Untrustworthy, ruthless, conniving…

Her thoughts faded when Kevin rushed forward and helped a woman struggling to open the main doors to the building while she pulled a luggage cart in one hand and held two bags in another. Kevin took one of the bags and the luggage cart.

Dominique, feeling that she should do something, took the other bag from her. “Let me help you,” she said, her face reflecting in the woman's dark glasses. The woman was petite with corkscrew twists, making Dominique feel like a wide lumbering giant standing beside her.

The woman smiled in relief. “Thank you.”

“It's not that sunny, Nora,” Kevin said. “Are the sunglasses really necessary?”

Nora Winestone sighed. She worked for the chair of the department and had just finished a discussion about possible budget cuts. “Not now, Kevin.” She smiled at Dominique. “My car's over there. I can take—”

“It can get dangerous if you stay longer,” Kevin said.

She frowned. “Nothing's wrong.”

“Then let me see your face.”

She stopped and lifted up her sunglasses, revealing her brown eyes. “Feel better now?”

“The makeup looks good.” He touched the side of her face, she winced. “But not good enough.”

She set her glasses back. “I don't need a lecture.”

“No, you need something else.”

Nora sent him a hard look, then marched to her car. She opened the trunk and smiled at Dominique as if Kevin didn't exist. “Thanks for your help.”

“You're welcome,” Dominique said, putting the bags inside.

Kevin put the luggage cart inside. “You know I'm here if you need me.”

Nora slammed the trunk closed. “I don't need you,” she said, then got into her car and drove off.

Kevin watched her for a long moment, then spun on his heel and said, “I need something to drink.”

Dominique nodded, expecting him to ask her to take him to a bar or liquor store but instead he turned to one of the buildings. Moments later he stood in front of a vending machine, gulping down a can of apple juice. He finished it and crushed the can in his fist as though it were tissue paper. The sound of aluminum being violently compressed in one swift grip startled her as much as if he'd taken the can and crushed it against his forehead. She cleared her throat. “Are you okay?”

“No.” He threw the can in the garbage. “I'm angry.”

Dominique bit her lip. It wasn't her business. She knew it wasn't her business, she should stay out of it. But she couldn't help herself. He intrigued her. She followed him to the car and said, “Does her husband--?”

“No, it's her son. Eighteen and useless. There's nothing I hate more than a man who hurts women. But women…” His words fell away and he shook his head in frustration. “Just yesterday I was with a friend who's gotten her heart broken over a guy who promised her marriage after seducing her out of fifty thousand dollars and leaving her with a kid.”

Dominique laughed with bitterness. “That's funny coming from you.”

“Funny?”

Damn she'd revealed too much. She shrugged hoping to appear nonchalant. “I'm sure a man like you knows something about breaking promises.”

“Me?” He shook his head. “I don't make promises. Women always know where they stand with me.”

Was he really such a hypocrite? He could treat her sister the way he did and then say he hated men who mistreated women? Was this all for show? And why show this side to her? She was just a driver; she was surprised he was even talking to her. But his anger seemed—no, felt— genuine. And then there were those damn shadows in his eyes.

No. She had to focus. She looked down at the ground, watching her shoes pound across the asphalt. She had to block everything else out. The blue of the sky didn't matter, the sight of Elizabeth wearing the ill-fitted wig, Nora with her dark glasses, Kevin's impassioned speech. This impression of him was not the complete picture. There had to be a hidden side. A dark side that had hurt her sister and she'd find it.

She let out a yelp when he yanked her backwards. She turned to him, stunned.

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “You were about to walk into a car.”

She turned and saw a black Lexus she was only feet away from smacking into. She rubbed her forehead, wanting to melt into a puddle. One moment he had her tripping over her feet, the next walking into cars. She had to get a grip. “Thank you, sir,” she said straightening her back and holding her head high. She wouldn't cower, she was his driver, she had to earn his trust. “I'm sorry. I should be more attentive.” She quickly walked to his car and opened the rear car door.

Kevin leaned against the door and studied her. “Nervous?”

Dominique glanced at a spot on the hood and rubbed her sleeve against it as if trying to clear a spot. She couldn't look at him yet. “Nervous?”

He nodded. “About me?”

“No, sir.” She opened the car door even wider, still unable to meet his gaze, silently begging him to go in. “I know I will do a very good job.”