SecondSightDating (14 page)

He was on the job.
Had been, until he let her charms, allure
and his own damn hormones run amok and turn his brains into mush.

Dan could make up some ludicrous tale of a lost love,
enormous hurting heartache and hope to gain her sympathy.
Maybe she’d even open
up more to him about herself and business.
Could be she’d let something slip
about how things operated at Second Sight Dating, something to turn his case
one way or the other.

Would she sense his hesitation in answering or falseness of
whatever concocted story he dished out?
He’d lie, although padding the truth
with some half-truths for his undercover work left him no option.

He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat,
hoping for some time to get his brain in gear.
Even after so many captivating
and enjoyable minutes of making love with her, every inch of his body still
craved more.
Bypassing his body’s need for Serena and concentrating instead on
his job required monumental strength to avoid her magnetic pull.

Her question caught him by surprise, dousing him with cold,
hard facts.
As an officer involved in a case, he could easily screw up unless
he backed off into his pretend corner and distanced himself from Serena.

He was a cop.

She was a suspect.

Steve would blast him and rightfully so, for mixing business
with pleasure.
Or in this case, for shoving his job aside for an extraordinary,
one-on-one lust-filled night of fantasy.

Time to revert to the proprietor-client façade he’d been
ordered to use and solve the mystery surrounding Serena Xavier.
His instincts
screamed with doubts about her involvement with the mob or any wrongdoing.
But,
integrity urged him to finish his job to a definite conclusion, one way or the
other.
Maybe then and only then could he see if a relationship with Serena
could be salvaged.

Talk about love with her?
Allowing another
woman, especially Serena, to penetrate his heart and soul, would never be an
option.

Damn.

Serena held her breath while her heartbeat sped up.
Why
didn’t he answer my question?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
You mentioned the “L”
word.

It had slipped out before she’d had a chance to consider the
consequences.
It wasn’t what she’d meant to say…or, was it?
She’d wanted to
know more about his past, now that she’d opened up “the book of love á la
Serena” to him.

A shiver worked its way down her spine and she wondered if
she’d read all his signals wrong.
She’d told him about herself, been honest
concerning her past love life and frustration, especially with Alan.

She tensed, wondering if maybe he thought her a fool, an
idiotic, immature child who’d allowed someone else to treat her so badly.
Or,
he could figure she’d used him to satisfy a hunger, a burning desire to
experience a different type of lovemaking, something that by her own admission
had been unknown to her.

Neither was true.
Both might be half true.

Suddenly embarrassed even in the cover of darkness, she rose
from the sofa, eager to find her clothes and conceal her nakedness.
Ashamed by
her aggressiveness in throwing herself at him, old doubts crept into her head
about her craving for sexual release.

Maybe all men secretly laughed and were affronted at a woman
eagerly displaying a sexual need so they ignored gratifying her desires.
Regardless of what he professed and engrossed in satisfying his own sexual
passions, a man might label her forwardness, as Alan had, unappealing.

Dan had made her feel special, even commented on her
passion.
But, in her wanton and sex-starved state, she could have missed his
true take on their making love in spite of his seemingly sweet concern for her
feelings afterwards.
In the height of passion, all her sense of reason and
logic disappeared into oblivion.

Sensations of regret tidal-waved through her from head to
foot.
What the hell had she been thinking?
Had she lost all perspective?
Sex?
With Dan?
A client?
Someone whose motives she still harbored doubts about?

She found her dress and quickly shimmied her body into it,
forgoing the need for undergarments.
She prayed no one would see her leave the
building or notice her as she entered her apartment.
Witnesses to her moment of
insanity had to be kept to a minimum.

Dan would know, but there was nothing she could do about
that except hope to do some damage control.
Then, there would be Michael to
contend with.
That could present a problem.
She rushed the zipper up her back,
determined to deal with her brother if or when the need arose.

“What are you doing?”

Serena leveled a stare at Dan, one she hoped would convey an
air of nonchalance.
“It’s getting late.
Since you didn’t answer my question, I
guess you’re tired and I know I’m exhausted.” She busied herself with
collecting the rest of her clothing.
“We’ll talk about business another time.”

The cold, calm, blasé tone in her voice surprised even her.
Dan continued to stare and made no effort to hide the fact that he still
remained naked on her sofa.

He finally spoke, breaking the icy silence between them.
“Sorry if I offended you.
I just needed some time to think.
Didn’t realize
there was a time limit to answering you.”

Serena perked her head upward and replied, “I’m heading to
the ladies’ room down the hall to freshen up.
Why don’t you dress while I’m
gone and then we can leave.”

“Fine.”

She marched out the door, wishing she’d had on her heels to
contribute definite loud and determined clicking sounds echoing in the hallway.
She refused to give in to the curious itch to peek behind her and see if he had
moved.

Once in the restroom, she breathed a sigh of relief as she
turned on the light and blinked a few times to focus in the bright room.
Serena
stood in front of the mirror, allowing her shoulders to slump while she rested
both hands on the rim of the sink.

Swollen lips from being well kissed greeted her
as she stared at her reflection.
Her curls bounced in disarray and her skin
shone with a satiated shimmer of after-sex glow.
She bent her head, begging
tears not to fall.
Not now.
I need to be strong
.
Turning on the cold
water, she scooped up the chilling liquid in both hands and splashed it on her
face.

She dried her face with scratchy paper towels that left her
eyes swollen and her face red.
Tears would have had the same effect.
Hoping to
arrange some semblance of order to her hair, Serena raked her fingers through
her curls.
Would any of this help?

You fool.
Making love—no, having sex—was great.
Now, forget
Dan.
Get yourself under control and concentrate on business.

Their whole lovemaking episode was a huge mistake, something
caused by too much wine and seductive flirting.
Dan intoxicated her, turning
her controlled mind into something resembling that of a sex-starved teenager.
It was over, done with.
Serena frowned at her image in the mirror one last time
before pivoting and walking out the door.
She’d make it perfectly clear there’d
be no repeat performances.

Dan had wasted no time once Serena left the office.
Although
disheartened over her chilly performance but grateful for the distance now
placed between them, he needed to get back to his job.
He’d hurriedly located
and donned his discarded clothing, threw his jacket over his arm and rushed
over to close the door before heading for her desk.

Turning on the desk light afforded him a better view of what
lay strewn on her desk.
Nothing much caught his eye, except for the information
folder for the real Gino Conti.
He grabbed it and tucked it into his folded
jacket as he spotted what had rested under it.
Another folder, one labeled “Mr.
A”, had been stacked under Gino’s.

Mr.
“A”?
Dan raked a hand through his hair.
That didn’t make
sense.
Hadn’t the men been given numbers and the women, letters?

What was going on?
Perhaps she had two filing systems, one
for legitimate clients and another one for some shady scam she was running.
With a sense of dread looming over him, Dan snatched that folder and shoved it
with Gino’s.

He let out a whoosh of air that had been pent up in his
lungs as suspicions about her honesty crept back into his head.
Serena could
prove to be a resourceful and underhanded schemer, running a seemingly harmless
business and portraying the image of a highly respectable company while
covering for some devious sex-for-money ring.
The two folders now tucked under
his jacket could spur his investigation, causing her downfall while supplying evidence
to work against her.

Nothing else on her desk gave the impression of useful
information, so he turned off the light and trotted to the door.
Dan opened it
and peeked out, then closed it before jogging to her back office.
Removing his
keychain equipped with a tiny flashlight, he ascertained a minute or two still
existed before Serena’s return.
He needed to check out the filing cabinets but
wouldn’t dare turn on the light for that room.

Serena stopped by the door, wondering why it was now closed.
She had left it opened, figuring no one else would be wandering around the
building at such a late hour.
With a careful twist, she turned the doorknob,
straining to keep the knob from squeaking and the door from creaking as she
pushed it open.

With her office still blanketed in moonlit darkness, Serena
strained to find Dan’s frame silhouetted somewhere in the room.
Her eyes then
focused on her back office, the door ajar and a tiny light shining inside it.

Waves of anger drenched her heart and soul.
Dan, the man
she’d given herself to, who’d brought her to oblivious satisfaction, was
nothing but a phony.
He’d used her for whatever purpose lurked in his sinister
brain.

She backed out of the room, carefully pulling the door
closed again without a sound.
Her head spun with furious thoughts, even though
her heart made an inexplicable last-ditch effort to hold her back from seeking
revenge.

Revenge.
Setting things right.
Catching him in his own game
and hauling his ass to jail would be rewarding.
Serena would find a way to
prove his guilt and turn him over to the police.

Determined to play along and nab him as soon as
she had all the facts, Serena traced her steps back to the restroom, then
yelled out, “Dan?
Are you almost ready to leave?”

She then strode back to her door.
Dan opened it before she
could, guilt or sadness covering his face.
She smiled, hiding the desire to
pounce on him and smack both of his cheeks clear of whichever look he
portrayed.

“I, uh, just need to get on my shoes and socks.” He turned
away, found those items and put them on.

Serena didn’t respond but donned her shoes, minus the hose.
She kept her voice level and asked, “Shall we go?”

He followed her out the door and she locked it behind them.
They walked outside in total silence, neither offering a comment about their
evening.
A cool breeze made her shiver with a slight chill.

Dan reached out to put his arm around her, but Serena wanted
no contact.
She quickened her steps, assuring no part of his body touched hers.
No more of his letters racing through her head could be tolerated.
At her car,
she unlocked the door and remarked, “Thank you for a lovely evening.
I’ll plan
on seeing you for your next date.
Maybe after your three dates, you’ll get a
better feel for how my business operates.
We can talk about a possible
partnership then.”

She extended her hand, gearing herself for the onslaught of
his dancing letters.
She’d control herself.
She had to make it clear that
Serena Xavier had no interest in kissing or making love with him ever again.
Their relationship would be “business only” from now on.

Her heart, her Achilles’ heel and a weakness she’d have to
work on, made a feeble attempt to soften her resolve and grant one last
mind-blowing embrace, but Serena’s head won over.
No expression of closeness or
weakness could be allowed if she planned to maintain her sanity and determined
plan of action.