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“Yes, to your question, but changing the subject, do you think Kane might be our man?”
“Is he the right size and shape?”
She shook her head. “That’s the problem: I was too far away and at an odd angle to get a real fix on the person’s size, not to mention gender. I just wish that every time I closed my eyes, I didn’t see a replay in my mind.”
Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close. “It’ll be okay, Lori. We’ll figure it out and see that whoever did it is held responsible.”
“That isn’t really our job…”
He indicated Middleton, who was managing to make an ass of himself across the room. “You want to leave it to him?”
Lori looked from Middleton to Ryker and back again. “When you put it like that, no.”
The cocktail party was starting to wrap up and they were making their way out when Jonathan stalled them, reminding Lori she needed to stay for the annual slide presentation. Ryker smiled and turned her back toward the front of the room where a large projection screen had been pulled down.
As neither of them had been there the year before, watching as the photos came and went was rather dull, especially when, with Ryker’s arm wrapped around her, she was thinking about what the rest of the night might bring.
A photo flashed up, and Lori spotted Cobain. “Ryker, look,” she whispered, trying to point to Cobain without drawing attention to their interest.
Another photo. “And look at Kane.”
“Where?”
“Almost out of frame. The camera is focused on Cobain—clearly the darling of the crowd—but look at the expression on Kane’s face.”
“He is not a happy camper,” said Lori.
“No, he is not.”
Another photo. “Who’s that?” asked Lori, indicating a woman standing next to a display of vintage typewriters, beaming up at Cobain.
“I don’t know. She looks vaguely familiar, like maybe she lives in the area, but I don’t know her name.”
Jonathan moved up to stand beside them. “It was a good party. I think we got some nice pictures of both of you. I’m so glad you decided to join us, Ryker.”
“Thank you for having me, Jonathan. If you don’t mind, I’d like to see that Lori gets back to her room. We don’t want a repeat of last night, now do we?”
“No, indeed we do not,” agreed Jonathan. “Thank you for looking after her. I’m hoping it won’t dissuade her from joining us next year.”
“If I’m invited, I am most definitely coming.”
Taking her hand in his, he led her out of the room and into the elevator.
“What I’d really like is for you to come back with me to my room and take you up on your earlier offer,” she said. “I want to lose myself in you.”
Ryker grinned, “I think I can arrange that.”
When they reached Lori’s floor, they’d barely stepped off the elevator when Ryker swung her up in his arms and headed to her room, Lori laughing the entire way.
CHAPTER 10
LORI
Once inside the door, he set her down on her feet, walked over to the windows to close the curtains, removed his jacket, sat in the comfortable chair, and untied his bow tie before loosening his collar. The man not only owned a tuxedo, he tied a real bow tie. God he was gorgeous—casually occupying the chair, with his bow tie hanging down, his shirt unbuttoned and now he was removing a pair of antique cufflinks so he could roll up his shirt sleeves.
“Turn around,” he said, twirling his finger to indicate what he wanted. “Let me see you.” His voice was a smooth-as-butter baritone that made her feel weak at the knees. Lori couldn’t remember a time she’d been as attracted to a man as she was to Ryker.
She glanced at the antique mirror, hanging over the dresser, hoping the dress was actually doing what the clerk in the store had told her it would do—disguise any flaws, show off her attributes and cling to her in all the right places. She had to admit it didn’t look too bad. Maybe it wasn’t great, but all in all, not bad at all. She gave a little shrug she hoped he didn’t see.
