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She stepped towards them, a beautiful smile on her lips and a demure color on her cheeks. One delicate hand reached up to adjust the sparkling stud in her ear, and she wiggled the fingers of her other hand in greeting.
"Hello, Benjamin," he read on her lips and his lungs constricted. God, those lips!
She raised her hands to sign as she spoke, and Benjamin caught a glance of bare skin beneath her arm to her waist. He swallowed and pulled his eyes away to focus on what she said.
"This is my sister, Ruby," she told him, indicating the younger girl who answered the door. "Ruby lives here with me."
"We met." Ruby had a wide, knowing smile on her face and she raised her hand in another wave. She even winked at him.
Benjamin turned back to Jewell in time to see a man exiting the bedroom at the end of the hall. He was tall and broad-shouldered. Immediate resentment hit Benjamin's chest. When the new man reached Jewell, his hand went to the small of her back, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek.
"Have a good time," Benjamin watched him say. The man turned to him and extended his hand. Ben took it. The grip was firm and direct. "Hi. Greg Jacobs."
"Benjamin Roth.”
The newcomer made his farewells and moved past Benjamin to leave the apartment. Okay, so she might not be married, but she was possibly involved. Again, for the second time in five minutes, Benjamin cursed himself. Especially for the kinds of things he had in mind.
"I just need to get my evening bag and I'll be ready to leave," she told him and turned to go back to her room.
She walked away and Benjamin's throat constricted. The sight of her nearly took his breath away. Auburn waves of luxuriously thick hair flowed to the middle of her back. She turned her head and the waves undulated like the surface of the ocean with a light wind. From the ends of her hair, until the dress came to a point beneath the small of her back, her skin was bare. The cut of the dress accentuated the indentation of her waist and the soft curve of her hips. Liquid fabric shifted around her calves as she walked. Benjamin thought he caught a glimpse of two small dimples on either side of her spine just within the outline of the dress.
Ruby leaned back against the wall and watched him. Benjamin pulled his eyes away from Jewell's enticing derrière and met her sister's stare. Her grin was huge and expressed some secret knowledge she was unwilling to share. Looking at her, there was no family resemblance between the two sisters. Of course, one or both of them might have colored their hair—no, Jewell's hair was too beautiful to be fabricated where Ruby’s red was from a box—but there was no similitude in the facial structures. This girl was willowy with dainty features. Jewell was considerably taller and her body more womanly and curvaceous. A change like that might come with time because Ruby had to be several years younger than Jewell, but he just didn't see it happening. Then again, there was no resemblance between any of the people in the portrait.
"Nice tux," Ruby signed.
Jewell came down the hall again, a small rhinestone evening bag held in one dainty hand. She gave her sister a twenty-dollar bill, and for his sake, signed the conversation.
"Call in for dinner tonight. I'm sorry, but I didn't get a chance to throw anything in the oven."
"Okay. It's too hot to cook, anyway. I'm going out later with some kids from school. We're going back to campus for some research in the library. We might go to the movies."
Benjamin wasn't sure why, but it surprised him both sisters were so competent in Sign. Jewell said once she was very fluent. Who was deaf that both sisters would know it so well? Could they be CODAs?
"Fine. I'll see you when you get home."
Benjamin opened the door and held it for her as she stepped into the hall. He pulled the door shut, and as he did, his arm came in contact with the bare flesh of her back. The intoxicating scent of her hair drifted to him and he inhaled deeply. Her shoes were slightly higher than the ones she wore to the office because the top of her head was closer to eye level with him.
He released the doorknob and rested his palm at her waist. Beneath his touch, he felt her draw up straighter. She turned her head and looked up at him. Her features seemed more glamorous tonight. He didn't know whether it was from the makeup or the hairstyle, but he liked it.
"You're beautiful tonight," he said, not wanting to take his hand from her back to sign. "I think you should wear this to work sometime."
Jewell smiled and color rose in her pale cheeks. She tipped her chin down and looked up at him through her lashes. "Thank you. But I don't think this is appropriate for the office."
Benjamin met her gaze. “Maybe not.”
Unable to avoid the purely carnal temptation, he reached up and touched the thick mass of copper hair. It was softer than he imagined. Filaments of fine silk wrapped around his fingers and tickled his palm. He lifted a luxurious tress near his nose and inhaled deeply.
“I had no idea you hid so much hair. It’s beautiful.”
Jewell's eyes widened and he felt her breath catch. He was dangerously close to making a very big mistake, so with gentle pressure, he urged her towards the stairs.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Ritz-Carlton ballroom was the epitome of elegance in hues of burgundy and golden blonde wood. Open double doors let in the evening air and allowed attendees access to balconies looking out over Boston Common. Champagne flowed freely, and all Jewell had to do was turn around to be offered some new and tantalizing hors d'oeuvres. Soft string and piano music drifted through the room packed with the most affluent and successful people in the Boston financial industry.
Phrases and bits of conversation jumped from small group to small group, with words like "bear market", "TRIV", "arbitrage", and "OTC Market" flittering through the jumble of words. As much as Jewell enjoyed the excitement of the industry, she didn't have the desire to spend an entire evening discussing investment strategies and couldn't help grinning at the enthusiasm that some of the individuals around her held for their jobs.
A slight touch against her spine made her jump, and she turned into Benjamin as he laid his palm flat on her back. She smiled when he stepped closer and leaned his other arm on the edge of the bar where she stood. Not for the first time that evening, Jewell felt the slow infusion of heat just below the surface of her skin when he turned his devastating gaze on her and one corner of his mouth ticked up in a small grin.
