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“Oh? So something a little more then? There are still quite a few things left to do with a man I haven’t done before.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, rubbing my face at his irritating persistence.
I wasn’t going to tell him, but there was something equally compelling about his bullheadedness as it was annoying. It didn’t help that despite not seeing everything considering the lighting and his costume, I had seen enough for my imagination to spin rapidly out of control.
There was no denying the man had looked damn good while only partially naked, and the intrigued part of me wanted to see the rest. Wanted to see him stretched out on a bed or over the top of me as his narrow hips pumped down into me. For one brief moment, I could see exactly what it would be like if I were willing to indulge…well, both of us.
I swallowed hard and turned my face away from him before he managed to read what was going on in my head. “Jackass.”
“Keep that up, and I might consider it a term of endearment,” he said, draining the last of his drink. “And I notice you haven’t said no.”
“I don’t think I should have to dignify…” I stopped as I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out, a frown on my face as I saw Sophia’s name on the caller ID. Glancing at Shane, I answered the call. “Yes?”
“I hope you’re as effective in your abilities as you are confident,” Sophia said, and my frown deepened as I heard a brittleness in her voice I’d never heard before.
I stood up slowly, peering down into the room. “Tell me what you need.”
“Extract me from this group and to my car with minimal fuss,” she told me, and I could hear her keeping her breathing even. “Back study.”
The call ended, and I turned to Shane. “That was your mother.”
“And? Just what demand has she laid at your feet this time?” he asked dryly.
“To get her out of her meeting and home,” I said, shoving my phone in my pocket.
“My mother would never. You misunderstood,” he chuckled.
I glared at him. “I may not know your mother, but I can’t picture her saying anything that could be misunderstood for anything but what she meant. She sounded like she was taking even breaths, which means she’s doing it consciously, and she tried to hide it, but I could hear the weakness in her voice.”
Something small but sharp darted across Shane’s eyes as he set his glass aside. “And you’re going to rescue her?”
I watched him for a moment but decided whatever was wrong with him could wait until later. Sophia was waiting for me downstairs, and even if she wasn’t the most impatient of people, I wasn’t going to leave the person in my care waiting. “Yes.”
“How?” he asked, pushing up as I walked past him into the hallway, moving as quickly as I could while there was no one else around.
“Who’s someone who works for her and would be willing to call her after hours?” I asked as we reached the stairs.
“Dominic Berch,” Shane answered instantly. “He’s the one in charge of pretty much all financial everything overseas. Nervous little man, constantly fretting over everything and anything. Drives her nuts, but he’s good at what he does, so she keeps him and gives him an earful.”
“Good,” I said, gazing around. “Back study?”
He nodded his head. “This way.”
I kept an eye around us as we walked and realized that far too many people would see us leave. “Even if we make an excuse, if there are too many eyes around and she’s not feeling good…”
“She’d kill someone if she faltered in front of people,” Shane said with a snort. “Everyone knows her diagnosis, but God, if someone were actually to see the results…that’s what this is, isn’t it?”
“That or her treatment is finally catching up with her after too much exertion,” I grumbled, looking around.
“You deal with my mother,” he said, turning to walk in the opposite direction toward where the ballroom sat. “I’ll deal with the crowd.”
“Do I want to know?”
“I do know how to behave myself in full display of ‘my peers’, thank you.”
“Oh right, I don’t know if it’s any help, but some woman was looking for you earlier. Wanted to thank you for your help and…donations?”
He gave me a strange look. “I think that might be useful. Curious that you brought it up.”
