bare legs any better?
With a groan of disgust, she turned away from the mirror and put on her simple pearl earrings. The only other jewelry she wore was her watch, ignoring the rest of her jewelry box because she already felt like she was trying too hard.
The man wouldn’t even be with her, she thought angrily. She would be expected to mingle around the room, talk to as many people as she could and let them know what her project was about, how the funding would work and how her ideas could benefit their company. She wouldn’t have time to even discuss the issue with Gaston around because, if things went as they had at previous events like this, he would have his own agenda. He probably had things he wanted the board members to approve which were completely separate from her issues. So they would most likely be on opposite ends of the room. In fact, probably everyone at tonight’s event would be trying to convince everyone else that their priorities were more important.
When the doorbell rang, she stared at it as if he might be able to see her frantic state. It wasn’t the fact that he’d arrived to pick her up, she told herself as she gathered her courage and straightened her shoulders. It was just that she hadn’t done this kind of thing in a long time. It was all part of the job and everyone tonight would be on their best behavior. She had to do this. She could do this. She would just stay on the opposite side of the room from Gaston and explain her work in a professional, concise and friendly manner, gaining support for her project, justifying Gaston’s faith in her.
Filling her lungs as deeply as possible, she held her breath for a moment, then released it all in a whoosh. It was an old trick she’d learned to release the tension in her back and shoulders before a particularly difficult test or review.
Somehow, the exercise didn’t work as well with Gaston standing on the other side of her apartment door. He was like a looming lion, just waiting to pounce.
Which was a ridiculous image, she told herself. She could handle him.
Right, just like she’d handled him the previous two times he’d pulled her into his arms?
Okay, so she needed to stay out of his arms and just keep her distance. Easy task since she’d be talking to as many board members as possible tonight. No worries, she told herself, taking another deep breath and letting this one out a bit more slowly.
The doorbell rang once more and she stepped forward to answer it. She jumped when the man impatiently knocked on her door just as she swung it open. “I’m here,” she almost snapped, but the vehemence in her voice stopped when she caught sight of the man in her doorway and she just stood there, staring.
He looked….amazing, she thought. His dark suit, the snowy white shirt and the grey silk tie just looked startlingly handsome on his muscular frame. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to run her hands over the dark material and see his eyes light up with desire. She wanted to smooth her hand down the shiny tie, all the way down to his waist and have him catch her wrist with a soft chuckle.
She blinked and stepped backwards when she realized what she was actually doing, breathing deeply to try and control her mind. “You look very handsome,” she said, her voice sounding lower than normal.
Gaston stepped into the apartment and the surprise on his face showed instantly. “You’ve cleaned up,” he said, stating the obvious.
Elana looked around, smiling at the newly organized room. “Yep. It looks much better, doesn’t it?”
“Much better,” he agreed, his eyes moving from all the extra space she’d uncovered and back to her. She looked stunning tonight. That dress made all of her curves look soft and sensuous and her hair pulled up like that revealed her beautiful, elegant neck. He wanted to ignore the party tonight and just hide her away from anyone who might get the wrong idea. Ideas such as leaning down and kissing that sexy neck of hers. Like feeling her body shivering as he trailed his fingers down her bare arm or slowly unzipping that dress and peeling it off of her incredible figure. Damn, he wanted to find out what she was wearing underneath that dress. Then he wanted to peel that