her on the cheek. He couldn’t afford to indulge in anything like that. It could turn out to be the thin edge of the wedge. But her arm just above the elbow as he had taken it as they’d moved off was so smooth to his touch. She had beautiful skin. Beautiful skin all over her body, he just knew. If for a moment he had allowed himself to be pierced by an unnerving desire, he was over it. Well...almost over it, back in control. The very last thing he wanted was to bring trouble down on Carol Chancellor’s young head.
Damon sat back, his eyes hooded. If he were honest, he would admit he didn’t really know what was happening in his life any more.
He had already told her she looked beautiful the moment he had arrived to pick her up. She wasn’t expecting exquisite. Carol took a deep breath, aware of the heat in her cheeks. “I’m glad you think so. Do I look older?”
Damon couldn’t help laughing. “Was that your intention?”
“You may have noticed I’m not wearing one of my sparkly little numbers,” she leaned forward to confide. “I wanted to appear more elegant.” For you.
“You have my verdict.” There was a faintly sardonic twist to his handsome mouth.
She studied him with her bluer-than-blue eyes. “What do they say, amorous intrigue is the spice of life? Do you agree?”
“You’re saying this is an amorous occasion?” He quirked a brow.
He looked so attractive she felt her heart give a great lunge. “Don’t be silly, Damon. You’re embarrassing me. I’m talking about your lady friends. We can talk about them, can’t we? I happen to know you’ve checked out my list of on-and-off boyfriends.”
“Now, how would you know that?” His gaze sharpened.
“Gotcha!”
“Okay.” He held out his palms. “My job is to protect you, Carol. Protect you and your interests. I have to keep one move ahead of the game. You’re well and truly in the limelight. But you know you have a management team in place.”
“So how long is this management team going to be in place?” She made an attempt at lightness when just being with him engendered such excitement.
The expression on his face was serious. “As long as it takes. Now, this is a celebratory dinner. You’ve done us all proud. What are you going to have? The seafood is always superb.”
“I know. They sing paeans of praise for the chef. Thank you for thinking of me, Damon. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
His brilliant dark gaze held hers. “We are, Carol.” Momentarily he allowed himself to barely touch her small pretty hand lying on the table. Was it an excuse? Sensation stunned him, catching him under the ribs. It set off a surge of adrenaline that ran like shivery pins and needles up and down his arm.
“That’s all I need to know.” Carol, too, felt the impact. For half a second she felt her heart actually flutter. She had never thought of herself as needy, yet it was thrilling to know she had Damon on her side; Damon to stand at her shoulder. He had done that from their very first meeting. She might be a client but she had the unstoppable feeling she was a little bit important to him.
The champagne arrived. He raised his glass to her. “Congratulations, Carol.”
After that, they both fell into their comfort zone. If she wanted so much more, at least she had the sense to know it was out of the question. Damon was kind, he was thoughtful, he was way out of her league. She almost wished herself five or six years older. But that was her nature: she always did rush at things. She had rushed into a huge crush. One could wait all one’s life for such a crush.
It was easy enough to savour the beautiful food and wine. Carol stuck to two glasses of champagne as her limit. She thought Damon would approve. At any rate, he didn’t attempt to press any more on her. They talked about many things—always something fresh to discuss. He told her how he had been hell-bent on a legal career. He talked about his mother. Clearly they shared a close, loving relationship. Damon had travelled widely, sometimes to very distant places like the North Pole.
“I went with a university friend, Zac Murray. We both wanted to have the experience of seeing the Northern Lights, the aurora borealis.”
“And did you? I’d read it’s not always possible, depending on the weather.”
His dark eyes lit