sighed. The man was simply delicious.
And, she glanced at his face, so not the kind of guy who’d play some elaborate scam to screw over his own company. She’d asked him to trust her to make dinner arrangements, and had been gratified—and a little shocked—when he’d readily agreed. She figured this was the perfect time to do some subtle questioning, just to assure herself he was as innocent as she thought.
It had to be her own doubts that had her imagining the suspicion in his voice. Belle tried to shrug off the weird feeling, telling herself it was paranoia brought on by Reece’s surprise arrival and the papers she’d found in Diana’s office.
“It’s a surprise,” she told him again. With a deep breath, she reached into her purse to pull out the room card. Her tummy spun with nerves and she missed twice before she could get the flimsy card into the lock. She’d never been this nervous to present an event or theme to a client before.
Of course, she’d never planned to get the client naked before, either. She didn’t know if it was that, or nerves over playing Mata Hari on a quest for secrets that made her feel so intimidated.
It definitely wasn’t because they’d had the most intensely wild, passionate sex of her life or that it left her feeling emotionally naked and vulnerable. Worrying about that would be ridiculous, especially since she couldn’t do anything about the vulnerability unless she was willing to stop having the incredible sex. And that was out of the question.
She told herself for at least the hundredth time since yesterday to quit obsessing. And while she was at it, just to put Reece-the-intimidating out of her mind and forget about the note and the suggestion that Mitch had asked for damage to be done to Lakeside. It just didn’t make sense for him to ruin his own resort.
Belle shook her head as if she could knock the thoughts out of it. With a deep breath, she focused instead on the previous night, the great sex, and the hot lovin’ she had planned for tonight. Whew, much better.
With a deep breath and a little wiggle of anticipation for what she hoped was about to come—namely her—Belle pushed open the heavy door.
“We’re doing dinner here tonight,” she said as she entered the dimly lit room. Hurrying before Mitch could get a good look around, she grabbed the lighter and lit the bank of candles on the dresser. “I thought we’d have a preview of what your guests can expect when they stay.”
“Really?” Excitement, curiosity and a hint of naughty pleasure were all packed into that one word.
His tone instantly settled her nerves. Belle pasted on a seductive smile and turned to face Mitch. Leaning one hip on the dresser, she gestured to the room.
“What you see before you is a typical, luxurious resort suite. Comfortable seating, antique furnishings, good art. Quality all the way, which your guests will expect.” She tilted her head toward the table in the corner, set up to her specifications. “A delicious private dinner for two, wine and a decadent and one-of-a-kind dessert. Yummy by any standard, but we’re hinting at something more. Something, dare I say it, sexy?”
Mitch’s lips twitched but he kept his expression intrigued instead of amused. “Sexy?”
“Just a hint,” she demurred, stepping to the table and curving her fingers around the handles of the domed silver covers she’d instructed the kitchen to find. She wanted that movie-star ambience. Lifting the covers, she set them aside and gestured again, this time toward the love seat next to the table.
Oysters, asparagus, lobster and a spice-encrusted steak. This time Mitch didn’t bother to hide his grin. Instead he stepped forward, and after a quick glance at the table pulled her into his arms for a kiss that put the ninety-dollar-a-plate meal behind them to shame.
Belle gave herself over to the kiss, needing it in a way she couldn’t even explain to herself. Maybe because it was the first one since he’d left her curled up naked in her sheets, or maybe it was just the nerves, but as soon as his lips touched hers, her entire body relaxed in one huge sigh of relief. She was silly to suspect him.
A kiss and a grope later, Belle peeled her fingers off his ass and they settled on the plushly cushioned love seat for their meal.
“This is fabulous,” he said after a few bites of his steak. “Not just the