to be so quiet was a mystery, but she looked adorable as she peeked down each perpendicular hallway, giving him yet another view of her adorable derriere.
As she continued to move down the hallway, he started to suspect that the woman wasn’t of the criminal variety. She was too obvious and had very little stealth. Besides, there was something about the expression on her face that just didn’t jive with someone intent on murder. She looked too gleeful, too delighted on mischief.
When she reached the end of the hallway, he moved closer, intent on seeing her face. After examining her body for the past several minutes, he admitted that he was more than a little intrigued. Spellbound would be a better description.
Moving closer, he watched with interest as she crossed her fingers behind her, then peered around the opening to the ballroom.
It was now or never, he thought. And there was no way he would allow this little beauty to be lost in the crowd, which is what he now suspected she was trying to do. An assassin wouldn’t be crossing her fingers behind her back. She would be pulling out a gun or other weapon. Nor would she be wearing a silver gown that caught the light, making her whole figure sparkle. No, an assassin would blend in, possibly wearing a black gown or maybe even brown. Something many other women wore. Or she would dress as a waiter. But even then, she would stand out. That black, shiny hair that was twisted on the back of her head highlighted her delicate bone structure. She really was a stunning beauty, he thought as the light from the ballroom illuminated her features. Her eyes were a dark, chocolate brown, her skin a creamy color with peach highlights which he didn’t think was due to makeup. She had long, thick eyelashes that surrounded those almond-shaped eyes, making her appear sensuous without loads of makeup. Even the fact that she wore less than half the makeup as the other women would make her stand out. Not to mention the excitement in her lovely, expressive eyes when she bit her full, lower lip.
No, this woman wasn’t an assassin. He was literally staking his life on that instinct as he moved closer and leaned against the wall right behind her. In this position, she was currently too occupied looking around the corner, but he could see right down that lovely dress to those breasts that his hands suddenly ached to hold and explore. They were full and luscious and the cut of her dress gave him an enticing view of the deep V and interesting shadows. His eyes noticed the bow holding the halter-style bodice in place and he wanted very desperately to pull that teasing string so he could view those breasts fully.
He resisted the urge, but knew that he would get the opportunity. She was just too alluring for him to resist. Assassin or innocent, he would have this woman in his bed. In that moment, he accepted that this woman was either going to be his next mistress or his wife, the choice was up to her.
Suddenly, the idea of marriage didn’t seem nearly as dull as it had only five minutes ago. He suspected that this woman would be a bewitching enticement into the matrimonial state.
Shanelle felt something warm behind her but that didn’t make any sense. The wait staff were all out in the ballroom distributing drinks and trays of appetizers. Her whole body went cold with sudden tingling that felt spookily close to fear. She became very still. Standing up straight, she tried to use her peripheral vision to figure out what had changed. To the left of her, she saw a stern, terrifyingly bulky man in a tuxedo. To the right of her, another one stood with his hands folded in front of him. Both of them were looking straight at her.
Her breath caught in her throat and she suddenly knew that she’d been caught! Were these the palace security guards who were about to have her tossed out of the building? Well, that would be embarrassing, she thought quickly, unaware that she was biting her lower lip. But it would definitely serve her purpose. Her father couldn’t really blame her if she was evicted from the ball, could he? Okay, so he would eventually find out that she was sneaking down the servants’ hallway. And he would know exactly what she was trying to do. But