Surprise Seduction (11 page)

“Make-up can’t make me glamorous,” Adrienne denied.

“We’ll see.”
 
Sheila gave her a sly look as she guided her to where the cosmetologist waited.

The woman rubbed her eager hands together.
 
“Just lay back and relax.
 
You’ve been pleased with the results so far?”

Adrienne nodded cautiously.
 
She wasn’t sure she wanted Sheila directing her make-up application.

“What are you wearing to this party tonight so we can match shades?”
 
The artist asked as she expertly applied make-up to Adrienne’s face.
 
All three of her friends oohed and aahed, each feeling it necessary to make suggestions.

“A little more liner.”

“A shade darker lipstick.”

“Can you add just a little more blush?”

Adrienne stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, turning slowly to admire herself from all angles.
 
The blue-green shimmer of the party dress matched her eyes perfectly and sent out sparks of light with her every move.
 
The dress fit snugly at the top, attached to her chest only by thin spaghetti straps.
 
The skirt fell to several inches above her knee.
 
The material flared so that when she turned, the hem swished enticingly.

Was it the dress or the thought of Chase seeing her in it that had her feeling so sexy?

“Ready to go?”
 
Sheila stood in the doorway and smiled.

Adrienne turned to her roommate with all the excitement of Cinderella off to the ball in her new gown.
 
She only hoped at the end of the night, when Chase discovered the truth, he didn’t leave her holding a shattered glass slipper.

“You look great!
 
You’re going to floor Weston’s entire male population…and that’s even if they don’t realize who you are.”

Adrienne beamed at her friend.

“I doubt the entire male population, but it would be nice for someone to notice.”

“He’ll notice, all right.
 
Take my word for it.
 
Chase won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

Chapter Six

Hoping her nerves settled, Adrienne took another sip of the champagne that flowed freely around the makeshift ballroom.
 
She hardly recognized the room as being the large reception area of Weston Pharmaceutical.
 
The fluttery sensations filling her now as much from the alcohol she’d consumed as from her anticipation that after tonight, Chase would see her as a woman.
 
A heterosexual woman.

Adrienne changed dance partners several times over the next few songs as she waited for Chase to show at the party.
 
She loved dancing.
 
She’d taken private lessons for a few years and then continued as a fun form of exercise.

Wondering if she should have had that last glass of bubbly, she smiled at a tall, good-looking man who reminded her of Chase who tapped her current dance partner on the shoulder.
 
Her partner grudgingly stepped aside, when Adrienne nodded her consent.
 
Slowly, the newcomer raked his gaze over her body from head to toe, then gave her a lop-sided and very interested grin.

“Mel Sheppard.”
 
He took her hand, touching it briefly to his lips.
 
His eyes flashed his interest.

Definitely she should have stopped a drink or two ago, but at least she was enjoying herself now instead of being a bundle of nerves.
 
“Mel, I think they’re playing our song.”

Smiling, he led her out onto the center of the dance floor by the hand he now held.

She followed Mel, giggling as she slightly stumbled.
 
She’d lay off the champagne for the rest of the night.
 
At least until after Chase arrived, then she might need another glass to ease the butterflies he set loose inside her.
 

Where was Chase?

Nevermind.
 
She was feeling too good, too carefree at the moment to worry about where he was.
 
She’d worry about that later.

After she’d danced with Mel.

As smooth on the dance floor as he was handsome, Adrienne had little difficulty following his graceful moves.
 
In fact, she enjoyed the twists and turns he led her through.

She laughed out loud in carefree joy as he dipped her low in his arms.

“Who’s the dish with Mel?”

“Can you believe it?
 
That’s Adrienne Morris.
 
Chase Aaron’s assistant.
 
A real babe!
 
Funny, I never noticed her at the office.”

“Leave it to Aaron to have the sexiest woman in the building working with him.”

Chase couldn’t see the two men discussing Adrienne, but he easily overheard their conversation.
 
His eyes shifted away from the cute redhead socialite he’d invited to the party on a frustrated whim.
 
She’d known the score and accompanied him solely for the promise of pleasure their bodies could give each other after the party.

At least, that had been the plan when he’d invited her.
 
Up to this point, she hadn’t done much for him and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why not.

It sure wasn’t because a look from his secretary had warped his sexual libido.

He searched the dance floor and easily spotted his old college nemesis, Mel Sheppard, but couldn’t make out who Mel danced with for the throng of people crowding the floor.

The two men couldn’t really be talking about his Adrienne being a dish?

Granted, she wasn’t as bad as he’d initially thought on the day of her interview and she’d certainly gotten under his skin with that hot look she’d given him.
 
But, that had to have more to do with the fact that he saw her as unattainable.
 
The lure of forbidden fruit had been causing men trouble since Eve first offered Adam that apple.
 
That was why he thought about her all the time.
 
Had to be.

Blast the woman for that look she’d given him, only to douse him in ice-cold words.
 
Blast forbidden Adriennes, too.

But, regardless of how she affected him, no one would call her a knockout.
 
The men must be confused.
 
Even if her friends had found her a nice outfit today on their shopping trip, no dress could transform Adrienne into a ‘real babe’.

Besides, Adrienne wouldn’t be dancing with Mel.

Melanie, maybe, but not Mel.

Chase gave a slight shake of his head.

The woman was messing with his head.
 
The memory of how he’d dropped a sorely disappointed Starr off at her apartment and his lack of enthusiasm for the redhead caused him to scowl.
 
Adrienne was messing with a lot more than just his head.

“Let’s dance.”
 
He told his date, his sole intent being to get a better look at Mel’s dance partner.
 
Chase had known Mel since they were in college.
 
They’d been in the same fraternity. He’d loathed the day when Mel had been hired at Weston.
 
Had he known ahead of time, he’d have blocked his employment.
 
Not that the man wasn’t good at what he did, Chase just wearied of the competitiveness that always flared between the two of them.
 
Mel had always been a ladies man--not the type to be interested in a woman like Adrienne.

Mel went for drop-dead gorgeous and quick in the sack.
 
The same as he did.
 
More than once he and Mel made plays for the same girl.
 
Adrienne would hold no interest for Mel, even if she had become a thorn in
his
side.
 
Not unless somehow, Mel knew how she brought him to attention with only a visual caress, and robbed him of the ability to get turned on by other women.

How had she accomplished that?

Chase’s curiosity got the best of him about whom the men confused as Adrienne.

“Sure,” the redhead eagerly agreed.
 
Her heavy bosom jiggled as she stood up from her chair.

Within seconds, Chase maneuvered her around the dance floor.

The music blared an upbeat nineties number that had everyone gyrating to the rhythm.
 
He still couldn’t see anything but the enticing backside of the woman with Mel.

The mystery woman had killer long legs and a nice set of curves outlined at the top of those legs.

Mel dipped the woman low, holding her at the waist against his body.
 
The men were right.
 
She was stunning.
 
He didn’t recognize her, but wished the hell he did.

Laughter spilled from her lips.
 
She was obviously enjoying Mel’s company.
 
Too bad Mel met her first.
 
Chase had no desire to repeat the games they’d played during college to out do each other.

He continued through the motions of dancing with his date while Mel nuzzled the woman’s neck.
 
Chase couldn’t bring himself to pull his curious gaze away.
 
Funny, normally he didn’t get into watching another man make out.
 
But something about the woman kept his gaze glued on the couple.
 
Maybe because of the overheard conversation calling the woman by Adrienne’s name.

Or maybe the honest truth of the matter lay with the gut reaction his body experienced when his gaze first fell upon her.
 
He’d experienced lust.
 
Pure and simple.
 
That was something he’d only felt for one woman since meeting Adrienne.

His date seemed unaware of his prolonged interest in the other couple.
 
Just as well, he seemed to have lost what little interest he’d had in her curvy, fiery package.

His interest had been captured by someone else’s date.

Damn, he wouldn’t get mixed up in another triangle with Mel.
 
They’d done that too often in the past.

First Adrienne and now Mel’s date.

Maybe he was going through some kind of mid-life crisis.
 
But at thirty-two?

The woman in question turned to where Chase got his first good look at her face.
 
Blue-green eyes outlined with long, thick lashes sparkled.
 
Wide eyes set in the smoothest skin he’d ever seen.