Glaring, she slipped out of her robe, leaving her scantily clad in black lace panties. Ignoring her image, she retrieved a pair of smoke-hued, thigh-high stockings from her lingerie drawer, lifted a slender leg onto the edge of the bed and rolled the hose up her calf to her thigh. She snuck a peek at her alter ego in the mirror and experienced a prick of annoyance at the perception glimmering in her eyes.
“What?” Teddy demanded haughtily, securing the other stocking.
“Business deal, hmm?” her reflection murmured. “What about Austin posing as your lover? He’s going to touch you, pretend intimacy…”
Teddy’s breasts swelled and tightened at the thought of enduring Austin’s amorous advances. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she grabbed her black slip dress from where she’d laid it on the bed, carefully shimmied it over her head and wriggled the clingy fabric over her hips. She adjusted the rhinestone straps holding up the snug bodice and crisscrossed along her bare back.
Reaching for her diamond stud earrings, she slipped them into her lobes, then backed up to get a full-length view of how she looked for the Christmas party. Elegant, yet sophisticated and confident. Precisely the self-assured look she wanted to achieve.
She gave herself an approving nod. “Just keep your mind on that promotion, Teddy, and off your gorgeous date, and you’ll be fine.”
“Good luck,” her twin smirked. “Considering you melt when the guy just looks at you, you’re gonna need it.”
She jammed her hands on her hips and scowled. Before she could issue an argument, a knock sounded at the door, and her stomach rolled…with nerves, anticipation and a bubbling excitement that didn’t bode well for her peace of mind. Squelching the flurry of butterflies taking flight in her belly, she hurried out of the bedroom to the condo’s front door. One glance through the peephole at the gorgeous man standing in the hallway and her heart rate skyrocketed while her knees turned to mush.
Willing a calm composure, she opened the door, momentarily dizzied by the enticing spice cologne drifting her way. Her gaze took in his tailored tuxedo, deriving immense pleasure from the way the suit complimented a body she knew to be virile and incredibly honed. The dark color accentuated his chiseled good looks and gave him a mysterious air. She dabbed her tongue along her dry lips, fantasies aplenty leaping to mind. It wasn’t hard to imagine him stripping off that jacket for some woman, releasing the black bow tie, ripping off his shirt…
An amused smile curved his mouth, reaching his warm, moss-green eyes. “Hi,” he murmured, pulling her from her inappropriate thoughts.
“Hi,” she replied, unable to help the husky quality of her voice. The man simply made her feel breathless, reckless and too aware of herself as a woman. The sensation unnerved her, because she couldn’t afford that kind of distraction.
She cleared her throat. “You look…” Scrumptious, sexy, to-die-for. All apt descriptions, but she settled for, “great.”
Flirtatious eyes appraised her just as thoroughly as she’d assessed him, lingering appreciatively where the black dress dipped to reveal a swell of cleavage, then downward to the hem that ended just above her knee. The journey upward was just as lazy, and just as arousing to her senses. “So do you.”
Promotion, promotion, promotion. The chant ran through her mind like a litany.
“Come on in,” she said politely, stepping back to let him enter. She closed the door, then followed him into the adjoining living room. “I just need a few more minutes, and then I’ll be ready to go. Make yourself comfortable.”
Just as she would have turned to escape to her bedroom for a last-minute lecture, he reached into the front pocket of his trousers and withdrew a piece of paper. “Before we leave, I wanted to give this to you.”
She eyed the yellow slip he held toward her. “What’s that?”
“A receipt for my services.”
“Oh.” Tentatively, she took the proof of payment, not sure she wanted a reminder of her desperation.
“And I hope you don’t mind,” Austin continued, “but I donated the thousand dollars to the Children’s Hospital in your name.”
Startled at his announcement, she lifted her gaze to his face, noting his earnest expression. “Why?”
His broad shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. “Because I thought the money would be better spent on people who need it. And besides, it is the season of giving.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed, overwhelmed by his generosity, and his sincerity, when most of the men she knew would have pocketed the money without a second thought. She folded the receipt and tucked it into her purse on the countertop separating the living room from the small kitchen. “Thank you. That was incredibly thoughtful and selfless.”
His easy, charming smile dismissed her compliment. “Tonight is on me. Merry Christmas, Teddy.”
Touched by his gesture, she closed the distance between them, wanting to express her own gratitude with a chaste, affectionate kiss on the cheek. At the last moment, he turned his head slightly, and her lips brushed his in a soft, infinitely gentle kiss. Her eyes momentarily closed at that tender touch, a rush of warmth suffused her veins and her lips parted on a sigh.
Austin didn’t take advantage of her unconscious offering. His mouth hovered above hers, his breath warm and scented with mint as it caressed her lips. Desire twisted through Teddy, sharpening her senses. He didn’t touch her, didn’t initiate a deeper kiss, like the one she yearned for, yet her body sizzled with awareness.
Heart pounding, she slowly lifted her lashes. Her gaze collided with the unmistakable heat in his eyes-a hunger that told her she was playing with fire, and if she was bold enough to close the inches separating their lips, he’d be happy to oblige her, and more.
She considered the temptation, anticipated the pleasure and weighed the consequences of involving herself with this man who was proving to be more of a distraction than she’d counted on. Deciding she couldn’t allow her attraction to Austin to interfere with her goals, she abruptly stepped back, severing the moment. But the magnetic pull was still there, shimmering in his eyes, tugging her toward the promise of sexual satisfaction, and something deeper and more intimately connected.
The ache within her intensified.
“I’ll, uh, be ready in a few minutes,” she said quickly, then retreated down the hall. Enclosing herself in her bathroom, she pressed her back against the door, took deep breaths to still her racing pulse and didn’t dare look in the mirror for fear of encountering her evil twin again.
“Promotion, promotion, promotion,” she chanted like a prayer.
AUSTIN STROLLED around Teddy’s modestly decorated living room while he waited for her to return, unable to wipe the smile from his face. There was something incredibly sexy about Teddy when she was flustered. Add to her appeal her generous, straightforward personality and that little black dress she was wearing, and he was finding himself hard-pressed to resist her.
Judging by that near miss they’d just had, it appeared she was struggling to suppress the same craving for him. And if a little kiss made her nervous, he wondered how she was going to handle the evening, with him making sure everyone at tonight’s party went home with the impression that he and Teddy were intimate. Surely she realized that illusion meant more than stealing a kiss or two?
He looked forward to those stolen kisses, those subtle caresses. And he was hoping by the end of the night she’d realize that there was something very personal and real between them.
That was the main reason he’d donated the money she’d paid him. Not only was he uncomfortable taking such a huge chunk of change for something he wanted to do, but also, he absolutely refused to be a paid escort. Donating the check to a good cause seemed the perfect solution, for him to keep his conscience intact, and to take away Teddy’s excuse that she couldn’t mix business with pleasure.
Tonight, he was her date, accompanying her to the Christmas party of his own free will. Pleasure was the fundamental purpose of this evening, and he planned to make sure Teddy experienced her fair share.
The phone on the countertop rang, breaking into Austin’s thoughts. He glanced down the short hallway toward her bedroom, wondering if Teddy was available to pick up the line.
The phone pealed again, loud and insistent.
“Teddy?” he called, and got no response. Figuring she was in the bathroom, he decided to do her a favor and take the call, just in case it was important.
He lifted the cordless receiver to his ear on the third ring. “Hello?”
