Page 65 of A Very Titan Christmas
That caught him off guard. “What about us?”
“Did you only stay with me during the snowstorm because there could be threats?”
Anger punched him in his chest. He stared at her, back at the road, and then back at her. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?”
“Titan Group was doing me a favor. I have to remember that. You said the fake relationship was written into my security plan. So…”
His molars clamped together. “You think my boss would tell me to have sex with someone for a job? And that I would do that with you? For work?”
“When you put it like that…”
“Yeah, when I put it like that. That’s what you just said.”
He slowed at a stop sign. “Rachel, look at me. Since the moment you got me in ice skates, I haven’t done or said a damn thing I didn’t want to.” He cupped her chin and slid his thumb over her cheek. Simply touching her was enough to distract him from work. A thousand ideas of other ways he could touch her instantly popped to mind. The intensity of his need unnerved him. It should have given him pause, but all it did was urge him on. He pulled her face toward his, and her lips on his was an instant balm to the heartburn this argument had stirred up. “You and I are going back to your cabin.”
Someone in the car behind them honked their horn.
They laughed. She tucked her chin, and he waved apologies to the driver behind them.
“Are you using sex to distract me?” she asked with a half laugh.
He turned into the resort. He was using sex to fulfill them. To ease the tension and make her pliable, soft, warm, and under him. “Can’t think of a better way to pass the time.” He pulled into the tiny driveway in front of her cabin. “But really, I’m just greedy for you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Trying not tosomehow wordlessly announce to the world that Rachel Porter had just been crying out his name in bed, Bryce took Rachel by the hand and entered the resort’s conference center.
Dry air was pushed over them through overhead vents. The conference center bustled with activity as members of the security team prepared for the incoming summit. The last time Bryce had been in this wing of the resort, Jared had told Bryce not to fall for the woman he was protecting. Bryce had fallen. Hard.
If they didn’t have to meet with Senator Porter, they would still be naked in bed, and Bryce would have things to say. To explain. He and Rachel had serious business to work out.
They shucked off their winter coats, stomped the ice and sand from their boots, and followed the stone entryway, which led to polished wood floors. The conference center was decorated the same as the main lodge. It looked as if Kris Kringle might hold a pre-Christmas nice-and-naughty-list symposium. Holiday bunting of holly hung along the walls. Bright red ribbons and wreaths were pinned between the window-lined hall. Trees with gold glitter held court between meeting rooms.
All of that was marred by security personnel installing detectors and sensors.
Bryce and Rachel rounded a corner, and she jerked to a standstill. “Why are there dogs?”
Bryce squeezed her hand. She rarely saw all that went into keeping her father safe. “Standard protocol.” But he had to admit that bomb-sniffing dogs working in the decorated space put a damper on the holiday vibe. Employees from several agencies, wearing distinct uniforms, moved through the halls. The dog handlers dressed one way. The State Department and personal security dressed in entirely different ways. Some wore plain clothes. “You just don’t see the dark underbelly of this stuff.”
A conference room door opened. Eloise and Senator Porter, in deep conversation, moved into the hall. The head of the senator’s security detail beelined toward them with an all-business expression that was serious enough to make Bryce take notice. The senator’s jaw tightened. Everyone was feeling the effect of the leak.
Bryce moved a little closer to Rachel. “Are you sure now’s the right time to make demands of your parents?”
She linked her fingers with his. “Well, yes, if you won’t tell me.”
“I have nothing to share.”
“Then here we go.”
Eloise saw them approach and fussed with a poinsettia-red-and-green quilt covering her legs. Still wearing his trademark flannel, the senator nodded gruffly to Bryce and focused his attention on Rachel. “What’s the matter, Rachel? Mom said you tore out of the tea party like your cabin was on fire.”
“Actually,” Eloise countered, “I said that could be the reasonorthat you and your boyfriend needed some alone time.”
Heat rushed into his cheeks, and Senator Porter looked equally uncomfortable. Bryce rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and focused on a security group moving from one meeting room to another. At least his teammates had been called to go elsewhere. They would miss this round of Eloise Porter’soverzealous involvement in her daughter’s—and his—private life.
“Mom, stop it. I want to know what’s going on with the summit.”
“Oh, that.” Eloise waved away Rachel’s concern. “It’s just the same as any other summit.”
