Trying to make herself taller by standing on her tiptoes, she scanned the elegant, crowded ballroom for her handsome date. It was pretty difficult to recognize him easily since every man was here in a tuxedo, including Zane.
God, he’d been breathtaking when he’d wandered into the kitchen earlier in the day, perfectly groomed and impeccably put together in his black tux. His face was freshly shaven, his hair still damp from the shower, but he’d looked delicious. Ellie had wondered for a moment if she needed to wipe the drool from her mouth.
She had just finished chugging down her second glass of champagne when she spotted Zane. He was talking to some curvaceous redhead, and he looked uncomfortable. Not that anyone else would notice, but Ellie could see the subtle signs.
Wriggling her way through the crowd, she made her way across the room, hesitating because she didn’t want to interrupt him. But when she saw the redheaded female put her finger on Zane’s face, tracing the line of his rugged jaw, Ellie saw red, and she was certain he wasn’t discussing business.
He’s my date, dammit. I feel like Cinderella, and I’m not missing my time at the ball.
Dodging all of the handsomely dressed couples as she steadily made her way to Zane, it wasn’t difficult to discern that he wasn’t responding at all to the pushy redhead’s advances.
Ellie smiled as he grasped the woman’s wrist and pulled it from his jaw, his expression stoic as he spoke to her.
Stopping abruptly as she neared the couple, Ellie was momentarily surprised to see that the woman was young, and drop-dead gorgeous.
And Zane was obviously completely and totally…uninterested.
Striding forward, she took her place next to Zane and put her arm on his muscular bicep. “I’m so sorry,” she told him with a bright smile that she hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt. “The restrooms were busy.”
She’d felt him tense beneath her fingers for a brief moment before he realized who was touching him, and then he relaxed as he finally turned his head to look at her. “You’re worth the wait,” Zane answered smoothly, wrapping a strong arm around her waist.
“Who is this?” the woman who had been fondling Zane asked haughtily.
“My date,” Zane answered simply, not even bothering to introduce the two of them.
Ellie spoke up and extended her hand to the gorgeous woman in front of her, refusing to let the female know that she was intimidated. But honestly, she was a little daunted by the flame-haired beauty. “I’m Ellie Winters,” she introduced herself simply.
Ignoring Ellie’s outstretched hand, the woman glared up at Zane. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend,” she hissed.
He shrugged and reached for Ellie’s outstretched hand and entwined her fingers with his and brought them to his side. “Why would I?” he answered dismissively.
Ellie suddenly saw the woman’s expression change from seductive to pouty anger. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for almost a year, and you pick somebody like her over me?”
The muscle in Zane’s jaw began to twitch, a subtle sign that he was pissed. Ellie had become a master at reading Zane’s body language over the last few months since he didn’t always express what was on his mind. He might get irritated, but he never lost complete control.
He took a deep breath before he spoke. “I had hoped you’d get the message that I wasn’t interested, Elena. Or maybe it’s the fact that you’re fucking your boss and he appears to care about you that turned me off. Frankly, though, the reasons are irrelevant. You just don’t do it for me.”
Ellie couldn’t help it. She gaped at Zane for an instant before she schooled her expression back to normal. Zane’s comment had been spoken in a glacial tone she’d never heard before. As usual, he was blunt, never bothering to explain more than he felt he needed to, but she’d never heard him quite so cold.
Elena? A beautiful name and gorgeous woman who obviously had the heart of a reptile.
The tension in the air was electric as Elena slowly assessed Ellie carefully, and obviously found her lacking. “Do you really think you can compete with me?” Elena huffed.
Ellie forced herself to give the woman a brief, dismissive glance before answering, “There’s no competition necessary,” she said in a falsely pleasant tone. “I already won.” She put a gentle hand on Zane’s jaw, and then planted a gentle kiss to the side of his mouth.
Caught off-guard when Zane turned the soft embrace into a possessive kiss, Ellie quickly gripped his shoulders to keep from stumbling in her heels.
Right there, in the middle of a fancy fundraising ball, Zane Colter claimed her, his kiss long and lingering, leaving no doubt that Ellie was exactly what he wanted.