“When will he be back? Where is he staying?”
After a brief hesitation and more scrutiny, she said, “I don’t know when he’ll be back, but he’s got an auction tomorrow night. I doubt he’ll miss that. It’s black-tie. One of his promotional events.”
* * *
Earlier, Savanna had left Korbin at their RV campsite and went shopping for attire for the evening. Then she prepared in the bathroom of the motor home. When she finished, she gave herself one final appraisal in the mirror. Blue eyes conservatively lined and lips glossed, hair artfully pinned up with a few curls dangling, she had to say she looked good. She hadn’t dressed up like this in a long time. Smooth skin above the pretty, glittering beads of the scooped neckline needed no adornment. The diamond earrings were enough. The band of beads ran around her back in a strap and another dipped low above her rear. The A-line chiffon dress wasn’t form-fitting, but flattered enough of her figure to be striking. She experienced a second of trepidation before leaving the bedroom. One look at her in this and Korbin would have a challenge set out for him. She didn’t mean to entice him.
Walking out into the living area of the high-end RV, Savanna saw him standing near the side door. The slide-outs made the RV feel as though they were in a stationary home, luxurious and spacious. He didn’t move as he saw her, but his eyes roamed all over her, lingering at her neckline, where a demure portion of cleavage was exposed. The dress inspired innocence, but hinted at seduction. He himself appeared larger than usual in his black satin-lapel tuxedo—shoulders broader, arms thicker. In his rugged face, pale gray eyes glowed with intensity that she had sparked. Dark, thick hair stuck out in all the right places, roguish and beckoning a woman’s fingers. And yet he was a classic gentleman with the black bow tie against a trim white shirt.
He met her gaze as she came to a stop before him. “What are you doing to me?”
She smiled without responding, but thinking, snagging you.
He put his hand on her back, the bare portion below the strap and above the low hem. She preceded him out the door and she discovered that he’d arranged for a car to pick them up.
“Putting the fake IDs to work, I see,” she said.
He opened the back door for her. “It has tinted windows.”
Clever man. She sat in the back and he climbed in after her. The driver said nothing, the glass window shut between them. All the way there, a living tension hummed. The challenge of breaking through a guarded heart—his—and letting down her own guard. A thread of restraint held her back.
“Whose estate is being sold at this auction?” she asked. A much safer subject.
“The daughter of an animated-film producer sold her multimillion-dollar estate in Wyoming. This auction contains everything she’s getting rid of.”
“Small world.” Her dad probably knew the woman.
“She collects antiques and the exhibit will have some rare art.”
“Sounds like a score for Demarco.” He didn’t seem to live large. His house was modest.
“He doesn’t hold events like these very often.”
The car stopped in front of the downtown hotel where the viewing event was held. Tomorrow the auction would last all day. Korbin opened the lobby door for Savanna and put his hand on her lower back again. Indulging himself? They drew many admiring looks, the kind that young, handsome couples often drew.