Having heard him step forward, she wasn’t surprised when he pulled her hands down. “Look at me.” At her hesitation, he added, “Now.”
Why did his low spoken order make her insides quiver? “What?”
“I’d like to do that again,” he said softly, and Lacy’s body responded with a resounding yes. “In private, so I can explore your body the way you deserve.” He inhaled deeply, his eyes closed. “The smell of your arousal is going to haunt me now. Your scent is so sweet.”
Okay, that sounded a little gross, but at the same time, her body clenched in anticipation. Did she want to allow this to go that far? He was just supposed to be a part of her cover so she could finish this investigation. She was not supposed to be falling for the man.
Too bad, her heart and her head weren’t on the same page.
Ethan was a complete gentleman, opening doors, always looking out for her comfort and needs, very affectionate and caring. In short, he was just too good to be true. And that was why Lacy was trying to keep herself guarded as much as possible.
She already knew, once this assignment was over, it would hurt like hell to leave this place—and Ethan—behind, so she did the only thing she could think of. She changed the subject.
“We should head back now. I’m sure Landon will be looking for us soon.”
Ethan merely smiled knowingly, before taking her hand and leading the way back to the dressing tents. Of course, he was too much of a gentleman to call her out on it. “After tonight, I’ll be looking forward to our date for Friday.”
“Dinner, right?” Perfect. She could handle having dinner with him. At least, they’d be in a public place and she’d have that much of a buffer. The man was absolutely lethal to her hormones. Like dropping a match in a puddle of gasoline. Every time the man touched her, however innocent the gesture may be, her body went up in flames.
“Yes, but we’ll be eating at my place. I want to cook for you,” he replied, giving her a heated look. “Is there anything you don’t particularly like?”
“Um, no, I’m pretty easy.” Damn, did that ever come out wrong! “I mean, I’ll try just about anything once.” Nope, not any better, and damn the man, he was grinning like a fool. “Okay, neither of those statements came out quite right.”
“Really? I rather enjoyed your answers.” He chuckled.
“You would,” she grumbled, but she couldn’t keep the smile from her face either.
Chapter Ten
It was seven o’clock and Lacy was making her way to the front door of the models’ house to wait for Stephanie when Angel strolled out of the kitchen.
“Where are you headed off to? Got another hot date with Ethan?” she asked, not looking the least bit interested in Lacy’s answer.
“Out with his sister-in-law, actually. She and one of her friends are having a girls’ night and invited me along. I figured it would be a good way to get the dirt on Ethan.” Lacy fed Angel her cover story and hoped Angel would share it with the rest of the women in the house. If one of them really was the killer, Lacy needed to keep up appearances. “Ethan is having some kind of guys’ night at his place tonight. Poker or something, and his brothers are coming. It’s no girls allowed, so their wives invited me to tag along with them.” Lacy shrugged.
“Well, have fun.” Angel continued to the back door and out onto the porch without even looking back as she spoke. Geez, some models really were snooty bitches. Lacy just hoped she never came off like that.
The sound of a car door closing brought Lacy’s attention back to the front window where she saw Stephanie making her way across the yard. Quickly opening the front door then going outside, she met her new friend at the steps.
“Ready for a fun night?” Stephanie asked, practically bouncing in place.
Lacy smiled. “I could use a bit of fun.”
“Good, because Sarah is meeting us at the bar and she is dying to meet you.”
“Who?”
“Sarah, Erik’s wife. She’s cool. You’ll like her. Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything about you being…you know.” Stephanie was referring to her being a cop, or at least, Lacy hoped that was what she was getting at.
“Thanks,” Lacy replied, climbing into the passenger seat of Stephanie’s sporty little red car. “The fewer people who know about me being a cop, the better. I can’t afford for my cover to be blown. I think I may be getting close.”
“Really? That’s so exciting!”
Okay, this chic was seriously wound up compared to the last time Lacy had seen her. “Do you not get out much?”