The Cinderella Mission (Family Secrets #1)(56)
Author: Catherine Mann

In his ear, the low voices of Juarez, Davidson and occasionally even Samuel Hatch himself already hummed with feedback from the command post in ARIES headquarters. Just as when multiple frequencies piped through his headset when he flew his plane, Ethan sorted through the voices. Kelly’s receiver would be turned on in minutes.

Not that he needed the sound of her voice to keep her in his head.

Eugenie tapped his arm. “Ethan. She’s here.”

Ethan looked up. Kelly stood above him.

She stole his breath, and he’d been prepared for her to look beautiful. Yet even he hadn’t expected this.

He had to applaud his aunt for her choices. She’d restrained her own extravagant tastes in favor of elegant simplicity that didn’t distract from Kelly. Heavy white fabric—brocade maybe—draped her in a straight sheath. Off the shoulders, her dress accented the graceful arch of Kelly’s neck, exposing a creamy expanse of skin waiting for the jewels inside the case in his hand.

No elaborate twists or curls for her hair, Kelly’s ebony hair was swept back into a low braided bun, a stark style that only the most classic of bone structures could carry off. Only Kelly could carry off. He’d always been able to see the beauty beneath her baggy clothes and curtain of hair. Now the rest of the world would see, too.

Her foot peeked free from the hem as she descended the stairs, one satin ballet slipper descending to the next step. No ridiculous heels to hamper her if they needed to act later.

If.

He shut down even thoughts of the possibility.

Kelly stopped in front of him, her eyes full of doubts and desire. He could play on both of those so easily to win her. Her inexperience with relationships would give him leverage.

But he couldn’t do it.

Honor sure bit sometimes.

Resigned, but determined to give her his protection if nothing else, he draped the ruby necklace along her pale skin—jewels to entice a crook her way. Ethan reminded himself of her training, and the fact that he would be there with her. He wouldn’t take his eyes off her until they had the thieves in hand.

No great hardship, looking at Kelly all night.

He closed the clasp on the ruby necklace, allowing his hands a brief detour along her silken shoulders. No doubt her SIG-Sauer waited strapped to the inside of her silken thigh.

He dragged his mind away from thoughts of her soft, white thighs. Dangerous territory tonight.

Ethan snapped an orchid from the vase of flowers. With the familiarity of a lover—his by rights, damn it, if only for one more night—he secured the flower into her gathered hair. He pressed his lips to hers and whispered, “Be careful.”

He heard himself echo the very words she’d spoken to him before he’d left for Gastonia, the words that had alerted him to her feelings. And he realized for the first time what watching him leave for that assignment had cost her.

“Ethan, you’ve taught me well. Now it’s time to trust me.” With a single brush of her mouth against his, she stepped back and waited for him to offer his arm.

He would have offered this woman more, but Kelly had made herself damned clear. He’d given her everything he had. But as he’d known from the start, what he had left within him couldn’t be enough. Not anymore.

He just prayed like hell his mojo that had carried him through ten years and more operations than he cared to remember would hold for one more night.

Kelly sipped her glass of club soda, the crowds and conversations swelling around her in multiple languages while she conversed with Ethan’s friends. No champagne for her. She had to stay clear and sift through the interpretations.

She absently pressed her palm to her chest, where her aquamarine rested inside her strapless bra. Her good-luck charm was far more precious than the rubies around her neck because it had come from Ethan the man—not the multimillionaire.

The scent of the orchid in her hair wafted forward, a constant reminder of Ethan and his touch on her shoulders. The touch of his eyes even now. Always on her.

Kelly forced a smile and nodded while Jake Ingram’s fiancée Tara rambled on about her latest purchases for the wedding. Easy enough to stay silent and listen.

Strains from the string quartet drifted through as unobtrusively as the security personnel. Men in tuxedoes stood by the doors, looking more like bouncers than dignitaries. Others talked covertly into their sleeves. Their lack of humor marked them more than their size or actions.

Nerves strung within her as tight as the violin bow.

Cases of jewels marched down the middle of the room. Inside rested necklaces, rings, solitary stones—some historical, others new and ostentatious. Rubies, emeralds, diamonds, sapphires perched in artistic displays, cradled or suspended, all arranged with tiny halogen lights refracting sparkles beyond comprehension.

Masses filed by. Men in tuxedos or military uniforms of various nationalities. Women in designer gowns and the traditional costumes of their homeland. Not that anyone allowed their awe for the jewels to show. Everyone from Mrs. Mega-Bucks Blasé to Ambassador Nonchalant cruised past the velvet ropes around the exhibits with low hums of “lovely, lovely” as if viewing an attractive floral arrangement.

And they all accepted a Nebraska farm girl’s right to be there.

Incredible.

She’d pulled it off, with Eugenie’s help—and most of all because of Ethan’s confidence in her as a woman. If he could only trust her as a partner, as well.

Unable to stop herself, Kelly searched for him. Finally, she spotted him across the sea of bodies, standing with Samantha Barnes and White House advisor Matt Tynan. With them stood Eugenie and the Gastonian ambassador. Ethan hadn’t left the man’s side all evening, just as Kelly hadn’t left the jewels.

Ethan’s face creased with his laugh, a deep rumble that echoed in Kelly’s ear, along with background noise from ARIES headquarters.

Only she would recognize the underlying edge or how Ethan longed to ditch the formal garb. His tuxedo fit his body with a negligent élan. So often she’d seen him in a suit at ARIES and thought the same thing, never realizing the true Ethan preferred ragged jeans to designer clothes.

He knew how to adjust to fit into the world around him when necessary, while no one ever realized he held a piece of himself apart. Never noticed he didn’t allow himself to belong.

Kelly accepted another round of congratulations from Ethan’s social set, along with eat-dirt-and-die glares from more than one woman. No doubt Ethan would have plenty of consolation after their post-mission breakup.