Untouched by Sara Humphreys Page B

neck and absentmindedly touched it as though she could wipe away the feeling.
    Dante folded the paper and placed it inside his jacket. “It’s an old plantation house out on the bayou.” He turned to her, and his features softened. “It will be fine. I’ll call Peter and have him go check out the new site.”
    She looked away from him hastily, tucked her hair behind her ear, and turned her attention to Arthur. She could get lost in Dante’s big amber eyes, which seemed far more dangerous than some house on the bayou.
    “The bayou? Hold on a second.” She put her hands up, silencing both men. “Do you mean like near swamps where there are alligators and bugs?” Her voice rose and bordered on hysterical. She knew she sounded irrational, but she couldn’t help it. This entire situation had her off kilter and made her more uncomfortable with every passing second. “I hate nature. Talk about cooties.” She stood up, brushed past them, and made a beeline for the bar in her bedroom. “I’m an indoor girl,” she shouted, while wrestling the top off the miniature bottle of wine.
    The sound of Arthur’s condescending laughter taunted her from the living room. “You’ll be shooting at an old house, honey. No one’s going to make you swim with swamp creatures.” He looked at his watch, and with a huff, removed his frame gracefully from the chair. “I’ve got to get going. Don’t forget. We’re taking the clients to dinner tonight. Why don’t you and your bodyguard here meet us downstairs in The Carousel Bar at seven o’clock?”
    Dante’s features darkened. “What dinner? There was no mention of dinner on the itinerary I was provided.”
    “Plans change. Try to keep up,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “See you downstairs at seven sharp.” Arthur sashayed over to the door, but before leaving he threw one last comment over his shoulder. “Remember. Bring Purell if you need to. You’ll have to shake hands and make nice with the clients.”
    Swearing under her breath, she emptied the contents of the miniature bottle into a large glass. This whole trip was a mistake. She took this assignment because she had hoped for a few relaxing days in The Big Easy. She figured on a one-day shoot at an old mansion in the Garden District, maybe a ride on the riverboat, and if she really got lucky, a late-night swim in the Monteleone’s rooftop pool.
    Now she was going out in the middle of nowhere to be surrounded by alligators. Then, of course, there’s the dinner with clients, which is a different danger altogether. Not to mention Dante, the handsome, telepathic enigma that had her head spinning. She squeezed her eyes shut and drained the contents of her glass.
    “It’ll be alright. You’ll be perfectly safe. I promise.” His voice, low and soothing, blanketed her. She turned to find him filling the doorway of her bedroom. He’d once again appeared silently next to her. Arthur had hit the nail on the head. Dante was fast, but he was also quiet.
    Kerry let out a short laugh and cast a sidelong glance at Dante. “Yeah, right.” Who would keep her safe from him? He moved toward her, but she put her hand up, stopping him from coming any closer. “Please don’t,” she said through a hitching breath. “I really need to be alone right now, and if possible, take a nap before this insipid dinner tonight.”
    She turned her back on him and busied herself, pulling various things out of her suitcase. She didn’t trust herself to look into those big eyes because she may very well throw herself into his arms and ask him to make it all go away. How pathetic. She cringed at her own weakness. She needed to be alone and get her bearings back. She’d been alone her entire life, and solitude was her comfort zone. At the moment, Dante crowded her personal space in every possible sense.
    He nodded curtly. “As you wish. No one will disturb you.”
    Kerry looked up just as the bedroom door clicked shut. He’d left her