Chapter Twenty Six

She was on the phone with her back to him.

He should walk away now. It was tempting as he stood there and thrust his hands into the front pockets of his pants. There were still plenty of women in the ballroom who he could dance with, have drinks with while talking, and maybe even take back home for the night. He also hadn’t forgotten  Peter's offer to attend his private party. Again, plenty of willing women.

Dimitri did not have to stand here and deal with Kelly Darcy especially with everything going on with her father, who had glared angrily at him throughout the entire night.

But the moment he heard the small hitch in her voice as she spoke to whoever she was speaking to, he knew he wasn’t going up to any private party.

And he wasn’t going to snag some other woman from the ballroom. He was going to stay right here until he knew Kelly was okay.

“Yes,” she continued. “I told him that.”

She was nodding while holding the cell phone to her ear, as if the person she was speaking to could somehow see her.

“I said that, too. Look, Chris, I just want to speak with him. Just find a way for me so I can meet him in person, I'm sure that if I talk to him, he will be willing to invest. Right now, I just need him to give me his attention"

So this was about business, Dimitri thought. She was talking to Chris, trying to get him to fix a meeting for her and Chandler Thompson, another wealthy business man. Dimitri almost turned back at that point. He had already stopped her from getting Edward Franklin to invest. And now that he had heard her, he could do the same with Chandler Thompson. That was he would do normally, but for some reason this time, he found himself hesitating.

“Yes. Thank you. I really appreciate you helping me out with this” she finished before pulling the phone away from her ear and disconnecting the call.

Dimitri watched as she leaned over, resting her elbows on the railing. Straight ahead were the lights were glittering. A gorgeous sight to behold. But Kelly lowered her head and sighed.

Dimitri realized how worried she was about the company then. He had worked with her for only a short time, buy he had already seen that Kelly was a fierce, intelligent woman and was already proving herself as one of the most talented and shrewd businesswomen he’d ever met.

And she was gorgeous and on point every second of every day.

His first instinct was to walk right up, wrap his arms around her waist and revel in the feel of her back pressed against him. He would remind her that there was a time for business and a time for pleasure. Then he would drop a soft kiss on her temple and continue to hold her until she cuddled into his embrace. Then he would… Dimitri cleared his throat and pushed those ridiculous thoughts out of his mind.

“How can you enjoy the party if all you care about is work?” he asked, still standing a short distance away from her.

She jumped, her elbows slipping on the railing so that it appeared she might fall. Dimitri didn’t hesitate.

He hurried over, wrapping his arm around her waist in the same way he’d just been contemplating, and pulled her back against him.

“It’s okay,” he whispered against her temple. “I’ve got you now.”

For a split second Kelly enjoyed the comfortable warmth that engulfed her. But when his breath whispered over her skin and the reality of who he was and where they were hit her, she quickly moved out of his grasp.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she spun around to face him. “Were you eavesdropping on my conversation? Is that why you came to this party? You have no interest in saving the company so why exactly are you here?”

Kelly was mad at him. She was sure that he had followed her out here for a reason.

“I was concerned when you left the party and I wanted to make sure you were all right,” he said and casually folded his arms across his chest.

His legs were slightly spread, so that he looked formidable and enticing all at once. It appeared to be a practiced move—no doubt it was intended to make women swoon, and she hated that Dimitri looked so good standing there. It made it harder for her to stay mad at him. And she wanted to stay mad.

Kelly cleared her throat. “I’m fine,” she said evenly. “Thank you for your concern, but you can leave now.”

He smiled. A slow and potent action that had her clenching the phone and her purse just a little tighter.

Kelly had no idea why this was always her reaction to him. He was just a man, after all. She interacted with a lot of men on a daily basis. Even when she used to dance, she met a lot of attractive men. There was nothing about Dimitri Collins that made him any different from the others.

Still, that never stopped her from reacting to his presence, no matter how hard she tried not to.

Even now, the heat that always suffused every part of her when he was around was creeping to the surface. She felt it in her cheeks, in the way her breasts grew fuller and her center began that slow, needy pulsating.

“Not until I’m satisfied you’re not going to jump over the railing because you you are worried about work,” he replied.

“What? Oh, so you were eavesdropping,” she said and frowned.

“You weren’t exactly whispering.” he replied.

“It was nothing. And as I stated before, I’m fine,” she said evenly.

Kelly took another step back, but not in retreat. She told herself it was self preservation, something she was very good at.

“Are you afraid of me, Kelly?” he asked her

Her response was an immediate chuckle. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied and attempted to walk around him.

He blocked her path. He didn’t touch but stood directly in front of her. His gaze was dark and intense, deep brown eyes and thick neat brows staring down at her.