back to his side.
“Not in these shoes.” She was used to heels, but these shoes were made of little more than ribbons.
She regretted the words the moment she said them, because his blue gaze slid immediately to her feet. Then he eased up her legs, lingering on the short stretch of pale pink stocking exposed beneath the hem of her coat. Finally, he breezed over the rest of her body, his eyes meeting hers again.
The man had a lazy stare that was far too bold.
Amanda found herself wanting to show him more.
He nodded slowly. “You’re right. The shoes present a problem. But that’s a great coat.”
Amanda stared up at the numbers flashing by as they cruised upward, certain if she met the man’s searing blue eyes he would somehow guess her secret. “Thanks,” she managed.
“Classy and conservative.” He straightened his tie, drawing her attention back to the colorful cosmic pattern. “Right up my alley.”
Amanda couldn’t suppress a laugh. “I can tell.”
The elevator bell chimed as they hit the tenth floor.
For a moment, Amanda forgot it was her stop. She merely soaked up the warmth emanating from this dynamic stranger, wishing she’d known more people in her life who found it so easy to laugh at themselves.
Wishing she’d known a man who could make her feel so sexy without even trying.
“Your floor?” He held the automatic doors open when they began to shut again.
She gave herself a shake. What had gotten into her? “Yes, please,” she murmured, eager to escape those mesmerizing eyes.
She walked with leaden steps toward Victor’s door, her enthusiasm for today’s scheme significantly lessened. How could she seduce her boyfriend when a total stranger had just turned her on more in five minutes than two months’ worth of kisses from Victor?
As she stood in front of apartment 10G, she considered forgetting the whole thing. After nearly overheating in the elevator, Amanda was surprised at the slight chill that tripped over her now.
Then she recalled all the time she’d spent crafting the secret weapon. She’d created the striptease video so that she could finally learn if she possessed the ability to incite a man to lust.
Not exactly the Catholic school values she’d been taught, but Amanda needed assurance he was really the right man. Besides, didn’t she deserve just a little adventure in her life?
Shoving aside thoughts of Blue Eyes, Amanda rang Victor’s doorbell.
The spiky-haired stranger materialized at her side before her summons was answered. “Hey, is Vic a friend of yours, too?”
The heated sensations came flaming back to life.
Was Blue Eyes following her? She needed to put an end to this before she did something she’d regret. Like hustle the man into a broom closet and not come out for a week or two. “Yes. We are practically engaged,” she returned, pretty sure that Victor wouldn’t let anyone call him “Vic.”
“That’s too bad.” He shook his head. “I didn’t realize you would be here at this early hour or I would have waited to come by.”
Maybe the man did business with Victor. “It’s okay. I don’t usually bother Victor during his business hours, but—”
The door to apartment 10G swung open. Only the person standing there was not the man who’d practically begged Amanda to marry him.
No.
The person in Victor’s apartment was an exotic dark-haired beauty with bed-rumpled hair, smeared lipstick and a man’s bathrobe.
Confusion warred with shock. Surely Amanda had the wrong apartment….
Then Victor’s voice shouted from the back room. “Who is it, Cindy?”
The woman in the entryway flicked her gaze over Amanda and seemed to dismiss her. She licked her lips while ogling Mr. Necktie, however.
Cindy didn’t bother to greet them. She turned to shout over her shoulder. “It’s for you.”
Amanda’s confusion turned to anger as she watched the woman’s bold-as-you-please bare feet pad their way across the parquet floor to Victor’s kitchen. The interloper’s generous curves clearly swayed beneath the bathrobe, highlighting the woman’s lack of undergarments.
Humiliation burned Amanda’s eyes then singed its way through the rest of her. If not for the sudden sensation of Mr. Necktie’s bracing touch at her back, she might have whipped her secret weapon across the room straight into the woman’s sashaying butt.
Her elevator companion leaned close to whisper in Amanda’s ear. “Maybe you should come back later.” He nudged her slightly, unaware her feet were frozen to the floor.
Amanda’s good-girl instincts might have won out. She might have turned and walked away from what would no doubt be an ugly scene if two-timing Victor hadn’t stepped into the hallway at that moment.
“Who is it, babe—” he started before halting in his equally barefoot tracks to gape at Amanda.
How could she have ever thought she might love this man? His precisely creased pants were fastened but his belt had not yet been buckled. A silk Armani shirt fluttered at his sides, unbuttoned to reveal a sprinkling of dark chest hair and an abdomen honed to perfection at a posh gym.
How ironic that this was the most she’d ever seen of his body.
Even when he was caught in an act that revealed the blemished nature of his soul, the man had the nerve to look like an airbrushed advertisement.
His betrayal slammed through her, reminding her that no matter how successful her designs became, she’d never truly fit in her father’s glamorous world. Once again, Amanda Matthews had been the outsider, only this time she hadn’t even been aware of it—until now.
Her inner fury sprung to life and effectively un-froze her from her shock. That had paralyzed her. Her feet flew in Victor’s direction. “You no-good, lying bastard—”
Blue Eyes slid in between her and her target. “Maybe we’d all better sit down here and sort this out.” He gripped Amanda by the shoulders, his unwavering gaze fixed on her alone.
Rage burned through her, seeking any target in her path, even an undeserving one. She spewed some of that hurt anger onto Mr. Necktie.
“Who the hell are you?” Amanda’s words mirrored Victor’s.
Blue Eyes withdrew a small leather case from his coat pocket and flashed a shiny badge in both of their directions. His eyes remained on Amanda, however. “Detective Duke Rawlins, NYPD, at your service.”
A cop?
She’d been fighting an attraction to a cop? Amanda’s anger ebbed just a little as a wave of fear took its place. In the background she heard Victor and his trollop both start talking at once, but all Amanda could think about was getting hauled off to jail. The detective had followed her into the building and right into Victor’s apartment. Obviously she had more trouble on her hands than a lying, cheating boyfriend.
Had she committed some violation of the indecent exposure code? Had that gust of wind revealed more than she’d realized? What if he frisked her? Or heaven forbid, searched her? A strip search wouldn’t play out well at all. She tugged her coat tie tighter.
And if she got booked as a common flasher… Amanda didn’t think she’d survive the embarrassment. Her father provided more than enough Matthews family gossip for the tabloids. Her recent accolades as an up-and-coming designer in her own right would be meaningless in light of such a scandal.
Detective Rawlins pointed toward the couch. His whole demeanor had changed. The cheeky grins from the elevator had vanished. He