as she remembered the universally well-known finish of the saying:…and I’ll tell you no lies.
She managed to look wounded, her mind made up. What had put Wade on to her, anyway? She had told the truth. Even if there was an ulterior motive behind it.
“Let us go,” she said with a tight smile. “According to you, my life could be in danger, so do not forget to call me May in public.”
Wade smothered a reply. Her facetious response told him she wasn’t aware of any possible danger to her or she wouldn’t be taking things so casually. How could he protect her when she didn’t think she needed to be protected? And especially when she was obviously bent on having her way, one way or another?
He silently cursed the undersecretary of the navy for involving him in the current scenario. And with a secret that should never have been kept from the person at risk. Without her cooperation, his assignment was much riskier.
All the more reason to protect the lady from herself.
“Let’s go.” He took her arm but not before glancing behind him for the two Secret Service agents who should have been there but were not.
It looked as if, for now at least, he and the duchess were on their own.
He picked up a couple of brochures on the way into the gallery and handed one to the duchess. “Everything around you is a portrait or possession of an American who contributed in some way to our country.” He pointed out well-known portraits and memorabilia in glass cases that dated back to the eighteenth century. “Take your pick.”
She studied the brochure he handed her and moved down the room. He had to give her credit for being a good sport, but after about forty portraits he noticed her attention was flagging. “Want a break?” he asked sympathetically.
“I could use a chance to freshen up,” she said as they passed the door to a ladies’ room. Before he could reply, she disappeared behind the mahogany door.
After making sure there was only one way in and out of the rest room, Wade lounged alongside the door. While something told him she had something up her sleeve, surely a stop at the ladies’ room was no big deal.
But what was a big deal was that he had an uneasy feeling they’d been followed. He gazed at his surroundings. Crowds of people, families with children and, from the sound of conversation, a number of foreign visitors. So far, so good.
He finally spotted the two Secret Service agents covertly studying a burly, dark-haired man down the hall. Maybe it was the sight of the man that made the hackles rise on the back of his neck, but there was something definitely going on. He was debating moving away from the rest room door to confront the man when he disappeared. The Secret Service agents with him.
Uneasy, Wade vowed to be extra watchful from here on out. And not to let the intriguing and conniving duchess, or anyone else, distract him from his duty to protect her.
Heaven help him if he lost a charge for the second time.
After a few minutes he checked his watch. Not even a duchess needed more than twenty minutes to freshen up, he told himself. He’d been right from the moment he’d heard about the escort duty, he thought sourly. What the lady needed was a nursemaid or a nanny. A woman who could charge through that closed door and haul her out of there, willing or not.
A woman with two little girls about to enter the ladies’ room paused to glance suspiciously at him. He straightened up and sighed. Much more of this and he would be arrested for loitering outside a women’s rest room.
“Pardon me, ma’am,” he said hurriedly. “I wonder if you could do me a favor. My girlfriend’s inside. She’s been in there so long I’m beginning to worry about her. Do you mind asking if there’s a May inside? And reminding her, her boyfriend is out here waiting for her?”
The woman’s frown disappeared and was replaced by a sympathetic smile. “Not at all, young man. I’ll send her right out.”
A moment later Wade saw May sneak out and turn left—the wrong direction for the exit.
Eyes popping, Wade almost didn’t recognize her. She wore a too-tight T-shirt she must have hidden under the large Wal-Mart sweatshirt. He edged after her, keeping a hulking father of five between the two of them.
He was surprised to see her pause. Her profile, her downturned mouth caught his attention. What could she have been looking at? He edged closer and peered over a tourist’s shoulder. To his surprise, she was looking at a family portrait that included two children, one of them a baby.
Before he could speak up, the duchess turned around and made for the exit.
His fears realized, Wade gritted his teeth. Whatever the duchess thought she was doing, she was no match for him. In three quick strides he caught her by her arm. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, Your Grace, or should I say May?”
She glanced at his hand. She looked surprised but, thank God, didn’t lose her cool. He smothered a sigh of relief and took his hand away. Maybe he ought to remember whom he was dealing with. A duchess was a duchess, after all.
“May,” she said. Her voice soft, the look in her eyes inviting. But he knew the truth. She was putting on an act.
She might have invited him to call her by her nickname, but from her first reaction to his holding her arm, Wade doubted anyone of the lady’s acquaintance, outside of her immediate family, had ever been so familiar with her. So why was she allowing him to touch her?
“May it is,” he agreed, “but don’t bother to tempt me.” He eyed her formfitting T-shirt, her lush lips and intriguing eyes. To his disgust his body stirred. No matter how she was dressed, the lady was trouble in the form of an inviting bundle of femininity. If he knew what was good for him, he’d keep his testosterone under control and remember he was just her bodyguard.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the helpful woman and her two little girls coming out of the ladies’ room and heading toward them. He put his arms around the duchess and mentally prayed she was smart enough to go along with him.
“Pardon me, ma’am,” he said. “My girlfriend forgot her sweatshirt back inside there. It’s the one with Washington, D.C., written across the front in large red, white and blue letters. You can’t miss it. Do you mind bringing it out for her? I’m afraid she’s cold without it.”
The woman was frankly curious and eyed May. “Why can’t she go inside and get it for herself?”
He gripped the duchess even tighter and felt her strain against him. “I’m afraid she’ll get lost inside there again. We have an important appointment to keep.”
The woman nodded reluctantly, went back inside the rest room and came out with the sweatshirt. With a reproving glance at the duchess, she led the children away.
“A leash,” Wade echoed softly, glancing down at the woman he held in his arms. “Not a bad idea, considering. Now, stay still for a moment.” He turned the duchess around to face him. “Are you going to come quietly or…” He slipped the bulky sweatshirt over her head while he spoke. Big mistake. He’d not only seen the duchess’s very feminine curves under the T-shirt, his hands were sliding over her warm torso. Just how much was a red-blooded man expected to take, he asked himself as he pulled the sweatshirt into place and stepped back. “Now you look like a real tourist again.”
She glanced down at the shirt and shrugged. “If you say so. Now what, Commander?”
“We could we go back to the galleries, or maybe you’re ready for something else?”
“Lunch would be nice,” she answered with a startled look. “Unless you intend to starve me into submission.”
“Not at all,” he said as he sensed she had been just as affected by his hands sliding over her as he had been. And that she had to be aware of his body’s involuntary response at the contact. Not that he could have helped responding to her warm skin, lush curves