CHASING TROUBLE

“I’m very sure you can see that I’m not having fun,” she said.

“You’re not?” His brow arched questioningly, although there was a smile on his face.

Caroline gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re the reason why I’m here, Mr Connelly. I told you there was no need for me to come and you insisted on it by telling your father to invite me too. Now look at me, looking lost. I don’t belong here because I don’t have any role to play tonight. It’s up to Kay Corp to make a decision. Maybe your presence and your father’s presence would help with that, but I have nothing to do with it. I will not forgive you for this,”

Nicholas’ smile faded and he studied her through narrowed lids as he detected the mockery beneath her smoky tone. Her beauty was all the more apparent now that he was standing next to those blue eyes, the perfect nose, the full and sensuous lips above a pointed chin. Her skin had the fine smooth appearance of porcelain in the bareness of her shoulders in the strapless gown. And she was most definitely naked beneath that gown!

Well…her breasts certainly were. The berry-like nipples were temptingly outlined against the silky material, the perfect fit of the gown over the fullness of her hips surely only allowed for a pair of gossamer-thin panties. Panties the same vibrant red as her gown? And would they be made of lace? Or silk?

Nicholas drew in a deep breath as his already hot and aroused shaft gave a throb of response just at the thought of Caroline wearing only a pair of brief and silky red panties. He shook his head when he realized that he’d not been paying attention to what she’d been saying. “I’m sorry, what?” he said.

Caroline gasped, “Nicholas! You’re not even listening. I was talking to myself.

You know you’re not making it hard to stay mad at you,”

His smile was teasing. “I’m sorry, Caroline but you just look so beautiful tonight. I got carried away,”

“Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Mr Connelly. Especially not tonight”

“I believe you just called me Nicholas a few seconds ago. Why am I back to being Mr Connelly? And why on earth would I be flattering you?”

Caroline shut her eyes tightly and opened them again. “That was a mistake,” she said, “I was a bit angry that you weren’t listening, and thank you for not flattering me. I really appreciate the effort,” she added sarcastically.

His nostrils flared, “You know, I didn’t know that I was being such a horrible person to get you invited to the party. I honestly don’t understand why you have to be so uptight all the time and I thought a party would… I don’t know… loosen you up a little bit. I’m sorry I tried. I forgot you prefer a boring life… All work and no fun,”

Anger flared in her eyes as she glared at him and Nicholas was a bit confused on how he should react to the look on her face. He didn’t know if he should take a step back, or if he was turned on.

“I never asked you to help me fix my boring life or help me loosen up…. whatever that means, Mr Connelly. And if this is your idea of fun, then I hate to break it to you, but it sucks. You’ve been busy getting acquainted with every business man and woman in the room and you’ve barely spent five minutes talking to me, so what fun are you talking about?”

“So that’s it? You’re mad at me because I wasn’t by your side this whole time?”

Well… Yes… Maybe, Caroline thought, but was he really expecting her to admit that? There was no way in hell she was going to do that, and the fact that he was somewhat accurate only fueled her anger, “Don’t flatter yourself, Mr Connelly. I don’t care one bit about what you’re doing here, or at the office and wherever or whatever you used to do before we met,”

Nicholas’ mouth tightened and he gave a stiff inclination of his head. “Fine Caroline, I see my presence has made your mood even worse so I’d better leave. I trust I did not interrupt your enjoyment of the evening for too long,”

She grimaced. “Like I said before, I wasn’t enjoying it much even before you came over and spoke to me.”

“And my conversation has added to that lack of enjoyment?” he asked, as if looking for a confirmation to his earlier statement. Why he did that he didn’t know, given that it’d only make him feel worse if she said yes.

Caroline shrugged. “I shouldn’t let it bother you, Mr Connelly; it’s really nothing personal.”

“On the contrary. I believe your comments have been very personal,” he responded tersely.

Caroline looked up at him, realizing that although he appeared outwardly controlled, inwardly Nicholas Connelly was quietly, chillingly angry-as the tightness of his jaw and the angry glitter of those dark eyes testified. Maybe playing this silly game of cat-and-mouse with him over this past week had not been a good move on her part.

She gave a dismissive shake of her head. “I just thought I would save you wasting any of your time in attempting to charm me… Or loosen me up as you put it,”

“Would it be wasted?”

“Most definitely,” Caroline confirmed with feeling.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

His eyes became glacial. “In that case, I will relieve you of the necessity of suffering my company a moment longer.”

Was that disappointment Caroline now felt at his acceptance of her scathing dismissal of him? Surely it couldn’t be. He was everything she was supposed to stay well away from. Too rich.

Too handsome. Far too powerful. And, as she now knew, too immediately and lethally sensual! It was perhaps the latter trait that Caroline found most disturbing. She knew that she wasn’t as immune to that inborn sensuality, the way this man looked, or the hard leanness of his body, as she might have hoped or wished to be.

She had met dozens of handsome and charming men in her years. Especially when she went out with Frank Connelly-had even tried dating some of them. But not a single one of those men had touched her emotions, and nor had they dispelled the cynicism of feeling she now felt in regard to relationships.