Chapter 15
Sam looked up to see Kettering and his companions making their way toward one of the exits. The arms dealer didn’t look back, or acknowledge Sam again in any way. He simply left, his mages flanking him like dark shadows.
“That’s it?” Claudia sounded surprised. “He’s just leaving?”
“He made his point,” Sam said. “Showed us his power, let us know he’s aware we’re watching. Now he’s gone before we can observe him too closely.”
“Smart,” Nick observed. “Arrogant, but smart.”
Music swelled from the far end of the room. Musicians were setting up in one corner, and the lights dimmed as the dancing portion of the evening began.
“I should find Sully,” Nick said. “She’ll want to be seen dancing. Part of maintaining her image.” He clasped Sam’s shoulder briefly. “Be careful. Just because Kettering left doesn’t mean all his people did.”
After Nick departed, Sam found himself alone with Claudia in their shadowed alcove. The room was transforming around them as couples moved toward the dance floor. The atmosphere shifted from networking and observation to something softer, and more intimate.
“We should dance,” Sam said, surprising himself with how much he wanted it. Not for the mission, not for appearances, but because he wanted to hold her in his arms again.
Claudia looked up at him, and in the dim light, her eyes seemed impossibly dark. “Are you sure? With Kettering gone, we don’t really need to—”
“I want to.” The words came out rougher than he’d intended. “Dance with me, Claudia.”
She set down her champagne glass, and he watched her take a breath, steeling herself. “All right.”
He led her onto the dance floor as the little orchestra began a waltz.
Other couples swirled around them, but Sam barely noticed.
His hand found the small of Claudia’s back, bare skin warm against his palm.
Her hand settled on his shoulder, and when their other hands joined, he felt that now-familiar spark of connection.
They began to move, and it was like the practice session with Margo all over again. Except this time, there was no instructor watching, no professional distance to maintain. This time, it was just them, and the pretense of the mission was wearing thinner with each step.
“You’re quiet.”
“I’m thinking.”
“About Kettering?”
“About you, actually.” Sam pulled her a little closer, until she was close enough that he could smell the subtle scent of her skin. It almost made him purr. “I’m thinking about how well you handled yourself tonight, and how proud I am of you.”
He felt her breath catch. “Sam—”
“I know we said we would keep this strictly professional. I know we’re supposed to be maintaining a cover.” He met her eyes, letting her see more than he probably should. “But I need you to know that what I feel when I’m with you isn’t an act.”
“Don’t.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Please don’t say things like that when we’re in public, when I can’t—”
“When you can’t what?”
She closed her eyes briefly. “When I can’t respond the way I want to.”
Sam’s heart kicked hard against his ribs. “And how do you want to respond?”
“You know how.” When she opened her eyes again, they were shining with unshed tears. “You have to know.”
He did know. He’d known for weeks, maybe longer. Known it in the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn’t watching, in the way her magic reached for his, and in the thousand small gestures that spoke of feelings neither of them had been willing to acknowledge.
The waltz ended, transitioning into something slower. Sam didn’t release her, and she didn’t pull away. They swayed together, barely moving, locked in their own private world, despite being surrounded by people.
“After the ball, when we get back to the hotel, we need to talk.”
“Just talk?” There was something almost wistful in her voice.
“That depends on you.” He let his thumb trace a small circle on her bare back, felt her shiver in response. “On what you want. And what you’re ready for.”
“I want—” She stopped herself, glancing around at the crowd. “This isn’t the place for this conversation.”
“No, it’s not.” Sam leaned in, his lips close to her ear. “But later. Tonight. No more pretending, Claudia. No more hiding behind our mission.”
She nodded, and he felt the fine tremor that ran through her. “Tonight,” she agreed.
They danced through two more songs, and Sam was acutely aware of every place their bodies touched. The warmth of her hand in his, the gentle pressure of her fingers on his shoulder, the way she fit against him like she’d been made to be there.
Around them, the ball continued. Diplomacy and danger, wealth and power, all swirling together in an elegant dance of its own. But Sam’s world had narrowed to the woman in his arms and the promise of what might happen when they were finally, truly alone.
Mark caught his eye from across the room and gave him a slight nod. All clear. No immediate threats. Nick and Sullivan were dancing nearby, providing subtle backup if needed. Everything was going according to plan.
Except for the part where Sam had stopped caring about the plan and started caring only about getting Claudia back to the hotel. About finally admitting what had been building between them since that first day in his office when she’d agreed to go to Monaco with him.
“Sam?” Claudia’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Yes?”
“People are staring at us.”
He glanced around and realized she was right. They’d been dancing for a long time, barely moving, holding each other closer than was strictly proper for people who were supposedly just business associates.
“Let them stare,” he said. “I don’t care.”
“You should care. This is exactly what we were trying to avoid.”
“No.” Sam stopped moving, standing still in the middle of the dance floor while couples swirled around them. “What we were trying to avoid was lying about what this is. And I’m done lying.”
Claudia stared at him, her eyes wide. “Sam, we can’t.”
“We can, and we will.” He raised his hand and deliberately, slowly, brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. “Tomorrow, we can worry about complications and consequences. Tonight, I just want to be honest about this, and about us.”
She leaned into his touch, just slightly, and it was answer enough.
“Take me back to the hotel,” she whispered.
Sam didn’t need to be told twice. He took her hand and led her off the dance floor, moving through the crowd with single-minded purpose.
They found Mark briefly to say their goodbyes, making their excuses about jet lag and early meetings.
Mark’s knowing smile suggested he didn’t believe a word of it, but he didn’t comment.
The cool night air hit them as they exited the casino, and Sam’s car was already waiting. He helped Claudia into the back seat and climbed in beside her. The door closed, sealing them in privacy. The hotel was only minutes away.
Sam reached across the seat and took Claudia’s hand in his. She laced her fingers through his without hesitation, and they sat in charged silence as Monaco’s lights streaked past the windows.
Everything was about to change. Sam knew it with the same certainty he knew the sun would rise tomorrow. Whatever happened when they reached the hotel, there would be no going back to the careful professional distance they’d maintained.
Sam wasn’t at all apprehensive about what came next. He was only afraid that somehow, despite everything, this wouldn’t be real. He feared that morning would come, and Claudia would retreat behind walls he couldn’t breach.
But when he looked at her in the dim light of the car, when he saw the way she was looking back at him with want and wonder and something that might have been love, he thought maybe, just maybe, this was real after all.
The car pulled up to the hotel. Sam helped Claudia out, his hand in hers as they crossed the lobby and walked into the waiting elevator. The doors closed, sealing them into their own private world as they rose toward their suite. Claudia leaned against the wall, her eyes never leaving his face.
“No regrets?” Sam asked quietly.
“Not one,” she whispered. “You?”
“Only that we didn’t reach this point sooner.” He gave her a smile, and she returned it shyly.
The elevator dinged softly as they reached their floor. The doors opened. And Sam Kinkaid, Alpha of the Kinkaid Clan, reluctant king of all lion shifters, followed Claudia into their suite and closed the door behind them, ready for whatever came next.
The suite door closed behind them with a soft click that seemed to echo in the sudden silence. Claudia stood in the center of the living room, acutely aware of Sam’s presence a few feet away.
This was happening. They were here, alone, and all the careful boundaries they’d maintained were about to come crashing down.
“Claudia.” Sam’s voice was rough, uncertain in a way she’d never heard from him before. “If you’ve changed your mind—”
“I haven’t.” She turned to face him, finding courage she didn’t know she possessed. “Have you?”
“No.” He moved closer, slowly, giving her every opportunity to retreat. “But I need you to understand something first.”
“What?”
“This isn’t just about tonight. It’s not just physical, not for me.” He stopped an arm’s length away, his gaze intense in the soft lighting. “If we do this, if we cross this line, I’m not going to be able to go back to pretending you’re just someone working for my Clan.”
Claudia’s breath caught. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I want you. Not just for this mission, not just for tonight.
I want you in my life, in whatever way you’ll have me.
I’m almost certain you could be my mate.
” Sam reached out and gently tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering against her cheek.
“And I need to know if that terrifies you, because it sure as hell terrifies me.”
“Why would it terrify you?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
“Because I’m the Alpha. Because I have responsibilities that will always pull me in a dozen directions.
Because you deserve better than someone who can’t promise you’ll always come first.” His thumb traced her cheekbone.
“Because I’m falling in love with you, and I don’t know how to do that without potentially hurting you. ”
Claudia felt tears prick her eyes. “You said you were almost certain. What if we do this and I’m not your mate?”
“I don’t really see how that could be possible, but if you aren’t, then you’re off the hook. We can have fun together, but the weight of mating would never fall on either of us.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. With shifters it was all or nothing, Granny Tucker had taught her. Either they were perfect mates, destined to share their lives forever, or they weren’t. There was no middle ground.
She could see why he might not be ready for a permanent commitment. They’d only really been working together for a short while in the grand scheme of things. They didn’t really know each other all that well to be contemplating a lifetime together. Or not.
Somehow, the idea of not being his mate held no comfort. Her heart had yearned for him—for the impossible—since almost the first moment she’d set eyes on him. Something in her had awakened the moment she’d met him, and it had been alert, and waiting, and wanting, ever since.
She placed her hand over his where it still cupped her cheek.
“You’re not the only one who’s fearful. I’ve been falling for you since I first arrived in Houston.
Every day, I told myself it was impossible, that you were the Alpha and I was just the mage Granny sent to help.
That someone as great as you would never want someone like me. ”
“Someone like you?” Sam’s other hand came up to frame her face. “You mean someone brilliant and powerful and brave? Someone who makes my lion stand up and take notice just by walking into a room? Someone I can’t stop thinking about no matter how hard I try?”
“I’m not—”
“You are.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “You’re all of that and more. And I’m done pretending otherwise.”
Claudia rose on her toes and kissed him. It wasn’t like their practice kiss in the guest house kitchen. That had been exploratory, careful and controlled. This was none of those things. This was weeks of denial and wanting finally breaking free.
Sam made a sound low in his throat and pulled her closer, one hand sliding into her carefully styled hair while the other splayed across her bare back. Claudia melted into him, her hands fisting in his tuxedo jacket, and kissed him with everything she’d been holding back all this time.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Sam’s eyes had gone molten gold.
“Bedroom,” he managed. “Unless you want me to take you right here in the living room.”
The words sent heat flooding through her. “Bedroom,” she agreed breathlessly.
Sam swept her up into his arms, and Claudia laughed in surprise, clutching at his shoulders as he carried her toward his room. He shouldered the door open and set her gently on her feet beside the bed.
“I want to take my time with you,” he said, his hands settling on her waist. “But I’m not sure I can. I’ve wanted this too long.”
“Then don’t.” Claudia reached up to loosen his bow tie, her fingers surprisingly steady, despite her racing heart. “We have time later for slow. Right now, I just need you.”
Something fierce and possessive flashed in Sam’s eyes. He caught her hands and brought them to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “Tell me if you want me to stop. At any point.”
“I won’t want you to stop.”
“Promise me, Claudia. The last thing I’d ever want to do is scare you or, Goddess forbid, hurt you.”
The care in his voice, the need to make sure she felt safe, made her heart open to him even more. “I promise.”