Scent of a Woman by Joanne Rock

will be an honest moment since you’re more to me than a business acquaintance.”

    Danielle set her glass aside, too. Her long, dark hair draped over her shoulder with the movement, veiling parts of her from his sight.

    He liked that about her—the way she could be sexy without saying a word. She exuded sexual confidence in other ways, too, by flirting with her eyes. The way she crossed her legs. Very hot.

    “You flatter me, Adam. But we do not have to resign ourselves to media intrusion. Maybe we should give anyone within a camera a run for their money.” The mischievous light returned to her eyes—the same one he’d seen on board the ship before she’d darted away from him.

    “I forgot you’re an Olympic runner in high heels.” He reached down to run his hand lightly up her calf and was gratified to see her shiver.

    “And Rome is a wonderful city to get lost in.” She gestured vaguely with her fingers and then rested them on his tie.

    “I’ll be sure to let you lead the way.” He lowered his voice as he homed in on her neck, needing a taste of her skin and a breath of her scent.

    “All I need to know is where we are ultimately headed. Did you have a destination in mind? A café? One of the galleries?”

    She arched into him as his mouth found the pulse throbbing just below the surface of her skin.

    “I thought we’d stop off in the park at Villa Borghese. Maybe walk to the Trevi fountain and past the Coliseum. I’ve heard it’s better to see a few things in Rome than to tackle too much.”

    “ Oui . I have seen the park and it is beautiful.” Her breath huffed faster, hands alighting on his shoulders as she hummed her satisfaction. “We will let our feet follow paths that are over two thousand years old. Who knows how many other lovers have chased each other through the Eternal City?”

    He broke away, sitting up to look her in the eye.

    “You’re not trying to give me the slip the way you want to do to those photographers?”

    The instep of her bare foot rubbed against his calf with slow deliberation and that wicked smile of hers unfurled.

    “I am looking forward to being caught by you at the end of the night. Maybe sooner if we grow too restless on our trip into the city.” Her fingers combed down the front of his jacket and it occurred to him that wearing a suit wasn’t so bad when a woman like Danielle wanted to take you out of it. “That, I can promise.”

    Heat crawled all over his skin at her words, making him hope like hell the driver would floor it on the way back to the ship. He needed to get her alone, to peel away the exotic layers of this sexy French woman to find out what made her so different from other women.

    She made him want to do things he’d never cared about before—making a crazy dash through Rome sound like foreplay. She’d convinced him that her conservative clothes were sexier than tight T-shirts and tiny cut-offs. She even made him want to find out more about perfume just so he could keep up with her.

    He’d either lost his freaking mind or he was falling for her. Both possibilities scared the hell out of him. He’d seen what relationships could do to smart guys. The divorce rates of his friends were sky-high and his own long-term liasons had ended badly. For that matter, to call any of his relationships “long-term” would be a stretch at best with the work hours he kept.

    But there sat Danielle, the most incredible woman he’d ever met, and he was ready to do whatever she wanted.

    Hell.

    He closed his eyes and found her lips. The sweet flavor of her kiss silenced all the warning bells going off in his brain, making her taste, her pleasure, the only important things right now. He kissed her for an endless moment, savoring the sweet satisfaction of that simple joining.

    Her arms wound around his neck with no reservations, her breasts flattening against his chest, tantalizing him with images of what they could do until the car arrived in