They drove through a wooded area. Before she saw the venue where the event was being held, they joined a long line of cars waiting for the valet.
“Will you know very many people?”
“I’ll guess we’ll see.”
Amery watched attendees alighting from cars ahead of them. The women were wearing everything from full-length ball gowns to glitzy cocktail dresses. She tugged on the hem of her dress.
Ronin’s hand stopped the motion. “Don’t.”
“I’m nervous.”
“You’re with me. Doesn’t matter who else is here or what they’re wearing. We’re here to have a good time. And if it sucks, we’ll leave.”
“Okay.”
“That said, don’t be surprised if the women glare at you and the men lust after you since you’re stunningly beautiful.” He kissed the inside of her wrist. “And the dress isn’t bad either.”
It was starting to scare her how crazy she was about this man.
Ronin rolled down the window when the valet approached. “Good evening, sir. May I have your name?”
“Ronin Black.”
“Welcome to the Hidden Hills Resort, Mr. Black. I will need to trouble you for a picture ID.”
This event did have tight security.
He pulled out his driver’s license. The valet checked the picture on it against Ronin’s face and then he scanned it to make sure the ID wasn’t a fake.
Really tight security.
The valet smiled. “You’re good to go, Mr. Black. Brian is your assigned valet for the evening.” He handed over two tickets. “This is what will gain you admittance to the event, so take care not to lose them between your car and the front door.”
“Thank you.”
Ronin rolled up the window and muttered, “Jesus.” He looked over at Amery. “I can pull a U-turn. It’s not too late to get out of here.”
“I’ll hold the tickets.” Grinning, she snatched them from his hand and shoved them in her bra. “See? Perfectly safe.”
It took another ten minutes before they reached the valet stand, and Amery was getting antsy, but Ronin stayed calm. She wished his calm demeanor would settle her down. Immediately after he put it in park, both doors were opened. He said, “Stay put, I’ll help you out,” and exited the car.
What was that about? She heard him instructing the valet and then he skirted the front end of the car. He offered her his hand. Once they were on the sidewalk, a person with a clipboard approached them. “Good evening and welcome. May I please see your tickets?”
Ronin’s eyes were on Amery’s as he traced the line of her throat from her chin to her cleavage. A devilish smile lit his eyes as his fingers deftly slipped inside her bra cup and fished the tickets out. “Here you go.”
That flustered the girl with the clipboard. “Ah, thanks I just needed to see them. The tickets are actually being taken at the door.”
Ronin kept his hand on the small of Amery’s back and guided her to the main doors. The ticket taker scanned the tickets—as if checking for forgeries?—before smiling and granting them access.
“I think it would be easier to crash a White House party than this one,” Ronin murmured.
“So if we get the standard shitty rubberized banquet chicken, overcooked green beans, and warm cheesecake, I’ll be pissed.”
“That’ll make two of us. For the price of these tickets we should be served Kobe beef and Russian caviar for every course.”
The wide hallway teemed with people. Some of the dresses bordered on spectacular, and Amery wanted a closer peek, but it’d be a faux pas to gawk, so she feigned aloofness.
He slid his arm around her back and settled his hand on her hip. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, I’d like five drinks.”
“How about we start with one?” Ronin steered her out of the room and down the opposite hallway. He nodded to several people but didn’t stop to speak to anyone. A waiter held a tray of champagne.
“Ooh, I’d like some of that.”
He snagged two glasses and handed one to her. “May tonight be full of welcome surprises.”
Amery clinked the crystal flute against his and drank. Okay, that was really good. “This is not Brut champagne.”
“No, but don’t ask me what it is because I’m not a wine connoisseur.” His molten gaze drifted over her. “But looking at you, I know I have the absolute finest taste in women.”
Amery blushed.
“I’d like nothing better than to taste you right now. Suck the champagne from your tongue. Lick it from your lips. Pour it down the center of your body and lap it from between your thighs.”
Her belly swooped.
“I like that all I have to do is look in your eyes and I see what you’re feeling.”
“So you know what I’m feeling right now?” she countered.
Ronin let his knuckles follow the curve of her jaw. “You’re turned on but you don’t want to be. You’re trying hard to fit in, but you outshine them all. And you’re wondering why I’m saying all this now when we’re in public. Maybe someone will overhear. But I don’t give a good goddamn if that happens.”
“Does that drummer in your head always do his own thing?”
“Always.”
She drained her champagne and grabbed another glass before hooking her arm through his. “Let’s mingle. I want to spot some celebrities.”
“Anyone in particular?”
“The only mover and shaker I know in Denver is Alexis Carrington.”
He shook his head. “Fictional TV character. Try again.”
“I was so hoping for a catfight between her and Krystle—a hair-pulling, clothes-ripping, shoe-throwing beat-down.”
“Aren’t you a little young to have grown up watching Dynasty?”
“I watched reruns every day after school. My mother, for being a self-professed happy homemaker, wasn’t happy when school dismissed for the day. She let me and my brother watch whatever we wanted. Yes, we did make fun of it, but it was an eye-opener as to how the really rich lived. Not a lot of billionaires in North Dakota.” She laughed. “I wouldn’t know how to act if I ever met a billionaire anyway.”
“I’m sure you’d do just fine. Nothing special about them, trust me.”
They’d almost crossed into the banquet hall when a voice boomed, “Ronin Black.” Then an African-American guy about six foot five and three hundred and fifty pounds blocked their path. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Sensei Black. In the flesh. At a party. But here you are.” He offered a formal bow, which Ronin returned. Then he thrust out his hand. “Man, it’s good to see you.”
“Same goes.” Ronin drew her forward. “Tegs Green, meet Amery Hardwick.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Amery said.
“You too.” Tegs grinned. “Got you a real foxy one, eh? She know about the time I whipped up on the unbeatable Master Black?”
“You sitting on me and squashing me like a bug hardly qualifies as a true victory, Tegs. And I choked you out after you let me up, so no whipping up on me there either.”
“I always forget that you wrapped those lethal fingers around my throat until I passed the motherfuck out.”
“Which is why I always remind you.”
“Such a hardass.” Tegs addressed Amery. “This psycho fucker made me run three miles on a treadmill. Three miles,” he repeated. “Look at this body. Do you think it fucking enjoys running? Hell no. But I did it. Puked like a frat boy on the first weekend of college afterward, but I goddamn did it.”
Amery had heard Ronin acted as a personal trainer, but this was the first evidence she’d seen of it. “Good for you. I keep trying to convince him to teach me a shoulder throw.”
Tegs laughed. “Little-bitty sprite like you throwing grown men around? You go, sister.” He held out his knuckles for a fist bump. “I hope the first guy you throw on his ass is that sadistic fucker Deacon, ’cause I’d pay good money to see that.”