Midnight At Tiffany's Read Online Free Page A

you were escaping. You look like a woman with something to hide.”
    It sounded so much more glamorous than the reality. “Well—”
    “Don’t waste time denying it. I’m doing the same thing. Escaping. The champagne gave us both the distraction we needed. I won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me. It will be our secret.” He smiled, and Matilda was so dazzled by that unexpected smile that for a moment she just stared. If Cynthia had been there, she definitely would have told her off for gaping like a goldfish.
    Then she smiled, too. “Your secret is safe with me.”
    She would have liked to discover a few more of his secrets. Especially the physical ones. She would have liked to examine every inch of his muscular body close-up.
    Lara would have stopped the elevator and had sex with him right there and then, but she wasn’t Lara. Unfortunately.
    “How well do you know this building?” He glanced at his watch. “I need to find a discreet exit.”
    “What’s wrong with the front entrance?”
    “I’m hiding, too, remember?” The smile reached his eyes. “I don’t want people to see me leave.”
    She wondered whom he was avoiding. Women, no doubt. Probably hoards of them. He was sexy enough to be fighting them off, and if he’d been a guest at the party, then no doubt he was also wealthy, or at least heading that way.
    Matilda, who had a whole bunch of people she never wanted to meet again, Cynthia included, sympathized. “There is another exit. Down to the basement, left out of the elevators, walk behind the—”
    “Show me.”
    “Er—me?”
    “You’re the one who knows where it is. Makes sense, don’t you think?”
    “I guess so.” Being caught creeping out of the emergency exit with one of the guests would be the final straw, but she’d already been fired, so what else could they do?
    The doors opened and they both stepped forward at the same time.
    The faint smell of aftershave mingled with the scent of soap and sexy man. Drugged by that delicious combination Matilda paused, absorbing the moment with all her senses so she could write about it later. She wanted to press her face against his chest and breathe him in.
    Lara would have ripped off his shirt and licked him all over. And not because she was hoping to lap up a few stray drops of champagne.
    The man paused, his powerful frame preventing the elevator doors from closing. “After you—”
    Old-fashioned chivalry was so underrated, Matilda thought. She slid past him, wondering if he were equally chivalrous in bed. Not that she was an expert, but she waswilling to bet this man never let a woman walk away unsatisfied.
    She glanced at him and her gaze grazed his.
    Heat uncurled deep inside her, and every nerve and muscle tingled with awareness. Still he stared at her until her knees became as liquid as ice cream left too long in the hot sun.
    Shaken, she turned and walked through the basement, following pipes until she saw the set of steps that led to street level.
    She reached for the door, fumbling, and he reached past her and pushed it open with the flat of his hand.
    His body brushed against hers, and Matilda closed her eyes briefly.
    She felt hard, unyielding biceps and knew that beneath that jacket was a power-packed body, honed to the extremes of physical fitness.
    It was barely a touch, and yet enough to render her immobile. She stood, hardly breathing. She might have stayed frozen to the spot forever if he hadn’t gently nudged her through the door.
    “How did you discover this exit?”
    It was the entrance used by staff, but she didn’t want to tell him that. “It’s part of my job to know all the exits.”
    “So you work in security?”
    Security. Matilda smiled to herself. That sounded glamorous. She could be FBI, or CIA or—something. She could be Black Ops. Well, maybe that was taking it a little far given that she hadn’t lifted anything heavier than a tray of drinks for months. Covert—no, she definitely wasn’t