The Golden Valkyrie by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page B

rueful amusement. The man was utterly impossible. She was beginning to realize that there was a layer of diamond-hard steel beneath that careless exterior. Yet she felt an odd sense of trust in the man beneath that mask. “Then I’d better give in gracefully, hadn’t I?” she asked lightly.
    She was rewarded by a smile so blindingly brilliant that she felt strangely dizzy. “Good girl,” he said briskly, setting down his glass on the counter and coming around from behind the bar to stand before her. “I’m sure that I’ll feel much safer with you in the next room.” He gave her a wistful look. “Of course, I’d feel
really
secure with you in my bed.” She chuckled and shook her head. “No?” He shrugged resignedly. “I didn’t think so.”
    “I’m afraid that wouldn’t be very practical in this case,” Honey said lightly. “I’ve never heard that you were fond of
ménages à trois,
and my duties include the protection of your cousin.”
    “Alex?” Rubinoff looked decidedly uneasy. “Now, that might present a few problems.”
    “Problems?” Honey asked warily, her gaze narrowed on his face.
    He put his hands on her slim waist and lifted her lightly off the stool. “Alex refuses to accept you as his bodyguard,” he said ruefully, then continued hurriedly as she started to protest. “It’s not you personally whom he objects to, you understand. He’d reject anyone hired for the same position.” He turned her gently, his hand at her waist, and began to propel her across the living room, toward a door on the opposite side of the room. “He has no objection to you acting as my bodyguard, however. He thought you were quite charming.”
    “How very kind of him,” Honey said ironically, wondering how she was supposed to guard someone when he wouldn’t even acknowledge her as his protector. “I thought men in your position were accustomed to having bodyguards and security men buzzing around you. Why are you and your cousin so adamantly against it?”
    “We value our privacy,” Rubinoff said simply. He smiled at her grimly. “And Alex and I were brought up rather differently from what most people would expect. Remind me to tell you about it sometime.”
    They’d reached the bedroom door, and he opened it with a little flourish. “This is your room,” he said, leaning lazily against the doorjamb. “There’s an adjoining bath. I think you’ll be fairly comfortable.” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “I’m right next door, so if you need anything, just call.”
    “I’m the one who’s supposed to be able to hear
you
if you need me,” she said unthinkingly, and then could have bitten her tongue.
    It was too much to expect him to let that pass. His face took on an expression of cherubic innocence. “Does that mean you’ll come if I want you to?” he asked, gazing limpidly into her eyes. “Perhaps we’d better have them put in a connecting door. It would save considerable wear and tear on the carpet from the traffic back and forth.”
    “You know I meant that you were to call if you were in danger,” she said sternly, trying to frown disapprovingly into that mischievous face.
    “Unfortunately, I did,” he said morosely. “We’ll be dining at eight and then going somewhere later to dance. Since this is your territory, Alex and I will let you choose.” He made a face. “Just don’t make it any place where we might run into one of Alex’s business chums or any political bureaucrats. He’s promised me that the party last night was the final little social duty we’d have to suffer through, but I don’t want to put temptation in his path.”
    Honey frowned. “Don’t you think that it would be safer to have dinner in the suite? It will be difficult maintaining any degree of security in a crowd.”
    “But I can see that you’re a woman who thrives on challenges,” Rubinoff said lightly. “I feel completely safe in your capable hands.” He turned away, and then looked over