Chapter Five

The Ritz-Carlton ballroom was the epitome of elegance in hues of burgundy and golden blonde wood. Open double doors let in the evening air and allowed attendees access to balconies looking out over Boston Common. Champagne flowed freely, and all Jewell had to do was turn around to be offered some new and tantalizing hors d"oeuvres. Soft string and piano music drifted through the room packed with the most affluent and successful people in the Boston financial industry.

Phrases and bits of conversation jumped from small group to small group, with words like "bear market", "TRIV", "arbitrage", and "OTC Market" flittering through the jumble of words. As much as Jewell enjoyed the excitement of the industry, she didn"t have the desire to spend an entire evening discussing investment strategies and couldn"t help grinning at the enthusiasm that some of the individuals around her held for their jobs.

A slight touch against her spine made her jump, and she turned into Benjamin as he laid his palm flat on her back. She smiled when he stepped closer and leaned his other arm on the edge of the bar where she stood. Not for the first time that evening, Jewell felt the slow infusion of heat just below the surface of her skin when he turned his devastating gaze on her and one corner of his mouth ticked up in a small grin.

"I was beginning to wonder where you went," she said softly, relieved that she didn"t need to speak any louder to be heard over the din. His attention shifted down to her mouth, and it was all she could do not to lick her lips. Her senses had been on overdrive since they arrived. No, since he picked her up at the apartment. He"d told her on the way that he would prefer to keep the signing to a minimum if possible, which she thought odd since she"d understood her purpose at the event was to interpret. But, if not signing had him standing closer and looking at her the way he did…she was fine with that.

"Drew Kapchik cornered me by the potted ferns," he said with another quick tick of his grin. "He"s been trying to get on my team for the last nine months. He wants an excuse to quit Legacy Funds."

"You escaped…" she smiled.

"I told him I had a beautiful woman waiting for me."

Heat bloomed in her cheeks and Benjamin smiled wider. He slid his hand from her back, letting his fingers trace the underside of her arm until he took her hand in his. "Would you like to dance?"

Jewell raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I am not without my secret talents."

She tilted her head with a smile and let him lead her to the small area cleared in the center of the room where no more than half a dozen other couples danced to the slow waltz. When they reached a clear space, Benjamin raised her hand above her head and she spun, the chocolate silk of her dress swirling around her legs. When she came around to face him again he drew her against him, his bent right arm angling behind her back so her left hand rested on his shoulder. He took her other hand and pressed it to his chest, holding it in place beneath his warm palm.

"What kind of music are they playing?" he asked, looking down at her as they stood still amongst the dancing couples.

"A waltz."

"Waltz…we dance on the three, right?"

Jewell nodded, but couldn"t figure out his intention. More than once, Benjamin had surprised her with his capacity for adaptation. His lip reading was near perfect, and his speech—for someone with total hearing loss—was not only impressively clear but expressive and varied. He understood the concept of whispering, of shouting, and of dropping the tone of his voice to a seductive hum that danced over her skin. He was a perpetual puzzle.

"Give me the beat." Benjamin shifted his hand over hers and tapped his fingers against hers in a steady rhythm. "Understand?"

Jewell nodded and closed her eyes, listening to the lilting music for a few bars. With the next measure, she tapped the rhythm on his shoulder where her hand rested. One-Two-Three. One-Two-Three. Then Benjamin stepped, and as simply as that they were dancing.

She opened her eyes, and her breath caught at the warm way he watched her. His lips had only the slightest bow as he turned her around the floor. She almost forgot to keep up with the beat, giving him the taps he needed to stay in step.

"Everyone is watching us," he said low, tipping his head toward her. "They"re wondering how I got to be so lucky."

Without missing a step, they danced through the remains of the waltz. As the music neared the end, he arched an eyebrow and she nodded. "It"s almost over."

He gave a smirk and his hand shifted on her back. "Ready to be dipped, Ms. Kincaid?"

Before she could answer, he shifted his stance and bent her backward, his strong arm supporting her back. Catching her breath, she laughed and leaned into his chest as he righted her on her feet. Jewell raised her chin to look at him, her cheeks almost hurting from her smile and found herself once again caught in the intensity of his stare. His rich brown eyes shifted over her face, settling for a beat longer on her lips, before looking straight at her again. The hand on her back pressed a fraction firmer, drawing her closer, and Jewell let herself be drawn.

Then movement in her peripheral caught her attention and she looked past Benjamin to see Kevin Burke standing on the edge of the crowd, a grin she could only describe as "smarmy" on his face. He winked and popped up an eyebrow, his gaze blatantly looking both she and Benjamin up and down, assessing their embrace.

"What is it?" Benjamin asked.

Jewell blinked and pulled her attention from Kevin to look up at him. "N-nothing."

Benjamin turned, still holding her against him, and when he did Kevin Burke"s entire expression changed—the lecherous glare gone. He raised his hand in a friendly wave and slipped into the crowd. Jewell took the opportunity to step back from Benjamin"s hold, her body suddenly so flushed she swore she had to be glowing from embarrassment.

She touched Benjamin"s arm to draw his focus, and raised her hands, signing discreetly between them. "I"m going to get some air. I"ll be right back."

He watched her with concern pulling at his forehead, but nodded. Jewell turned, nearly slipping on the wood floor, and pushed through the crowd toward the nearest exit from the ballroom. Greg"s warnings rang in her head, and she knew she had to get herself under control before she lost focus. There was already enough innuendo and perception stirring around the two of them to cause problems, she didn"t need to add to it by actually being attracted to Benjamin Prescott Roth.

She snagged a flute of champagne as she passed one of the wait staff and slipped into the wide hallway beyond. A few event attendees mulled in the hall, some seated in small clusters talking, others walking to or from the ballroom. Some of the faces were familiar, but names escaped her. After working in the Boston financial sector from the time she earned her degree, Jewell had been in contact with people from various levels from many of the firms in the city. Unless she worked with them directly, most were just faces in the crowd.

Like tonight.

Except all she could think of was how many of them had just seen her dance with B.P. Roth, and Greg"s warnings echoed in her head. The previous fall, one of the higher members of management at Safeguard Fiduciary had been accused of demanding sexual favors from an individual on his staff. The accusations were neither proven nor denied, but the man stepped down and left the company. It didn"t matter whether they were true or not, because his name had been sullied and the young woman left the company shortly after because she couldn"t take the whispers and gossip.

None of that meant anything when Benjamin looked at her, or when his fingers skimmed her skin, whether intentionally or casually.

Jewell groaned, and two people turned her way as she strode by. She tried to smile but figured it looked more like a grimace, and reached the end of the hall. A cool evening breeze carried in through a partially open balcony door, and Jewell pushed through it to the small ledge beyond. A humid wind blew in off the Charles River but carried enough evening cool to take away the heavy weight of a New England summer.

It only took a couple of minutes for the heat trapped under her skin to turn to a chill in the evening air. She set the champagne flute on the balcony railing and crossed her arms as another breeze kicked up, lifting her hair off her shoulders. Gooseflesh pulled at her skin.

What if all her worrying and musing were for nothing? To worry about the ramifications of a relationship with her boss implied that her boss wanted a relationship with her. Okay, so he told her she was beautiful. He often touched her when it wasn"t necessary. He looked at her with those eyes that could melt butter. That didn"t mean anything more than he was a good flirt.

Jewell sighed and slumped her shoulders, rubbing her hands over her arms to warm her skin. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and let out a long, frustrated groan.

* * *

Benjamin almost missed her standing on the balcony as he moved down the hallway looking for her. Her cascade of auburn hair caught on the breeze that shifted the white gossamer curtains bracketing the french doors, and drew his attention. With a glance up and down the hallway, Benjamin pushed his hands into his tuxedo pockets and moved to the open doorway, watching her.

She was beautiful.

That thought had crossed his mind more than once, but each time the extent of the effect her beauty had on him surprised him. He had met and dated his share of beautiful women, but as much as he appreciated their attractiveness, none that he could remember made his pulse quicken and his breath catch. If he"d been asked his definition of beautiful just a few months before, he probably wouldn"t have said rich red hair, green eyes, and the kind of body that made him want to explore every sway and curve.

Jewel rubbed her arms and a small tremor moved through her as another breeze carried off the river. Benjamin unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged it off as he crossed the balcony. She looked up and turned to him with a slight jump as he draped the jacket over her bare shoulders. As she watched him with wide eyes, he ran his fingers beneath her hair and lifted the curly mass from beneath the collar of the jacket. The aroma of her shampoo tingled his senses.

"Thank you," he read on her lips.

He ran his fingers beneath her hair again, all the way to the ends that curled softly around his hand. "What are you doing out here?" he signed, regretfully leaving the silk of her hair to drift in the breeze.

"I needed some air," she repeated from the dance floor.

He just nodded, letting her keep the excuse for whatever reason. She reached for the champagne flute and held it to her glossed lips, tipping her head back to drain the remaining golden beverage. Did her hand tremble? Why?

She set down the glass and turned toward him, licking her lips, and he had the sudden urge to know what her lipgloss tasted like tinted with champagne. He raised his hand to touch her cheek, the pink-stained skin cool beneath his touch from the evening breeze. Jewell let out a long breath that warmed the inside of his wrist as she turned into his touch, her eyes closing slightly. When she raised her chin and looked at him, his heart jerked and he had to swallow.

Jewell jumped and stepped back from his touch, her attention swinging to the open door leading back inside. He looked to see who or what made her react so sharply and found Kevin Burke standing in the doorway. His face was cast in shadow with the light behind him, his shoulder against the doorjamb with his hands pushed into his pockets. The movement of his profile indicated he said something.

Benjamin shook his head and looked to Jewell. The interior light hid Kevin"s face, but illuminated the deep blush in Jewell"s cheek.

"Jewell—"

Before he could finish, she raised her hands. Her lips pressed together in a tight, firm line and her signs lacked their usual fluidity. "Mr. Burke asked if we"re having a good time."

Benjamin stepped to Jewell and slid his hand to the small of her back beneath the jacket she still wore. Her entire body tensed at his touch and she crossed her arms over her body, immediately dropping them again to clench her fingers in front of her. "Let"s step inside for this conversation."

Jewell stepped away from him and walked past Kevin, slipping his jacket off as she crossed the threshold. As soon as he stepped inside behind her, she turned and handed it back, signing a shaky "Thank you" before she took another obvious step back. "Do you need me?" she said, shifting her gaze from Benjamin to Kevin and back.

A niggling uneasiness sat on his chest from the way she refused to look at Burke too long, and he wondered just what exactly he was missing. He shook his head and offered her a relaxed smile, hoping it might help. "I"ll survive a few minutes without you. But hurry back."

The tight press of her lips tipped into a small smile, and for a moment he saw the spark he liked in her green eyes. She nodded and turned away, and he indulged in a few moments of watching the sway of her hips and the swish of her silk skirt around her legs before focusing again on Kevin.

"You really do owe me, Roth," Kevin said with a tick of his head to the side. "I"ve got to admit I"m jealous. I should have fought harder with Travis to get her."

"She was overqualified to work admin, and you know it."

"You can"t tell me her résumé was the only qualification that caught your attention," Kevin said with a wink and a wide grin.

Benjamin refused to react to Kevin"s implication; instead, he held his hands out and shrugged. "Ms. Kincaid is a rare find."

"Yeah, I bet she"s good with her hands."

Benjamin took a step toward him, focusing on the tension of his throat and the amount of air he released when he spoke. "Kevin, I suggest you keep your theories about Jewell Kincaid"s qualifications to yourself unless they are directly related to her job."

Kevin didn"t flinch, his jaw tightening as he stared at Benjamin. "Roth, I"ve worked with you for a while. I respect your performance and your ability. So, as a colleague, I"m just going to remind you that it doesn"t take facts to destroy a reputation."

With a shrug, Kevin turned and strode away.

Damn.

The worst thing was that Kevin Burke was right. It didn"t take more than innuendo and implication to destroy a career.

Too bad words and convictions didn"t stop his body from jolting with awareness and attraction when he looked up and saw Jewell Kincaid walking down the hall toward him.