But not only had Tatiana kept her word by coming to the fundraiser...she looked positively incredible. Through the excited crowd he could catch only flashes of her beautiful face, her long, red-blond hair curling softly over one shoulder, but it was enough to see that she was glowing. Sensual. Sparkling.
No one would ever guess that just hours before, she’d cried as she walked home in the rain. She’d tried to hide her tears, but he’d seen them, and knowing he was the reason for them only made him more convinced that he needed to stay away from her.
He’d already hurt one woman by thinking he was capable of giving her the love she needed, only to neglect her when he just didn’t have it in him to be a true husband or partner. Ian would never forgive himself if he did anything more to damage Tatiana’s bright, positive outlook on life and love. She not only deserved love, but she also deserved to find it with a guy who would devote everything he was to her.
After a long while, when it was clear that the photographers would never feel that they had enough pictures of her, Joyce carefully escorted Tatiana away from the group.
That was when Ian finally saw what she was wearing.
Almost nothing.
Her dress was barely more than a shiny scrap of gold fabric. Thin straps hung from her shoulders as if by a thread above a bodice that dipped way too low and clung much too tightly to her luscious br**sts. A slim belt wrapped around her waist, and the shimmering fabric highlighted her hourglass figure as it hugged her hips. And her legs...
Lord, how was he ever going to forget what it felt like to have her perfect legs wrapped around him as she urged him to take her harder, faster? As she’d begged for more.
He’d seen pictures of her in the past with his cousin at their film premiere and had been in Napa with her at the family wedding months earlier. But he’d never seen her wear something so revealing, so purely sensual.
Last night, especially once he’d realized the harsh way he’d taken her virginity, he’d wanted to make it up to her by showing her the kind of deep pleasure her body was capable of. Of course, he’d desperately wanted to know her pleasures for himself, too.
Tonight, she was embracing her sensuality in a way she never had before. And if he saw it, Ian knew everyone else must see it, too.
She was still elegant, still sweet...but overlying both was pure sex.
He’d believed—or hoped, at least—that as soon as they’d had a few hours to cool off away from each other, he’d be able to think things through in the same calculated manner he would an investment gone wrong. That way, he could make the necessary corrections to set everything straight again and minimize loss and suffering for everyone involved.
Only, despite the fact that he hadn’t seen her since that morning, and that his day in the office had been one of the busiest he could remember, Tatiana hadn’t been out of his thoughts for one single second.
All day long, he’d thought about the way she’d trusted him with both her heart and body. He’d replayed, again and again, the way she’d laughed in the bathtub with him. He’d remembered how perfectly she’d fit against him as she’d fallen asleep in his arms. And his gut had twisted every time he’d remembered the way her face had fallen when he’d hurt her in the morning.
He’d sworn up and down that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her more. He’d vowed to remain rational no matter what. And, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t give in to the desperate urge to kiss her, to make love with her, ever again...even if it damn near killed him.
But that had been before she decided to show up at the fundraiser wearing the sexiest excuse for a dress he’d ever seen. All his vows to remain rational, to focus on what he could do to make things up to her, vanished as she stood in front of hundreds of people with every single one of her lush curves on mouthwatering display. Surely, Joyce could find Tatiana a sweater, or some sort of cashmere wrap, to at least throw around her shoulders. It wouldn’t help with the length of leg she was currently showing, but it would be better than the current situation, where every man between the ages of twenty and eighty was drooling over her cle**age.
Ian had never been a jealous man. Even with his ex-wife, who was indisputably beautiful, he’d never felt the need to hide her away from everyone else. But yet again, where Tatiana was concerned, one look at her was all it took to scramble his brain.
And right now, all Ian could think was that he wanted to keep her all to himself.
But the crush of bodies was tight enough in her wake, and so many important donors stopped him to say hello, that by the time he finally got back inside the ballroom, instead of being able to find her to convince her to cover up, it was time to announce the silent auction that would provide the bulk of this year’s funding for the important programs the foundation ran. A job that was too important, that impacted too many people, for him to screw up because he couldn’t stop thinking about Tatiana.
At the microphone, he took a moment to look out over the crowd of people who had gathered in support of the organization and thank them for coming before launching into his speech.
“Ten years ago, the Seattle Family Foundation asked me if I would come and speak at one of their first fundraising events. When I wasn’t able to accept due to a scheduling conflict, they asked me if I would come down to one of their classes and help out there, instead. I was so impressed with both the skills being taught by the excellent instructors and the students’ thirst for knowledge that I hired three of them on the spot. Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of outreach organizations, and I can tell you from personal experience that the Seattle Family Foundation is one of the very best. Tonight, I hope each and every one of you will think about the people you care about most, the loved ones that you would do anything to support, and do whatever you can to help them continue to provide families with the financial, educational, and career support right when they need it most.”
As soon as he stepped off the stage, Ian was surrounded by potential donors with questions, as well as checks and verbal IOUs. Finally, the crowd thinned and Joyce handed him a glass of champagne.
“Thank you so much, Ian, for everything you’ve done to help us. It looks like we’re going to have our highest operating budget so far to work with next year.” She gestured toward the dance floor. “And thanks to Tatiana and the fact that the press has been going absolutely wild for her, I’m certain far more people will be hearing about us than ever have before. In addition to all the photos, she did a few interviews on our behalf, and was positively eloquent.”