Free Luck of the Dragon (Entangled Covet) by Susannah Scott Page B

She stepped into his open arms, going on her tiptoes, and met his mouth in an abandoned kiss.
    Alec’s lips opened above hers in surprise, and she pressed her advantage, winding her arms around his neck, inhaling the wonderful male scent of him. Her head spun with pleasure, and she dove deeper into the kiss. Alec pulled her groin snug into his. Her stomach coiled and desire spun, threatening her balance.
    “Mary, Joseph, and Peter.” She broke away and wiped the back of her mouth with a shaky hand. She was hot, under her skin, in her veins, like she would burst into flames. Sweat dotted her forehead and she wiped that away, too.
    “What was that about?” Alec held his hands away from his sides in question.
    “It was just a kiss.” Lucy smiled but her mouth trembled. She shook her head and laughed, and the carefree sound bounced around the room with a maniacal lilt.
    “It was not just a kiss.”
    She ignored his confusion and carefully put the contract and thumb-printed glasses into her briefcase. She had her print. Joey would be safe while she spent some quality time at the spa with a gorgeous man. She could reschedule their flight to tomorrow. The day couldn’t get any better. She might even have to relax a little…Explore the tingling that Alec started every time he touched her.
    “I need to take my briefcase to my car and make a call,” Lucy said. And make a pit stop in the women’s bathroom on the first floor where Gino was expecting the print drop.
    “I can send someone for you.”
    “No, no I don’t want to bother anyone.”
    “It’s no bother.” Alec frowned and opened the curtain behind the table. Blue Nevada sky stretched in every direction.
    Lucy stared at the top of the New York, New York replica of the Statue of Liberty, and her head spun a warning dial. “How high up are we?”
    “130 stories.” Alec opened the sliding door and stepped onto an open porch. His shoulders veed to muscled hips, his legs shifted with animal-like grace. He turned in a circle with his arms wide, as if he wanted to jump off. “I need a little air.”
    “Be careful.” Lucy’s brain whiplashed from pleasure to panic, reactions she could not control. She needed to get away from the porch, hunch against an interior wall, lie down on the ground. She took a step backward, then another. “Heights really do bother me.”
    Alec frowned, then stepped inside and latched the door. “It’s okay.”
    “A walk to my car would do me some good.”
    He steadied her arm. “If you insist.”
    Alec’s tone sounded suspicious, and Lucy’s eyes snapped to his face. Did he know? Was he just playing along? Had her elation clouded her judgment?
    What if it was all a gilded trap?

Chapter Seven
    In the entryway of The Cathedral Spa, Lucy paused. The spa took up two floors and was made with stone arches and balustrades, making it look like a medieval cathedral. Along the exterior wall were authentic flying buttresses resembling those at Notre Dame. A stream, complete with foot bridges and waterfalls, wound through the entry and disappeared beside an arched doorway. The sound of birds, real birds singing, twittered through the air.
    “I’ve read about this place,” Lucy said to Jane, Alec’s always-handy assistant.
    Jane nudged her forward to the front desk. “It’s only been open for a month, but it has already received a five-star rating from Condé Nast and the Refined Traveler .”
    A limestone balcony peeked above their heads, and colored cushions and Persian carpets accented serene seating areas. Stained glass panels with pictures of colorful dragons in flight and woodland and meadow scenes adorned arched windows. The effect was like being inside a glittering jewelry box. Lucy’s fingers curled with pleasure.
    “This is Dr. De Luca,” Jane said to a woman dressed in light green medical scrubs. “Mr. Gerald will be joining her for a morning of services.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” The woman typed on her computer. “Rosa