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.”
On autopilot, Ian made all the right responses to Joyce before she walked away to deal with the auctioneer. At least, he hoped he did. Because from the moment he looked out onto the dance floor and saw Tatiana in Quinn Patrick’s arms, Ian hadn’t been able to focus on anything other than tearing her out of them.Quinn was suave, rich, and between wives. Even a blind man could see that the two of them looked great together. This was exactly the kind of guy Ian had known that Tatiana and her slinky, barely-there dress would attract. Some mogul who wouldn’t care about her intelligence, her talent, her kindness. All he’d want Tatiana for was to be a stunning trophy who was hot in the sack.
Blood rushed in Ian’s ears as he made a beeline for the center of the dance floor where the two of them were now holding court, cameras continuing to flash as they captured every seductive move Tatiana made in the other man’s arms.
He had been working on loosening Quinn’s pockets for the foundation for months. When Ian stole Tatiana away in the middle of their dance, Quinn would likely be furious enough that he wouldn’t give one red cent of his fortune to the charity, but Ian didn’t care. Not when the dirtbag was holding Tatiana too tightly and his hands were too close to the swell of her hips.
Ian would make up the difference himself—would double it—if it meant getting her out of the guy’s arms.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Ian,” Quinn said when Ian walked up to interrupt their dance, “you should have told me Tatiana was going to be here tonight so I could brush up on my dance moves.”
“It was more fun to surprise him,” she said softly.
When Quinn smiled down at her, there was more genuine warmth in his gaze than Ian could remember seeing before. Quinn turned back to him with a raised eyebrow. “She was telling me you two are practically cousins.” Ian knew exactly what he was doing—trying to remind him that he should stay away from the beautiful woman who was nearly family.
Tatiana’s skin was flushed, her eyes bright, when she finally turned her gaze to his. In an instant, Ian’s brain rewound to the way she’d been just as flushed beneath him, and then over him, in those breathless moments in his bed. Standing in the middle of the dance floor, every muscle in his body clenched tight as he remembered how intense, how shockingly right, it had been to make love with her.
Barely nodding at the other man, he told her, “Valentina needs to speak with you.”