All four turned to look in the direction Desiree drunkenly pointed. That’s when Talia gasped as her gaze collided with dark, dangerous eyes. How did she know that the man’s eyes were dark when the whole room was dark? Because she’d seen him before. Talia had been thinking of her mystery man ever since that moment in the hotel. The moment had been so brief, just a glimpse through a doorway, but she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind.
Now he was here?
He turned in that moment and their eyes locked. Talia’s heart thudded as she watched him, her body sparkling with tension and awareness. He was surrounded by dancers, although there seemed to be a bubble around him. Even so, Talia could see that he was taller than everyone else by at least several inches, his shoulders broad and powerful. Still, it wasn’t his height or his shoulders that caught her attention and interest. It was that look, the searing power in his gaze that whispered softly, enticingly, that this man was dangerous.
That elemental spark she’d felt earlier today was now a flame. And it felt as if it might be throbbing inside of her, telling her to go to him, to speak with him. She stared. He stared back, his eyes telling her…? Talia couldn’t interpret his message! What was he saying?
Before she could translate, a woman in a sparkly, hot pink dress, that barely covered her butt, stepped up, sensuously pressing her body against his. He glanced down at the woman and…that hurt! A savage, almost violent stab of jealousy hit her and she frowned, startled by the unexpected sensation. Unfortunately, Talia couldn’t deny that pain. She seriously didn’t like that woman touching him!
But he wasn’t hers, Talia reminded herself firmly. She had no right to be upset that another woman was doing exactly what she wanted to do.
“Oh well,” Cary sighed, apparently noticing the pink, barely clad woman who had moved in on their target. “There are plenty more!”
Talia looked at her friends, noticed the bright eyes and the skimpy dresses. In contrast, Talia wore a champagne colored cocktail dress that might show a bit more cleavage than normal, but wasn’t anywhere near as revealing as what her friends wore. Talia’s outfit came down almost to her knees. Her heels were only three inches, compared to Theresa’s five inch, platform shoes that made Talia think of a pole dancer.
This wasn’t her scene, she thought again. And these women, they weren’t her friends. Not anymore. The only reason she’d called them during this visit was…because…well, Talia wasn’t exactly sure why she’d called her college friends. Other than that niggling sense that she was missing out, that life was passing her by. That she needed an adventure in her life, which she couldn’t seem to get out of her mind.
Which was ridiculous! Talia traveled all over the world! She’d seen and done things that most people in the world could only dream about!
So, why was she here? Why was she trying to be someone she wasn’t? Talia wasn’t a party girl. She didn’t flit from one bed to another. She’d had a lover back in college, but the event had been so miserable, she hadn’t bothered to try it again.
“I’m heading out,” she told her friends. A glance over her shoulder revealed that the pink-clad temptress had vanished, and been replaced by a woman in a diaphanous, red dress. The man looked up at her and, if Talia had been a more adventurous woman, she might have taken the man’s look as a dare. It almost felt as if he were challenging her to come down the stairs, to try and tempt him.
But she wasn’t a temptress and her dress wasn’t nearly as revealing as that man obviously preferred.
“Don’t go!” Cary whined again. “We’ll find another other club. There are hundreds!”
Talia lifted a hand, stopping the others from chiming in. “No, you ladies stay and have fun. I have an early meeting tomorrow and need to get some sleep.”
Jessica giggled. “See, that’s the problem. Never schedule meetings before noon,” she told Talia with an earnestness that seemed…odd. Perhaps the light in Jessica’s eyes was caused by something more than alcohol and excitement?
Drugs repulsed Talia and she stepped away, tucking her clutch purse under her arm. “I’ll talk to you ladies soon,” she lied, air kissing each of them before turning away. Moving towards the circular stairs, she carefully made her way towards the exit. She was halfway down the staircase when she stupidly looked up, wanting just one more glimpse of the man.
He was watching her, his eyes telling her…to stay? Daring her to come to him?
Talia hesitated. That daring spark flared to life again. Should she do it? Should she walk over there, introduce herself and then…what? Take him to bed?
She shivered, just thinking about that possibility. His broad shoulders and flat stomach told her that the man was ripped. But falling into bed with a man the same night she met him? That was just stupid. Dangerously stupid.
Before she could do anything, another woman moved towards him and Talia knew that she needed to leave. That man wanted something she couldn’t give him. Oh, she wished she could be more like Orella, more daring and rash. Talia wished she could ignore the potential dangers, such as diseases and unanticipated pregnancies. Or the physical dangers of meeting a man and going to his place.
Unfortunately, Talia watched too many crime dramas. She’d seen too many episodes where the woman didn’t come out of those interactions with a smile.
Instead, she headed towards the exit, expecting her guards to follow. They’d been there all evening, inconspicuous and courteous, keeping their distance so that she could have “fun”.
As soon as they stepped out into the cool night air, she breathed a sigh of relief. The quiet was almost startling and she smiled when one of her guards hurried forward to open the door to the black SUV. Ducking inside, she settled into the seat, then leaned back against the soft leather, closing her eyes.
“Anywhere else tonight, Your Highness?” one of the guards asked.
Talia thought about Rachel, back in the hotel reading a book. That sounded…really nice. Glancing once more out the window, she shuddered as she noticed the long line of people waiting outside of the nightclub, shivering in their skimpy clothes as they waited for the burly bouncers to allow them entry.
She shook her head, grateful that she was heading away from that scene. “No. Just back to the hotel.” Talia needed to accept that she would most likely become the lonely spinster aunt to her brothers’ kids. She’d never have children of her own and she’d end up with ten cats as her family.
Santos watched the stunning woman descend the stairs, her gait remarkably elegant and refined. It was sexy as hell! Damn, he even liked her dress. As opposed to most of the women in the nightclub, who had clearly searched for the smallest, tightest dresses they could find, revealing all as if they were a candy shop offering up their temptations, the woman coming down the stairs was like a luxurious chocolate truffle, elegantly wrapped, but he knew what was inside would be far more fulfilling than the sugar coated candies.
He hadn’t looked for her tonight. In fact, just the opposite. His guards hadn’t been able to discover her identity earlier. It was almost as if she didn’t exist! No one at the hotel could tell them the identity of the woman with the dark hair and hazel eyes in the light, blue suit. She’d been stunning and tempting and…elusive.
After an intense day of back and forth with Prince Gaelen...and damn if Santos didn’t have a small bit of respect for the other guy now…he’d come to the nightclub in an effort to relax. A friend from college had opened the club a few months ago. Tonight had been the first opportunity to see it. Santos hadn’t anticipated that the silly women in the club would be drawn to his sense of isolation or whatever it was that lured them in. Perhaps he’d represented a challenge to them since he was simply standing here, sipping scotch and waiting for his friend to resolve some issue that had come up in the kitchen.
Sighing with irritation, he took another sip of the excellent scotch and wondered why he’d bothered to come tonight. The overhead lights were irritating and the music seeme
d to be a repetitive thumping that grew more irritating the longer it continued. Was there any deviation to the thudding sound? Was the person in charge of the music still here? Or had the guy simply set up an annoying, mechanical beat, then walked out, assuming that everyone in the club was too drunk to notice?
Coming here had been stupid idea, he now knew. He should have come to visit his friend during the day, before the lights had dimmed. But as he watched the mysterious woman walk down the stairs, Santos discarded his exasperation with the evening. She was coming towards him! The gorgeous woman from the hotel, the one that had been upstairs with her friends when he’d spotted her looking bored, had finally descended the stairs and was walking towards him! A serendipitous event, but one he wasn’t going to allow to slip away again.
“That’s her!” he snapped to his guards as she reached the bottom stair. She glanced over at him, almost as if she were tempted to come over to him. He watched her, willing her to do it, to come over and introduce herself. Even as he thought it, another woman slipped through his guards and plastered herself against him.
He gently pushed the woman away, trying to hide his disgust, and headed for the exit. That last look, he thought, had sealed her fate. He would find her, woo her, and seduce her until her body and mind were filled with pleasure. Then he would finally be able to get her out of his mind.
That was the plan, at least. The reality was that she was more elusive than he’d anticipated. By the time he’d extricated himself from the woman, slipped through the crowd, and made it to the door, she had disappeared once again.
“Damn it!” he growled, his hands fisting at his sides as he looked up and down the empty street. That was twice now that she’d slipped away.
“Go talk to her friends upstairs,” he ordered his guards in a deadly tone. “Find out who she is!”
Immediately, one of his guards headed back into the nightclub while the rest called for his driver. The limousine moved smoothly to the curb and Santos got in the back, still fuming that she’d gotten away.
Chapter 3
Talia smothered a yawn as she stepped into the back of the SUV the following morning. “Thank you,” she muttered to her guards and smiled at Rachel, who was already on her phone while typing madly on her laptop. As the SUV pulled away, maneuvering through the heavy downtown traffic, she thought of the mysterious man from yesterday. He’d been so…hard and…feral. Why did that one word keep coming to mind? What was it about him that made her think that he was like a caged, wild animal?
She smiled, shifting against the black, leather seat. He was feral, she thought. Her brothers were similar, but not quite as dangerous. At least, in her mind, her brothers weren’t dangerous. But she was their little sister and…okay, they got pretty “feral” when they thought she was doing anything dangerous.
Was that why she was so conservative? Was she trying to please her brothers, to keep them from worrying? Or was it just in her nature to be conservative? She didn’t like to think that. She wanted to be wild and crazy, daring and…!
Unfortunately, she simply wasn’t wild or crazy. She was mostly a homebody, loving her work as the head of public services for Izara. She liked being in bed at a reasonable hour. She liked sleep and routines and the company of her family more than going out at night to meet new people in the hope that they might be “the next best thing”.
The SUV pulled smoothly to a stop outside of a traditional school building. Talia stepped out and looked around, smiling at the trees and the bushes. There were weeds in the gardens, but not a lot. Obviously, someone took great care in the image of this building.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” Beth Stricture greeted her as soon as Talia walked up to the door. “It is a huge pleasure to meet you and have you attend our conference.”
Talia took the woman’s hands in both of hers. “Please, call me Talia. And it’s really my honor to attend this meeting and hear the innovative ideas your people have discovered to make the classroom a better environment for learning. I know that many inner city kids struggle because of their less than advantageous home life. I’m eager to hear how you’ve overcome these issues.”
Beth’s smile was relieved and Talia noticed the woman’s shoulders relax slightly with Talia’s invitation to informality.
“Thank you so much, Your…Talia,” she corrected. “Per your request, I’ve kept your identity a secret as much as possible. Please, come in and I’ll introduce the first speaker. This conference has some truly innovative ideas.”
“Excellent,” Talia smiled, then turned to follow the principal into the auditorium. “I’ll sit in the back and listen. Thank you!”
Beth smiled with a nod as Talia settled into a hard, wooden chair at the back of the nineteen-fifties style auditorium. There were perhaps a hundred other guests sitting in the rows of identical wooden chairs, the kind that sports stadiums used as well. They were connected to each other at the base so that wiggling, uninterested students couldn’t shift the chairs around. They were about the most uncomfortable chairs she’d ever sat in. But Talia relaxed as Beth walked onto the stage, moving over to the brightly lit podium.
“Good morning everyone and thank you for coming to this latest edition of our fifth annual “Innovation Conference”. We have several teachers here today who are eager to convey their successes, and also their failures, to you. We know that successes are what we’re most interested in,” she started out. “But sometimes, failures can lead to new and better ideas. New waves of creativity. Which is why we don’t want to think of them as failures. Instead, we’re calling them evolutions that aren’t quite finished.” The audience laughed and Talia took out her notebook, eager to take notes.
“Stop!” Santos ordered, causing the SUV to swerve to the curb, cutting across several lanes. Horns blared and his guards swiveled around in their seats.
“That’s her!” Santos said, sitting up as he watched the elegant woman in a pair of tan slacks, white blouse, and an elegant, muted scarf walk into a building. Looking around, he was startled to realize that she’d walked into a school. Was she a mother? Did her children attend this school? The official beside her looked to be someone in authority. Was her child in trouble?
“We’re going there,” he announced, pointing to the school entrance. “Contact Prince Gaelen and let him know that I’ll be late this morning.”
Immediately, his aide pulled out his phone and started dialing while the driver pulled into the school, coming smoothly to a stop by the entrance.
Two guards stepped out to check the neighborhood while another three moved into the building, obviously searching for threats.
Santos stepped out of the SUV and looked around, buttoning his suit coat as he took in the old-style building. Several students peered curiously out of high windows, but not seeing anything interesting, they moved on.
Stepping into the large, tiled school lobby, he looked around. One of his guards nodded towards several sets of double doors.
“She’s in the auditorium, Your Highness. There is a conference about inner city kids and education.”
Santos nodded, wondering if she was a teacher. It would make sense, but the clothes she wore seemed too expensive for a schoolteacher. The profession was perpetually underpaid and schools always underfunded. It was something he planned to change in Padar as soon as he could focus on that aspect of improving the country. Hence, his need to get this peace treaty finalized with…Santos pushed Prince Gaelen from his mind, preferring to concentrate on his mystery woman.
Besides, perhaps he would learn something in this meeting that he could take back to Padar in addition to learning the name of the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind since yesterday.
Stepping into the auditorium, he paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light. The stage was lit up as someone talked about test scores and graduation rates. Looking around, he allowed his eyes to skim across the backs of the people inside. When he sensed movement to his righ
t, he looked there. In the last row, sitting alone, was the woman! And she was staring at him.
Finally!
He moved towards her and knew the exact moment when she stopped breathing. Staring up at him, he captured her gaze, willing her to…what? Talk to him? Not likely. Not in this setting.
Talia held her breath as the extremely tall man sat down in the chair next to her. Every cell in her body was aware of him, every muscle tense, waiting for...something. She wanted him to speak so that she could hear his voice, praying that his voice was as deep as she imagined, as deep as it had been in her dreams last night.
But he didn’t speak. Instead, he turned and looked straight ahead, paying strict attention to the speaker. Once again, Talia had the sense that she should know him, but her mind wouldn’t function. She was too overwhelmed, too astounded by his size and his presence.
“Who…?”
“Shh!” he whispered, not moving his head.
Talia quieted, amused at his shushing. Had he really done that? She couldn’t remember anyone shushing her since she’d left for college! Her tutors hadn’t even shushed her. She’d been too quiet and intense during her lessons, loving knowledge and eager to learn more. Okay, maybe not very focused during her math classes, of course. She’d truly hated math, but had eventually figured out how to get through it.
Turning back to the speaker, she smothered a smile and sank down a bit lower in her chair. Unfortunately, she was too aware of the man sitting next to her, of his long legs and strong thighs. His elbow rested on the armrest beside her, causing his body to lean towards hers slightly. His shoulders were already so broad, but the angle of his body caused those shoulders to invade her personal space.
Not that she minded. Not in the least, she thought. In fact, Talia leaned slightly closer still, silently inhaling the clean, masculine scent of him, the citrus aftershave and…just the maleness of him. He smelled amazing!
The Sheik's Scandal (The Raminar Family Book 3) Page 2