Leave, she told herself once again.
But she didn’t. She sat at her desk, her fingers trembling so hard that she couldn’t even type. So she just rested her fingers on the keyboard and waited.
Giselle jumped when she heard a sound outside of her office. He was here! He was…
Not here!
The man standing in her doorway was a lot shorter than Prince Jaffri and definitely didn’t have the glorious shoulders of her-prince-who-wasn’t-her-prince.
“Ms. Giselle Jones?” the man asked, bowing ever so slightly.
“Yes,” she replied, trying to swallow her disappointment. Prince Jaffri wasn’t coming. The man had a country to run after all. A whole freaking country!
She tried to tamp down her disappointment. The man had a lot of responsibility on his broad shoulders. Taking an hour or so out of his night, every night, to talk to her wasn’t realistic. Prince Jaffri was an important man. He had important things to do and didn’t have time to chit chat with a junior member of the hospitality staff.
“A message, ma’am,” the man explained, extending an envelope with her name written on it in a strong hand.
Her fingers trembled as she took the note, painfully aware of the man still standing in her office, watching her.
“Change of venues,” the bold script read. “Come to my office tonight.”
Oh my! The words, the implication…Her thoughts jumped from one possibility to another at light speed.
Giselle folded the note and took a deep breath. He wanted her to come to his office? Why? What was wrong with her office? She felt much more comfortable in her office. More in control.
But why would she need to be in control? It wasn’t like the man wanted to…well, she wished that he would! She smoothed her hands down the sides of her black pencil skirt. She’d worn it today in anticipation of another nightly conversation with Jaffri. The material wasn’t too tight, but it curved around her figure, making her feel feminine and pretty. The white, silk blouse fluttered about her waist and wrists with loose sleeves, but it still buttoned all the way up to her neck. It was sweetly romantic and had made her feel good all day.
But…she’d worn the skirt knowing that she’d be behind her desk and Jaffri wouldn’t see her skirt! She’d felt good around her co-workers, had even received compliments from others. But would Jaffri think she’d worn it just for him? It was true, but she didn’t want him to know that! He might think that…perhaps that she wanted…
Okay, where had that thought come from? She didn’t want anything from Prince Jaffri.
Oh, the lies she told herself! Yeah, she wanted a lot from Prince Jaffri. Every night, she’d gone back to her dark, tiny apartment fantasizing about kissing the man. And a whole lot more. For the past several nights, she’d dreamed about him making love to her. The dreams had been so erotic, so intense, she’d woken up sweating, breathless, and with the sheets tangled around her legs.
This was bad, she thought to herself.
“Ma’am?” the tall man asked curiously, pulling her out of her chaotic thoughts.
She looked up from the note, staring at the man for a long moment. “Right,” she replied, unaware of how ragged her breathing had become. “He wants me to come to his office.”
The man must have been aware of the note’s contents since he only tilted his head slightly. “I’m to escort you to His Highness’ office, ma’am.”
Not just a note, but an escort? Crazy! She’d never been escorted anywhere.
A thought occurred to her. Why did she need an escort?
“Ma’am?” he questioned again.
Sheesh! Apparently, escorts were the impatient sort.
Grabbing her purse and tote bag, she figured she’d just leave from his office tonight. It was really time to start protecting herself. From the way her mind was working, she was becoming too wrapped up in this man. There was no possibility of a future with a guy in his position, so she needed to tell him tonight that she couldn’t have these little chats anymore. She’d tell him…that she’d gotten a dog and needed to hurry home each night to feed the dog. Or a cat. Maybe it would be better to get a cat. Weren’t cats independent? She wouldn’t have to walk a cat, right? Maybe her brother could give her some insight. She wasn’t completely sure, but as she followed her escort down the long hallways, moving away from the security of her office towards the royal administrative offices, she debated cat versus dog ownership and which would make the better lie. As she turned the corner and saw how busy the administrative offices were, she wondered stupidly if anyone actually owned a cat. Wasn’t there something about how cats owned people and not the other way around? It was easier to mentally debate cat psychology rather than figure out what was about to happen.
It was intimidating, to say the least. And when the heavy, wooden doors to the prince’s office opened, she hesitated once again. She shouldn’t walk into that office, she told herself. She should just walk away and go home. Get a cat.
“Giselle!” Jaffri’s voice echoed from inside the office.
She couldn’t see him, but his bellow sparked her temper and that temper jerked her feet forward. She wasn’t aware of the doors closing behind her. She only had eyes for the man standing by a sitting area filled with leather couches, two crystal glasses in hand.
Her mind went abruptly blank at the sight of him. His tie was gone, which wasn’t unusual for their evening conversations. But several buttons of his shirt were open, revealing tanned skin underneath. That definitely wasn’t normal!
Oh, she was in trouble!
“I shouldn’t be here,” she announced.
He chuckled. “You’re probably right,” he agreed as he moved closer, handing her one of the glasses filled with amber liquid. He took her bags, putting them on the floor beside one of the leather club chairs, took her hand and led her to the leather sofa. “But since you are here, why not enjoy a drink?”
Giselle stared down at her drink, trying to come up with words that would explain how she was feeling. It was difficult but…she had to say them.
“Your Highness…”
“I thought we agreed that you would use my name.”
She glanced up at him, her free hand tucking her dark curls behind an ear. “Yes, well, about that…”
“You’re more nervous than usual tonight, Giselle. What’s wrong?”
She pressed her lips together, trying to figure out how to say it. “Here’s the thing,” she started out again. “You’re a prince.” Mentally, she rolled her eyes. He was fully aware of his royal status. Duh!
“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked.
She smiled slightly, and shook her head, unaware of how her curls danced around her features when she did so. “Yes, well, you’re an incredibly attractive prince and I’ve sort of…well,” she hesitated, looking away from him. Standing up, she put the drink down on the coffee table and moved away, toward the far end of the room. Looking back at him, she was glad that he was still sitting on the leather sofa. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I’ve sort of…lost my head over the past few days.”
“Lost your head how?” he asked, leaning back against the leather sofa. His arms were spread out wide and she idly wondered if he did that on purpose. Was he aware of how big the movement made him? Were all men aware of their size?
He started to stand up, but she held her hands out, indicating that he should stay where he was. “I need to get this out.” She breathed a sigh of relief when he relaxed back against the sofa. “Here’s the deal. You’re gorgeous, sexy, hilarious, incredibly charming and…” she shook her head with a self-deprecating sigh. “Well, I’ve really enjoyed our evening conversations.”
“I have too.”
She smiled briefly, ignoring the annoying flutter in the region of her heart with his words. “Right. Well, I’ve sort of, well, lost my common sense over the past few days.”
His eyes narrowed and she felt the muscles in her stomach tighten. “You’
ve already implied that. Lost your head and your common sense…how?”
Biting her lip, she took another step backwards. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just better if I…”
He stood up and came towards her. “Giselle, answer my question.”
Just like the bellow a few minutes earlier, his command sparked her temper and she glared up at him, trying to ignore the silly tingles that filled her abdomen.
“You know, you have a bad habit of being a bit too dictatorial.”
His husky laughter only increased her trembling. She tried to back up as he approached, but her feet weren’t cooperating.
“It comes with the territory,” he replied. “Did you eat dinner yet?”
Her chin jutted out stubbornly as she nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. What did you eat?”
She tried to step back again, but the leather chair was behind her now. “I had dinner in the palace cafeteria over an hour ago.”
He reached out, wrapping a curl around his finger. “You purposely ate dinner before I came to your office, didn’t you?”
Damn, he was on to her. “Yes,” she admitted. No harm in telling him that.
“Because you didn’t like the meals I’d provided for you?”
She started to shake her head, but froze since his finger was still wrapped in her hair. It took all of her concentration to not turn her head so that she could feel the warmth of his hand against her cheek. Oh goodness, that would feel incredible!
“Giselle, what did you eat for dinner tonight?” he asked, his voice soft and low.
She couldn’t remember. Not while his hand was there, so close. Bits of the dreams she’d had over the past several nights flooded her mind. She wanted to feel his hand, to know what it was like when he touched her!
Danger! She opened her eyes, not even aware that she’d closed them, and looked up at him. Taking in a deep breath…
Oh, that was a mistake because he was so close and that breath was filled with his male scent. Worse, he smelled incredibly good!
“Your Highness, I need to go.”
“You need to stay,” he countered.
She laughed softly, his arrogance…well, it was just a part of him. She understood that.
“I shouldn’t.”
He didn’t say another word, but that hand moved lower, sliding around her neck. She felt the pressure, and was overwhelmed by the heat, the incredible feeling of his hand finally against her skin. It was better than she’d imagined it might be!
Then he was kissing her! Oh, the sweetness of it! He tasted like the finest scotch, but better! When his tongue touched hers, she gasped, and he pulled her closer. Giselle wasn’t aware of her arms wrapping around his neck. She was only aware of him. His kiss. The heat of his hard body as she pressed closer, needing to feel him.
Her head was spinning as she leaned into him. A part of her mind realized that his hands were on her back, then lower as he lifted her, but she wasn’t thinking in words. It was too much and yet, not enough. Her dreams had nothing on reality! He kept going, his head tilting to deepen the kiss and she still needed more. Angling her head, she lifted up onto her toes, wanting more. Needing to feel this moment more deeply, to savor the taste, the touch, the feel of him, she slid her fingers into his hair, wanting to get closer somehow.
There was a distant ringing in the background that she wanted to ignore. She couldn’t figure it out, but it grew louder and louder. Finally, he lifted his head, staring down at her as they both looked into each other’s eyes, breathing heavily.
“Your phone is ringing,” he told her.
Giselle continued to look up into his eyes, trying to figure out what a phone was and why she should care about it. Kissing him again, that was important. Everything else could…
“OH!” and she jerked out of his arms.
Looking around, she noticed her bag had toppled over, spilling her phone out on the floor. “Oh no,” she groaned, realizing who was calling.
It was even worse when Jaffri bent down to pick up the phone, looking at the caller identification on the screen. “Who is ‘Don’t Cuss’?” he asked, “And why is their ring tone the theme song to ‘Bad to the Bone’?”
Giselle grabbed for the phone but he simply lifted it higher, out of her reach. “That’s my phone!” she told him, jumping to reach it, but he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him again. She was shocked by the contact and wanted to just stand there, savoring the sensations. But another round of “Bad to the Bone” started up and she frowned worriedly up at his hand, way up high above her head.
“Please. If I don’t answer that…” Giselle shuddered, just thinking about the repercussions.
He laughed softly. “Am I correct in guessing that this is someone in your family?” he asked softly.
Giselle nodded, a bit hypnotized by his look. “My oldest brother, Reid.”
“So…” the phone stopped ringing at that point and Giselle’s panic increased. “Oh no,” she whispered. The silence was too loud and she looked up at Jaffri as if he could hide her somewhere.
“I take it your brother isn’t one who is okay with being ignored,” he commented.
Giselle shook her head. “No. He’s big and annoying and runs his own company so he thinks he can boss everyone around, including me.” She looked at him as if to say, “sound familiar?” and then focused back on her panic. “I have to go,” she sighed, snatching her phone before bending down to pick up her purse and tote. “I’ll…” she almost said, “I’ll see you later!” but that probably wasn’t the case. So she just shook her head and walked out of his office, hurrying down the hallway to the employee exit.
Giselle rushed out of the palace, dashing towards her car. Starting the engine, she focused all of her attention on maneuvering out of the employee parking lot. She lived relatively close to the palace, so it took her only a few minutes to drive to her apartment.
When she was safely inside, Giselle walked around, flipping on all of the lights. Only then did she hit the button that would call her brother back.
“Where have you been?” Reid demanded.
Giselle smiled, reassured by his demand. If he was angry, his voice would be softer, more threatening. She’d heard that voice many times during her high school years. Or when she’d stolen one of his toys in retaliation for something he’d done to her during their childhood years. But Reid had perfected that tone over the years. Not that she was intimidated by Reid. But she was in an odd situation. Reid not only had the protective instincts of a big, bad, older brother, but he had the financial resources to jump onto his jet and come find out what was going on in his little sister’s life. She needed to keep him away until she figured out what was going on in her life.
“Good morning to you, brother dear,” she said, knowing that there was a twelve hour time difference in Denver, Colorado where Reid lived.
“Don’t even start, Giselle. Why are you out of breath?”
She laughed. “Because I ran up the stairs, eager to call you back.”
There was a long silence and she knew that her big brother was trying to decide if he believed her or not. “So, you’re okay?” he asked, the concern coming through.
Another smile and she put her feet onto the coffee table in front of her. “I’m more than fine. What are you up to?” she asked softly, feeling her big brother’s love. “And how are Brent and Mack doing? Are they behaving?” Her other brothers were just as annoying and she loved all of them.
“Do they ever?” he teased and they both laughed as she caught up on the latest family squabbles. Reid and Brent ran a massive cosmetics company that they’d created out of nothing. Anytime someone asked why two men had started a cosmetics company, they laughed, saying that they knew what they liked on women and marketed that to the world. Mack was the loner in their family and was a sheriff in a small town up in the mountains of Colorado. He loved being outdoors and couldn’t stand the thought of working in an office environme
nt. She loved all three of them, but had gone halfway around the world to have her own space. Her brothers were just that…overwhelming and intrusive and loveable and…well, annoying and wonderful and irritating. All three of them lived life in a huge way, taking on every challenge that came their way. They were big men and took on big adventures. Yeah, it was better that she had her own life, even if it was a bit…weird lately.
Later that night as she stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, she wondered what would have happened if Reid hadn’t interrupted tonight. Would she have…?
Giselle had no idea. There was just something about Jaffri, something different about him. But how many other women had thought the same thing? No, it was better if she just…avoided any further contact with the man. Tonight had been too close.
Chapter 4
Just one more mile, she promised herself. Pushing up the hill, she ran towards the corner by the big boulder. Just up ahead, a copse of pine trees was her goal, her breath came faster as the incline increased. She felt her feet hit the dirt and pushed harder. Glancing at her watch, she timed it, pushing even harder. Giselle took a deep breath and leaped over a pile of rocks, then kept going.
When a certain handsome prince tried to enter her mind, she pushed herself harder. “Don’t even think about him,” she admonished herself. “Just focus on the run!”
For weeks now, if she wasn’t hosting a social event at the palace, Jaffri would come to her office at the end of the day and they would talk. Sometimes about politics, sometimes just about life. Their conversations were wonderful and she loved every moment with him. Thankfully, she hadn’t been back to his office. That one time had been a bit too…everything.
But their relatively innocent conversations were setting herself up to be hurt. This was ridiculous! At first, it had only been a mild flirtation, nothing to concern herself with. But their conversations were more intense now. And every day, she looked forward to talking with him, relaxing with him. Just being with him!
Shaking her head, she pushed herself harder, running faster up the rugged mountain path. Focus just on breathing, on pushing harder, going faster. She could do this, she told herself. She could…
The Desert Prince's Bride (The Sheiks of Altair Book 2) Page 3