Easier said than done! She’d woken up this morning on fire, barely able to catch her breath after the intensely erotic dream. Those flames of desire were overwhelming enough that she’d grabbed her running clothes and raced out the door, needing to exorcise the man from her psyche.
So far, it wasn’t working. Trying not to think about him, about that dream, and what she’d done to him…what he’d done to her! Well, it was a bit like trying to ignore the giant, pink elephant in the room. She could ignore it for as long as possible, but eventually, she’d have to confront the issue.
Not today though, she thought, straining to go even faster. Today, she was going to focus on running as hard and as fast as she could. Then she was going to focus on work. She’d rushed out of his office last night, worried that her brother might get on a plane to fly here when she didn’t answer the phone – and terrified by her flood of feelings for Jaffri. She wanted…she wanted to feel his hands all over her body. She wanted to know what he tasted like, how he touched, and she wanted to let her fingers explore every inch of his body!
None of that was possible! First of all, she wasn’t here to have an affair with Prince Jaffri. She was here to plan social events that could further the priorities for the government of Altair. It was both a fun and incredibly detail-oriented job. One small mistake, simply seating someone next to the wrong person, could create an international scandal.
As she entered the copse of trees…she was ambushed! A steel arm wrapped around her waist and, before she could even squeak out a protest, another hand covered her mouth. The hard body against her back was terrifying!
Panicked, Giselle fought with everything she had! She was already hot and sweaty, which worked to her advantage since the hands had trouble holding her.
Suddenly, through the haze of fear, she heard a familiar voice, “Ease up, kitten. I’m not going to hurt you.”
It couldn’t be…! She peeked over her shoulder. Sure enough, startling blue eyes were staring back at her but she didn’t recognize the features immediately. The camouflage covering his skin made his features oddly strange but…as she narrowed her eyes, she realized that Prince Jaffri was her attacker.
She wiggled again, still trying to get out of his grip, but his arms only tightened around her. “Be still,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you. But you’re about to mess up a trap!”
Giselle had no idea what he was talking about. A trap? What kind of trap? And why was he out in the middle of nowhere? She ran this route every morning and there was never anyone out here.
She tried to turn around, to glare up at him, but he wouldn’t release her. Even a slight jerk of her arms tightened his grip. “Just a few more moments, kitten. It will all be over.”
Giselle waited, furious with him. If this was some stupid military exercise, she wasn’t amused or impressed. She wanted to finish her run. She had less than an hour before she needed to be at the palace and this was just a silly…
The popping sound caught her attention, breaking through her mental tirade. Wide eyed, she looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. In that moment, everything was quiet, no more popping sounds, just the absolute stillness of the air. Not even the birds were chirping. She tried to quiet her breathing. She even crouched down, scooting backwards, pressing her back against Jaffri’s chest.
She’d thought it was just her and the prince, but a moment later, there were men everywhere and a small explosion sounded off to her right. Flames leapt upwards and she cringed away from the violence, flames, and a shockwave. Men and women were shouting, guns pointed out towards the pile of rocks…
Giselle gripped the only solid object left in her world, unaware that she had backed between Jaffri’s thighs, her fingers digging into the fabric of his pants. This was so far removed from her normal world, she didn’t know how to handle it.
Thankfully, it was all over quickly. The explosion was minimal and, after a lot of shouting, four men were on the ground, their hands behind their heads while the men and women in black cargo pants and shirts pointed guns at them. When the chaos calmed, the men’s hands were cuffed with those plastic zip tie thingys she saw police use on television and all of them were carted away.
Giselle pushed back against the steel security of the man who was holding her.
“Are you okay?” that deep voice asked, his strong hand uncovering her mouth. His arms didn’t loosen around her body and…okay, Giselle was grateful for the support. Besides, he felt, and smelled, really good and she was more than a little wobbly after that explosion!
She shivered, hyperaware of the man now that the danger had passed. She took a slow deep breath before answering.
“I’m fine,” she lied, not sure she would ever be fine again. She was trembling so hard, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop. “Why were they up here?” she asked. “What were they doing? Why are you arresting them?”
Jaffri relaxed his hold on her waist, but didn’t release her completely. “They were selling illegal weapons to the enemy,” he explained. Turning her around, he continued to hold her steady, his hands wrapped around her waist. Jaffri could tell that she was too shaken up to stand on her own just yet. After another moment, as she watched the men being led down the mountain, he pulled her into his arms. He only meant to comfort her and hide her face from the gunrunners, but he couldn’t help but recognize how right she felt in his arms.
He called out orders to his men, then picked her up and carried her deeper into the woods, away from the commotion. He sat down behind a boulder, leaning back against it as he settled Giselle in his lap. For a long time, they just sat there, her face hidden against his warm neck. When she finally took a deep breath and pulled away, he looked down into her beautiful green eyes. “You okay now?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I just….” She gave up, realizing her voice revealed how not-okay she was.
When her chin trembled, he growled, feeling protective and frustrated that she’d inadvertently put herself in danger. “What are you doing out here anyway?” he demanded, anger overcoming the unexpected rush of fear through his gut.
She pulled back, standing up on still-shaky legs as her temper flared. With her hands on her hips, she glared down at him, glad that he was still sitting on the rock so she was finally above him. “I run up this mountain every morning! Why were those men up here? Why are you up here?”
“I’m here because they’re here. And they are here because there’s a cave around the next corner where an entire cache of weapons was found, packaged and ready for pickup.”
She peered down the barely-there trail in the direction he’d pointed, leaning around his broad shoulders. “Weapons?” she whispered. The impact of what had just happened this morning was starting to sink in now.
“Yes! And you were just about to run into the bad guys, Giselle. What were you thinking?’
She saw red. “I was thinking about morning sunshine and exercise!” she told him, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelieving rage. “I was thinking that I run this route every morning. Silly me for not realizing that something bad would happen on this particular morning! My prophetic powers must be a bit off!”
He would have laughed at her wit, but he was still too angry with her for putting herself in danger. “From now on, you’ll exercise in the palace gym.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he pointed a finger at her. “No arguments, understand?”
Giselle was ready to punch him. Could he be more demanding? “No, it isn’t clear. Why would I need to exercise in the gym? I don’t like exercising in the gym. I prefer to be outside, where I can breathe in the clean, fresh air and get a bit of vitamin D from the sunshine!”
“Tough!” he snapped.
She sputtered, disgusted with his pigheadedness. If she could calm down, she’d realize that both of them were coming down off the adrenaline and fear of the past few minutes, but she was furious he thought he could simply order her around. “I�
�m not running in your stinky gym,” she growled back. “I’m running when and where I want to.” She glared up at him, blinked, and added, “Your Highness.” It wasn’t her fault the title came out sounding a bit sarcastic. He was being an ass and she was…well, she was still shaking from that explosion. And the gunfire. And…his arms wrapped around her, just like he’d been doing in her dream last night. Yeah, that had been a bit too real.
“Think so?” he demanded and she noticed that he was clenching his teeth. Did that stop her? Nope. Did the vein throbbing on his forehead slow her down? Unfortunately, no.
“Yeah. I think so! And what’s more, I don’t think there’s anything you can do about it. When it comes to my work, you’re in charge. But when I’m on my own time, I can do what I want and there’s no way I’m working out in a gym when the world is such a huge, beautiful place filled with sunshine and…”
He cut her off with a kiss.
Giselle gasped when his tongue invaded, teasing hers, daring her to kiss him back. Never one to back down from a challenge, even when it was in her best interests, Giselle grabbed onto his ears and pulled him lower, all of her fears falling away as he pulled her closer, lifting her against his hard body and she pressed against him, sighing as his kiss pushed all thoughts out of her mind, leaving only Jaffri, his kiss, his touch, the shocking wave of desire of feeling him like this. A small part of her knew that this was wrong on so many levels. This was the crown prince, after all. And she was an assistant to an assistant. Intellectually, she knew that kissing him was the absolute worst thing in the world to do. They could never have a future together. But her intellect wasn’t working. Not when his hand slid underneath her shirt, and his other hand cupped her bottom, pressing his erection against her belly.
All her anger fizzled with shocking sensations as he deepened the kiss. She heard someone whimper and she might have wondered what animal was creeping up on them. Never would she have believed that the sound had come from her.
When he lifted his head, she could barely catch her breath. She’d been huffing and puffing the last little way up the side of the hill, but this was gasping. Giselle couldn’t get enough oxygen as she stared, dumbstruck, up into his blue eyes.
She suddenly realized that she was clinging to him and released him, still staring at him as she tried to figure out what had just happened.
But that intellect was long gone. So, instead of saying something pithy or humorous, something a more experienced woman would do to pretend that kissing a man in the middle of a military operation was a normal occurrence, Giselle simply spun around and ran back down the hill, praying that she didn’t fall flat on her face considering how badly her knees were wobbling.
Oh, wasn’t that just perfect, she thought in frustration as she sped up. Giselle wasn’t really sure what she was doing, other than running away from a man that…terrified her.
She heard him yell her name, but that only forced her feet to move faster. She had to get away, to run as far away from this scene as she possibly could. It was imperative that she return to the safety of her apartment. It might be tiny, but it was filled with her stuff. Her stuff that represented sanity and common sense. Things that she understood. Then she would be able to breathe.
Because kissing the crown prince of Altair simply didn’t make sense!
Jaffri watched with increasing fury as Giselle hurried away from him. Every part of his anatomy was aching, desperate for release. But only for Giselle. Hell, even his toes were turned on!
And she was running! He’d just told her that she would be working out in the gym going forward and for some reason, she was defying him! She was literally running away from him! Not towards the gym!
Oh, he was going to enjoy paddling that cute backside, he thought as he watched said backside bounce down the hill. Yeah, he was going to show her she couldn’t run away from him. The sexy, slender beauty thought he didn’t have the authority to tell her what she could do?
She had no idea what his authority could accomplish! Starting with spanking that cute butt!
An hour later, he stormed down the hallway of the palace administrative offices. He was still so furious, he could barely see straight, and everyone knew it. Any other time, he might be amused by the way people hurried to get out of his way, but one tempting, enticing, obnoxious, and overly bold woman was…
Here. Said woman was standing in front of him, her tiny office feeling ridiculously tighter than ever. Her boss was with her but he only snapped, “Get out!” and glared at the woman in question as her boss scurried out of her office. When it was just the two of them, he slammed her office door and stalked around the desk, like a panther on the hunt.
His eyes glanced down at her sharp, black slacks but the red cotton sweater only fired his temper more since it hugged her breasts lovingly. Exactly what he wanted to do!
“Don’t you ever run away from me,” he growled, lowering his head until their noses were mere centimeters apart. “And furthermore, I do, in fact, have the authority to tell you what you can and can’t do.”
She was intimidated, but not willing to show it. “You’re not my boss! No, you can’t!” she hissed, clenching her fists and shifting her stance slightly.
He took a single, deliberate step forward, pressing her back against the wall. “Wanna bet?” he challenged softly. This new tone was worse. Growling, she could understand. Whispering? Yikes!
“I’m not afraid of you.”
His smile was slow, increasing her awareness of her vulnerability. “You should be.”
Her eyes flared with resentment and she straightened her shoulders, but he was so close. “Why? Because you’re a big bully?”
He laughed, sending shock waves buzzing through her entire body. “Because I’m in charge of you in ways you still refuse to acknowledge,” he purred.
His words were hot and tantalizing. She was ashamed of how much this man turned her on and fought the feelings. “You are not!” she replied hotly, realizing that they weren’t talking about the chain of command now.
“Really? Shall we test your hypothesis?” he asked. Jaffri didn’t wait for an answer. He simply lifted a hand, sliding it around her waist. Then that hand went higher. Giselle held her breath, waiting for his hand to cup her breast. “Want to challenge me now, Giselle?” he murmured, his tone as smooth as silk. His surprisingly soft lips kissed her neck just below her ear and she shivered, loving and hating the sensation.
She was trembling again, but not from fear this time. Every cell in her body screamed for him to touch her more!
“Go away,” she ordered, or tried to, but the words came out as a whisper. More than a whisper, actually. More along the lines of a plea.
“Now, why would I do that?” he asked and that hand moved higher even while his mouth moved lower. She’d been waiting for him to kiss her, wanting it but afraid to ask for it. Asking might give him too much power and she’d given him too much already. She was unprepared when she felt his lips caress her throat. Her knees almost gave out as his lips teased the sensitive skin along her neckline. She wasn’t sure if he lifted her up and set her down on her desk to keep her from falling or so that he could further his explorations. But when his hands gripped her bottom, pressing her against his erection, she could only gasp and dig her fingers into his shoulders, hanging on for dear life as his mouth explored her neck, finding places that sent shivers throughout her body, places she never would have suspected would be sensitive.
The man was diabolical. Between his hands, his mouth, and the way he was rubbing against her, she was so lost, a second bomb could have exploded next to them and she probably wouldn’t have noticed. All she could do was hold on and pray that he didn’t stop!
When he did, she whimpered, her fingers fisting around his suit jacket.
She looked up at him, trying to figure out what was going on. “Why are you doing this to me?” she demanded, wanting to pull away from him but instead, her legs shifted, sliding up and down h
is hips. She even pressed her hips closer, trying to ease the almost unbearable tension that had come over her. She needed him in ways she barely understood.
His suddenly amused gaze moved over her features and Giselle had the feeling that her curls were out of control. Thankfully, he pulled back and straightened up. He adjusted his suit and then his pants, grimacing at the obvious erection that would announce to everyone what they’d been doing.
“Because…” he started to say something more, the words on the tip of his tongue but he caught himself. “Be in the gym tomorrow morning at six. I’ll make sure your body gets what it needs,” he promised with a smolder in his eyes before leaving the office.
Giselle stared after him, watching with astonishment and horror as his broad shoulders disappeared down the hallway.
She was still standing there, her mouth gaping open when her boss peeked carefully in, then rushed into the room once he was sure Jaffri had gone. “Are you fired?” Stephen demanded.
Giselle blinked blankly at him for a long moment before her brain restarted. “No, he didn’t fire me.”
Stephen waited impatiently, but when she continued to stare off down the hallway, he stepped back into her line of sight. “Okay, tell me what’s going on! You’re one of the best planners I’ve ever hired, but if you’re about to be fired, I need to know. I’ve been hearing rumors that some major stuff is coming our way.”
She blinked again, then focused on her boss. “I’m sorry…what?”
Stephen snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, trying to wake her up.
“Sorry,” she sighed and absently shifted some of the papers around on her desk. “Um…no. He didn’t fire me. He told me earlier this morning that he didn’t want me running around outside the palace.”
There was a long pause and Giselle cringed. It was such a revealing and oddly intimate detail. “Why are you running around?” he asked leadingly, leaning his hip against her desk and waiting patiently.
The Desert Prince's Bride (The Sheiks of Altair Book 2) Page 4