Chapter Four
“We’re fine.” Nicholas turned to Ericka, who looked as if she couldn’t decide whether to hide or flee or stay and meet his vibrant sister. She stayed.
With her cheeks pink, and a few dry wisps of hair peeking out from under the turban, Ericka looked less sophisticated, younger. Adorable. Shorter.
Shorter? Without her heels, she’d lost at least two inches of her height. Funny, how he thought of her as tall. She wasn’t, not really. He estimated her height at about five feet five inches, yet she still gave the appearance of tallness and strength. It wasn’t just her excellent posture that gave him that impression but her cool courage. The way she fearlessly met difficulties head on. He’d never forget that with bullets flying around her and a car bearing down on her, she hadn’t cowered but coolly noted the details, peeking through the hooves of the statue.
Even now, he knew her sharp mind was noting details about Tashya. He was eager to read what she wrote about him, his people and his country and yet reluctant because he might be disappointed.
Quickly, he introduced the two women, curious to see their reactions to one another. “Ericka Allen, I’d like you to meet my sister, Princess Tashya Zared.”
Ericka held out her hand.
“You’re almost family.” Tashya ignored the American’s outstretched hand, kissed Ericka on both cheeks and then the mouth. Nicholas had to give Ericka credit. She adjusted as easily as a diplomat to the Eastern European greeting and without a change of expression.
Tashya, immaculately dressed in riding attire, took one look at Ericka’s wet clothes and went into one of her typical tirades. “I heard you two went for a swim. Ericka, thank goodness you saved Nicholas when he slipped in that fountain or he might have drowned.”
Ericka broke into an unguarded grin at Tashya’s exaggeration, and he couldn’t help wishing she’d smile so easily at him. “I would never allow the King of Vashmira to drown.”
Nicholas could tell the women were going to hit it off famously. Although he was pleased, he just knew he would be a convenient target. Tashya, alone, was a handful. She and Ericka ganging up on him, to use an American idiom, might be dicey. “Ladies, I do know how to swim, and even if I didn’t, the water was only up to our thighs.”
Tashya shook her head at him as if he’d just spouted nonsense. “But you’re wet up to your eyebrows, so your head went under. If she’d been weak and fainted, you would have stopped to carry her, which you would have no doubt enjoyed just as much as Alexander, although you would never admit it, especially—”
“Tashya.” He tried to make his voice stern.
Ericka’s grin widened, and she barely muffled a delighted chuckle.
“—since, she’s so gorgeous—”
“Thank you,” Ericka said, apparently quite pleased.
“—and even though you are strong, and she doesn’t weigh any more than me, you would have slowed down if you’d had to carry her, and then that car might have struck you and—”
“Slow down. We’re both fine, and somehow I don’t think Ericka is the fainting type.”
“Of course, she isn’t. Didn’t I just say that?” Tashya sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically. “But it’s rude of you to keep her standing there in wet clothes when she could be in a hot bath, or the sauna or on the beach soaking up the sun. Brother, where are your manners?”
“They must have drowned in the fountain.”
Tashya shrugged her elegant shoulders and spoke to Ericka as if he wasn’t there. “He thinks he’s funny, but he isn’t. He also works too hard, but I think you will be good for him, yes?”
Ericka shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“You see why I tried to marry her off?” Nicholas complained to Ericka without bothering to hide his affection for Tashya. His sister might be spoiled, might wear her emotions where all could see them, but her heart was pure. “I found her a perfectly good Moldovan prince and—”
“He had the breath of a horse.”
“She refused the man who would have made a fine ally for our country,” Nicholas argued.
“His castle smelled like pond scum.”
Nicholas shrugged. “My sister is a finicky woman.”
“I’m particular, aren’t you?” Tashya asked Ericka.
Ericka locked gazes with his sister, and they exchanged long knowing glances, clearly in complete agreement. Over what, he didn’t have a clue.
Ericka nodded and her makeshift turban fell off. “I’m very particular.”
Tashya fingered a wisp of Ericka’s hair. “Oh, I adore that particular shade of red. It’s rare in this part of the world.”
“In my part of the world, too. However if you want to try it, I brought an extra bottle.” Ericka admitted to dyeing her hair as easily as another woman might have to polishing her fingernails. Her openness surprised him. In his experience, for some reason, women seemed to want men to think they came by their looks naturally—a notion that made no sense to him. Ericka’s honesty seemed like a breath of fresh sea air.
However, before Ericka talked Tashya into dyeing her beautiful black hair auburn, Nicholas grabbed his impetuous sister by the arm. “Let’s allow my guest some privacy to take that shower.”
“Right.” Tashya looped her arm through Nicholas’ arm, nodded goodbye and spoke to Ericka over her shoulder on their way out. “Lunch is served in half an hour on the back terrace. Perhaps afterward, we can all go riding.”
His sister didn’t even wait for the door to shut behind them before she skipped a little. “I like her, Nicholas. She’s got a sense of humor. She’s not stuck up, and she has a brain.”
“How would you know? You didn’t let her get a word in edgewise.”
“Yes, but I read her file.” She squeezed his arm. “Did you know she interviewed Prince Charles? And Princesses Caroline and Stephanie? And Mel Gibson? I’ve read her stuff. She’s good, insightful. Now, she and I are going to be sisters.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. We just met today.”
“It’s going to work out, I just know it.”
“Really?” It always amazed him that his sister could so blithely believe that what she wanted to happen would happen. “The woman is only interested in her story, not me.”
Tashya started to say something, but stopped, a rarity for her. She gave him an odd look that he couldn’t read. “Then you’ll just have to convince her otherwise, won’t you? I’ve always wanted a sister. No offense to you and Alexander and our baby brothers, but it will be great to have another woman my age around here. Do you think she likes to ride? How about hiking? I could take her up into the village and—”
Accustomed to his sister’s enthusiastic chatter, Nicholas let her talk. He understood she often felt alone. Their father had adored and spoiled Tashya, who had grown up accustomed to having her own way. When his father married Sophia, she had tried to rein in Tashya’s stubborn exuberance—but with little success. His sister was much too adventuresome and too smart for the gentle Sophia to handle.
He feared he’d had less luck influencing his sister than their father. Maybe Ericka would be good for her. But with his luck, the two of them would mean double the trouble.
“Nicholas!”
“What?” They had reached his apartment, an entire wing in the summerhouse set aside for his use. Alexander and Tashya had their own apartments as did Sophia and the boys. His sister was looking at him impatiently as if he, too, wasn’t entitled to a hot shower and a change of dry clothes. He hadn’t been listening and wondered why Tashya’s face had turned so serious.
“I met Ira on the way here. He said the car that almost ran you over was found shortly after, abandoned. He traced the plates, and the car was stolen. No fingerprints which means—”
“Nothing. Someone could have been out for a joyride, gotten scared and—”
She drilled him with a serious sisterly stare. “Nicholas, don’t treat me as if I have no more brains than a dandelion.
That car was driven by a trained assassin, and we both know it.”
Sometimes with all her chatter, he forgot how smart his sister was. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I’d worry less if we knew the identity of the car’s driver.”
Tashya’s words sounded remarkably like those Ericka had said to him earlier. Although the two women looked nothing alike, although they came from different worlds, they both spoke with admirable conviction.
“What would you have me do?” he asked his sister. “I can’t exactly go into hiding and still run this country.”
“Just promise me that you’ll be cautious,” Tashya said.
Nicholas affectionately tugged a lock of her long, dark hair. “Count on it.”
ERICKA SHED HER WET clothes in the bathroom and turned on the golden water tap for the shower. She washed her hair, then plugged the drain. The luxurious tub filled quickly, and she poured in a liberal dose of bath crystals which bubbled invitingly and filled the room with a cinnamon aroma. With a deep sigh of satisfaction, she slid into the tub’s hot water and under the frothy bubbles until she was cocooned in warmth up to her neck, closed her eyes and let the heat soothe her.
After the close call in the park, Ericka’s mind had been filled with the possibility that she’d just witnessed another assassination attempt, so meeting Nicholas’ sister had been a delightful distraction. She’d liked Tashya at first sight, liked her exuberance, her sense of humor, and her openness. And she sensed a keen intelligence behind the woman’s charming playfulness. The obvious love and affection between brother and sister had been touching. Ericka had always known she’d missed a lot by being an only child. Now that her mother was gone, she noticed the lack more than usual. It would have been wonderful to have someone with whom to share childhood memories.
This rare reflective mood wouldn’t last long. Not when the present offered so many interesting possibilities. Nicholas hadn’t come right out and said the reason he’d invited her here was that he knew about their marriage contract, but he’d implied it. Although she thought him quite attractive, his agile mind sexy, she had no plans to stay in Vashmira. No intention of giving up her career or the life she’d worked so hard to achieve, even if she did sense a special awareness between them. She forced her tense muscles to relax in the warm bathwater, determined to continue to investigate and interview and write a series of articles, enjoy her stay here, leave, and remember the time fondly.
While she’d been in dangerous situations before, she hadn’t expected to remain so tense afterward and wondered if her unease had more to do with her feelings about Nicholas than the danger. He’s just a handsome man, she told herself. Relax. No one would disturb her since the palace security was first rate. She was safe.
“Is she dead?”
At the childlike voice, Ericka opened her eyes.
Oh God! She wasn’t alone.
Sternly, she consoled herself with the thought that palace assassins didn’t sneak around in the bodies of children. Two little boys stared at her. She slumped lower in the tub, crossed her arms over her breasts beneath the suds.
“She moved.”
The oldest child couldn’t be more than five, the other maybe three or a little younger. Dark-haired and dark-eyed, they stared at the mountain of foaming bubble bath that blanketed her completely. The taller child held the younger boy’s hand, leaned forward and squinted at her.
What should she say?
“I’m taking a bath,” Ericka explained the obvious, wondering where the duo came from and if they were Nicholas’ much younger brothers. From her research she’d learned that after Nicholas, Alexander and Tashya’s mother had died, King Zared I had married Sophia Varna, a native-born Vashmiran. Together they’d had three additional children, all boys. Unfortunately, Ericka’s files held only baby pictures, and she couldn’t be sure if these were the same children.
She smiled crookedly. “My name is Ericka Allen, can you tell me your names?”
“Dimitri.”
“Kita.”
So they were Nicholas’ brothers. Although it was difficult to discern their features through their chubby baby faces, she detected the merest suggestion of Nicholas’ strong chin.
“His real name is Nikita but he can’t say it yet,” Dimitri explained in unaccented English.
Nikita frowned at his brother but didn’t let go of Dimitri’s hand.
“Kita is a fine name,” Ericka told him. “So is Dimitri. Do you boys live here?”
“Nope,” Dimitri said.
Kita shook his head.
Now what? Ericka thought she had been doing so well. Although she hadn’t been around children often, she didn’t expect to feel so helpless. She imagined that someone was looking frantically for these little rascals, yet she didn’t want to shoo them away unattended. They were too young to wander about alone. However, she couldn’t reach the towel without revealing a lot of skin, and the bubbles covering her wouldn’t last forever.
“Are you lost?” she asked.
“No. Are you?” Dimitri said. Nikita placed the thumb of his free hand into his mouth and sucked contentedly.
“I was invited here,” Ericka explained as simply as she could. “Does your mother know where you are?”
At her question the two boys looked at one another and grinned. She might not be experienced with children, but their mischievous expressions revealed that these boys knew their mother was looking for them.
Dimitri turned back to Ericka. “Mother will find us.”
Kita took his thumb out to add, “Always does.”
“Ericka!” Nicholas’ voice carried to her from the bedroom.
She was trapped naked in the bathtub by a toddler and a five-year-old kid, and Nicholas would soon rush through the door. Why did such embarrassing moments happen to her? She’d always been so organized, now she felt as if she’d climbed a tree and had swung out onto a shaky branch and her stomach trembled at the thought of a fall.
The kids might be adorable, but the bubbles in her bath were alarmingly low, the water cooling and Nicholas’ footsteps fast approached.
Oh, God.
“Dimitri, could you hand me that towel, please?” she asked, then called out to Nicholas, “I’m in the bathroom. And I’m not alone. I’ve just made the acquaintance of two gentlemen by the names of Dimitri and Nikita. You wouldn’t be looking for them by any chance, would you?”
Just as Dimitri pulled the towel off its warming rack, Nicholas stuck his head through the doorway. He took in the missing boys and her predicament in a glance and his lips twitched. “What are you two doing in here?”
“Handing Miss Ericka her towel.”
Ericka whipped the towel from him, held it up like a shield and stood before wrapping it around her.
“I can see that.” Admiration warmed his tone. She believed she was completely hidden, as she stood holding the towel in front of her, but she’d forgotten the damn mirror.
While Ericka’s body was completely concealed from the boys’ sight, Nicholas’ gaze had seen her reflection. He must have gotten an eyeful of soapy flesh before she wrapped the thick terry cloth around herself, preserving her modesty if not restraining a blush.
Ericka had never been more appreciative of a giant-sized towel or felt so aware of her body. At the heat in Nicholas’ eyes, her breasts tightened. Damn it! This was not happening to her. She’d bathed in Japan in front of strangers and had thought nothing of it. She’d once followed the French fashion of sunbathing topless on a beach in Monaco. She wasn’t hung up on nudity. So why was she blushing like a schoolgirl?
Get a grip. When she did, she saw that Nicholas had turned his attention to Dimitri.
The boy didn’t seem the least perturbed by Nicholas’ frown of disapproval. A glance at the king, and she immediately knew why. He was too busy trying not to laugh at her predicament to discipline the kids.
Nicholas spoke over his shoulder. “Sophia, I’ve found them
.” To Ericka he said, “I’ve tried to convince her to hire a nanny but she insists on caring for the children herself.”
Sophia, King Zared I’s widow, was a thin, dark-haired woman with gorgeous skin, dressed in a simple but elegant blouse and skirt. She ducked past Nicholas and stood behind her sons. “I am so sorry. The baby was crying, and I turned my back on these two. They have a habit of exploring. I’m afraid privacy and security concerns don’t mean much to them yet.”
“It’s okay,” Ericka told her, thinking that even this luxurious bathroom couldn’t hold another soul. She was wrong.
Tashya barged in, followed by a tall man with dark hair who looked like a younger version of Nicholas. The second oldest brother, Alexander, blue eyes twinkling, carried a baby over his shoulder. Alexander took in Ericka’s wet hair, bare feet, the water draining from the tub and threw back his head and laughed.
Ericka realized there could be drawbacks to having a large family, too. She wasn’t accustomed to everyone talking about everyone or prying into one another’s business or sharing embarrassing moments.
Tashya elbowed Alexander in the gut. “This is not funny. Stop snickering at our guest before she decides she wants no part of this family.” Alexander paid no attention to his sister’s scolding. “You better be careful or she can retaliate in her newspaper, tell all the women you’ve taken a vow of celibacy perhaps,” she teased.
Was it just a half hour ago that Nicholas had sneaked Ericka through the private entrance so she wouldn’t have to meet his family in wet clothes? Now she stood before them dripping wet, in only a towel.
As if sensing her discomfort, but clearly trying to keep back a laugh himself, Nicholas gestured with his hand for his brother to go. “You can leave now.”
“Okay,” Alexander nodded agreeably, but he kept chuckling, and he didn’t move an inch, his broad shoulders blocking the doorway.
“Tashya, get our brother out of here,” Nicholas ordered with just a little more heat.
Tashya tugged on Alexander’s arm. He still didn’t budge. She let out an exasperated sigh. “In case you haven’t noticed, he’s bigger than me, and stronger than me, and more stubborn than me, and no doubt he will—”
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