What the Prince Wants

by Jules Bennett

  His eyes held hers, the muscle ticked in his jaw. “Are you ready to get sweaty?”

  Darcy swallowed, then took her own advice and tried to get a grip. Offering a smile, she said, “If you’re trying to keep this attraction on the backburner, I think you probably shouldn’t ask questions like that.”

  Laughing, Colin started to rise. “Just wanted to see the look on your face.”

  The man actually laughed. And there went that zing of desire shooting through her again, because a brooding Colin was sexy, but a smiling Colin was flat-out irresistible.

  Darcy came to her feet. “I’m sure I didn’t disappoint,” she joked.

  As Colin got his feet beneath him, Darcy took a step back. “So what are you recovering from?”

  Raking a hand through his hair, Colin sighed and shook his head. “A life I’ve left behind,” he muttered.

  Curiosity heightened, she wanted to know more about this mysterious man who’d so easily and swiftly captured her attention.

  “Tell me what your goal is,” he said, resting a hand on the rail of the treadmill. “Are you wanting to lose weight, tone up or just work on feeling better about yourself?”

  “All of the above.”

  A wide smile stretched across his face. The combination of those bright blue eyes and that knee-weakening smile could have any woman throwing all morals and professional behavior out the window.

  “Let’s get started,” he said, clasping his hands together.

  An hour later, Darcy was questioning her sanity and wondering why she’d let those sexy, dark-skinned muscles sway her judgment. How in the world did she think she could keep up? This man was obviously in shape and she was obviously...not.

  She resisted the urge to bend over and pull in much-needed air to her overexerted lungs.

  “Ready for more?” he asked, hands on his hips, devastatingly handsome smile on his face.

  She sent him a glare. “I’m not a masochist.”

  “You’re honest,” he replied, using his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his brow. “I prefer honesty.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  He moved over to the small refrigerator in the corner of the room and pulled out two bottles of water. After handing her one, they both uncapped the drinks and took long pulls. Water had never tasted so good.

  “So why the nanny business?” he asked, propping his foot upon a workout bench. His elbow rested on his knee, the bottle of water hung between two fingers. “Because you’re an amazing cook. Dinner was pretty damn delicious. All of the meals have been great, but tonight’s was my favorite.”

  Stunned and flattered at the compliment and his openness, Darcy screwed the lid back on her bottle. “I’ve never known anything other than taking care of children. I went to work with my grandmother every single day and fell in love. Cooking is a fun hobby and I love trying out new things. I guess if I weren’t a nanny, I’d like to be a chef or a caterer.”

  She’d quickly steered the conversation to cooking. Anything to avoid talking too much about babies. The facts that children of her own weren’t in her future and that anything she’d saved toward adoption had disappeared with Thad cut deep. Still, taking care of others was what she was meant to be doing, of that she was sure.

  “Hey.” Colin tipped his head to the side, searching her face. “You all right?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Darcy pushed a sweaty strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. “Just tired.”

  Pushing off the bench, Colin stalked closer, his focus solely on her. “Tomorrow we’ll do weights and skip cardio.”

  “Tomorrow?” she asked. “You mean we’re going to do this every day?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “Only if you want to. I’m here every night after Iris goes to bed. If you want to join me, you are more than welcome. If you don’t want to, no pressure. Personally, I think you’re perfect the way you are.”

  “You haven’t seen me naked,” she muttered, realizing her mistake the second the words were out of her mouth. “Sorry. I’m—forget I said that.”

  “When a woman as sultry as you says the word naked it’s impossible to keep certain images from flooding my mind.”

  Darcy held onto her bottle, thankful for the prop because her hands were shaking, as were her knees, and her entire body was responding to that low, sexy, heavily accented voice.

  “Where are you from?” she asked.

  “Greece.”

  Of course he was. Someplace beautiful and exotic, much like the man himself.

  “So, dinner requests for tomorrow?” she asked. “I’ll probably need to run to the store at some point, if that’s okay.”

  “Not a problem.” He turned toward the doorway, motioning her to exit ahead of him. “I have no requests. You obviously know what you’re doing in the kitchen, which is more than I can say for myself.”

  Stepping into the hallway, she waited until Colin reached in and turned off the light. Darkness enveloped them, save for the slash of light at the end of the hallway shining down from the chandelier in the foyer.

  “What’s your favorite food?” she asked, trying to focus on his face in the dark, though neither of them had made a move to walk into the light.

  “I haven’t had too many American dishes,” he replied. “I normally eat a lot of fish and vegetables.”

  Which would further explain why he was so buff and polished, and she had more dimples than a newborn baby’s backside.

  “I know just what to serve,” she replied.

  Her vision had adjusted to the darkness enough to see the flare of heat in his baby blues just as he stepped in closer. “You claim I can’t deliver loaded statements.” His rich, low voice washed over her already heated body, ironically sending shivers all through her. “I’d say that goes both ways.”

  Before she could respond, Colin trailed a fingertip along the side of her face.

  “Wh—what are you doing?” she asked, cursing her stammer, knowing it was a sign of weakness.

  “Putting my curiosity to rest.”

  “Curiosity?”

  That finger kept stroking, causing every pleasure point in her body to tingle.

  “I needed to know if you are as silky as you appear,” he murmured.

  Warmth radiated from his broad body as he leaned in even closer, close enough to brush against hers and have her backing up into the wall.

  Her gaze held his. “Am I?”

  “Here you are,” he whispered. “I wonder about here.”

  His lips covered hers in an instant, leaving her no choice but to reply to his demands. Okay, she could’ve chosen to push him away, but...why?

  His tongue swept inside her mouth just as his hand curved around her chin, his thumb and forefinger on either side of her face as if to hold her in place. Darcy arched into him, wanting more and taking all he delivered. So many promises wrapped in that one kiss and all she had to do was let go.

  Hadn’t they both agreed to keep this professional? There was nothing professional about the spiral of arousal coursing through her or the need she so desperately wanted to cave in to.

  Colin lifted only to shift his stance, pressing her further against the wall and his very hard, impressive body. Whoever Colin Alexander was, the man possessed power and control. He demanded so much without words and his actions proved he was used to getting what he wanted.

  Just like Thad.

  Darcy jerked her head to the side, causing Colin’s lips to slide against her jaw, his hand falling away.

  She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the devil on her shoulder telling her to turn back and let Colin continue whatever it was he had in mind.

  “Colin...”

  He dropped his forehead to her shoulder, sighed, then took a step ba
ck. “Darcy, that was inexcusable.”

  Holding her hand to her moist lips, Darcy risked glancing back to Colin. “No, no. We’re both to blame.”

  He propped his hands on his narrow hips and stared up at the ceiling. Darcy had no idea what to say, what to do.

  “I’ve never been in this position before,” she told him, clutching her water and wrapping her arms around her waist. “You need to know that I don’t kiss employers and I’ve never, ever had a relationship with any of them beyond a professional one.”

  “I believe you.”

  When he offered no further comment, Darcy couldn’t take the uncomfortable silence any longer. She turned and started walking down the hallway, when he called her name. She froze, but didn’t look back.

  “You need to know the last person I had a relationship with was my wife.” His soft words floated down the wide hall, enveloping her. “I know we aren’t taking this any further, but I didn’t want you to think I made a habit of coming on to beautiful women.”

  Beautiful women.

  Darcy threw him a look over her shoulder, nodded and carried on. She didn’t stop, didn’t slow down until she was in her room with the door shut behind her. Her heart still pounded just as fiercely as it had when she’d been in the darkened hall with Colin, the same as when she’d been sweating in the gym with him and the same as when he’d opened the door first thing that morning looking all rumpled and sexy.

  With baby monitors in every room, there was no way she’d miss it if Iris needed something. Which was a very good thing because when Colin had been kissing her, for the briefest of moments, she’d forgotten her sole purpose for even being here. Her mind had traveled to a selfish place and all she wanted was more of that talented, demanding mouth on hers.

  Dropping her head back against the door, Darcy groaned. This was the last thing she needed. If she didn’t straighten up and focus, she’d have to resign and she needed the full amount of money Colin was paying her if she wanted to keep the agency afloat in any way. Not to mention if she wanted to ever get an apartment or a reliable vehicle.

  The video monitor on the white nightstand showed a very peaceful Iris hugging her new doll to her chest. It was in the quiet, serene moments like this that Darcy truly felt that void in her heart. Growing up around other children and loving families, Darcy had always assumed she’d have a family of her own one day.

  With the way she worked herself now, though, she didn’t even have time for a date, much less a husband. Losing her entire savings had only pushed her dream of adopting further back, making her wonder if she just wasn’t meant to be a mother.

  There were worse things in the world than not having children...though from her perspective not many. She truly wished with all her heart that she had the ability to conceive like nearly every other woman, but that wasn’t meant to be and she had to quit dwelling on it and move on. She wanted to be happy, so she had to focus on happy things and things that were in her control...infertility was certainly not one of them.

  Tomorrow, she vowed, she would be one hundred percent professional. She just had to figure out a way to become immune to those striking blue eyes, that sultry accent and forget the way his lips basically assaulted hers in the best, most arousing way possible.

  Hysterical laughter escaped her. Sure. No problem.

  Five

  The alarm chimed throughout the house, indicating that someone had triggered the gate and was coming up the drive. Colin lifted Iris in his arms and headed to the door to help Darcy with her grocery bags. She’d been gone for quite a while and he wondered if she’d run away or if she was stockpiling for the next month.

  He’d just gotten off the phone with his assistant who informed Colin of some rather interesting information regarding Darcy and her financial situation. Apparently she was much worse off than he’d first thought. He wasn’t sure whether to bring it up or let it slide. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable or embarrassed, but at the same time, he wanted to do...something.

  He was definitely going to have to bring up the fact her business was basically failing, but he needed to figure out the delicate matter.

  Colin didn’t know her personal issues, and he had no doubt she had them with her financial situation. All he knew right now was that her business had hit hard times in the last year and had fallen from one of the most sought out to an agency with only Darcy as the worker. There was definitely a story there.

  When he opened the door, he didn’t see her car. Instead, Darcy was walking up the drive, her arms weighted down with reusable grocery sacks bulging with food.

  He sat Iris on the stoop. “Stay here, baby. Daddy needs to help Darcy.”

  With the gated property, Colin wasn’t concerned about Iris wandering off. Worst-case scenario, she’d pluck all the vibrant flowers in the beds before he could get back to her. There was a pool around back, but he’d watch her and make sure she didn’t toddle around the house.

  Quickly moving toward Darcy, Colin felt his blood pressure rising. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked once he’d closed the gap. “Where’s your car?”

  “Broke down about a half mile back.”

  He pulled several bags off each arm, narrowing his eyes at the red creases on her delicate skin caused by all the weight. She wasn’t some damn pack mule.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” he demanded as he curled his hands around the straining handles. “I would’ve come to get you.”

  Left with only two lighter bags, Darcy smiled and started up the drive. “By the time you could’ve gotten Iris in the car seat and gotten to me, I would’ve been here. Plus I didn’t want to bother you guys in case you were playing or she was getting fussy and ready to lie down for a nap.”

  Even though Darcy’s hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, Colin noted the damp tendrils clinging to her neck. The heat of the California sun could be relentless.

  “Where exactly is your car?” he asked, trying to keep his voice controlled.

  She explained what street she’d left it on, which really didn’t mean much to him since he knew little about the area or the street names. He’d call to have it towed and then he’d work on getting her proper transportation. No way was any employee of his going to be stranded again.

  What if Iris had been with Darcy? Then what would she have done? The mishap was frustrating on so many levels.

  Not only was she his employee, he refused to see any woman working herself to the point of sweaty exhaustion and that’s exactly where Darcy was at. A sheen of perspiration glistened across her forehead and upper lip, her cheeks were red and she had circles beneath her eyes.

  Where he was from the women would never leave their homes without full makeup, perfectly styled hair and flashy clothes...much like LA. Still, Darcy didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t completely made up for an outing. He actually found the quality quite refreshing and incredibly hot.

  As if he needed another reason to be aroused by her. He needed to nip this sexual urge in the bud and stay focused.

  Once they reached the stoop, Iris had indeed plucked up a variety of flowers, clutching them in her tight little hand.

  “Pitty,” she exclaimed, thrusting them toward Darcy. “You pitty.”

  Darcy laughed. “Oh, honey. You’re so sweet.”

  Colin looked at Darcy and saw an alluring, determined and resilient woman. How could any man not be attracted to those qualities? And her sexuality was stealthy. You didn’t see the impact coming until it hit you hard. Each day that passed made him realize just how much power she was beginning to have over him.

  By the time they got all the bags inside and onto the wide center island in the kitchen, Colin had worked up quite a sweat of his own.

  “I’ll put these away,” Darcy told him as she opened the pantry. “I need
to walk back to my car after and see if it’s the transmission. I’ve been having issues with that thing, but a transmission would cost more than the old car is worth.”

  Colin stood amazed. “You plan on looking to see if the transmission is shot?”

  Over the stacks of bags, Darcy met his gaze. “Yeah, why? Who else is going to look at it?”

  Iris patted his leg and Colin leaned down to lift her up. She still clutched those colorful flowers in her hand so he moved to the cabinet to get down a small glass to use as a vase.

  “I’d call a mechanic,” he replied, filling the glass with water.

  With a soft laugh and shake of her head, Darcy turned her attention back to pulling the groceries from the sacks. “Well, mechanics charge just to come look at the car, then there’s the labor to fix the problem, plus the part.”

  As she listed all the costs associated with getting the vehicle fixed, Colin had to remind himself he wasn’t back at the palace. He wasn’t talking to someone who would just pay someone else to take care of the issue and move on. Darcy was obviously a hard worker and she didn’t need to tell him her funds were lacking.

  Taking the flowers from Iris’s hand, he sat them in the glass. “There, sweetheart.”

  She clapped her hands together and wiggled in an attempt to get away. Carefully, he put her back down and watched her move to Darcy. The easy way Iris had taken to the new nanny made him happy he’d allowed her to stay. The incident in the hall last night, though, had kept him up questioning his decision. They were still on a trial and he really didn’t want to start the process of finding someone else. That was one thing he wouldn’t do to Iris. Even though they’d moved across the globe, he wanted Iris to have as much stability in her life as possible until he was absolutely certain of their future.

  “Hey, cutie.” Darcy pulled out a bag of flour and glanced down to her side, a wide smile stretching across her face. “I’m almost done and then you and I can play a little game.”

  “I’ll take care of getting your car picked up.”

  Darcy’s eyes flashed back to his. “That’s not your job.”