Seducing Ethan (Knight Security 6)

by Carole Mortimer

  If he meant that as further clarification for his original statement, then he had completely failed to reassure Stazzi.

  Maybe she had misunderstood him?

  Or maybe not…

  There was a predatory glint in those dark green eyes looking down at her so intently, and his tone of voice had definitely implied something. A voice that had sent her imagination into overdrive. Those sensual lips were also curved slightly, as if Prince Alexandre was inwardly laughing at her.

  Mocking her.

  Stazzi had spent most of the day ensuring that this suite was prepared exactly as Gerard St Sebastien and the man from Knight Security had instructed. She’d had to cancel her special date with Will tonight in order to accommodate the prince’s demand she be here when he arrived a day early. She’d also been on tenterhooks all day waiting for the other shoe to drop in regard to her wrongly sent email. And now he was daring to mock her?

  “I’m sure you’ll find Grant and Adrian more than sufficient—” She broke off her brisk dismissal as the prince stepped forward, totally invading her space as he lowered his head and spoke softly beside her ear.

  “‘A princely pain in the fucking ass’?”

  Stazzi felt the color leech from her cheeks at hearing the prince quietly quote those words directly from her email. Even her lips felt numb, and she was pretty sure her eyes had widened guiltily as the prince moved back only slightly to look down at her in challenge, the warmth of his breath a soft caress against her jaw.

  She couldn’t look away, was held totally captive by those predatory green eyes.

  Intense, compelling eyes, that told her she hadn’t misunderstood him. That this man meant exactly what he’d said. He did want her. Physically. Tied to his bed or otherwise.

  That realization was a little overwhelming. Flattering too, if she was honest with herself. The man was a prince, for goodness’ sake, and as rich as Croesus. What woman wouldn’t feel flattered at being told she was wanted by him?

  Except it wasn’t going to happen. She was almost engaged, and even if she hadn’t been, she certainly didn’t supply those sorts of needs for the hotel guests.

  Alexandre admired the light of rebellion that appeared in Anastazia’s eyes even as the color returned to her cheeks and she tilted her chin in an attempt to return his challenging gaze.

  She was even more beautiful in the flesh than she appeared in her photograph. Her long hair gleamed blue-black in the overhead lighting, her eyes were the turquoise blue of a mountain lake, and her skin smooth and the color of ivory. Her lips were full and soft, the bottom lip slighter redder than the top, despite the application of a clear peach-tinted lip gloss. As if her teeth had been worrying at that lip before his arrival. Because of the email she had sent him earlier today? Alexandre had a feeling that might be the case.

  His gaze moved lower to where he could clearly see the voluptuousness of the breasts pressing against her silk blouse, her waist slender, hips curvaceous. As for her legs… Those long shapely legs seemed never-ending.

  Alexandre could all too easily imagine those legs wrapped about his waist as he entered her slick heat before pounding into her remorselessly. The thought of it was enough to cause his cock to swell in anticipation.

  “If you would excuse us, gentlemen?” He took a firm hold of the top of Anastazia’s arm and kept her at his side as he dismissed everyone else. “Perhaps Adrian and Grant would be good enough to show you to your rooms?”

  “Of course.” The elder of the two men—Adrian?—complied. “If you would care to come this way, gentlemen.”

  Alexandre might find being the ruling prince of Androcco irksome at times, but he was all too appreciative of it now. Only Gerard dared to give him a frustrated glare of disapproval before he too trailed reluctantly down the hallway behind the other men. Leaving Alexandre alone with Anastazia. “Shall we go through to the sitting room?” he prompted smoothly.

  She stood her ground. “If this is about that email I sent to you by mistake earlier today, then please accept my sincere apology. It’s no excuse, but—”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  She blinked. “You haven’t heard my excuse yet.”

  “Do I need to?”

  She gave him a quick glance before just as quickly looking away again.

  “Also,” Alexandre continued softly, “I have a feeling your idea of an apology and my own are entirely different.”

  She eyed him nervously. “I don’t understand…”

  “Then perhaps we might discuss the problem over dinner?”

  “Dinner?”

  “Eating here would be preferable, of course, because then we wouldn’t need the presence of my bodyguards. Unless, of course, you have plans to assassinate me?” he added dryly.

  “No, of course I don’t!” she gasped.

  He nodded. “Then my bodyguards would need to come with us if you would prefer to eat at a restaurant outside the hotel—”

  “I’m not—I have no intention—I’ve already eaten dinner.” Anastazia gave a firm shake of her head.

  Alexandre studied her through narrowed lids, noting the anxiety about her eyes, the slight pallor to her cheeks. “Why did you just lie to me?”

  “I didn’t—”

  “What did you eat for dinner?”

  “I… Well…” She gave an exasperated frown. “Look, Your Highness—”

  “Alexandre.”

  She blinked. “Mr. Meyers prefers his staff not to be overfamiliar with the hotel guests.”

  “I am sure Mr. Meyers prefers that his staff not call one of those guests ‘a princely pain in the fucking ass’ too, but we both know that ship has already sailed,” he drawled as he once again grasped the top of her arm and took her with him as he strolled through to the huge sitting room of the suite. A room shrouded in the warmth given off by two lamps, one on each table beside one of the two low couches.

  “Your Highness—”

  “Alexandre,” he encouraged as he released her to walk across to the bar and peruse the array of bottles there, all of them to Alexandre’s preference. And all, no doubt, requested by Gerard on his behalf.

  Stazzi chewed her bottom lip, a habit she had when worried or, in this case, out of her depth.

  She had done a lot of lip chewing today.

  If this man thought—

  “Whisky or wine?”

  Stazzi frowned. “I don’t—”

  “I believe the whisky would be better for your nervousness,” the prince mused as he ignored her obvious protest to pour the single-malt whisky into two crystal glasses.

  Nervousness? Stazzi wasn’t feeling anything as insipid as nervousness. Sheer terror at the power this man currently held over her might be a better description.

  “Here we are.” He strolled across to where Stazzi stood, holding out one of the glasses to her until she took it with trembling fingers. “To us.” He tapped his glass against hers before raising it to his lips and taking a sip, that intense green gaze once again holding her captive over the rim of the glass.

  To us?

  What the hell did that mean?

  There was no us. Not now. Not ever.

  Even if this prince is the most gorgeous and sexy man I’ve ever set eyes on and he so obviously wants me?

  Yes, even if.

  She had Will. She was about to become engaged to Will.

  What she wasn’t about to become was the sexual plaything of some princely ruler of an island in the Mediterranean.

  Stazzi straightened her shoulders. “If you’re looking for female companionship during your stay, then I’m sure your cousin is perfectly capable of making those arrangements for you too—”

  “I want you.”

  This time, there was no mistaking Alexandre St Sebastien’s statement for anything other than what it was.

  A statement of intent.

  Or a princely decree.

  Chapter 3

  Stazzi raised her chin. “I’m engaged to be marr
ied.”

  His mouth tightened, that piercing gaze hardening before shifting to the fingers tightly curled about her whisky glass. “You aren’t wearing a ring.”

  “Well… No.” Damn this man’s powers of observation. “What I meant to say was I’m about to become engaged to be married. Tonight, in fact. As soon as I leave here.” She couldn’t seem to stop babbling, her words tumbling defensively over each other.

  Maybe the prince was right and she did need a swig of his fifty-year-old single-malt whisky?

  She took a huge swallow, almost choking as the alcohol hit the back of her throat before warming, burning, as it traveled down to her stomach. Her empty stomach. Another thing the prince had been right about; Stazzi hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Or lunch either, for that matter. She had been too apprehensive all day, in regard to his expected arrival, and what he might say to Daniel Meyers about her, to be able to eat.

  That predatory gaze remained fixed on her. “The obvious way to prevent that from happening, would appear to be not to allow you to leave here this evening.”

  Stazzi placed the glass of whisky carefully down on the coffee table, her mouth and throat feeling as if they were on fire. “I’m flattered by your interest, of course—”

  “Then stay.”

  Her frown was pained. “Look, I realize you’re absolute ruler of your own island, but things have moved along here in England. Nowadays we take a more democratic point of view. A less…feudal approach.”

  Dark brows rose. “Feudal?”

  “Yes. You know that thing they used to have centuries ago.”

  “Thing?”

  “Droit du seigneur, or whatever it was called.”

  Alexandre didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed at this young woman’s even more outrageous comment. “How long have you been employed at the Meyers Hotel?”

  Blue eyes narrowed. “If that’s another threat—”

  “It isn’t.”

  “Oh. Well.” Her brows lowered as she gave the question some thought. “About four years. I’ve been manager of the penthouse floor for the past year.”

  “Successfully?”

  “Well, of course success— Sorry.” She grimaced at her obvious aggression.

  Alexandre chuckled. Not only beautiful, but funny too. And so outspoken.

  Except Anastazia still wasn’t saying what he wanted to hear.

  He knew he was coming on too strong, that she was wary of the depth of his interest. It was just difficult, now that he was actually here and in her company, to behave any other way. He had wanted this woman sexually from the moment he first saw her photograph. Now he wanted to know her too. What she liked and disliked. How she spent her time away from work. When she’s going to agree to share my bed.

  She drew in a deep breath before speaking. “The two of us have obviously got off to a bad start, Your Highness. Completely my fault, I accept that. I made a serious error earlier today, and I deserve to be punished for it.”

  “You believe my…interest in you to be a punishment?”

  “I believe you’re enjoying discomforting me, yes.”

  “My interest in you causes you discomfort?” he persisted.

  Her cheeks flushed. “Could we just move on? Or you could just demand that Daniel dismiss me? Because I’m really not enjoying being toyed with in this way.”

  Alexandre made himself comfortable in one of the armchairs. “I have no intention of demanding Daniel Meyers dismiss you.”

  Some of the tension visibly eased from her shoulders. “I really am sorry about the email today. I was distracted, and a little…annoyed at having my plans changed for this evening. I realize that’s no excuse for having insulted you,” she added hastily. “But I truly hope that won’t affect your enjoyment of your stay at the Meyers Hotel.”

  “Very nicely and professionally said,” Alexandre drawled. “Now could we get back to the subject of the two of us having dinner together?”

  “Are you deaf or just—” She broke off with a wince as she realized she was about to be rude to him again.

  Her outspokenness really was refreshing. Alexandre hadn’t had this much fun in…well, almost two years, to be exact.

  He had been in shock and grieving for his father’s early demise during those first months of ruling Androcco. Gerard had been a great help, of course, as his father had helped Alexandre’s father before him.

  But by the time Alexandre came out of his fog of grief he found himself changed, in both appearance and demeanor. He also felt very much alone, apart from the company of the stalwart Gerard.

  The friends Alexandre had partied with in the past now all seemed shallow and without purpose. The women who pursued him were more interested in becoming the Princess of Androcco, and in the wealth and privilege that involved, rather than loving and helping him with the burden of actually ruling the island.

  He couldn’t remember when he had last fucked a woman, let alone spent any time alone with one.

  Until now.

  He was alone with Anastazia Carmichael, and she was proving to be even more of a diversion than he had imagined she might be. A photograph had been enough to tell Alexandre he wanted her sexually, but the fact she wasn’t afraid or in awe of him, and the lack of censorship in her remarks when in his company, was proving highly entertaining. The droit du seigneur remark had been priceless.

  Considering the lack of a woman in his bed these past two years, the idea currently had its merits too.

  Except Anastazia Carmichael wasn’t one of his subjects, and she happened to be the one woman he wanted. Even more so since meeting her.

  Her imminent engagement was a complication Alexandre hadn’t foreseen. Not insurmountable, but an irritation nonetheless. The fact that it was imminent and not yet fact meant he certainly wasn’t above using his title, and his position as a guest in the hotel, as leverage to attaining his goal. Which was Anastazia Carmichael. Naked. In his bed.

  The thought alone was enough to cause his already engorged cock to heat and throb. “As you know the room service menu, perhaps you would care to order dinner for both of us?” he suggested. “Anything but shellfish. I have an allergic reaction to it. But then you probably knew that…?” he added ruefully, knowing that Gerard would have done his job as usual, and informed the hotel of his allergy.

  “I’ve made a note of it, and informed the hotel kitchen staff, yes.”

  He nodded. “Otherwise, I eat and enjoy all foods.”

  Stazzi decided this arrogant prince wasn’t deaf but instead had selective hearing. She had turned down his dinner invitation twice now, and yet still he persisted— He hadn’t made it an invitation this time, but a statement, Stazzi realized as she once again began to chew on her bottom lip.

  “Do you do that a lot?”

  Stazzi gave a start at the realization Prince Alexandre had not only risen to his feet while she had been lost in thought, but he now stood just inches in front of her, that dark green gaze fixed intently on her mouth as her teeth worried her bottom lip.

  She stopped chewing as she became aware of the sudden thickening of the air around them. Of their total awareness of each other.

  This close to him, Stazzi could smell the insidious aroma of his aftershave: sandalwood, lemon, and spice, and a hot maleness she knew had to be completely him. The same invasive heat she could feel coursing through her own body, causing her nipples to ache and that uncomfortable dampness between her thighs.

  She was becoming aroused just by the proximity of Prince Alexandre of Androcco!

  The telling bulge in the front of his tailored trousers told her he was as aroused by her.

  This was overwhelmingly real, Stazzi realized as she felt herself sway toward him.

  Immediate.

  Intense.

  Irresistible.

  And totally disloyal to Will and our future together.

  A reminder that flew totally out of her head as she felt the warmth of Alexandre’s breath against her ch
eek before his lips softly claimed hers.

  He didn’t touch her in any other way. Just those chiseled and sensuous lips, soft at first, and then harder, becoming more demanding, as his tongue swept along the crease of her lips, asking her permission before entering.

  She had to stop this. Needed to stop this—

  Stazzi gave a groan, her lips parting of their own volition as that tongue breached and then laid siege to her mouth, claiming everywhere it licked and touched.

  The press of his cock through the thin material of his tailored trousers was causing the juices to flow between her thighs, in readiness for the claiming thrust of that heavy cock—

  Stazzi broke the kiss. “Alexandre…?”

  “I want you so much.” Alexandre cupped her cheek with his hand as he lifted her face back up to his with the obvious intention of kissing her again.

  She put her hands against his chest, meaning to push him away, only to have her betraying fingers linger and enjoy that heat, along with the play of hard muscles beneath the silk of his shirt.

  “I would never hurt you, Anastazia.”

  She looked up at him in bewilderment, knowing this was wrong, he was wrong, and yet, for the moment, she couldn’t remember why, felt totally bedazzled by the man and the intensity of the sexual arousal he was creating inside her.

  “I very much want to make love to you, Anastazia.” His lips moved against the warmth of her cheek before those even white teeth nipped gently against her earlobe, his breath a caress against her skin. “To take you to bed and—”

  “I said no!” Sense—what little she had left—reasserted itself, reminding Stazzi of exactly why this shouldn’t be happening.

  Who she was.

  A woman on the brink of an engagement and marriage.

  Who he was.

  A ruling prince who could have any woman he wanted.

  Except her.

  He couldn’t have her, because she was already taken.

  And if I wasn’t?

  She couldn’t—daren’t, even go there. Because her response to this man was so unexpected. Worrying. Confusing, when she knew it was only her loyalty to Will and their future together that was holding her back from succumbing completely to Alexandre’s seduction.