Her Prince (Twisted Royals #2)

by Sidney Bristol

  She closed her eyes.

  Yeah, she had a thing for the good guys.

  At her worst, she’d liked trolling bars for them, and leaving them high and dry with the bill.

  Those were not her proudest moments, and she’d gone a long way to make up for her past sins.

  “Okay.” Rusty closed the laptop and sat back. “What?”

  “What-what?” Shelby stopped and faced Rusty.

  “You’re pacing, which means you aren’t going to give this up, so let’s talk the problem out so I can go back to, you know, actually working.” He propped his feet on the empty crate serving as her coffee-and-dining-table, and watched her.

  “We’re going to have to come at this carefully. Kade clearly has a very defined sense of right and wrong. If we don’t pitch this at him correctly, he’s going to refuse to work with me.”

  “You like him.”

  “No—”

  “He seems like he’s worth liking. You could do a lot worse.” Rusty pulled out a file and flipped it open. Kade’s image was stapled to the top of the stack. “Besides, he’s easy on the eyes.”

  “That’s not the point.” She couldn’t deny it was one, but it wasn’t the one she was currently worried about.

  “Okay, then what is?”

  “He might walk out of here and not help us.”

  “You think a man with his ethics would refuse to do the right thing?”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “He can’t fault us for being careful. We’re running a very secretive operation here, Shel. Once we explain it to him, he’s got to understand why we did what we did.”

  “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.” Shelby planted her hands on her hips and stared at the picture she was currently willing to cure faster. “Where are we with tracking Ogden? Gil mentioned that he called.”

  “If he did, he didn’t call on any of the lines we have tagged.”

  “Then Gil has another line somewhere we don’t know about.” Shelby returned to pacing. She’d been all over the space Gil was renting and she’d tagged every phone she saw. “It has to be something that’s on him. That he doesn’t pull out when the rest of us are around.”

  “Or it could be something that’s not there. Maybe he’s got a room or something you don’t know about?” Rusty pulled out a notepad and jotted things down.

  “He’s got to be coming to Seattle.” Shelby tapped her chin. She’d somehow known that dealing with Ogden was a bad idea, even when she was in the business of making poor choices. Since turning over a new leaf, she’d stayed away, knowing that now it was about choosing the right time and place. This could be her opportunity to get her answer. To find out why.

  “Earth to Shelby?”

  “What?” She whirled to face Rusty.

  “Just a suggestion, but you might want to shower before we have company. You kind of look like one of those splatter paintings.”

  She glanced down at her body, and yeah. Her shirt and shorts were liberally smeared with paint, and it was on her arms, her legs and likely her face. Kade might hate her after this, but at least she could look a little more human.

  Kade jogged up the stairs, feeling more buoyant and alive than seven hours of sleep had any right to make him. Granted, he’d over-slept his alarm by almost two hours, so that would have something to do with it. Maybe it was that change in the air Aunt Liv had been talking about for the last couple of months. She just kept wagging her finger at him and the rest of the guys, telling them that something good was happening.

  He’d hate to call a car accident on a sad day a good thing, but good could come from bad.

  He checked his phone—fifth floor—and went up one more flight. There were all of four doors lining the hall. Pretty exclusive and spacious, if he had to guess.

  His conscience still wasn’t quite okay with this, whatever it was, but maybe it was all in his head. He wouldn’t know, unless he dipped his toes in the water. Besides, it could be nothing at all. And she could be the best thing for him. He hadn’t had much of a life since leaving his old job at Firehouse Three in Dallas.

  Moving to Seattle was the right choice, but it’d been out of necessity. He was tired of doing what he had to. For once, he wanted to do something because he felt like it.

  Dinner with Shelby was a first step. Into what? He didn’t know. But he had to live a little.

  Kade rapped his knuckles against the metal, sliding door barring entry to the loft and waited. He could hear music emanating from one of the lofts, but with all the brick, cement, and metal, it was hard to tell which one.

  The door slid open a crack, and the music got louder.

  “Hey.” Shelby shoved the door open wider, a generous smile lighting her face. She wore some kind of silky slip of a dress that inspired sinful thoughts. Like she’d been poured into it. The material molded to her body in just the right places, hinting at what was underneath without revealing too much.

  Damn. He’d thought she was pretty before, but when she smiled? That was the kind of smile that could level a man.

  “Hey, sorry I’m so late. I swear I’m not, usually.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Come in?” She stepped back. “I decided about thirty minutes ago that I was too hungry to go out and started cooking.”

  “You shouldn’t…” His words died as he inhaled the first, delicious scent of meat sizzling.

  Shelby merely laughed and slid the door shut.

  “Come in, make yourself at home.” She left him in the entry and scampered into the long, galley kitchen adjacent to the entrance.

  The loft was huge. Tall, vaulted ceilings. Windows covered one side of the space. Exposed brick to his left. The only sectioned off room, so to speak, was on his left. Bathroom? And the maze of paintings, almost as if she were housing her very own gallery. She had a small seating area directly in front of the door, sofa, couple of arm chairs and a TV. Other than that—the paintings were it. He didn’t even see a bed, though with how long the loft was, it could easily be on the other side of the painter’s world.

  “You’re a painter?” He wandered forward. None of the canvases were turned toward the entrance.

  “No, I’m an art thief.”

  He snorted a laugh at the deadpan delivery.

  “How do you like your steak grilled?” she asked.

  “Medium rare.”

  “Well, then yours is done.”

  Kade’s stomach was too insistent on being fed, now, for him to get a look at the paintings. He turned his back on the display and headed for the bar.

  Shelby had her hair clipped up in some sort of knot. She worked with skill and comfort that spoke of time spent in a kitchen, and likely not a small one, either. There was a beauty to her movements, a fluidity. Like a dancer.

  She glanced up at him.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, sorry.”

  “Hope you’re a green beans and mashed potatoes kind of guy.” She pushed a work of food art across to him.

  “Is there any other kind?”

  “You could be a vegetarian?”

  “I’m guilty of many things, but that’s not one of them.”

  “I used to be a vegetarian.” Shelby flipped the remaining two steaks.

  “I guess it failed?”

  “I go through phases.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. There was a year or so, I swear my family lived on beans, rice and lentils.”

  “I’ve been there.”

  “Is that…”

  “Almonds.”

  “Almonds in green beans?”

  “Green beans almandine. If you don’t like it, I will totally eat it all. And there’s garlic in the potatoes. I started going on autopilot. I forgot I was cooking for someone else.”

  “I’m intrigued…”

  Kade went for the green beans first, spearing one long bean and folding it into his mouth. Shelby leaned on the counter, watching him with narrowed eyes.

  The bean was tender, the al
mond pieces sticking to it a bit softer, and seasoned with—garlic? Pepper? A little salt? He more he chewed, the more he liked it.

  “That’s good.” He didn’t even have to pretend, he just hoped she’d made enough for a small army. He scooped up a bit of the potato and licked it off his fork. “Dear God…”

  “Too much garlic?” She bit her lip.

  “No,” he said around a second forkful.

  Shelby outright laughed at him, and he couldn’t find it in him to care. Any reservations he’d had when he walked in the door were gone. Food like this was meant to be appreciated without guilt. Simple, and yet so damn good.

  “Cut into the steak and make sure it’s good.” She pushed a knife across the wide counter at him.

  “It’s perfect.”

  “You haven’t even cut it yet.”

  “I just know a good thing when I see it.” He winked at her. Much more like this and he’d have to ask her to marry him.

  Her smile faded a little.

  Was that the wrong thing to say? He’d thought they were on flirting grounds, but maybe he’d read the texts wrong.

  Kade picked up the knife and cut into the tender steak. It was just the right amount of seared, brown meat to pink.

  “You nailed it,” he said and sliced off a bite. “Where’d you learn to cook like this?”

  “Odd jobs, here and there.” Shelby shrugged and circled the counter. She slid up onto the stool next to his and pulled a bucket of ice closer. “Open that?”

  “Wine, huh?”

  “Well, I owed you a drink, and I figured having a guest over was as good as any excuse to drink it.”

  “I’d apologize again for being late, but I’m not so sure I’m sorry.” Besides, if they’d gone out, he’d have had to struggle to hear her and there’d be distractions. He wouldn’t have learned about her painting or cooking skills this soon, either.

  He popped the cork on the wine and poured them both a glass Shelby had ready and waiting. There was something crazy…right about this. As if this moment were destined to happen and something had been leading him here all along.

  Mom had mentioned him taking a trip on a couple phone calls, now. He’d just assumed she was working that Mom Magic, trying to get him home for a while. Perhaps she was right, but he was taking another kind of trip entirely?

  Shelby sipped her wine.

  Kade wasn’t one to believe in his mother’s readings with blind faith. His oldest brother took whatever Mom said as the gospel truth, but Kade had a more practical world view. At least, most of the time. Right now, he was feeling a pretty strong vibe that he’d happened on the right path at the right moment.

  “What?” Shelby had caught him staring.

  “Nothing.” He sipped his wine and set it down. “Can I… Just, hold still?”

  He leaned forward when she didn’t move and pinched the clip holding her hair up. Her hair fell down, forward, everywhere, in a cascade of brown and blonde. Yesterday, he’d kept his eyes and hands where they were supposed to be. Today, well, there was this little electric zing he wanted to explore.

  Kade stroked the silky strands of her hair, running them through his fingers. Shelby watched him, her green eyes sparkling. Mischief. If he had to bet, she’d had a case of the wandering feet at some point. Whoever she was now, she’d gotten here by exploring the world. Herself. People like that, like him, were fascinating. They saw the world differently.

  He took the wine glass from her hand and set it on the bar. He slid to his feet, the better to get closer to her, and cupped her cheek. Shelby tipped her chin up, lips parted.

  Was this where things were going? Only one way to find out.

  He hadn’t stepped through the door with this in mind, but he couldn’t deny that…well, hell. Why not?

  Kade dipped his head. The first touch of his lips to hers sent a thrill of something through him. Yes, it was lust and attraction, but it was something more. Something new. She straightened, pressing closer. Her hand curled over his shoulder and around the back of his neck. Her mouth opened, and he felt her intake of breath.

  Did she feel it, too?

  It was a zing, a tightening of his stomach, the hair on his arms rising, a prickling of his scalp. As if his whole body went on alert. Her tongue caressed his. He wanted so badly to follow up with that teasing touch, but not yet.

  Kade straightened.

  Shelby blinked up at him, her cheeks a bit pink, pupils enlarged.

  He tucked her hair behind her ear.

  Yeah, she felt it, too.

  No need to rush. They had time.

  “If that’s how you say thank you for dinner, I’ll start cooking at six tomorrow.” Shelby speared a green bean and popped it between her glossy lips. She…glowed. Was that a woman thing? A make-up thing? Or had he done that?

  “I’m pretty sure I’m free tomorrow night.” He tucked into his food, mentally juggling things he needed to do. He would be free tomorrow night if she were serious.

  Some things only came along once in a lifetime.

  He’d had the chance to take advantage of a couple things like that. Every one of them had led to another place he wanted to be.

  If the next journey he took was with her, he’d damn well hold on with both hands.

  5.

  Shelby put another bite in her mouth without tasting it.

  What the hell was going on?

  Her stomach was in knots. Her thoughts were all over the place.

  Where the fuck was Rusty?

  The plan had been to switch it up at the last minute, eat in, let Kade arrive first, then Rusty, and have a conversation over dinner about The Plan. But she was having an awfully hard time remembering what it was she should be doing. It was easier to lose herself in the way Kade smiled while he ate¸ his overt appreciation for her cooking.

  That kiss.

  No.

  She pressed her thighs together.

  Her body was still tingling all over, from a God damn kiss.

  A kiss!

  She wanted him to kiss her again, Rusty and The Plan be damned. But she couldn’t.

  “How’d you get to be an EMT?” she asked. She’d read the file, but was curious what he’d say.

  Kade swallowed and shook his head.

  “That’s not a very fun story,” he said.

  “Oh, sorry I asked.”

  “Short version?” Kade wiped his mouth and glanced at her. “I enlisted in the army, went to school, became a combat medic, then came home and realized the Emergency Department was too…claustrophobic? I don’t know how to describe it. Being a paramedic just suits me better.”

  “Is that different from an EMT?”

  “It is.” He simply smiled and shrugged. “I went through a little more training is all.”

  A little?

  She’d have to remember that Kade was a master at understatement.

  From what she’d read up on prepping herself for this contingency plan, EMTs required an average of one hundred and fifty hours of training, versus the fifteen hundred a paramedic would require, not to mention his extensive experience in combat situations. If she had to guess, he liked the adrenaline of it, being on the front lines. He didn’t have that arrogant, god-like demeanor she’d run into a time or two. No, Kade was…

  He groaned as he popped the last bite of the steak into his mouth.

  Her nether regions warmed and she found herself biting her lower lip, remembering the feel of his mouth against hers.

  He’d made that same sound, right before he’d torn his lips from hers.

  She shifted in a vain attempt to resituate her bra. The thing was chafing her nipples.

  “Your boss okay with you being late yesterday?” Kade scraped up every last bit of edible substance on his plate and licked it off his fork.

  “Oh, yeah. He’s pretty good about that kind of stuff.”

  “What is it you do?” Kade draped his arm over the back of his stool and propped a foot on the side of he
rs.

  Shit. Where was Rusty?

  She couldn’t answer that. Not without lying. And she couldn’t tell him the truth. That was Rusty’s job.

  “Well…that’s kind of complicated. I do a few things. Mostly, I do consulting work, though I do contract out for things on occasion. Right now, I’m working an exclusive contract. It’s a big job for me, and screwing up makes me nervous.” She swirled her fork in her potatoes. That was accurate enough.

  “Consulting for what?”

  “Art. I evaluate pieces and determine their authenticity, what they’re worth. Most private individuals hire me to consult on their security.”

  “Wow, that’s a big deal?”

  “Yes, it actually is. A large percentage of the historical works aren’t in museums. They’re in private homes, collections. Some people consider their art their savings, since currency can be devalued so fast. The Mona Lisa is still a priceless work, no matter what the state of money is, for example.”

  “That…that’s fascinating. So, this?” He gestured to her on-going projects.

  “Just stuff I’m playing with in my spare time.”

  “You paint, too?”

  “That’s how a lot of people end up in my field.” Shelby emptied the last of the wine into their glasses and took a big swig. “You learn pretty fast that it’s hard to live off what you paint early on, at least until you’re dead, and then, well, you aren’t the one living off it. I don’t have what it takes to make a living at it, so I looked into other options and found something I was good at.”

  That was such a load of bullshit. She knew it, and soon enough, he would, too. Oh, she’d tried to hawk her art, but she’d gone from that to stealing pretty fast. No in-between.

  “This—was amazing.” He gestured to his empty plate. “Where’d you learn to cook?”

  “I worked in a hotel for a while. One of those upscale places. Learned a few things.” All while she was studying the security, so she could steal a couple million dollars’ worth of art. She’d returned it, eventually, but she couldn’t change what she’d done.

  She was sliding down a slippery slope.

  As soon as she opened the door tonight, Rusty or no, she should have told Kade the truth.