Undercover Princess

by Suzanne Brockmann

  So instead, she held out her hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr…?”

  “Gomez.” He actually lifted her fingers to his lips. “The pleasure was all mine, Miss…?”

  “Wind,” Trey supplied. He set down his glass of wine, took Katherine’s and set that down, too, gently extracting her from Hector’s grip. “Excuse us, Hec.”

  Trey didn’t wait for Hector to respond. He just pulled Katherine with him onto the dance floor.

  “Can I give you some advice?” he said, raising his voice to be heard over the loud music from the band.

  He held her at a distance, gentlemanly careful not to brush against her with his body. Still, it was exceedingly difficult not to be aware of the fact that her hand was tucked into his, her other hand on his very broad shoulder, his other hand warm against her waist.

  It was also difficult not to be self-conscious of the fact that as he gazed down at her, he had an unobstructed view of her WonderBra-enhanced neckline.

  This dress wasn’t extremely low-cut. In fact, Katherine had chosen it because it fulfilled her criteria of being both properly formal and relatively modest. Most of the formal gowns she’d seen were strapless or had cut-out backs or long slits up the sides of the skirt. This one had rather dainty cap sleeves and absolutely no peekaboo mesh to reveal her belly button. It had a back and a soft, full skirt that went all the way to the ground. It fit snugly, accentuating her full breasts and the curve of her hips, but compared to the others it was practically dowdy.

  Until she tried it on with the underwear Stacy had selected for her. The bra rearranged everything quite a bit, and suddenly the dress and its neckline were both alarmingly sexy.

  She looked up into the steady blueness of his eyes. “I suppose that depends,” she answered his question, nearly having to shout to be heard. “Advice about what, exactly?”

  “Hector’s a nice guy—Bill’s been friends with him for years, but…” He leaned closer, spoke directly into her ear, his breath warm against her neck. “He’s a player, Kathy.”

  “Really? Upon which team does he play?”

  Trey laughed.

  “Something local, I guess,” she said. “I must seem very ignorant, but I didn’t even realize Albuquerque had a professional sports team.”

  “Oh, my God. You’re serious.” He laughed again. “When I say he’s a player,” he explained, again leaning closer to speak more softly, more privately into her ear. “I mean that he…Well, frankly, he plays women. He’s a Don Juan.”

  “Oh.” Duh. She laughed at herself. “Dawn breaks on Marblehead. Yes, I have heard that expression before—player. I just wasn’t thinking along those lines. My goodness—now I feel ignorant, indeed!”

  “You really didn’t notice that he was practically drooling on you?”

  Katherine had to laugh. Drooling. “Was he?”

  “I was about ready to hand you a towel so you could mop yourself off.”

  She could feel herself blushing again. “Instead you came to my rescue by pulling me out of drooling range. How gallant.”

  “No,” he said. “Just selfish. You look far too beautiful tonight. No way was I going to let you get drooled on.”

  By anyone but me. Trey didn’t say the words aloud, but he knew they lingered unspoken in his eyes. Still, she was so innocent, she probably wouldn’t recognize the heat for what it was, probably wouldn’t realize, either, that she’d been keeping him awake at night for more than a week now.

  Unless he held her too close. Then she would get a very, very big hint about the way he reacted to her nearness.

  But she was much too sweet. Impossibly young. And that made the things he wanted to do with her completely out of line. Bring her to his room. Kiss her softly, gently, until she melted in his arms. Seduce her and make love to her all night and into the early hours of the dawn. To do the exact same thing the next night and the next and the next and the—

  But that was not an option. It would be unbelievably cruel to treat her that way. She’d expect something from him, something he couldn’t possibly give her, and she’d end up hurt. And he’d never forgive himself.

  Her smile was mischievous. “How do you know I don’t like being drooled on?” she asked. “How do you know I’m not something of a player myself?”

  Trey laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually laughed so often at one of these high-society functions. “It was just a guess. Was I wrong?”

  Katherine felt her cheeks heat slightly. She’d actually started this. What could have possibly spurred her to suggest that she might like being drooled on? It had been flirtatious, at the very least. And certainly far more self-confident than she would have believed possible.

  Her underwear. Dear Lord, Stacy had been right. She was wearing brilliantly colored underwear that did look marvelous on her. She looked good tonight. She knew she did. And as much as she was embarrassed by the effect of her WonderBra, she liked it, too. She liked the second glances she was getting. Particularly the ones she’d been getting all evening from Trey, mostly when he’d thought she wasn’t looking.

  And now he was flirting back. It was obvious from his smile, the heated edge in his eyes, the way he was holding her just a little bit closer in response to her words. Of course, it was probably automatic pilot for him. Katherine knew many people who could deliver a top-rate yet completely meaningless social flirtation without breaking stride. Still, coming from Trey, it was enough to make her giddy.

  His leg brushed against hers, her breasts grazed his chest, and she thought the sensation would make her faint.

  “I think everyone rather likes to be drooled on every now and then,” she said in a voice that came out hopelessly breathless. “Depending, of course, on who’s doing the drooling.”

  “If you are a player,” Trey said, his mouth very close to her ear, his voice intimately quiet, “your technique is brilliant. No one would ever suspect you were capable of a sexual hit and run.”

  She laughed at that. It was either laugh or melt into a boneless pile at his feet. It should be illegal for a man to have such a sexy voice.

  “At the risk of disappointing you, I have to confess that I’m nothing of the sort.” She could feel her voice becoming hoarse from shouting over the music, but there was no way she would dare lean into him to speak into his ear. He smelled far too good, and she’d end up just standing there, inhaling his cologne, completely speechless. “One of my many weaknesses, I’m afraid. I’ve always longed to be cosmopolitan.”

  Her mother and sisters had the queen and princess thing down. They could do regal and elegantly cosmopolitan without blinking an eye. And they seemed to like it, too. But always uncomfortable, Katherine made a point of standing off to the side whenever possible.

  Except right now, she didn’t want to be off to the side. She wanted to be right where she was. In Trey’s arms.

  “You know, I’ve always wanted to be a female James Bond, but I seriously doubt that’s going to happen this late in the game.”

  He had no problem moving closer to her. He was very careful not to touch her, but his breath was like a warm caress. “Hmm. James Bond aspirations. No wonder you’re not interested in working for me after January.”

  Katherine felt her smile fade as she pulled back to look at him. “I know you don’t understand about that, and I’m afraid I can’t explain—”

  “Shhh.” He lifted his hand, one finger raised as if he were going to press it against her lips. But he didn’t touch her. “I was just making a joke. I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty or start a business meeting.”

  “Still, I feel badly—”

  “Don’t. I’m in awe of you. There are people in my company—top-level businessmen—who would leave their career track at the drop of a hat for the kind of money I offered you, regardless of the fact that they would have no true interest in that type of work. But you’re totally unwilling to compromise your plans for the future. I respect that.”
r />   “You make me sound like Joan of Arc. I’m afraid it’s not as simple or clear-cut as all that.”

  The song ended, but Trey didn’t release her. “Nothing ever is.” He looked down into her wide gray eyes. “Like right now, for example. We’re here, we’re dancing, we’re having fun. Simple, right?” He laughed. “Not quite. Do you know that there are about 150 people watching us right now, wondering exactly who you are, paying attention to the fact that I’m not here with Diana tonight? And tomorrow or the next day, word will get out that you work for me. If we only dance one dance, they’ll assume it was your birthday or some special occasion, and that our dancing was just a social nicety. But if we dance together again, even just one more time, there’ll be gossip and speculation, and by Thanksgiving morning, everyone who thinks they’re anyone in Albuquerque will assume I’m doing my nanny.”

  Her eyes got even wider and she laughed. “Oh, dear.”

  “And again, the solution seems simple, right? We should stop dancing so no one gets the wrong idea. But again, it gets complicated, because I don’t want to stop. I’m enjoying dancing with you. You’re a good dancer, and I can’t remember the last time I was at one of these things actually having fun. And…” And it was even more complicated than that, because he really wanted what everyone watching would assume he’d just take.

  The band started playing again.

  “Who cares what people think?” Kathy said.

  “Yeah, that’s always kind of been my philosophy, but—” he shook his head “—they’re going to be talking about you, too.”

  “Maybe,” Kathy said with a smile that she couldn’t hide, “they’ll think I’m playing you.”

  Trey had to laugh at that. “More likely they’ll think it’s the other way around.”

  They were dancing again. Kathy was somehow back in his arms and they were moving in time to the music. And everyone was watching.

  “Are you a player, Trey?” Her voice was soft in his ear.

  How had this happened? Suddenly the entire mood had changed from lighthearted to extremely intense. He was holding her much too close. Her breasts were soft against him, her thighs brushing his. He looked down and caught a flash of teal at her shoulder.

  Teal. Velvet. Underwear.

  For a moment, he couldn’t speak.

  “You’re good-looking enough to get away with it,” she murmured, “but somehow you just don’t strike me as the type.” She laughed. “Listen to me, the voice of wisdom. As if I could tell just from a few brief conversations whether a man is sincere or not. I have to admit, my track record’s dismal.”

  Her track record. She had a track record. That didn’t really surprise him. After all, she was twenty-five years old and beautiful, but at the same time, he would have had no trouble believing she was still a virgin.

  “I’ve always tried to be honest about where a relationship can or can’t go,” he told her, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair.

  “As long as both people are clear about the possibilities, or the lack of them—”

  “Then there’s no chance of a misunderstanding,” he finished for her. Then laughed. “Actually, there’s never no chance of a misunderstanding. But it lowers the odds a whole lot.”

  She was giving him her full attention, gazing up into his eyes. He could feel her fingers at the nape of his neck, touching his hair, and it took every ounce of restraint he had not to lean forward those last few inches and kiss her.

  “Of course, there’s no real way to be absolutely certain that possibilities for something more lasting won’t develop from any given relationship,” she whispered. “There’s no way to predict that something that starts as attraction won’t develop into something more powerful—even for someone who professes that it won’t.”

  “What if it only develops into a more powerful attraction?”

  “Well, at least then you’ve tried,” she told him so seriously. “That’s so much better than letting opportunities for true love pass you by.”

  True love. But of course. It made perfect sense that sweet, innocent, beautiful, passionate, vibrant Kathy Wind would be searching for true love.

  But she wasn’t going to find it in Albuquerque. At least not at the Sutherland estate.

  Trey took her hand and pulled her with him off the dance floor. He knew damn well that their conversation had been in code. She had told him without a doubt that she was interested in him, that if he kissed her, she would kiss him back. And if he invited her to his room…

  But that wasn’t going to happen. Not tonight, not any night.

  Because Kathy was looking for true love. And Trey had nothing true left in his heart.

  Katherine smiled her thanks at Trey as he held open the door to the house. She went inside, forcing herself not to look back over her shoulder, to check to see if her bodyguard had parked his blue subcompact across the street.

  She’d spotted the man with the military haircut that she’d first seen at the mall. She’d seen him in the parking lot as she and Trey had come out of the country club.

  Trey had driven them to the award presentation in his sports car instead of using his limo and driver, and she’d been extremely nervous that he would spot the blue car following them as he drove them home.

  She’d seen the blue car off and on as she’d taken the children to school and back. But she’d expected neither Stacy nor Doug to notice it.

  Trey was an entirely different story.

  There wasn’t much that went on around him that he missed.

  There was no way to explain the presence of a Royal Wynborough bodyguard without revealing who she was, and she wasn’t ready to do that yet.

  And her reasons had nothing to do with locating Bill Lewis.

  She wanted Trey to kiss her. Several times tonight, she’d thought he’d been about to. But they were in public, so she’d waited.

  Until now.

  Until they were home.

  She wanted him to kiss her, to feel what a kiss was like with no royal title surrounding her like a force field. She wanted to be kissed by a man as a woman—not as a princess.

  And maybe it was only the false confidence brought about by her brilliant teal underwear that made her inaccurately believe she was in his league, but she was convinced Trey was going to kiss her. Maybe even tonight.

  The house was quiet. Anita sat reading at the kitchen table. She smiled and put on her jacket as they came into the room, and took her leave almost immediately, clearly in a hurry to get home to her own family.

  It was only eleven o’clock, but it seemed much, much later. It seemed like 2:00 a.m. The dead of night. Dark and silent and filled with possibilities that wouldn’t exist in the light of morning.

  Trey tossed his keys onto the counter.

  “This is kind of weird, huh?” he said, glancing at her. “I’ve seen you home, but it’s my home, too. It’s hard to get a sense of closure this way. Maybe I should say thanks for coming with me and shake your hand.”

  A handshake? Katherine didn’t think so. Not after the way he’d been looking at her all night. “And then I’ll say thanks for inviting me.”

  Still, a handshake might be a good start. She held out her hand, and he moved toward her with another of those half smiles that made him look impossibly handsome and charming, both unbearably sexy and little-boy sweet.

  His hand was big and warm with long, elegant fingers, neatly manicured nails. It engulfed hers completely.

  He smiled again as he released her hand. “And still we’re standing here.”

  But now they were standing a whole lot closer and he was looking directly into her eyes.

  “I had a wonderful time,” she told him breathlessly, forcing herself not to step away from him, forcing herself to boldly hold his gaze. She wanted to be this close. She wanted to be even closer, so she took a step toward him, saw the realization in his eyes that she wasn’t moving away, going upstairs.

  Please God, don’t let her be wr
ong about the signals she’d been picking up from him all evening. He liked her, he was attracted, he was interested. The things he’d said to her during their last dance, that had to have been more than just a high-society flirtation.

  “You’re a marvelous dancer and I always enjoy your company,” she told him. “I know this wasn’t a real date, but maybe…”

  “Maybe what?” His voice was husky and that disconcerting heat was back in his eyes. And Katherine blessed both Stacy and her underwear for giving her the nerve to be so forward. Because she knew he wanted to kiss her. She knew it.

  And, as if she were having an out-of-body experience, she watched herself reach up and lightly touch the smooth lapel of his tuxedo. “Maybe we could do it again sometime.”

  Her own words astonished her and she nearly laughed aloud.

  But Trey was silent and completely immobile, and in a mere fraction of seconds, her confidence crumbled to dust.

  Who was she kidding? Her underwear didn’t make a whit of difference. She was still Katherine, the quiet, sensible, plain princess. Her hair was still ho-hum brown instead of auburn or red. Her eyes were still boring gray.

  She still looked like someone’s nanny—except now she looked like someone’s nanny in a formal gown who was coming on to her boss.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, finally unfreezing enough to pull her hand away.

  But he caught her hand and kept her from running away. And looking down at his fingers laced together with hers, he smiled. “So I guess it’s not just me,” he said.

  Katherine couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. He looked into her eyes, and from just that, from just a look, her knees went completely weak.

  “You’ve noticed this, too,” he continued. “This…attraction between us.”

  It wasn’t a question, but she nodded. Yes. Oh, yes.

  “It’s dangerous, don’t you think?”

  She nodded again, still completely speechless. She wasn’t wrong, after all.

  He touched the side of her face, and she closed her eyes. Her heart was pounding so loudly, it seemed impossible that he couldn’t hear it.