‘I don’t need support.’
‘Everyone needs support. But, regardless, the media will expect to see me there. I take it you are having a media presence.’
‘Only for a couple of hours. No one will know you’re not there.’
She mulled that over and then tilted her chin up at a belligerent angle.
‘I’d like to go.’
Not wanting to get into a debate with her when his brain and body were mutually stuck on images of her naked and wanting, Rafe sighed. ‘Alexa—’
‘You’ve just told me I should stand up for myself more. Not to take no for an answer.’
‘I believe I said you should start saying no more often.’
‘Something you’re really good at. But it amounts to the same thing. Taking charge of my needs. And I’d like to see your club. So I’m taking charge.’
Rafe ran a hand through his hair, a frustrated growl leaving his throat. ‘I didn’t mean for you to start “taking charge” with me.’
Her sudden smile made his heart kick against his ribs.
‘For some reason I feel safe with you.’
‘The last thing I am is safe.’ Especially with the visions currently going through his head. When she didn’t respond, or back down as he’d hoped, he shook his head. ‘Fine. I’ll arrange a car to pick you up at ten.’
‘Ten? Isn’t that a bit late?’
‘That’s early by London standards. Nothing happens before then.’
‘Ten. Okay, got it.’ Her eyes sparkled like clean-cut emeralds, her happiness making his heartbeat quicken.
‘If you need anything before then, or change your mind, I’ll have Hannah on standby to help out.’
‘I won’t change my mind. And you won’t regret this.’ She was almost vibrating with excitement. ‘You won’t even know I’m there. Promise.’
Rafe groaned silently at the enormous smile on her face. He should have left her asleep at the desk.
* * *
Pacing the upper floor office suite at Bound, Rafe watched on a bank of security monitors as guests continued to pour through the front door of the club, each one wide-eyed with delight as they took in the chrome and glass chandeliers and the Dalí-inspired decor.
‘So far, so good,’ Hannah, his assistant, ventured beside him. A pocket rocket, Hannah had the energy of a racehorse, which was probably why she hadn’t quit on him like so many of his other EAs had done over the years.
Rafe grunted in acknowledgement. At this point he didn’t much care about the success of the club. He just wanted to know where Alexa was.
‘Oh, relax,’ Hannah admonished as she saw him check his watch again. ‘I organised Chase Security to travel in with her as well as her own security detail, as you instructed. Between the lot of them, you’d think she was bringing the heads of state of fifty nations with her. But she should be here any minute.’
‘Since when do I worry?’ Rafe said, not bothering to hide his irritation.
Hannah’s grin widened before she checked a message that popped up on her tablet. ‘Since you got married, it seems. But I can see why you married her. We had a great time shopping. She’s truly lovely. Not at all stuck-up, as one might expect from royalty, but then you’re not stuck up, so I don’t know why I thought she would be. And she looks incredible in her new dress. We had a lot of fun choosing it. Oh, I better go. The Duke and Duchess of Crenshore have arrived and I need to show them to their private table.’
Not hearing a word she’d said after ‘new dress’, Rafe’s mind was now obsessed with exactly what this new dress would look like. Would her hair be up or down? He still had no idea how long it was. Another unwanted obsession he’d suddenly developed.
Glancing once more at the display showing the entrance, Rafe saw one of the Chase Security guards he’d organised to shadow Alexa walk through the door.
Not realising he was holding his breath, he waited for Alexa to appear and exhaled at seeing her.
Her hair was down. And it was long. Almost waist-length and as straight as an arrow.
Wearing a trench coat and stiletto heels, she looked regal and calm except for the glitter in her eyes that gave away her excitement as she scanned the foyer.
A similar feeling went through him now and he did his best to douse it. There was no reason he should be ‘excited’ that she was here. He’d agreed to let her come because he felt sorry for her, stuck in his apartment working. She worked too much, trying to prove herself, as he had once done. Only she was perfect as she was.
Stopping those thoughts dead in their tracks, he noted with satisfaction how her security detail scanned the crowd before allowing her to move further inside. It was guests only at the club tonight, and Rafe had personally checked over the list and given it to her team to cross-reference, but he didn’t want to take any chances with her safety.
For some reason I feel safe with you.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. She’d been talking about taking charge of her professional needs, but his mind was still stuck on her ‘taking charge’ in a much more pleasurable capacity.
Cursing at the single track his mind had been on ever since the Santarian charity ball, he refocused on making sure Alexa made it into his club without incident.
A member of his staff approached her, indicating that he would take her jacket, and Rafe’s gut tightened as she slowly pulled at the belt, shrugging her shoulders so that the fabric slipped down her arms.
Rafe nearly choked on the air he’d just sucked into his lungs.
The dress she was wearing was black, tight and minimal in the extreme. It was as if the manufacturer had run out of fabric, shrugged and sewn it together anyway. Sheer gossamer tights covered legs that looked impossibly long in stiletto heels. Her waist looked tiny, her breasts full and voluptuous.
Nearby, men gave her covetous looks and Rafe found himself moving towards the lift that would take him to the ground floor before he’d even thought about it. She would cause a war in his club if he didn’t immediately bundle her back into that coat.
‘I feel so alive. Almost electric.’ Alexa’s eyes sparkled with pleasure when she spotted him. ‘This place is fantastic. Dark and mysterious—it’s as if something magical could happen around any corner. But it’s also a touch romantic with the effect of the mauve and blue lighting on the wall murals. And the music—’
Hannah interrupted her excitement with a glass of champagne. ‘It’s French, of course. You look brilliant. That dress is perfect. Don’t you think so, Rafe?’
‘Perfect.’
Alexa raised a brow at his droll reply. He was going to have to pull himself together before he sank his hands into all that lustrous hair and said to hell with the club—they were going back to the apartment to have the kind of sex he was always reputed to have.
‘Thanks to you, Hannah.’ Alexa grinned happily. ‘I had the most amazing afternoon.’
‘My pleasure,’ Hannah replied. ‘I’ll swap the office for Bond Street any day of the week.’
‘Are you okay?’ Alexa finally remembered he was present and frowned. ‘You seem angry.’
‘I’m not angry. But I suggest you don’t bend over in that dress.’
‘Is it too short? Hannah assured me that it wouldn’t stand out in the crowd.’
Rafe gave Hannah a look that promised she’d be missing her bonus next Christmas. ‘Hannah was wrong.’
‘Okay, well... I think I see a fire I need to put out,’ Hannah said tactfully. ‘You two have fun.’
Alexa smoothed her hands down the slightly flared hem of her dress. ‘It’s no shorter than some of the other dresses being worn tonight. I have to confess I didn’t think you’d mind, given the photos of some of the women I’ve seen you with.’
Yes, but none of those women had been his wife, and he had never even noticed if anyone had thrown
them admiring glances. Now he couldn’t stop noticing the men who cast covetous glances Alexa’s way.
‘Let’s go to my table.’
That would be a safe place to stash her for a while. She could watch everything that happened from the third-floor balcony that overlooked two split-level dance floors before he sent her home.
She pressed in closely behind him, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt so she didn’t lose him in the crowd. Rafe thought about placing her in front of him but there was only so much his control could handle, and having her pert derrière so close at hand just might tip him over the edge.
‘I know I’m not familiar with nightclubs,’ she said as he led her up the circular glass staircase, nodding to one of the ground staff monitoring the third floor, ‘but I doubt there would ever be one out there to top this. You must be really proud.’
Exceptionally pleased by her praise, he smiled. ‘I’m glad you like it.’
Reaching their destination, he ushered her into the velvet-upholstered circular sofa. Her slender legs were partially concealed by the small central table, but that left her cleavage and her wide, happy smile for him to focus on and that wasn’t much better. Forget working out how much time they had left in days, he needed to work out how much time they had left in hours; it would at least give his mind something to do.
One hundred and ninety two.
Not helpful.
* * *
Trying to ignore how tense Rafe was wasn’t easy, but by her second glass of champagne Alexa was managing it. Berenia didn’t have anything like this and while she was used to being the centre of attention she’d never been completely comfortable with it. But here, in this club, she felt as if she could be anyone. She didn’t feel as if she had to be the proper Crown Princess. She felt as if she could let her hair down. And she had. The feel of it against her bare back heightened her senses and made her feel so different from her usual self. So did the loud music flooding her body with its throbbing beat.
She glanced across at Rafe, who was speaking to someone who had stopped at their table and who was more interested in him than in her. This was his domain and she liked seeing him in it. She liked taking a back seat. Like this, she could just be any one of the women he took out with him. A woman he would later take home. To his bed.
Her gaze roamed his wide shoulders and silky dark hair. She’d always imagined that her dream man would be someone upstanding and good. Someone like his brother, whom she’d built her secret fantasies around, based on his chivalrous actions when she was younger. But really, the King of Santara, as handsome as he was, had never made her feel the way Rafe did. Never made her want to climb into his lap and straddle his hard thighs the way she wanted to do now.
As if she’d actually reached over and touched him, Rafe turned his head away from the man leaning on their booth seat, his smoky gaze connecting with hers as if he knew every one of her sinfully erotic thoughts. Instinctively, her eyes moved to his sensual mouth and the stubble that had grown in over the course of the day. In a black shirt, his hair falling in thick waves, he looked like a modern-day pirate.
Alexa casually picked up her champagne glass and tried to pretend that her heart wasn’t racing. What would he say if she vocalised her desires? What would he say if she slid along the raspberry-coloured bench seat and whispered that she wanted to change their bargain? That she wanted sex with him whether it was meaningless or not.
‘I see everyone agrees that this club is sensational,’ she said as the man Rafe had been conversing with strolled away from their table. ‘You must feel proud.’
‘It takes an army of people to create something like this. It’s not all my doing.’
‘But it takes a visionary to conceive of it, and then someone to take the risk and actually execute it.’
He swallowed a mouthful of champagne and Alexa felt transfixed by the movement of his throat. She felt breathless and the cavernous room seemed to shrink as he sat there watching her with an intensity she wanted to interpret as sexual.
Because this man might be wrong for her on so many levels but that didn’t stop her from wanting him. He was so easy to talk to, so easy to be with. It was sexy to be able to say something to a man and have him actually listen to her. And she did feel safe with him. Safe and sensual. Especially when he kissed her.
‘Alexa, if you don’t stop looking at me like that I’m likely to do something we’ll both regret.’
His deep growly voice flowed through her body like hot caramel. ‘Like what?’
His blue eyes turned as hot as a flame, his body going so still at her words she knew he was holding his breath. ‘Like things you don’t want to know about.’
Alexa’s tongue slipped out to moisten her dry lips. ‘Maybe I do.’
‘You don’t.’ The blunt words were edged in steel and made all the insecurities left over from Stefano, and King Jaeger’s, rejection come storming back to her. What was she doing? She wasn’t some femme fatale! She was the woman that men walked away from.
But you already know he’s going to walk away, a little voice reminded her. It’s why you chose him.
Emboldened by that voice, her slinky dress and the hard, hot man beside her, Alexa decided she could either give into her inadequacies or throw caution to the wind and see what happened. With her heart in her mouth she embraced the latter, slowly crossing one leg over the other and gathering her hair in one hand to bring it forward over her shoulder. ‘Why don’t you let me be the judge of what I want? I’m not a child, Rafe.’
‘I know you’re not a child,’ he bit out. ‘Nobody looking at you in that dress could mistake you for one.’
‘You don’t like my dress?’
Before he could respond a laughing Hannah stopped by their table. ‘Everything okay, boss?’
‘Everything is fine, Hannah. You can officially clock off duty now and have a drink.’
‘Oh, thank goodness.’ She gave Alexa a wide smile. ‘I’ve been desperate to hit the dance floor. Have you had a dance yet, Your Highness?’
‘Please, just call me Alexa. A title seems so inappropriate tonight. Tonight I just want to have fun.’
‘Then let’s dance. Do you want to come, boss?’
‘No.’
‘Mind if I drag Alexa along?’
‘Yes.’
But Alexa was already sliding from the booth seat. ‘Don’t listen to him, Hannah. I’d love to go dancing. It’s what I’m here for.’
Hannah laughed. ‘I like this one. Make sure you don’t do anything to lose her.’
Weaving her way down the stairs, Alexa could feel Rafe’s gaze on her the whole way but she refused to turn and glance back at him. Somehow she knew the steps to the timeless game he had started playing with her at the Summer Palace, which had stalled when her father had forced them to get married. Well, no one was forcing him to do anything now, and if he didn’t want her she’d find someone else who did. After all, that had been the point of her initial mission—to buy herself some time to find a man she did want to marry.
Unfortunately, her mind seemed inconveniently stuck on one man right now. Her Prince.
‘This club is going to be on everyone’s list of where to go for years,’ Hannah stated, raising her voice above the upbeat music. ‘I love my job!’
She waved her hands in the air, her enthusiasm catching, and Alexa found herself loosening up as she gave up any semblance of self-consciousness and moved her body in a way that felt sexy and liberating.
‘So you like working for Rafe?’ she asked.
‘Oh, he’s amazing. The best boss in the world. And I’m not just saying that because you’re his wife—it’s true. He’s generous and disciplined and so kind. Last month he asked me to organise an all-expenses-paid holiday to the Caribbean for a month, along with six months off with full pay, for one of our accountants whose wife is ill.
He’s a dream boss.’
A dream boss? Hannah had just described her dream man. She certainly hadn’t described someone Alexa had believed to be self-centred and hedonistic.
‘You’re a lucky woman to have captured him,’ Hannah continued. ‘I think a thousand women lay heartbroken in their beds on the day you married.’
‘You can stop talking now, Hannah.’
Alexa turned at Rafe’s droll tone to find him standing stock-still in front of her, the gyrating bodies of the other dancers surrounding him like caricatures in a stage play. She slowly dropped her arms from over her head, unable to take her eyes from his.
‘I thought you didn’t want to dance?’ Hannah laughed.
‘I don’t.’ Rafe’s gaze slid down over Alexa’s body with such searing heat she turned liquid inside. ‘Go get a drink, Hannah. Your duty is done here.’
‘I can see that.’ Hannah grinned and melted into the surrounding dancers.
Alexa didn’t notice Hannah disappear; she only had eyes for Rafe, who was looking at her as a wolf might look at a helpless deer.
‘I do like your dress. But I like you even more.’
‘You do?’
His hands moved to the sides of her waist. ‘Too much. I’ve been trying to avoid giving in to this all week, but you’ve defeated me.’ His voice turned low and growly. ‘But this won’t just blur those lines between us, Princess, it will completely obliterate them.’
‘I don’t mind.’
A serious glint entered his dark eyes. ‘And if it’s another mistake?’
‘Are you trying to warn me off you? I’m not that naive young girl any more, Rafe. I’ve grown up a lot since Stefano. I know this isn’t about love, so if you’re worried that I’ll fall for you like every other woman, I won’t.’
‘That’s not what I’m afraid of.’
‘Then what are you afraid of?’
His hand came up to the side of her face, his fingers stroking through the heavy strands of her hair. They could have been alone for all the notice they took of the energetic dancers around them. ‘I’m afraid I won’t want to stop once I’ve had you. I’m afraid I want you too much.’
Their Royal Wedding Bargain Page 10