Valerie Parv - The Princess and the Playboy

He took a cautious swallow then another. After the first bitter taste it was curiously refreshing. ‘What is this stuff?’

‘Mostly tropical juices with herbs and a dash of pepper,’ she explained. ‘What you would call “hair of the pup”.’

‘Dog,’ he corrected. At her puzzled look, he added, ‘It’s called “hair of the dog” but this doesn’t qualify. The complete phrase is “hair of the dog that bit you” so, strictly speaking, it should be alcoholic.’

She started to rise but he stayed her with a hand on her arm. ‘This is fine, thanks.’

The effect of the contact was instant and electrifying. He felt it all the way to the soles of his shoes. She felt it too, from the way her pupils enlarged and she trembled ever so slightly under his hand. He hastily withdrew it and finished the juice.

‘Are you still coming with me to Crystal Bay?’ Even as he said it he knew he should have withdrawn the invitation, giving some excuse to go alone. Instead, he held his breath as he waited for her answer.

‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ she assured him. ‘After you’ve shown me the site of your resort, I want to show you a Crystal Bay which outsiders seldom see.’

He felt a frown etch his brow. ‘Carting me around some picturesque village won’t make me change my plans, if that’s what you’re hoping.’ It didn’t take a genius to work out that she didn’t favour the resort, which was strange, given her husband’s involvement with tourism.

Her look was mild but her hands wove together in her lap, he noted. ‘Somehow I doubt if anyone makes you do anything, Jase.’

She didn’t exactly say, ‘So who am I to try?’ And she didn’t bat her eyelids. But both were implied. He got a sense of performance in her behaviour today, as if she were acting a part. Probably the submissive Sapphan woman, he decided. Feminism wasn’t exactly rampant here but neither were the women especially submissive. They owned property, ran businesses, held government office, exactly as they did in his own country. Maybe she had some notion of using feminine wiles to influence his plans. ‘Why didn’t you go with Michael to Europe?’ he asked, suddenly suspicious.

She shrugged. ‘He didn’t ask me to.’ It was the absolute truth.

‘You didn’t remain behind precisely so we could have the discussion we’re having now?’

She drew herself up. Regal was the only word which fitted her bearing, as if she wasn’t accustomed to having her word doubted. ‘What are you implying, Jase?’

He folded his arms across his chest. ‘You don’t like the idea of a resort at Crystal Bay.’ It wasn’t a question. Her behaviour had already given him the answer.

‘I make no secret of it,’ she confirmed. ‘Today I mean to show you my reasons.’

Honesty at last. He nodded slowly. ‘This should prove fascinating.’

The road to the resort site at Crystal Bay was a winding dirt track, littered with fist-sized stones. Jase kept the car windows wound up against the gritty dust blowing against the glass. ‘This road is the first thing I plan to upgrade,’ he said through clenched teeth.

The daunting road also deterred outsiders from intruding on the villagers’ way of life, but Talay kept the thought to herself, reluctant to invite another lecture about the dangers of stagnation.

Another jolt threw her sideways against Jase and she was forced to cling to him until she could lever herself upright. About the only benefit she could see in a smooth road was to save her the indignity of constantly being thrown into contact with him, she thought, feeling her face flame. In the driving mirror she glimpsed amusement dancing in his eyes. The wretched man was enjoying this.

Fortunately, he blamed the jolting ride rather than the intimacy of the contact for her discomfiture. She would die before admitting that every move, every touch between them, sent her senses haywire. She had never experienced anything remotely like his effect on her, and it took her breath away. Keeping her mind on her mission was becoming more and more of a challenge.

‘I gather you’re a jewellery designer,’ he surprised her by saying.

Her startled look flitted to him. ‘How did you know?’

‘This morning I saw some sketches you left lying on the coffee-table. From the look of them, you have a lot of talent. I’m surprised Michael never mentioned it.’

Her thoughts raced. ‘It’s something I studied as a single woman.’

Jase nodded, his lean hands flexed around the steering-wheel as he controlled the powerful car over the tortuous road. ‘And now you’ve decided to go back to it.’ He shot her a sidelong look. ‘Are you and Michael having some trouble?’

Her eyebrows lifted involuntarily. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘I can add up. He didn’t ask you to go with him to Europe. You’re reviving an interest in a former career. And you obviously don’t see eye to eye on the resort plans.’ Without warning he stopped the car and turned to her. ‘What are you playing at?’

Confusion ripped through her. His instincts had warned him she wasn’t being honest with him but he had reached a totally unexpected—and wrong—conclusion. ‘What do you mean?’ she hedged.

‘Michael didn’t sign the message inviting me to use the villa in his absence. Did you send it, Allie?’

‘What makes you think—?’

He seized her wrist and turned her to face him. ‘First things first. Did you send the message?’

White-hot anger seared her veins. ‘You forget with whom you’re dealing.’ In dismay she realised her imperious tone belonged more to Princess Talay than Allie Martine.

His hold didn’t slacken but thankfully he misunderstood the source of her rage. ‘It’s a bit late to remind me of your married status now, isn’t it? You should have remembered it before arranging for us to be alone.’

‘I have no idea what you mean.’ In truth, she didn’t.

His hard gaze bored into her. ‘Don’t you? You may think you know what kind of man I am—but think again. In spite of my reputation, I have no interest in providing a fling for a woman whose marriage has gone stale.’

Horror gripped Talay. She had never dreamed he would misinterpret her actions so completely. She couldn’t let him believe Allie would do such a thing. ‘You’re wrong,’ she stated emphatically. ‘There’s nothing amiss with the marriage.’

His eyebrows climbed. ‘The marriage, Allie? It’s a peculiar way to describe a love match, surely? What about, “I still love Michael”? Say it and I’ll admit I’m out of line.’

The silence in the car became deafening. Lies argued against Talay’s nature. Already she wished with all her heart that she had never pretended to be Allie. She couldn’t bring herself to compound her crimes by telling Jase she loved Michael.

An impatient breath whistled past Jase’s lips. ‘I rest my case. So there’s only one thing left to prove.’

Something in his tone set her senses on full alert. ‘What do you—?’

Before she could finish the question he slid an arm around her neck and pulled her towards him, the suddenness of the movement driving the air out of her lungs. His mouth crashed down on hers and she was enveloped in a sensation like drowning.

It was drowning of the most sensuous sort and the protest she tried to make forced her lips apart, exactly the way he wanted them she found out when his tongue sought hers in a sinuous dance. She had been kissed before, but never so compellingly that she could hardly think.

Then, somewhere between her attempted cry of protest and his invasion of her mouth, something changed. All the pent-up emotion of the last few hours forced its way into her response until she found herself returning his kiss with all the passion in her soul.