Carla Cassidy - By Order of the Prince

A hardness that had been around his heart cracked apart and fell away. “That means I don’t want you staying here alone. That means I don’t even want you out of my sight.”

If somebody was after her because they thought she was his lover, there was no real way to disabuse them of that notion. He’d already made her a target and the best he could hope for was that he could keep her safe until he returned to Barajas.

But for tonight he didn’t intend to go anywhere. And all he could think about was that they had been damned by what they weren’t doing—so why not go ahead and do it? Why not become her lover?

He stood once again and took her by the hand and pulled her up from her chair.

“The coffee is ready,” she murmured as he drew her into his arms.

“Hmm, suddenly I’m not in the mood for coffee.” He leaned down and touched his lips to the warm flesh of her neck, then nibbled at the skin just beneath her ear. He felt the quickened beat of her heart against his and a faint tremor that stole through her. “I think it’s time I made good on that earlier promise.”

She didn’t ask what promise he was talking about; rather she drew a shuddery breath and took him by the hand and led him down the hall toward her bedroom.

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Carla Cassidy is an award-winning author who has written more than fifty novels for Harlequin Books. In 1995, she won Best Silhouette Romance from RT Book Reviews for Anything for Danny. In 1998, she also won a Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series from RT Book Reviews.

Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

Beth Taylor—This hardworking beauty is drawn into danger by a handsome prince.

Prince Antoine Cavanaugh—He’s determined to find out what happened to his friend and is unable to stay away from the pretty housekeeper, Beth.

Sheikh Amir Khalid—A bomb destroyed his car, but his body was never found. Where is the sheikh and who is behind the attack?

Jake Wolf—Sheriff of Wind River. Can the lawman be trusted?

Michael Napolis—Head of Security for Prince Antoine. Is he part of a bigger conspiracy?

Aleksei Verovick—Tied to the Russian mob. Is he behind the attacks on the royals?

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

It was creepy—packing away the personal belongings of a guest who nobody knew was dead or alive. Beth Taylor, head of housekeeping at the luxury Wind River Ranch and Resort, unlocked the door to one of the exclusive plush suites and pushed it open.

Just a little over three weeks had passed since Sheik Amir Khalid, one of the royals who had come to the hotel for a meeting, had gotten into a limo that had driven a short distance and then blown up. The driver had been killed, but nobody knew what had happened to Amir. The only witness to the event had seen the sheik crawl out of the wreckage and he’d been picked up by somebody. The problem was nobody knew if it had been friend or foe who had picked up the injured man.

“It’s time to clear the room,” Beth’s boss had said to her minutes earlier. “It’s been three weeks with no word and I can’t hold the room forever. I’d like you to personally take care of it, Beth. We’ll lock up the belongings in storage until somebody comes to claim them.”

And so here she was, in a room where Sheik Amir Khalid had checked in as part of a four-nation coalition who had come here to discuss trade agreements that would benefit their individual countries. She pulled the luggage caddy she’d brought with her into the room and closed the door behind her.

The tasteful opulence of these suites never failed to amaze her. The thick carpeting beneath her feet, the subtle touches of gold trim in the woodwork and the oversized furniture all whispered of a kind of wealth Beth couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Immediately after high school, Beth, who’d had a sickly mother to care for, had gotten a job as maid at the resort. Three years ago, after eight years of working hard, she’d finally been promoted to head of housekeeping, an often difficult but rewarding job.

She fought the impulse to kick off her high heels, peel off her pantyhose and dig her toes into the plush rug. Instead she headed for the bedroom. The king-size bed was truly fit for a king, with a rich navy bedspread and matching draperies that could either be drawn against the sun or opened to display the beautiful view of the Wyoming landscape.

Sheik Amir hadn’t even spent a single night before the explosion had occurred, but his clothing had been neatly hung in the closet.

Her fingers lingered over the rich silks and other expensive fabrics as she carefully folded them and returned them to the suitcase she found on the floor in the closet.

With the closet once again empty she moved to the bathroom and quickly packed the personal grooming items that were scattered on the counter.

What had happened to Amir? It was the question on everyone’s lips. Had he managed to get out of the limo alive only to be picked up by enemies and then killed? The area had been searched but no clues had been found to solve the mystery of the missing sheik.

Returning to the bedroom she beelined for the nightstands. Although she didn’t think the sheik had been in the bedroom long enough to place anything inside the drawers, she wanted to be thorough.

The nightstands were tall and ornate, with marble tops and heavy drawers. She went to the one on the far side of the bed first. As she pulled open the top drawer she found herself thinking about how crazy everything had gotten since the dark-haired handsome sheik had taken the limo ride and never returned.

For the past three weeks the hotel had been turned upside down with the arrival of the royals. Reporters had flooded the area and there had even been local protests about the trade agreements. Since Amir’s disappearance the air had grown even more intense as the various security teams scrambled to make sure the remaining leaders stayed safe.

With a shake of her head she focused on the task at hand. The nightstand drawers held nothing that belonged to Sheik Amir so she moved to the ones on the near side of the bed.

She gasped as she pulled the top drawer out too far and it fell to the floor. “Darn,” she muttered, hoping she hadn’t marred the beautiful wood. As she picked it up to put it back, she felt something odd on the bottom.

Frowning, she flipped the empty drawer over to see what her fingers had encountered. A white envelope was taped to the bottom. She stared at it in confusion as her heart stepped up its rhythm.