by Noelle Adams
She was more than ready to do battle. This man had to understand that there are many ways to define a leader. “There are so many children out there who have ideas but don’t know how to express them. Some are never taught that it is okay to express their ideas and others think in ways that are not encouraged, therefore they are never given the chance to express their ideas. We’re missing out on a huge resource if we only use the heirs of wealthy families or domineering, aggressive people. We’ll miss out on the gentle side of nature and that is a loss that the world really can’t afford to lose.”
“We can’t protect the gentle forever. Besides, they’ll be crushed by the real world if they are too gentle. Everyone needs a tough skin to get through life. It is more about evolution than wealth.”
Ana’s lips pursed but she continued her arguments. “You sound like my brother,” she said. “But he’s wrong. We all need to balance our toughness with a gentle hand.”
“Sort of like the iron fist covered by the velvet glove?”
“No. How about a teddy bear analogy?”
“It won’t work,” he said softly but wanted more than anything to live in her world. Hell, he thought to himself as he watched her animated features, he wanted her to live in his. That thought came out of nowhere and startled him at first but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was the truth.
“It will work,” she said forcefully. “I just need to find a way to get the gentler children into college. We all do. I think it is our civic responsibility for the tough to watch out for the gentle. And don’t confuse the word gentle with weak either. These are the artists and musicians, or writers who may not make a lot of money but use their God given talents to show us a side of the world we haven’t discovered yet. We may not agree with them but we have to respect their perceptions and consider their ideas. Otherwise, we’re a poorer generation.”
He smiled at her vehemence and took her hand in his, gently touching her fingers with his long ones. “You’re very idealistic, aren’t you?”
Ana was startled with the contact but didn’t pull away. She liked the way his hands felt against her skin and wondered what it would be like to feel his hands on other parts of her body. She pushed those thoughts aside and forced herself to answer his question. “Some people might say I’m idealistic. Others might consider it more of a battle for equity.”
“There is no equity in the world.”
Ana sat back in her chair and shook her head, her hands falling out of his simply because her arms weren’t long enough to hold the contact. “Might does not make right,” she asserted.
The waitress arrived at that moment to take their order and Ana asked for a cup of soup and salad. She really wanted a huge platter of pasta smothered in a creamy cheese sauce but she knew that would be a little gauche. Her mouth almost dropped open when she listened to Marcus order something similar to what she’d wanted but also garlic bread and some other appetizers. Her mouth was watering just at the thought.
Her eyes were wide as the waitress walked away, smiling.
“You looked hungry, so I thought you might want something more than a salad,” he said when he saw her expression.
Ana smiled and the butterflies started fluttering in her stomach. “That was very thoughtful of you,” she whispered, embarrassed.
“You’d been arguing so vehemently about stepping up for the people who couldn’t be heard.”
“Did you hear my stomach growl or something?” she laughed.
Erik chuckled, thinking she looked beautifully adorable with her soft blush pinkening her lovely cheeks. “No. Your eyes wouldn’t leave the pasta side of the menu. I don’t think you even glanced at the salad side. It was pretty easy to see that you wanted something other than salad.”
Ana wasn’t sure she liked him being that observant. “Do you always watch people so closely?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because people reveal more with what they do than with what they say,” he said simply.
“That sounds like very forward thinking. I come from a world where every word is analyzed to death.”
“Sounds like you’re also involved in some sort of politics.”
Ana’s stomach jumped. How could she have revealed that about herself? That was very careless. “There are a lot of people who say they will donate to charities and then don’t.” It wasn’t a lie but she hoped it would push him away from the truth he’d come too close to a moment ago.
The appetizers arrived almost immediately and Ana took a grateful bite of the garlic bread that was dripping with delicious mozzarella cheese and garlic butter. “This is wonderful,” she said, closing her eyes and savoring the wonderfully sinful taste.
Erik watched her savor the taste of the garlic bread and his throat ached, his stomach clenched and his body instantly hardened in reaction. The sensuous thrill she got simply from eating bread made him ache to pull her into his arms and kiss her. He thought she would probably be just as sensuous in bed. He knew at that moment that he was going to find out. He’d never been this adamant about needing to bed a woman before. He liked sex just as much as the next man but with this woman, it was more of a need than a want.
Ana opened her eyes and smiled, but her smile faltered when she saw the intensity of his expression. “I’m sorry, did I do something to offend you?” she asked, putting down the bread and wiping her hands delicately.
“Absolutely not. Just the opposite, in fact. I’m glad you enjoy the food,” he smiled and took a long drink of ice cold water in an attempt to get his body under control. It didn’t work.
Her expression cleared and she took another bite, enjoying it just as much as the first one. “What do you do?” she asked, wiping her mouth carefully.
“I’m a little bit of a do-it-all sort I guess,” he replied.
“What kinds of things do you oversee?” She knew he was a leader and not one of the workers. She couldn’t imagine this man taking orders from anyone.
“Why do you think I oversee things? Perhaps I actually do things.”
Ana laughed and shook her head. “You’re a leader. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise. I simply won’t believe it so just save your breath.”
“Maybe I guide a few people,” he relented.
Ana didn’t believe him. He was probably the head of some corporation or something similar. This man positively emanated authority just like her father did. In fact, she took a good look at him now, he had the appearance and mannerisms of someone born to wealth and authority. Perhaps he was some sort of aristocrat but his English was infallible and without an accent so he had to be from Europe somewhere. “Where are you from?” she asked.
“Ah! I can’t tell you. I’d be revealing too many secrets.”
She smiled at the mystery, not bothered at all by his response. “Do you have many of them?”
“Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “Don’t you?”
Ana laughed and let the subject drop. “Okay, are you married?”
Erik shook his head honestly. “No. I’m not yet married.” It felt good to be able tell her the truth about that but it wouldn’t be honest in less than a month, he thought. Would she still be in his life at that point? He certainly hoped so.
“Girlfriend?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“No girlfriend either,” he said. A fiancée he’d met over ten years ago didn’t qualify as a girlfriend in his mind. And since he’d missed the party last night, he still hadn’t reacquainted himself with her again. He might be splitting hairs on that answer but he didn’t care.
“Why not?”
He raised a teasing eyebrow. “Perhaps I’m just a loner with no purpose in life.”
Ana laughed at his joking expression. “No. You’re more purposeful than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“What about you?” he said, turning the tables before she asked a question he couldn’t answer honestly or evasively. “Are you mar
ried? I’m guessing no since there’s no ring on your finger?”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“What?” he asked, taking another bite of garlic bread and placing two more slices on her plate.
She instantly picked up the bread and took a grateful bite, thrilled that she felt comfortable enough to eat in front of him and not worried that her picture would be in the paper the following day. “Why does a woman always wear the symbol of marriage on her finger and yet a man doesn’t do the same?”
“Some do.”
“Would you?”
“I suppose so.”
“Would you mind if your wife chose not to?”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” she challenged. “Think about it because I don’t think many men would like the idea of their wife not wearing a wedding ring. In my opinion, they would consider it a form of branding in some way. But if a man doesn’t wear a wedding ring, no one thinks twice about it. A woman doesn’t have a choice really in the matter but a man has complete discretion on the subject. Doesn’t he?”
Erik leaned back in his chair, his eyes showing his admiration for her argument. “I’ve never thought about it like that,” he said.
“I’m guessing you never took any women’s studies classes in college, did you?”
Erik laughed. “No, not really.”
Their food arrived and interrupted their conversation. Ana ate more of the appetizers than her soup and salad, enjoying the freedom of eating what she wanted instead of worrying about what she might look like in pictures the next day in the newspaper.
While they ate, they challenged each other on the classes they took during their school years. Ana had gone to university, but she’d also taken many kinds of classes all through her life, as well as private tutors that drilled history and literature into her.
It was refreshing to speak her mind instead of worrying about how her words might offend someone. She didn’t think Marcus would publish her words in the paper the next day so she felt free to voice her opinions and argue with him about anything he brought up.
They finished their meal two hours later and Ana smiled gratefully at the waitress who took their plates away.
Once they were alone again, he took her hand in his. “What are you doing for the rest of the afternoon?” he asked.
She thought about her schedule and what she really wanted to do and decided on a plan. “I was going to go through one of the other museums.”
“Would you mind if I tagged along? I’ve never been inside them myself.”
“I’d love it,” she smiled brightly.
They walked across the street and Ana felt much better having his strong hand at the small of her back. It was different than having her body guards watching over her. With Marcus beside her, she felt safer, more cared for and protected. And with all the crowds inside the Museum of Natural History, she didn’t feel overwhelmed because Marcus was right next to her, talking to her and listening to her opinions on the various exhibits.
They strolled through the fossils of the dinosaurs, then moved on to the evolution of animals. The exhibits just moved from one to the other and Ana barely knew when they were leaving one and moving on to the next one. Once they were in the stones and gems, Ana quickly walked through the jewelry, not really interested in the Hope Diamond or the other beautiful and priceless stones. She saw enough jewelry and didn’t need to see these, especially since they were surrounded by so many other people wanting to have a look.
They were outside, slowly walking down the gravel pathway when Marcus asked her, “Why didn’t you want to see the diamonds and rubies?”
Ana shrugged her shoulders. “Once you’ve seen one stone, you’ve pretty much seen them all, don’t you think?”
“I thought most women loved seeing shiny rocks and such,” he chuckled.
Ana shook her head. “Not me. I’m sure they were lovely, but not exactly the most interesting exhibits in the museum. The giant squid, now that was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t want to run into that in the middle of an ocean. Might take down the ship.”
“I hope not,” she laughed.
There was an awkward silence when Ana looked at her watch. “I need to get back,” she said sadly. “Thank you for lunch and for a lovely afternoon.”
“Why can’t you have dinner with me?” he asked, unwilling to let her go again today. The fear that he would lose her was very real.
She smiled wistfully. “I have dinner plans already,” she said, thinking of the twenty diplomats and their wives who were expected to dine with her father tonight. She would be expected to attend.
“What about tomorrow?” he asked, ticking off several meetings he could cancel.
Ana considered the idea for a moment. She didn’t have any obligations tomorrow and she was pretty sure her mother and father were planning on spending the evening at the opera tomorrow. She hated the opera so it wouldn’t be difficult to get out of that event. “I think I could make some arrangements for that,” she smiled, glad he had asked. It would give her something to think about during the tediously boring evening ahead.
“Meet me for dinner?” he asked.
She was now delighted that her parents had booked a box at the opera for the evening. They knew she didn’t like it and hadn’t pressured her to attend. She suspected that it had been left open so Prince Erik might spend some time with her. But since he hadn’t bothered to show up for an official appointment last night, she didn’t feel obligated to be with him tomorrow night nor to hold the evening open for him on the off chance that he would fit his fiancée in to his plans.
“I’d love to,” she said sincerely.
“Where are you staying? I’ll pick you up,” he said.
There was a slight pause before she said, “No, I’ll meet you somewhere. Just name the place and I’ll be there,” she said.
Erik thought quickly. “There’s a small restaurant named Francois. Just give the name to the cab driver and they’ll know how to get there. Meet me there at seven?”
Ana smiled and nodded her head eagerly. “Sounds wonderful,” she agreed. She started to walk away but he put a hand on her arm to stop her.
She turned around and looked up at him, expecting him to say something else. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I saw you on the street earlier today,” he said, his voice husky.
His mouth descended quickly toward hers and Ana didn’t stop him, in fact, she raised herself up on her toes to meet him. Just as they had yesterday, as soon as their lips touched, the flames ignited and Ana moaned, leaning closer toward his body. She wasn’t brave enough to actually lean against him but he pulled her the rest of the way so their bodies were touching from shoulder to knee. Ana gasped, initially scared of the contact but thrilled when his mouth moved over hers, touching and caressing, testing.
His mouth finally covered hers and his tongue touched her lips. Again, Ana gasped and his tongue entered her mouth, mating with hers. Ana was so overwhelmed by the feelings, her hands gripped his shoulders. Her mouth moved with his, imitating anything he did. It was wonderful and thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. She tried to pull back but his hand at the back of her head stopped her and forced her closer, deepening the kiss and Ana sighed, wanting more but not sure what would come next.
His hand on her waist was burning a path through her sweater. It moved from her waist to her back, pulling her body closer and Ana’s arms moved to wrap around his shoulder, her fingers touching the hair on the nape of his neck.
“Get a room!” two teenagers yelled from a distance and broke the spell that had been weaving around the two of them. Ana quickly stepped back out of his arms, her fingers touching her tingling lips.
Erik looked around, wanting to smash in the face of whoever had spoken those words. But his initial concern was for the woman still trembling in front of him. “Annie, I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?” he sai
d, afraid he’d scared her off with his passion. She ignited something in him that he was unable to control, nor did he want to even try.
Ana looked up at him, wonder filling her eyes and she nodded in agreement. “Yes. Tomorrow night,” she said, a slow smile forming across her face and her fingers coming up to touch her swollen lips as if she were somehow able to blend the kiss into her skin and lips and keep it forever.
Ana walked away slowly, not really sure where she was going. She looked back and saw him watching her and quickly turned back toward her destination. Ana rushed across the street and made her way cautiously toward the hotel, careful to watch out for her body guards. She’d been gone all day and there surely would be questions to answer for her absence.
Ana made her way to her room without incident. And for some reason, no one asked her where she’d been all day. It was very odd, she thought as she let her maid dress her hair in a simple French twist that would be appropriate for the night’s dinner party. Slipping on a black silk dress for the evening, Ana wondered if the security her father had ensured was around her all the time was really as good as he thought. But who was she to question it? She had her panic alarm with her so if anything ever happened to her, she could press the button and her guards would swarm in.
The dinner with the diplomats was just as tedious as she’d anticipated but it was compounded by the fact that she wasn’t with Marcus who stimulated every sense within her. He challenged her ideas as well as awakened her body to thoughts she’d never explored. What would it be like to make love with him, she wondered as the sixth course was placed in front of her? Since she’d just eaten a huge, decadent meal late in the afternoon, she wasn’t particularly hungry. The elderly man sitting next to her was interesting, but had to talk also with the woman on the other side of him so Ana was left with lots of time to wonder what it would be like to be with Marcus.
Chapter 6
Erik watched as the slender woman walked away from him down the street. He knew her name wasn’t Annie. He wasn’t sure what her real name was or what her secrets were but he was going to find out. All of them. He wanted to know everything about the fascinating woman.
