She laughed again, and the band of steel around his chest loosened a fraction. “Hate to disappoint you, Your Highness, but we’re in the pitch of night and the only view you’ll get is of the stars.”
“Ah…yes, but they’re truly beautiful.”
“You sound like a tourist brochure.”
“Naturally.” He shrugged and changed down a gear as the incline began. “I’m the best advocate San Torrevna’s got.”
“But you’re a playboy.”
“Who right now is your fiancé.”
“Yes, well, the less said about that, the better.”
He slapped a playful hand to his chest. “You wound me. Are you going to dump me?” Which was exactly what he planned. Eventually.
“Women don’t dump you.”
His mouth curved his agreement.
“You are so conceited.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Lucas couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like dotting tiny kisses behind that shell-like ear.
“But you love me anyway.”
“In your dreams.”
But she did love him.
That was right—a lovesick fool, with only hope on her side.
Every ounce of oxygen in Cassie’s lungs evaporated as the realization hit full force.
Love him? Yes she did. So very much.
At her silent admission, a nervous quiver blossomed in her chest. What was the use of loving a man who would never love her back? Better she stick to her plan and leave.
“I want my country to flourish.” Lucas said interrupting her foolish thoughts, “and I’m determined to do what needs to be done.”
For a moment, Cassie had trouble remembering what they’d been talking about and mentally willed away the lingering love-coated fugue. She turned to Lucas. “Would you really marry for your country?”
He shot her a glare. “Let’s not discuss that particular topic, okay?”
Although his image imitated the string of men who had walked through her mother’s life and, subsequently Cassie’s childhood, Lucas was a good man. He cared about people, about his country, and about his family. Those traits made her love him even more.
As the miles slid by, lulling her into a state of relaxed bliss, the mountains loomed large, the gateway of the towering pines opening as they passed from the lowlands of the Lake District and into the burgeoning crown of San Torrevna’s glory.
Cocooned by the forest, everything became silent. Lucas stole a moment from concentrating on the mountainous zigzag bends and glanced at her. “You’re quiet.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s never stopped you before.”
“I’ve never been your…never played a charade before.”
“You’re doing a good job.”
“Am I?” And how is that working for you, Masters?
“Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?”
His sudden compliment warmed her from the inside out, but she couldn’t help wonder if it were real or simply words. She fingered the velvet dress. “That is purely thanks to your sisters’ shopping. It’s all external.” No, it’s not, her inner voice chimed. It was because she felt different inside. Because she’d let go of the mask.
But he had called her beautiful. Again. That he had never said it before when she was simply Cassie Masters, his PA, however, tore at her heart and proved exactly what she’d known all along. Lucas said what he thought someone wanted to hear, just to get his own way.
“I saw you with Rodriguez. What was that about?”
Cassie’s lips pursed. “Nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing. Looked rather intense.” Lucas’s voice had a surprising harshness to it. “If he’s causing you trouble, tell me.”
“Thank you, but don’t worry. I can handle him.” She’d handled situations like this for years. “Jorge is one of my mother’s ex-husbands,” she said by way of a brief explanation.
Lucas’s brows shot up. “How many have there been?”
She laughed bitterly. “Too many, plus lovers.” She shook her head, sad at the memory of her disruptive childhood. “Jorge has asked her for another chance.”
His gaze snapped to focus on her. “And your mother’s response?”
“A definite no. She’s…um…got other fish to fry.”
“Bigger?”
“Something like that.”
“I see.”
Did he? Did he really see what she saw? A desperate, sad, spiritless woman clutching at a youth long gone and with only one thing on her mind. Money. Not love. Not even lust.
Silence reined for a while and time slipped by unnoticed until they arrived at the Lodge, and she shook herself from her self-imposed musings as Lucas brought the car to a halt and cut the engine. She stared out the window at the pebbled path guarded on either side by a row of outdoor lights and gulped back panic. Alone. Just the two of them. The thought scared and excited her at the same time, and caused a posse of goose bumps to shimmy down her spine. She hugged her arms around her. “It’s so isolated.”
“That’s the beauty of it. The paparazzi don’t bother us here.” He glanced up at the cloud-laden sky. “Looks like we’re in for more snow.”
“But it’s almost summer.”
“True, but don’t forget we’re several thousand feet up. The air is thinner, and snow often settles here until late May, sometimes even into June.”
Unfurling stiff limbs, she stretched her arms above her head, only to realize Lucas stared at her, the glitter of interest in his eyes and the tiny pulse in his throat just visible in the hazy light of the dimly lit car. For one long, electrifying moment, she couldn’t draw her gaze from his, held there by something basic and primitive.
Lust, Cassie. Pure lust.
She slid the tip of her tongue across her parched lips, an action he followed closely, and a sharp breath clawed its way up her throat as if it were the last she would breathe. Disconnecting the moment, he twisted away and shoved open the door allowing a rush of icy air to burst into the vehicle, the temperature plummeting in more ways than one. “Come on. Let’s get inside.”
Cassie fumbled with her door handle only to have it snatched from her fingers as Lucas opened the door for her.
Rubbing her hands down her arms, she stepped gingerly out of the car and into crisp, cold snow, soaking into her satin shoes. “It’s freezing, and we haven’t any clothes.”
“Don’t worry, there’s plenty inside. I got security to arrange for the caretaker to put the fire on, so you’ll be warm in no time. Come on.” Lucas grabbed her hand, and together they headed up the path and the wide oak steps to the carved wooden doors.
Her teeth chattered, lungs almost devoid of oxygen. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be warm again.”
He drew her to him, and she relished his body heat warming her right through.
“See,” he said, staring down at her. “I told you you’d be warm soon.”
Cassie swallowed but didn’t draw away from him. Warm? She was burning hot…from him and for him, and it felt so good.
Lucas severed the moment as he pushed the door open. He stood back for her to walk in. She did and came to a standstill.
With its soaring planked ceilings and the largest wrought-iron chandelier she’d ever seen hanging from cross beams that had to be at least a foot thick, the Lodge’s entry offered the air of an exclusive country club. In awe, she arched her head back, stared skyward and turned full circle.
“Go on and warm up. I’ve got to sort a few things out.”
Left alone and drawn by a thread of heat through a set of open doors to the left, Cassie entered the room and took refuge in front of the roaring fire. Holding her hands out to the flames, she savored its heat as it slowly seeped through her skin and bones.
Though grand in size compared to what the rest of the population would call home, the Lodge was nothing like the palace Lucas had been brought up in, or the refurbished multilevel apartment wing of the palace that he lived in today. This isolated lodge felt homey and comforting, something the five-hundred-room palace could never be.
Above the rough-hewn mantelpiece was the San Torrevna crest, an eagle in flight with a soaring mountain in the background and a red cross in the right-hand corner.
Turning from the flames, she examined the rest of the room.
The walls had been covered with a tartan fabric, and the leather sofas were topped with an abundance of cushions and angora throws. The fireplace took up one wall, but it was the western wall that drew her attention. Entirely glassed, in daylight it would offer a spectacular view of the towering mountain peaks and the winding, green-gilded valley below.
Abandoning the fire’s warmth, she crossed over to the window and trailed her fingers down the glass, only to pull her hand back as a parade of icy shivers snaked across her skin. Everything seemed eerily silent. No life. No city lights. Just the two of them.
“I’ve checked the kitchen, and Pacco’s wife has left us some supper,” Lucas said, jolting her with his reappearance.
So they weren’t alone. She should be pleased. She was, really. “I didn’t know you had a housekeeper here.”
“I don’t.”
Her throat closed up. You are alone, Cassie. Can you resist?
Lucas regarded her a moment. “You okay?”
She said nothing, unsure if she was, in fact, okay.
“This place can look rather daunting at night. I remember as children we would run around with sheets over our heads, pretending to be ghosts. The old coot would roar with laughter.”
Cassie frowned. “Old coot?”
Lucas thumbed toward the parade of black-and-white photos on the wall to the left of the fire. Sidestepping him, Cassie went to look at them. She recognized Lucas’s father and mother with a young Lucas and his sisters. An elderly man stood in the background. “Your grandfather?”
“Yep, that’s the old…”
“Lucas! You can’t call him that.”
The “old coot” stood with an axe held aloft in one hand; his other punched the air in obvious jubilation. Tall. Strong. Commanding. Just like his grandson.
She stole a glance at Lucas, only to realize he’d closed the distance between them. A posse of butterflies burst into a tango in her stomach, and beneath her velvet dress, her nipples hardened against the silk lining. Her jaw clenched, and she bit down hard in an effort to curtail her fiery emotions, praying Lucas didn’t notice her reaction.
“He was a stubborn bugger.”
She turned from the private family photos to find herself standing so close to him she could see the mix of colors in his eyes. “The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree, then.”
He lifted one brow, and her heart skipped a beat. “So the nerves are gone, then?”
“I’m not nervous.” Liar. She was. Desperately. And all because Lucas stood so close and they were alone.
He nodded toward the window. “Not much to see out there.”
She glanced over her shoulder to the eerie darkness. “It’s so empty. A black nothingness.”
“And you were wondering what you were doing here? If you were safe?”
Embarrassed at his perception, she looked away. But it was more than that. She didn’t want Lucas to know how he affected her. Nor that she dreamed about his kisses, or how she wanted him to kiss her right now.
“You’re staring, Lucas.”
“I am indeed.”
A sudden boldness stirred inside her, and she tilted her chin up a fraction, offering him a challenge. “So, what do you see?”
His mouth curled into one of his famous smiles. “An accomplished woman. Efficient. Gets the job done.”
All nice words, but bland and boring, though she knew they went with the woman she wanted people to see. Trouble was, she wanted to hear other words from him, not ones that described an automaton.
“I couldn’t do without you, Cassie.”
“Great. Is this one of your practiced lines, Lucas? If so, don’t bother. But what else could you want? I buy presents for your girlfriends, make sure your life runs smoothly. I’m even helping you find a wife, and just for dessert, I’m playing your fake fiancée to give you some breathing space. I’d say that it is way more than my job description, wouldn’t you, Your Highness?” she said with a degree of bitterness she couldn’t eradicate.
Lucas’s gaze darkened, his body heat teasingly close. “And you’re a beautiful woman.”
Those were words she wanted to hear, but could she trust them? And did she really want to let go of her mask? Was it safe to do so?
Yes, you do. For Lucas, you do. Just for him.
But beauty was all fluff and on the surface. “Please, don’t, Lucas. I’m me. The same woman who has worked for you for two years. No different, except that now I’m dressed up in what your money has bought.” Suddenly, he reached out and caressed a path down her cheek, and she gritted her teeth, corralling all her willpower to resist curling into the warmth of his touch.
“They’re not just words, Cassie. And you’re still beautiful.” His words were a murmur, soft and seductive. He wound a loose strand of her hair around his finger, tugging at it lightly, and she found herself edging even closer toward him.
Resist.
“Why do you say that now?”
His thumb traced the edges of her mouth, and her lips automatically parted, her wispy breath sliding across his fingertip. His eyes darkened to obsidian with a flicker of unrestrained desire.
Resist, Cassie
“Don’t do this.” Please.
“Why not?”
“Because you agreed to my rule.”
“You should know by now I’ve a long history of breaking the rules.” His mouth claimed hers and obliterated any syllable of denial or about her rules as her senses blurred one into the other. Taste. Sound. Touch. Lucas kissing her. Kissing him back. Exactly what she craved.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
Despite the adoration she heard in his tone, she still couldn’t quite believe him, couldn’t let go of the niggle that said…why now? Why me? And what about the Cassie before this all started? Was he really so shallow and not able to see beyond the jewels and couture? Thinking that broke Cassie’s heart, but no way was she able to withstand his sensual assault, surrendering as Lucas trailed kisses down the curve of her throat and dotted butterfly kisses across her closed eyelids.
A shuddering sigh escaped her. “I want to touch you.” Had she really said that? It was totally true.
The kisses stopped, and her eyelids flicked open. Lucas smiled down at her, eyes molten, smoldering. “Go ahead.”
Fueled with a revived confidence and daring, Cassie reached up behind him and trailed her fingers through his hair. The texture teased, as did the feel of his rock-hard body pressed against hers. His arousal left no doubt he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
Braced against him, her nipples pebbled and ached. This was all about here and now and being free to ignore the future.
With an impatient groan, Lucas delved his fingers beneath the bodice of her dress and brushed aside her lace bra, circling one nipple between his fingers and thumb.
“I need you.” Throat thick with want, she’d voiced her need without thinking, and that frightened her. She’d abandoned her rule and let go of everything she thought would protect her body and soul, and her heart. Yet she rejoiced in that freedom. Wanted it. Craved it.
“Help yourself.” Lucas dropped his hands to his sides, allowing her freedom to explore. She reached for the front of his shirt, and her trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons. “Why do they make t
hese things so fiddly?”
“To enhance the anticipation.”
A button fell to the floor. “It’s succeeding.”
“So think of the end result.”
Cassie squeezed her eyes closed. Even though her brain screamed stop, there was no way she could. She wanted this moment so badly. Just once. Once and no more. Then I’ll leave.
Wasn’t that what she’d said about kissing him? Just once. Trouble was, once would never, ever be enough where Lucas Palmera was concerned.
As her heart hammered so hard she thought it would burst in her chest, she ripped the last button from the fabric and pulled his shirt from his waistband.
“Good job.”
Her breath ratcheted up a thousandfold as she lifted her gaze to his, shocked by the intensity of desire in his gaze. “I try to please.”
“Oh, you do, believe me.” Lucas reached behind her, and with a gentle tug, he slid the zipper of her dress down, drawing the straps down her arms. “So beautiful.” He lowered his mouth over one exposed nipple, and a guttural sigh exploded from her. She sagged against him, knees buckling. No way could she stop now.
Minutes later, she lay on the fur rug in front of the fire, the heat nothing compared to the flames of sensual hunger licking along her skin. Lucas knelt beside her, his gaze roaming over her lacy underwear and garter belt and stockings.
“Oh, sweet mercy.” In turn, he lifted each foot and removed her satin heels.
Cassie retaliated and drew the tip of a fingernail down his abdomen. “It’s not fair, Your Highness.” She tugged at his unbuttoned shirt. “You’re still clothed.”
“Soon remedied.” He shrugged it off.
Her breath stalled. So what! Breathing wasn’t important. She admired his six-pack torso, her teeth scraping over her bottom lip as her gaze traveled south along the fine line of hair that disappeared at the waistband of his trousers. She swallowed back the lump in her throat.
“Worth the wait?”
“Oh, absolutely!”
Other than the crackle of the wood blazing in the fireplace just a few feet away, the only sounds were her heightened breathing as Lucas swiftly undid his belt. Next, the slide of his trouser zipper reverberated around the room. He kicked his shoes off and divested himself of his trousers.
The Bachelor Prince Page 9
