‘‘Yeah, it was a long time ago.’’ He took the album from her and closed it. ‘‘It’s late. You probably want to head on up to bed.’’
She shifted back into the corner of the sofa and angled toward him. ‘‘Don’t for a moment think you’re going to get rid of me that easily. I had no idea you’d been married before. Betty never said a word.’’
Mitch set the album on the coffee table. He drew in a breath as if to speak, but instead was silent. She studied the shaggy brown hair that tumbled down his forehead and the strong line of his nose. While he was a very nice man and a good host, she couldn’t figure out why her chest had tightened when she’d learned he’d been married. Nothing about their relationship explained the sharp pain inside or her sudden sense of being betrayed. What was wrong with her? She and Mitch didn’t have a personal relationship. His past shouldn’t matter to her at all.
Except it did matter, and in ways she couldn’t understand.
‘‘It was a long time ago,’’ he said slowly. ‘‘Betty teases me, but she’s also protective. She wouldn’t have talked about it with anyone.’’ He paused. ‘‘I was twenty-four when Rose and I married, and although I looked like a man, I was still very much a kid. Most of the reason the marriage failed is I was a jerk. I wanted everything my way, and when that didn’t happen I disconnected. I’m not proud of what happened, but I accept responsibility for it. By the time I’d grown up enough to figure out that marriage is a partnership requiring both parties to give back, I’d lost her.’’
‘‘You’re divorced.’’ Alex wasn’t asking a question. She was still stunned by what she’d learned, but Mitch’s explanation made her feel a little better. She admired his ability to see his part in the failure of the relationship.
‘‘Have been for years now. She’s remarried and has a couple of kids.’’
‘‘Do you miss her?’’
Mitch thought about that question. He normally didn’t like getting caught up in the past. ‘‘Not in the way you mean,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m sorry that I was such a jerk and that I lost something that could have been pretty wonderful. But I’m not still in love with her. I’m glad Rose was able to find someone to appreciate her.’’
Alex cradled her cup of coffee and didn’t say anything. He wondered what she was thinking. Whatever it was, he doubted that he’d come out much of a hero. Time to change the subject.
‘‘So what about your sordid past?’’ he asked teasingly. ‘‘How many hearts have you broken?’’
The mug she cradled in her hands suddenly seemed to capture her attention. ‘‘Not as many as you might think,’’ she said, all the while staring into her coffee.
‘‘I know that’s not true. A beautiful princess such as yourself must have had dozens of rich, eligible young men interested.’’
She shrugged, still not looking at him. ‘‘I never had much opportunity to date, at least not in the way you understand the process.’’
‘‘The process? We’re talking about people getting together here, not battle plans for invading an enemy nation.’’ He leaned toward her. ‘‘I know what you’re hiding. You’re secretly embarrassed because you had a wild fling with the horse trainer. Come on. Admit it.’’
She finally raised her head and looked at him. Color stained her cheeks. ‘‘I assure you that’s not the case at all. I have always planned to marry for the betterment of the kingdom. When my parents arrange an appropriate match for me, I will become engaged.’’
‘‘You’re kidding,’’ he said, unable to believe what she’d told him. ‘‘Are you telling me that in this day and age you’d seriously consider an arranged marriage?’’
‘‘Of course. I’m the oldest daughter of the king of Wynborough. I have a duty to my people and my country.’’
He couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d told him she’d once been a stripper at a nightclub by the airport. An arranged marriage out of duty? ‘‘Am I ever glad I’m not part of your family,’’ he muttered. ‘‘Next you’ll be telling me that you’re still a virgin.’’
Color climbed Alex’s face, starting at her neck and spreading up to her hairline. She straightened and cleared her throat. ‘‘My personal life is none of your business.’’
He felt sucker punched. Alex a virgin? His mind reeled at the thought. While she looked younger, he knew that she was twenty-nine. No. That wasn’t possible. She had to have—
Then the truth struck him. Of course, he thought with some relief, she was embarrassed because she wasn’t a virgin. Talk about a tough gig. Where exactly did the local princess go when she wanted to have a good time? Mitch didn’t envy her that, nor would he have wanted to be the first guy to do the wild thing with royalty. Talk about a lot of responsibility.
He realized then that they had both been silent for several minutes. He cleared his throat.
‘‘It’s getting late,’’ he said.
‘‘You’re right.’’ She set her mug on the coffee table. ‘‘I should be heading off to bed.’’
‘‘Uh, yeah.’’ He stood up, but all he could think about was what Alex had just said. Bed. As in her bed. As her in her bed. What exactly did she wear there? Was her hair loose across the pillow, or did she braid it so it wouldn’t tangle in the night?
He had a sudden image of the two of them tangling in a very different way, arms and legs clasping and releasing while his fingers stroked her face, and his mouth—
‘‘Thank you for sharing your family history with me,’’ she said as she rose to her feet. ‘‘The album was very special.’’
‘‘You’re welcome.’’
He told himself to think about something else, that it was probably against the law to imagine a royal princess naked. But he couldn’t help himself. Unfortunately, she wasn’t just beautiful and elegant. She was also smart and bold and bossy as hell and he wouldn’t change one thing about her. She challenged him. How was he supposed to resist that? Except he had to. Alex was many things, but she wasn’t for him.
She started for the hallway. When he didn’t follow, she paused and looked back at him. ‘‘Are you staying up?’’
‘‘Just for a little while. I still have some work.’’
‘‘Did I keep you from that? I didn’t mean to.’’
‘‘You didn’t keep me. I wanted to have dinner with you.’’
She smiled that slow, welcoming smile that sucked the strength from his legs and sent heat flooding to his groin.
‘‘I enjoyed it, as well.’’
Her soft accent drove him crazy. He took a step toward her, then another. Even though he knew he shouldn’t. Even though what he was thinking was wrong. He told himself to stop it. He told himself she would be offended. He told himself that it might start an international incident and—
And he couldn’t take his eyes off her perfect mouth.
They were only a couple of feet apart. There wasn’t much light in this part of the room, so he couldn’t see her expression too clearly, nor could he guess what she was thinking. He figured the worst that would happen was that she would slap him.
‘‘I’ve never kissed royalty. Do you do it differently from regular people?’’
She flushed again, but didn’t move away. If anything, her body seemed to sway toward his. ‘‘I don’t believe so. I’ve never kissed a cowboy. Do you do it differently?’’
‘‘Most of us practice on our horses, so our women have to stomp their feet a couple of times to get us going.’’
‘‘Really? I had no idea.’’ She took a tiny step toward him.
‘‘Sure. It works every time.’’ He took a step toward her. Suddenly there wasn’t any room between them. ‘‘I thought you were going to bed,’’ he said.
‘‘I thought you were going to work in your office.’’
‘‘I think I’d rather kiss you.’’
Her blue eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t turn away. Instead, slowly, deliberately, she stomped her foot.
Chapter Six
Mitch couldn’t believe that the incredibly beautiful, incredibly royal Princess Alexandra had just issued an invitation for him to kiss her. He was many things, but he wasn’t a man to pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He slipped his arms around her waist and drew her even closer, until their bodies touched from shoulder to thigh. She was tall and slender, yet curvy. He could feel her breasts flattening against his chest in a way that would keep him hard for days. Soft curls framed her face, and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes and pressed his mouth to hers was her expression of startled desire.
He half expected her to pull away and stop things before they had much of a chance to begin. But she didn’t. Instead, she stayed very still as he moved his lips against hers. She smelled sweet and womanly. Her lips were soft and yielding, and when she shuddered slightly in his embrace, it was all he could do not to plunge his tongue inside her mouth and tease her until she was breathless.
He’d expected the wanting, and it didn’t disappoint him. The tension in his body increased as blood pumped hotter and faster. His groin ached. Then she placed her hands on his shoulders and parted her mouth. Two small acts that shouldn’t have meant a damn thing, except maybe that she didn’t dislike him kissing her. But her acceptance and her invitation combined to ignite a fire inside of him he’d never felt before. Desire, need, hunger—whatever it was called—slammed into him and through him, leaving him gasping for air. Instead of just wanting to deepen the kiss, he found himself wanting to shove her up against a wall and do it with them both standing up. He’d been blindsided, and he didn’t even know what had hit him. Worse, he hadn’t even really kissed her.
But even as he gently stroked her lower lip with his tongue, then slipped inside her mouth, he knew how it was going to be. Pure perfection brought on by a combination of chemistry, timing and maybe some dumb luck thrown in for good measure. This was more than getting turned on, he thought in shock. This was a summer thunderstorm, all heat and light and sweet darkness. He wanted to get lost inside of Alex and never find his way out.
As he touched his tongue to hers, he felt the fire lick across his skin. She tasted right, she felt right in his arms. Her body, oh, Lord, what she was doing to him. And she wasn’t even trying. She was just standing there, her arms wrapped around his neck. What would happen if she actually touched him? He got harder at the thought, harder and more aroused. He tried telling himself it was just a kiss, but that was sort of like calling the Grand Canyon just a hole in the ground.
*
Alex found it difficult to breathe. At first she’d encouraged Mitch to kiss her because, well, no one had wanted to in a long time. He was a decent man. Good-looking, hardworking and honest. He made her laugh. Best of all, he didn’t treat her as though she was different. Around Mitch she could occasionally forget she was a princess and instead pretend to be just a regular woman. Besides, when he’d looked at her with something she nearly dared to call desire, he’d made her insides go all squishy. So she’d allowed herself to cross the line just a little and kiss him.
But this wasn’t a kiss, she thought hazily as large, strong male hands stroked up and down her back. She’d been kissed a few times in the past, and those embraces had been nothing like this. She remembered feeling pleasantly aroused and warm and even a little wicked. But in Mitch’s arms, she found herself practically squirming. Her legs trembled, her breasts ached, and she could feel her panties getting wet. Worse, she wanted to rub herself against him like a cat. She wanted him to touch her…everywhere.
He plunged inside her mouth again. She circled around him, tasting him, caressing him, holding back the moan of pleasure that formed at the back of her throat. She wanted this. She wanted more.
When his hands dropped to her rear, she gasped. He squeezed her curves and drew her closer. Her belly pressed against something hard. His…his… Oh, my.
Alex drew back and stared at him. In all her twenty-nine years she’d never made love before. She’d known that she would have to make a political marriage for the sake of her country and she’d always thought it was important for her to save herself for her future husband. None of the men she’d ever dated had pushed for intimacy, and she’d found it surprisingly easy to avoid sexual entanglements. In fact, she’d never seen a naked man or felt an erection, even through clothing.
Mitch didn’t seem to notice her surprise, or her withdrawal. He cupped her face in his large, competent hands and stared at her. ‘‘You’re so beautiful,’’ he murmured. ‘‘And one amazing kisser.’’ A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. ‘‘I’m impressed, princess. You’ve got me all hot and bothered.’’
He pressed his mouth to her forehead, then her nose, her cheeks and finally trailed damp kisses down her neck. Shivers rippled through her. She could only cling to him and pray that he would never stop what he was doing. How could she, an inexperienced, sexually unaware woman, have turned on someone like him? The thought thrilled her and gave her a sense of feminine power that she’d never before experienced.
She tested her newfound ability by touching his chin and drawing his mouth back to hers. ‘‘Tell me about being hot and bothered,’’ she murmured.
He swore under his breath, right before he claimed her mouth. This time when he hauled her up against him there was no mistaking his need. It flexed against her belly in a way that made her thighs start to melt. She wanted him. She, Princess Alexandra of Wynborough, actually wanted to make love with a man so desperately she didn’t care about anything else. She wanted to throw caution to the wind and experience what it was most other women took for granted. She wanted to be naked and vulnerable and—
Reality crashed in on Alex. For one brief second she saw herself as if she were an observer of the situation instead of a participant. She saw herself as if this moment had been captured by a tabloid photographer and plastered across every newspaper in the world. Despite her desire, despite how much she liked Mitch, she wasn’t a regular woman and this wasn’t a normal situation.
She broke away from him. ‘‘I can’t,’’ she whispered. Even though she wanted to. Perhaps even because she wanted to. She looked at Mitch. ‘‘It’s not you, it’s me.’’
She thought he might protest or ask for an explanation. Instead, she read understanding in his eyes. ‘‘I’m sorry,’’ he said. ‘‘I shouldn’t have—’’
‘‘Don’t apologize,’’ she told him. ‘‘I’m glad we…’’ She made a vague gesture with her hand. Then she shrugged. ‘‘I just can’t.’’
They stood less than a foot apart, staring at each other. The silence turned awkward, and when she couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him, Alex walked out of the room.
*
Shortly after three in the morning, Alex gave up trying to sleep. She figured she might as well get started on her day. But instead of getting up and dressing, she found herself reliving the magic of Mitch’s kiss. For the thousandth time. She closed her eyes and imagined herself back in his arms. She could inhale his scent, taste his sweetness on her tongue and, most amazing of all, she could feel his need pressing against her.
When she found herself squirming in bed, she opened her eyes and sat up. What was it about his kisses that had made such an impact on her? Why him and why not some other man? Was it their circumstances and the fact that they’d been thrown together? Was it some chemical thing? A combination of hormones and timing? Was it that he saw her as a woman rather than a princess?
‘‘It doesn’t matter,’’ she said aloud into the darkness. For some reason, kissing Mitch had been different from kissing other men. While the news was potentially interesting, it didn’t have to mean anything. It had been one kiss, or at least one series of kisses. No harm had been done. She was in Arizona, trying to find out about her long-lost brother. Mitch had been a momentary distraction. They had kissed. Now they simply had to put the experience behind them.
She flopped back on the bed and pulled the covers up to h
er chin. Except she couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d done. Even as she gave herself the lecture about being sensible, half her brain was caught up in the memory of his hands touching her rear. She stifled a giggle. No man had ever touched her there, yet Mitch hadn’t even hesitated. He’d just reached down and squeezed. If she hadn’t stopped him, he might have touched her in other, more interesting places.
Instead of the thought appalling her, she found herself wondering what it would have felt like. Would he have taken her dress off? Would he have touched her breasts? The image left her breathless.
‘‘Stop being a fool,’’ she told herself, trying to be stern. ‘‘He’s not for you.’’
And he wasn’t. The thing was, she’d never really thought of herself as the passionate type. Except, in Mitch’s arms she’d certainly been passionate and willing. So what was different? Was it him? Or her? Or both?
Did it matter? She couldn’t pursue anything with Mitch. She was the oldest daughter of a king, and he was a rancher. Her life was in Wynborough and his was in Arizona. Even if she wanted a relationship with Mitch, it wasn’t possible. Besides, would he want more than just sex with her?
‘‘I just won’t think about it,’’ she said firmly. ‘‘I will put the kiss and all it implies out of my mind. I will pretend it never happened. I’m sure Mitch will do the same. We’ll go on as before. Nothing has changed.’’
That decided, Alex turned on her side. She would make one more attempt at sleep. But instead of growing drowsy, once again she found herself caught up in the memories of the magic that had been Mitch’s kiss.
*
Two days later when Alex walked into the barn in the early afternoon, she was shocked to see Mitch standing in front of one of the stalls. She hadn’t seen him since the night of their kiss. That next morning, after she’d slept until nearly ten, which was startling in and of itself, she’d found that she was on her own. Betty had informed her that Mitch had left shortly after dawn to buy a mare he’d been interested in for some time.
A Royal Baby on the Way Page 7
