His Majesty's Secret Passion

by Christina Hollis

  His gaze locked on to Sara, alert to the smallest changes in her expression. She could feel it, and wondered if he could tell she had no intention of getting involved with anyone again either. Gazing into his darkly seductive eyes, she tried to remember how good a simple fling could be. Once, there had been no room in her life for anything but work and the occasional night out with the girls. Then she took up with Jason. He turned out to be a real cuckoo in the nest, subtly undermining all her other friendships. Before she knew it, he’d taken over her life. Sara became not much more than his hotline to the decision makers at ACS. Instead of him being her ‘plus one’ at parties, he did all the talking, expecting her to hang on his words as well as his arm.

  The less valued Sara felt, the harder she’d worked to become the best at her job. Apis Concierge Solutions became an outlet for all her energy. Her escape route eventually gave her the confidence to rebel, and throw Jason out. Now she was alone again. Hard work had made her a success, but she had no one left to share it with.

  Her memories stung more than the wound on her shin. Making a superhuman effort not to wince, Sara levered herself up from the sun-lounger and took a few steps. “If you’ve been invited to lunch, I must let you go. Thanks for sorting me out. My leg feels much better.”

  “Of course it does. I have healing hands.”

  Sara rolled her eyes. “Your arrogance is something else!” She was teasing, because this time he couldn’t be challenged. He had a smile that took all the pain away, reminding her how good life could be. “But on this occasion, I’ll admit you’re right, Leo.”

  “You shouldn’t pass up the chance of a little more pampering. As your qualified first aider, I couldn’t possibly make you walk all the way up to the hotel,” he said with another dose of winning charm.

  This time Sara didn’t argue when he slipped one arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her. “I should warn you, Leo, I’ve got no head for heights.”

  “Don’t worry. Leave everything to me. All you have to do is hang on tight.”

  She was beautifully built, and perfectly balanced. Leo carried her up the flight of steps, and then whisked her straight to her suite.

  “My key card’s threaded onto my bikini top and tucked down inside so I don’t lose it in the water,” she said as he set her down on her feet outside the door. Raising her hands, she untied the plaited strings around her neck and fumbled around inside her top. Leo felt a powerful surge of interest. He checked his watch. Women were never slow in coming on to him, but this must be some kind of record.

  “That looks like fun.” He covered her hands with his own. “What can I do? Hold up your straps while you do that, or fish around in there for you?” The reverberation of his voice low in his throat made him feel mischievous.

  It seemed to have the opposite effect on her. She clamped her hands to her chest, shutting him out. At first he thought she was playing hard to get, but when he laughed she took a small step away from him. The look on her face made him uncomfortably aware that flirting in the sunshine was one thing. Once a woman and a man were alone together with no witnesses, they both had to be careful.

  The situation was getting serious.

  “Neither. I can manage, thanks,” she snapped. Holding one strap between her teeth, she freed the rectangle of plastic then retied her top with a firm knot at the nape of her neck.

  “Pity. Game fishing’s one of my hobbies.” Leo gave her a smile guaranteed to defuse any situation. Except this one, he discovered.

  “I’m sure it is—but I can guess what you were hoping to catch on that expedition.”

  “More than the cold shoulder I got, that’s for sure.”

  She tensed, but Leo didn’t see why he should move away. He’d done nothing wrong, and he was enjoying the view. Although Sara was as slender and toned as an athlete, she had curves in all the right places, and as her hair dried it came alive with rich copper tones.

  “I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t invite you into my suite, Leo.”

  “No, but I’m a forgiving kind of a guy. I won’t hold it against you. Unless you ask me to, that is.”

  The tension broke like meringue, and she smiled. “You wish! You’re an out-and-out rogue. I can see that from here.”

  “At least I’m honest about it, Sara. And now, if you’ll excuse me, Nick’s expecting me down on the terrace,” he added.

  “Go on, then. I don’t want to get the blame for making you late. You still have to get ready, don’t forget.” She turned her back on him and limped into her suite.

  He waited until she deadlocked the door. Then he strolled off to his own suite to allow himself the luxury of thinking about Sara Astley under a power shower.

  Chapter Three

  Sara ate lunch on the balcony of her suite wondering what to do with the rest of the day. That was a problem she never faced at home. Work filled all the gaps in her life. Here, the sun shone through them so brightly there was no escape.

  The tempting treats prepared by a team of brilliant chefs were nothing like the tasteless sandwiches she ate al desko at home. Food here was designed to be savored, not scoffed. For Sara, the everyday urge to bolt it down and get onto the next task was irresistible. She soon regretted it. Separated from her inbox, there was nothing to hurry for. All she could do now was sit and wait for the next meal.

  Below, the sea was as restless as she felt. The memory of Leo Gregoryan carrying her back from the beach kept doing funny things to her. She wriggled her toes, remembering the feel of his arms around her body. Her lapis-painted toenails twinkled in the relentless sunshine. Meeting Leo had cheered her up, and whetted her appetite. She wanted to see him again, but she was wary. The last thing she needed was a man in her life.

  She fiddled with the silver cutlery on the lunch tray, sending sunbeams dancing. It was hard to admire the bone china plates and fine crystal glasses laid out in front of her when she was busy worrying about what might be going on back in the offices of ACS.

  She hated taking time off. It let her mind freewheel. That was never a good thing. She was scared her chances of promotion were wrecked, but her body had been running on adrenaline for too long. Her PA, Jo, had booked everything. That meant she knew all Sara’s secrets—or at least, most of them. The hotel had been instructed that on no account were they to let Sara hire a car during her stay.

  At the time, Sara’s nerves had been in such a state, she’d agreed. Now she felt trapped inside the spa complex. At work, she spent all her time doing everything for her clients. Here, other people were in charge, and it felt weird. Everything from food to entertainment was available instantly. All she had to do was pick up the phone and call room service. It was supposed to be relaxing, but it felt unnatural.

  She studied the last few streaks of chocolate parfait on the dessert plate as though it were a work of art. Lunch had been the closest thing to heaven since she’d been carried up from the beach in the arms of that hunk Leo Gregoryan, but it would be a long time before dinner arrived.

  She sighed, wishing she could have holidayed at home. That had never been an option. In her heart, she knew her PA was right to make her leave the country. It took away the temptation of dropping into the office, to check up on things. The trouble was, with her appointments diary more than fifteen hundred miles away Sara was missing it like a lover.

  Work is more satisfying than any man, she reminded herself...although rogue male Leo Gregoryan was an interesting distraction.

  There’s no harm in a bit of harmless window shopping, is there? Not even when I’m looking at a man like him!

  From her suite, there were breathtaking views in every direction over the formal terraced gardens of the hotel. In contrast, the window in her office back at home looked straight out at a brick wall. That suited Sara. With no distractions, she could work harder and longer than anyone else. She got all the rest and recreation she needed from visiting clients, and supervising the stunning garden parties and receptions she or
ganized for them.

  At least, that was what she told herself until she arrived at this magnificent hotel, and experienced the beautiful suite. The stylish glass and chrome was cool in the heat of the day, and its stunning, silent simplicity was balm to her soul.

  She got up and wandered through to the bedroom, with its sweet-pea color scheme and massive circular bed. She felt like a visitor to another world, and wished her mom were alive to share in all this luxury.

  Picking up the latest copy of Vogue from the coffee table in the lounge, she flicked through it. For five years she had been arranging this kind of luxury for her ACS clients. At last, she was living the dream herself. Outside, the cornflower-blue of the sky was absorbed by the sea and deepened to opulent ultramarine. A light breeze lifted the gauzy muslin curtains fluttering beside the French doors leading to her balcony. She thought back to the ACS offices in London. State-of-the-art air-conditioning meant none of their windows opened.

  Moving back out onto the balcony, she pulled in a big breath. It was full of the sweet, spicy fragrance of summer. At the Paradise Hotel, the usual herb-scented dust of the countryside was overlaid with floral tones of the surrounding gardens and their well-watered lawns. You couldn’t take great lungfuls of fresh air like this in the city. Closing her eyes, she tipped back her head and felt bright warmth flowing straight from the sun right into her body and soul.

  An unusual noise out in the garden shattered her peace and quiet. Annoyed, she opened her eyes and scowled down at the disturbance. A man in tennis whites had knocked into one of the sun loungers in his hurry to pick up a book.

  “Clumsy idiot,” she said. It came out louder than she intended, and he looked up just as the frantic voice of Leo’s PA rose in panic. Alarmed, the man missed his grip on the book. It slipped out of his hands, bounced off the edge of the lounger and disappeared between two large planters of heliotropes.

  “I thought I heard…Ah!” Leo felt a rush of relief when he spotted Sara, although a pretty girl was more likely to add to his troubles than save his skin. “She’ll have a good view of the garden from there, Krisia.” Swallowing his doubts he waved at Sara as she leaned on the rail of her balcony. For a split second, the thought of their last meeting danced through his mind. Then the clouds closed in on him again. “We’re looking for Krisia’s organizer. She thinks she left it on the terrace, after the reception. Can you see it?’

  “There was a guy looking at something like it down here.” She pointed to the lounger. Leo looked, but couldn’t see anyone. More importantly, he couldn’t see the book either. The terrace was deserted.

  “Oh...he’s gone.” Sara sounded disappointed.

  Disappointment was nothing compared to what Leo would feel if that book fell into the wrong hands. The arrangements for his coronation were complete. Now it turned out that against his wishes, Krisia was keeping a written copy of the timetable and most of the important contact details in her organizer.

  “What guy? Where?” He tried to keep the anger out of his voice, but Krisia was already on the move. She’d seen something. Darting forward, she retrieved the lost book from between the two planters of purple flowers.

  Leo let out his breath in a long stream of relief. His mind had been a maelstrom from the moment Krisia told him her organizer was missing. He felt like giving her a real rollocking, but there was no point in losing his temper now. The crisis was over. “No harm done, this time. But you were lucky.”

  “I know,” she said, with genuine anguish.

  “Then we’ll let that be your punishment.” Leo told her.

  Someone else wasn’t so forgiving. “Been letting your work get on top of you, Krisia? I always keep my mind on business,” Sara called, although her raised eyebrow was aimed at Leo.

  I’ll bet you do, Leo thought. So did I, until you swam into my life.

  Krisia scowled at her, but Leo had the perfect answer ready. “That’s why they sent you here, Sara.” He grinned.

  Sara had to admit he had a point. Perhaps ACS was right, and she did need a holiday. Watching Leo and his PA walk away, she came to a grudging conclusion. The temptations of work paled in comparison to this place. Like a dormouse coming out of hibernation, Sara decided to find out what she’d been missing in the outside world. The charity auction would be a good place to start.

  Selecting a pink sundress, she pushed bare feet into a pair of white sandals.

  If the auction’s too slow, I can go outside and work on my tan. She headed toward the door. Her brand-new pedometer lay on the table.

  Shimmying her dress up, she clipped the device onto her lacy briefs then checked her appearance in a full-length mirror. The step-counter’s slimline shape hardly showed. That made her smile. Her doctor’s instructions were to make time for exercise, and Leo had told her to take more care of herself. This secret gesture was a hat-tip to them both. She’d start clocking up the miles by taking the stairs instead of the lift.

  A murmur of conversation rose to greet her as she walked along the upper hallway above the Paradise Hotel’s lobby. The double doors to one of the reception rooms on the ground floor stood open in the heat. People straggled in from the sunshine, heading toward the bar at the far end of the huge room. As she looked around for more details of the auction of promises, a tall figure detached itself from the throng and started toward her.

  It was Leo.

  He looked perfect in a fresh tuxedo and crisp white shirt. Sara’s heart gave a lurch. As he worked his way through the crowd, she composed her opening shot. “You’ve dried off well, Mr. Gregoryan.”

  He grinned. “My hand-picked team always has a spare set of everything to hand.”

  Sara put her head on one side and regarded him. “Including women?”

  He pushed one hand into his pocket. Jingling his change, he rocked back on his highly polished shoes. “What can I say? With so many delightful examples around, it would be a sin to ration myself.”

  “As the bishop said to the actress.”

  “You already know I’m no bishop.” His voice was low and provocative. Sara’s smile faded. “What’s the matter, Sara? Don’t tell me you’ve been struck dumb by my honesty.”

  “I was waiting for you to say ‘and you’re not an actress.’ Don’t say it didn’t occur to you.”

  He laughed. But he didn’t say yes—and he didn’t say no, either.

  “Thanks for your help earlier, Sara.”

  “It was nothing. But you want to watch that PA of yours. She took her eye off the ball,” she said, her heart sinking as Krisia pushed her way through the crowd toward them. “This is the second time she’s arrived as if by magic.”

  “She’s been checking out the lot number for my promise. You must excuse me while I go and discuss the details with her.” He put his hand on Sara’s arm, and squeezed gently.

  Sara smiled before she remembered this was the same softening-up process all men used on unsuspecting women. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got to check if they’ll register a late promise from me.”

  Leo raised his dark arched eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

  Sara gave him a smile that promised more than her lips offered. “As I’ve got nothing to do here but think, I had a flash of inspiration. I’m not supposed to do any ACS work, but nobody can object to me offering my services for charity, can they? So, I’m promising an hour’s lifestyle consultation to anyone who can relieve the tedium of my holiday by offering the highest bid.”

  Leo made a dismissive noise. “I’d say every guest here has all the lifestyle they can handle, and more.”

  Sara wouldn’t let him put her off. “That’s not the point. It’s raising money for a good cause. Besides, everybody needs a troubleshooter in their life once in a while.”

  “Troubleshooter?”

  “The firm I work for solves problems people don’t even know they have. Party planning, executive travel, project management, personal assistance of every kind from translations to accompanying child
travelers around the world, squeezing twenty-five hours out of every day—name your problem and we’ll solve it.”

  Leo was about to say something, but then his PA reached his side. Angling her body to shut Sara out, Krisia spoke to Leo in his own language and pointed toward a large woman draped in gold jewelry, who stood beside the bar. The lady twinkled her fingers at Leo.

  “Excuse me, Sara. Krisia says Mrs. Revere wants to discuss the offer I’ve put up for auction. I’ll catch you later.”

  He surged off through the crowd, leaving Sara to stare at his broad, beautifully tailored back. As he worked his way through the room, she wondered whether she would ever see him again. He was the sort of guy who couldn’t move without other people exchanging a few words or a smile in passing.

  Once she had registered her own promise, Sara took a seat on one of the velvet-covered chairs before a low dais at the front of the room. She soon discovered this charity auction was in a different league from the ones she’d attended back at home. She’d been looking forward to bidding for Leo’s expedition, but her spirits took a dive as she studied the electronic display on a screen above the auctioneer’s rostrum. The reserve prices alone were ten times the value of her offering. There was the lease of an ocean-going yacht, a six-month-old helicopter to be re-sprayed in the purchaser’s choice of colors, and dozens of cases of vintage wines. Each could be expected to raise a small fortune in bids. This audience didn’t deal in fiddling small change. Sara would have felt good handing a sizable sum over to charity to win Leo’s luxury break, but the auctioneer started the bidding way beyond the absolute maximum she could have afforded. In the end, the place on his weekend expedition went to Mrs. Revere for half a million dollars. Sara gulped. That woman had serious money, as well as good taste.

  Making a mental note to give Mrs. Revere her business card, Sara turned in her seat to look for the woman. The first person she spotted was Leo. He sat on the far side of the room, flanked by Krisia and a chunky man in a smart suit and sinister dark glasses. Several members of the audience had security men in tow, so that didn’t surprise Sara as much as what Leo did next. When details of the consultation she was offering were read out, he nodded at the auctioneer to open the bidding. Straight away, other people joined in.