He laughed softly. “Rachel, your ideas are exactly why I thought you would be an excellent addition to this project. So please, don’t worry about me. I got slammed onto the mat by Gaelen this morning.” He stood up, back in control. Barely. “How about if we go into my office and discuss the project? I’d love to hear your ideas.” Also, his desk might help hide his inevitable erection!
Her smile brightened and Tarin was once again reminded of how lovely she was. Rachel wasn’t the glamorous type who wore long, dark lashes and red lipstick. She didn’t wear a size double D bra or teeter around on five inch heels.
Just the opposite and, for some reason, the combination of her perfect, pale skin, soft lashes, pink-tinged, wide mouth and those cute glasses just…did it for him. Her hair was an auburn brown, but had the most intriguing red highlights. He knew because he’d sat behind her during a conference last year and watched the overhead lights shimmer in her tresses.
He looked down at her fingers with the clean, tapered fingernails and no rings, and thought about wrapping his fingers around her wrist. She was so slight, he could circle her wrist with his thumb and forefinger and have room to spare.
Meanwhile, he was a huge hulk of a man who knew how to build things and tear them down. With a sigh, he moved into his office, thinking that they were the perfect example of opposites attracting.
Except that she hadn’t ever shown even the slightest bit of interest in him. In fact, she barely even seemed to know he was alive while she’d worked for Talia. She never looked at him, always moved out of his way when they met the hallway and, even when he’d tried to smile in her direction, she was so busy and focused that she never noticed.
She followed him into his office, perching on the edge of the leather chair in front of his desk.
“Okay so what’s on your mind?” he asked.
She flipped the page on her notebook. “You have a meeting in four minutes with…” and she started to list his agenda for the day. Tarin leaned back, enjoying the soft, lilting southern accent in her voice. It wasn’t thick, like some people he’d heard. Instead, it was subtle. It was things like “ay” instead of “I” or just an additional syllable in some words.
She sat there, looking at him expectantly, and he realized that he needed to say something.
“Your meeting, Your Highness?” she offered.
He leaned his arms on the desk in front of him. “We need to get something straight first.”
Rachel immediately lifted her pen, her eyes riveted to him as she eagerly awaited his instructions. “Yes?”
“My name is Tarin. You are never to refer to me as Your Highness, is that understood?”
She pulled back and he wanted to laugh at her indignant expression. “I don’t think that’s appropriate, Your Highness.”
He laughed softly. “Isn’t it my call?”
She pressed her lips together, the perfect picture of a disapproving librarian. A sexy, disapproving librarian. One that hid garters and silk stockings underneath a demure flowered dress!
Rachel glanced pointedly at her watch. “Shouldn’t you be in your meeting now?” she repeated, a reprimand in her tone.
He chuckled again. “Fine. We’ll talk about it later. But Rachel?” he prompted, standing up and waiting until she was standing as well, looking up at him with those huge, green eyes that were barely tempered by the severe glasses.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
His grin widened. “I always win,” and then he walked out of his office, heading towards his first meeting of the day. “Are you coming?” he called over his shoulder.
He felt her jump at his bark, smiling as he glanced over his shoulder towards her.
“Coming?” she parroted, startled.
“Yes. This meeting is the first discussion about the university project. I need your feedback and you need to hear what’s going on right from the start.”
With huge eyes, she jerked forward, stumbling slightly. He caught her arm and they both froze. He looked down into her eyes and wanted to lose himself in those emerald depths.
Before he could do something stupid though, he pulled away and nodded towards the opposite door. “This way,” he replied, his voice gruffer than he’d intended.
They walked into the meeting and sat down. He noticed that Rachel took one of the chairs along the wall, even though there were several empty chairs at the conference table. He didn’t understand why, but let her sit where she was comfortable.
Rachel smiled as she walked down the hallway later that afternoon. She felt as if she was tingling with happiness and challenge! And excitement. She couldn’t ignore the excitement she felt just being near Tarin again.
He was so amazing! She’d watched him in several meetings today, encouraging everyone to talk, never shooting down an idea, no matter how ill conceived. Rachel didn’t think he’d care about her opinions on the ideas being tossed around. She knew that her job was to facilitate everyone else’s ideas. Hence why she was walking back to her office now to organize a long travel plan. Tarin wanted to interview several leading architects, needing to feel them out and get a sense of who they were.
An hour later, she’d called the palace travel office and given them Prince Tarin’s itinerary, organized hotels in each of the cities, and coordinated with his housekeeping staff and security team.
It was after hours now and she guessed that Tarin had gone to eat dinner with his family. She knew that they enjoyed meals together, especially since they all seemed to take a hand in raising the two orphaned nieces, Elsa and Ellora. Those two darlings were getting on in school now and were normal, rambunctious young ladies. Amit was the closest to a father figure that the girls had, but Gaelen and Tarin both made themselves available for advice or conversations, or especially fun activities.
It was one of the things she loved about this family. They were just that: a family. There were no harsh insults, no passive aggressive compliments, and no power grabs, which she knew happened in other royal families. Furthermore, there was no ridicule for dressing one way or another, no competition for grades or friends or girlfriends.
Unlike in her family, she thought with a groan.
Not that Rachel and her older sister, Wendy, ever competed for anything. What a ridiculous thought. As if Rachel could even compete with Wendy’s beauty and glamor.
Packing up, she glanced around to ensure that everything was neat and tidy, then headed home…or at least, back to the temporary apartment she’d be calling home while working on this project.
Chapter 3
Tarin tapped his pen against his notebook, bored out of his mind. Rachel wasn’t cleared for military briefings, so she wasn’t with him. It was just him, Gaelen, and Amit, as well as Izara’s generals and he wanted to toss these papers aside and get the hell out of here.
Amit and Gaelen seemed to be enraptured by the newest information on troop movements, readiness capabilities, and the seemingly endless issues with their enemies…and their allies. There really was no such thing as a trustworthy ally in the game of world politics. Friendships were formed out of necessity and loyalty, but both could be shattered with one false move.
Rachel would give her loyalty and friendship completely, he thought. More tapping. More fidgeting in his chair.