The Man's Outrageous Demands (3 page)

“You’re going to make this difficult, aren’t you?” he said, chuckling down at the spirited woman with sunshine sparking off her hair.

“No,” she said glaring up at him, wishing he would just leave. this difficult at all. I just want to be left alone with my humiliation. helping me.”
“I’m not making

But you’re not

“Pride goeth before the fall, huh?”

“If you don’t remember because of your caveman mentality, I’ve already fallen. I’ve admitted that I fell. Why can’t you just leave me alone?” she asked, her hands fisted by her sides as she enunciated each word as if he were extremely slow witted.

“Because you’re beautiful and incredibly sexy and every instinct inside me is telling me to be the gentleman and carry you back to the stables.”

Marabeth was shocked at his words and her expression showed her confusion. No man had ever dared to speak so openly to her. Not even her deceased fiancé. Men were always polite to the point of irritatingly gracious around her. She didn’t particularly like this man telling her those things though. They caused flutters inside her stomach that were foreign and odd. Odd in her mind was always bad. She pulled herself up to her royal height of five feet, seven inches and looked as intimidating as possible at this incredibly muscular man. “I’d recommend ignoring your gentlemanly needs and listen to my own needs. Please leave me alone, sir. I believe I’ve experienced enough humiliation in your presence to last me a lifetime.”

“Don’t say so, my lady. I’d be so disappointed if I never got to see that lovely blush on you’re beautiful cheeks,” he chuckled.

“Sir, please, leave me alone!” she demanded, becoming angry now as he pointed out her fiery cheeks.

“I’m sorry, but my mother taught me never to leave a woman stranded,” he said. The next thing she knew, Marabeth was being hauled up into the saddle by an incredibly strong arm. She was seated right in front of him, her bottom pressed intimately against his groin, her leg laying against his very muscular one.

“There,” she heard him say softly in her ear. “That’s better, don’t you think?”

Marabeth couldn’t think. She was too aware of this man’s body and the heat emanating from him and heating up her bones. She trembled as one arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her more firmly against him as he settled her for riding. His other arm took the reigns and the horse responded immediately to his unspoken command.

She could feel the muscles in his legs against the backs of hers and she wanted to reach down with her hands and verify with her fingertips that the muscles were flesh and blood and not hard steel. But she didn’t dare. She kept her hands locked in front of her on the saddle horn, terrified that any movement of her body would give away her feelings to this mysterious man.

“Relax,” he said and his arm around her waist tightened slightly as if to reassure her. But it didn’t. It only made her aware of his arm on her stomach where no man had ever touched. Then her mind drifted to the strong chest against her back and the shivers started up again.

It seemed like an eternity before they finally reached the stables. Max was leaning against the stable fence talking with one of the horse trainers. Marabeth noticed that his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the two of them riding into the stable yard. He walked up and immediately reached up to lift her down from Sam’s horse.

“What happened out there? I’ve never seen you fall before.”

“Oh, just not paying attention to Beauty,” Marabeth said, smiling slightly for her brother’s sake, then moving off towards the stable to see to her horse.

Sam climbed down from the stallion and watched Marabeth walk away. He was grateful to her horse for riding off. He had the opportunity to hold that incredible beauty close to him and he’d definitely felt her trembling in his arms. He wanted her. And what was more important, she wanted him. Sam was experienced enough to know the difference between sexual tension and fear. She’d been aware of every move of his body, just as he had been of hers.

They would be good together, he thought with satisfaction.

He was slightly concerned because she was a princess and he respected her title and the position she held within the government. But the woman had been engaged to another man. She understood what the world was really all about.

“She’s usually not that clumsy,” Max said, also watching Marabeth walk into the dimly lit stable and disappear into Beauty’s paddock. “I’m not sure what happened out there, but thanks for giving her a ride back,” he said to Sam.

“No problem,” Sam said and turned to start unsaddling his own horse.

“Leave that for Jimbo,” Max said, waiving to a man who was running towards the big horse with a carrot in both hands. “We have more details to discuss.” Sam nodded and passed the horse off to the professional trainer, then followed behind Max.

Chapter 2

Marabeth stayed low for several days. After two embarrassing interludes with Sam, and some very curious feelings she didn’t want to explore too deeply, Marabeth was grateful for the busy routine that kept her rushing from one appointment to another as she made personal appearances.

“Stacy, are we ready for the party?” Marabeth asked, talking to the director of the palace day care. It was a relatively small area within the palace where the staff members could bring their children during the day and be assured of quality care. Marabeth stopped by the center at least once a week to read stories with the children or to fill in for a teacher during an emergency. Marabeth loved this area of the palace. It grounded her in a way that nothing else could. The children here were all too small to understand titles or politics or obligations. They wanted hugs and kisses and funny stories or someone to play with. Occasionally, they needed a kiss on a scratch or a bruise and didn’t care who gave it to them, as long as their arms were gentle around them.

Marabeth organized parties for the children on special occasions. Right now, it was Valentine’s day and there were already decorations up around the room with hearts and dangling cupids hanging from the ceiling. There was pink lemonade and a large cake in the shape of a heart. Marabeth had arranged to have a clown suit delivered and one of the teachers was going to dress up as the clown and deliver heart shaped-helium balloons. The kids were all very excited and the feeling was contagious.

“Oh, your highness. Thank goodness you’re here,” Stacy said, carrying a small infant in one hand while she held the baby bottle in the other.

“What’s wrong? Did the cake not come?”

“No, it is already here and it is lovely. The chef did a wonderful job. Thank you for that,” she said, referring to the palace chef who loved creating sweet treats for the kids just as much as she loved preparing elaborate feasts for foreign heads of state. She was a master at her craft.

“I see the pink lemonade, what else is missing?”

“The clown,” Stacy said gravely.

“Oh, no! Where’s Ella?”

“Out with the flu. She started to get a headache this morning and I sent her home immediately before she touched any of the kids. The flu set in a few hours ago,” Stacy explained.

“Well, that doesn’t sound so awful,” Marabeth said optimistically. “Well, I’m sure it is terrible for Ella, but at least none of the children were infected, hopefully.” “Yes, but who will step into the clown suit? We don’t have any extras now, with Clara and Tiffany gone as well.”

Marabeth picked up the clown suit that was hanging on the back of the door. She held it up to herself. “What do you think? Will it fit?” she asked, smiling at the possibility.

Stacy was horrified. “No, your highness. You can’t dress up as a clown!”

“Why not? The kids have been told to expect a clown, there’s no one else, so I’ll fill in.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

“What would the Queen say? Not to mention your father?”

Marabeth bit her lip. Her mother and father would be horrified to know that she dressed up in a clown suit with white makeup and hearts on her cheeks. “We won’t tell them, will we?” Marabeth said, smiling at the idea of being in disguise, if only for a few minutes.

“No,” Stacy said and shook her head. “We’ll just tell the kids that the clown got sick and will visit another day. They’ll still be excited about the cake and lemonade,” she said and started walking back to the nursery with her little bundle still happily drinking from the bottle.

Marabeth ignored Stacy’s tone of doom. She took the clown suit and heart shaped, giant shoes from the back of the door and headed into the small bathroom. Marabeth quickly changed into the suit, having to take off all her clothes underneath to get the suit to fit properly. The wig was a slight issue since she had to pack all her hair underneath. It was a stretch, but eventually, she was able to hide all evidence of her naturally red locks underneath the bright red wig. The white makeup quickly and effectively covered all her face and she made credible hearts on each cheek with the red. She then drew a big happy smile on her lips and highlighted her eyes with blue circles. Stepping back to survey her image in the small mirror, she felt a giggle well up within her. She felt like a clown, she realized. It was a wonderful feeling.

Marabeth pulled on the shoes and awkwardly stepped around the tiny bathroom. It was doable, if she was careful. She heard the kids’ excitement as they saw the gorgeous party room decorated with red and white. Some were exclaiming over the cake and asking if everyone was going to get a piece.

Marabeth stepped out of the bathroom and quickly grabbed the bundle of balloons. The first child to see her almost screamed but then the excitement bubbled up and everyone laughed and circled Marabeth who silently waived, shook hands and delivered a heart shaped balloon to each child. They excitedly took their balloon back to their chair and the teachers helped tie the balloon around their wrists or belt loops so it didn’t float away.

Stacy walked into the room and gasped, then closed her mouth with Marabeth’s waive. Stacy didn’t say a word, but simply shook her head and helped the loud, giggling group of children get their slice of cake and cup of lemonade.

They all sat and sang songs, played the hokey pokey in a circle and giggled as Marabeth in the clown suit was the silliest, putting the wrong foot into the circle, or her elbow in when it was supposed to be her head. The party was a wonderful success and the parents stayed on the sidelines watching until the end of the party.

Marabeth didn’t pay much attention to the parents who were waiting to pick up their kids at the end of the work day. She was too busy having a good time and making the kids giggle as much as possible. Marabeth was having a hard time not laughing out loud herself as she poked and stuck out the wrong thing with the paddy wack game or Simon Says. Finally, Stacy called a halt to the party and the children rushed to give the clown a hug, or, for the shy ones, just a handshake or pat on the head.

All the children were slowly filing out of the room when Marabeth looked up and almost tripped over her heart shaped feet. Standing on the sidelines was her brother and right next to him was the man she had been trying to avoid for the past several days.

And he knew! He didn’t give anything away to Max, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he knew she was the one in the clown suit.

Marabeth quickly moved off back into the bathroom and washed her face, wondering how long she would have to stay in the bathroom until Max and Sam left the center.

What in the world were they doing in here? She’d thought Max was unaware that there was even a day care center in the palace.

She slipped her black slacks back on, pulled her cream, silk shirt on her arms and buttoned the front. Her makeup would be a problem, but since she didn’t wear much to begin with, she wondered if anyone would notice.

Hopefully, Stacy had gotten them out of the room already. She opened the door slightly and listened. Thankfully, there was silence and she poked her head out of the bathroom.

The room seemed to be empty and she breathed a sigh of relief that she was now alone. Stepping out of the bathroom, she took the now re-hung clown suit, shoes and wig and put it on the back of the door to the center’s game room. Stacy would make sure it was returned to the rental agency tomorrow.

“You were a wonderful clown,” a deep voice said from the doorway.

Marabeth spun around, dropping the clown shoes onto the floor in the process.

“I thought you’d left,” she said, her eyes wide and she looked around for her brother.

“Obviously. But I wanted to talk to you, so I waited around. You took a long time in the bathroom. Were you waiting for us to leave?”

Marabeth scowled. “Yes. As a matter of fact, I was.”

“Sorry, I didn’t oblige you, did I?”

“No. Which brings to mind the question why. What are you still doing here?”

“I was wondering what the purpose of this facility was. Why is there a day care facility inside the palace compound versus using the day care facilities offered by the private sector? I was talking with the director.”

Marabeth started to feel defensive. “What do you mean, what is its purpose? It cares for the children of the staff who then help run this country. What else are they supposed to do with them?”

Sam loved the way she was so easily riled. He’d just talked with the director and was impressed with the way the center helped out the families of the palace staff. But he wanted to push her buttons, just to see her eyes turn from a soft, misty blue to a sea-blue fire. “Why don’t the women stay home?” he said, just to spark her temper higher.

Marabeth wanted to punch him. “What a sexist thing to say. I’ll bet you’d just love to have all women covered from head to toe when they go to the market to get food for your dinner? Perhaps we could even have your slippers in our mouths when you walk in the door?”

Sam smothered a chuckled at the heat in her eyes. “Well, maybe not in their mouths but it would be nice to come home to a loving wife.”