The Prince's Forbidden Lover (The Samara Royal Family #3) (4 page)

Joline blinked, not sure if she should laugh or be insulted.  “I’m fine,” she replied back. 

The door opened at that moment, denying him a counter argument.  “Leave her alone, Rais,” Shantra commanded, stepping into the dining room with Keith right behind her.  “You’re being rude.”

“Ah, my little sister to the rescue,” Rais teased.  “And what sorts of adventures are the three of you going to do today?”

Joline couldn’t believe the man!  She pretended to eat for the next several moments while Keith and Shantra filled up their plates and came over to the table to join them. 

“We’re going to be doing lots of secret stuff and you won’t know anything about our activities,” Shantra taunted him. 

He shrugged even as he wiped his mouth with a starched, linen napkin and stood up.  “I’m sure you’ll behave,” he warned her.  Then glanced at Joline.  “Thank you for an enlightening conversation,” and he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her fingertips and causing her stomach muscles to clench with that intense awareness once more.  She pulled her fingers away and hid her hand under the table, unable to hold his gaze. 

She hadn’t won that round.  Not by anyone’s standard and it irked her that he chuckled softly to himself as he walked out of the dining room.

After the door closed and the three of them were once again alone, Shantra put a hand over Joline’s.  “Sorry about him.  I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother us for the rest of your stay here.”

Joline took a deep breath and picked up her fork.  “Oh, he doesn’t bother me.  Not at all,” she lied. 

Joline stared at the note a servant had delivered.  His bold scrawl made her heart pound and her stomach…well, it was doing that crazy butterfly dancing.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to pass out or throw up.  Either option might save her from this summons.

“Why does my brother need to speak with you?” Shantra asked excitedly. 

Joline knew exactly where her friend’s mind was heading.  Shaking her head firmly, Joline knew that she had to put a stop to her friend’s hopes.  “Don’t go there,” she said emphatically.

“Go where?” Shantra asked with an innocent looking smile.  But her eyes…Joline knew that look.  She’d seen it several times when the three of them had been sitting at the cafeteria at university, or a coffee shop, or anywhere else a handsome man happened to enter.  She was in matchmaking mode!  The woman knew about her mother’s track record and she was still trying to get her and her brother together?  That didn’t make any sense.

Keith chuckled.  “Your head has already started designing her wedding dress,” he teased.  “And just so you know, I found this amazing silk satin last week that would look perfect for her dress.”

Joline’s mouth fell open.  “What are you talking about?  I can’t marry your brother!” she exclaimed.

Shantra didn’t stop smiling.  “Why not?  You’re obviously attracted to him.  And he’s pretty slammed by you as well.  We’d be sisters and it would be fantastic!  What’s the problem?”

Joline snapped her mouth shut, glaring at both of them as they leaned back in their chairs, smug in their hopes and dreams. 

“First of all, sisters fight.  All the time,” she pointed out.

Shantra shook her head.  “Ciala and I don’t fight,” Shantra countered.  “And we don’t argue with my sisters-in-law either.”  She smiled smugly, waiting for Joline’s next verbal challenge. 

“I doubt that,” she said under her breath.

Shantra laughed.  “Don’t you have some place to be?” she suggested, looking pointedly at the note.

Joline looked at the words again, then set it to the side.  “No.  We don’t have time for whatever it is that he wanted to discuss with me.  We have work to do.  Besides, Keith and I have to head back to New York tomorrow and if we’re ever going to open the London store, we have to get things moving.  There are too many loose details right now.”

Keith shook his head.  “You know darn well that you’ll have everything ready ahead of time.  I think the biggest decision is to just settle on the location.  Most of the other problems will disappear once that is finalized.”

“You have no idea,” she muttered.  “I’m still not going.”

Shantra leaned back, tossing her pen onto the table.  “You have to go.”

Joline looked at her friend and cringed, worried about offending someone in a royal family.  “Is it a royalty thing?”

Shantra laughed.  “No.  It is a male-female thing.  You either go see what my brother wanted to discuss with you, or you admit that you’re too afraid of meeting with him because he’s the hottest thing on two legs.”

Joline turned to Keith, knowing that he’d support her on ignoring the summons.  But the traitor lifted his hands into the air, palms up.  “Don’t look to me on this one.  You need to get laid.”

Joline couldn’t believe he’d just said that!  Her mouth fell open and she couldn’t form words for several moments while both of them laughed, nodding in agreement.  “I do not!” she gasped in horror. 

Shantra nodded her head emphatically.  “You really do.  You’re way too uptight.”

“That’s just ridiculous and both of you know that sex doesn’t work that way.”

Keith rolled his eyes.  “Oh yes it does!  And don’t look to Shantra for an answer because you two are the last virgins on earth.  So you’ll just have to listen to me about this.  Take my advice.  Go to him.  Let him show you what sex is all about and then tell me that sex isn’t relaxing.”

Her mouth snapped shut and she huffed for a moment, trying to come up with a valid argument but nothing came to mind.  In the end, Joline simply shook her head.  “No way.  You know my history.  I’m not going there.”

“That’s not your history, dearie,” Keith came back gently.  “That’s your mother’s history.”

She still wasn’t going there.  “I don’t do casual sex.”

Shantra’s smile widened.  “So don’t be casual about it.  Have a love affair.  Let yourself fall in love with him and just enjoy the man.”  She laughed again.  “I haven’t ever heard his mistresses mention that he left them unsatisfied.”

Joline was panicking and trying hard not to show it.  “You two are ganging up on me and I’m not going to let you.”

Shantra knew that her friend was digging her heels in out of stubbornness now so she changed tactics, determined to get her way on this issue.  She’d never seen her brother act like this around a woman before so something significant was going on.  “Okay, so then it’s a royalty thing.  He’s your host and has asked to speak with you.  Go now!” she said, waving to Joline.  “Keith and I will work on all of the details that you hate, like colors and fabrics.”

Joline cringed inwardly.  She really did hate things like that.  Keith or Shantra told her what to wear and how to accessorize, otherwise, she’d wear jeans and a tee-shirt all the time.  Which was why this team worked so perfectly.  Each of them had their own areas of expertise and no one stepped on the other’s toes.  The business was thriving because they all worked so well together. 

“Fine!” she grumbled.  “I’ll go find out what he wants.  But I’m not having an affair with him!”

And she stormed out of Shantra’s private suite, irritated that they were even suggesting something so outrageous.  Besides, she had so many business issues to deal with, a summons by an arrogant prince was just a nuisance!  The man was distracting her which she never allowed men to do.  She’d have time for falling in love later, when the business was better established and she had more time on her hands.  Right now, every moment of her time, not to mention all of her energy, was focused on getting the business to run smoothly and successfully. 

As she basically stomped down the hallway toward the man’s office, she alternately berated herself for being weak around him and nervous because she couldn’t seem to find her gumption when he touched her. 

“I was summoned,” she explained to the aide sitting outside of the man’s office, trying very hard to keep the sarcasm out of her tone.  But by the look on the aide’s features, she suspected that she’d failed miserably. 

She felt Rais’ presence almost immediately and turned to face him, bracing herself as if he were an enemy combatant.  “I sent that note a while ago,” Rais stated, suddenly towering over Joline.  “This way,” he ordered and led the way into his office. 

Joline considered not entering that room.  She was nervous enough with him standing there waiting for her.  She knew that it would be a thousand times worse if she walked into his office and he closed the door. 

When she remained standing in front of the aide’s desk, Rais’ dark eyebrow went up, as if daring her to follow him. 

With a deep sigh of resignation, she followed, stepping into the dragon’s lair with trepidation. 

Rais could sense her nervousness and chuckled.  “I’m not going to bite you,” he teased.  “At least that wasn’t my current plan.”

Joline gasped and swung around, just as the door to his office closed with a snip.  The sound seemed to echo between them and she stared up at him with wide, worried eyes.  “Why did you ask to see me?”

Rais looked down into her beautiful eyes and all thoughts of business evaporated from his mind.  “I’m going to kiss you, Joline.”  He hadn’t planned on saying that, or even doing that.  But then again, the idea of having this woman in his bed, at his mercy as he explored every delectable inch of her figure hadn’t left his mind since he’d been introduced to her. 

Joline jerked backwards.  “No!”

He took a step towards her, smiling when she backed up.  He calculated how many steps she could take before she was pressed up against his desk.  Three…two…one.

He leaned forward, bracing his hands against the top of his desk, forcing her backwards. 

“Why do I make you so nervous?”

Joline thought about denying that she was nervous, but she suspected that it was pretty obvious.  “Because you’re a prince.  That’s a bit intimidating.”

He smiled slightly at her lie.  “I don’t think it has anything to do with my title.  More likely, it is because I’m a man and you’re drawn to me, just as I’m drawn to you.”

“I’m not!” she tried to assert.  “I’m just nervous being around a prince.  You’re a bit out of my ordinary, day-to-day experiences.”

“And you’re a beautiful woman.  I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her.

“No!” Joline gasped, trying to slip out from under him, but his arms were much stronger than she’d anticipated and they both wrapped around her waist.  A moment later, his mouth covered hers and she was lost.  Completely lost! 

His lips were demanding, forceful but still teasing her, encouraging her to participate in the kiss.  At first, she was too stunned, but as his hands pulled her closer, molding her against his hard body, she shivered at the shock.  When his tongue slid against her lips, she had no choice but to open for him, allowing him entry. 

When she felt his tongue invade her mouth, her mind exploded with need.  This man, this touch, the way he was kissing her, made her need something she’d never experienced before.  She wanted…more.  She needed this man to touch her in other places.  She needed to touch him! 

Sliding her hands up his muscular arms, she was shocked when he deepened the kiss.  Tilting her head back, she stood up on her toes, demanding more from him and thrilling when he gave it to her. 

Lifting his head, he looked down into her eyes, startled by the instant heat.  He was struggling to keep himself from making love to her right here on his desk!  He’d never been this out of control before. 

Pulling back even more, he almost groaned at the separation.  “Come to my suite,” he told her, kissing her neck, nibbling on the sensitive skin and smiling when he felt her body shiver.  “We can be alone and take our time.”

Joline sighed, not wanting him to stop.  Shouldn’t she tell him to stop?  She opened her mouth to speak the words, but then his mouth found a place behind her ear and she made the most undignified sound! 

“Come on,” he commanded, taking her hand and helping her slide off of his desk.  He didn’t even remember doing that to her which only proved how out of control this entire episode had gotten. 

Still in a daze, Joline let him take her hand and pull her behind him.  They were almost to the door of his office by the time the fuzz cleared from her head enough for her to think clearly.  “Where are we going?” she asked, pulling slightly on his hand. 

Rais looked down at the woman with her swollen lips and dazed eyes, her breasts pushing against the silk of her blouse and everything in him turned caveman.  “We’re going to my suite.  We can’t do this here,” he explained.

Again, he was nudging her towards the door and Joline was operating on auto-pilot this time.  “Your suite?  Why would we go to your private suite?”

Rais stopped and looked at her again.  It suddenly occurred to him that this woman might not understand what was about to happen between them.  Could she be…? 

Impossible!  She was too beautiful and any woman with a figure like hers had been initiated by a man at some point along her high school or university career.  “Don’t tease, Joline.  This isn’t the right place and we have to hurry.”

Joline recognized something important at that moment, the urgency in his tone broke through and she pulled her hand out of his, shaking her head even as she stepped away from the doorway. 

“I can’t go with you!” she told him firmly. 

Rais was becoming impatient.  “Joline, this is going to happen.  I don’t want to have our first time together to be a quickie on my desk.  I want to take my time and enjoy exploring all of you.”

His words, as well as his gentle touch as his hands cupped her cheeks, the rough pads of his thumbs brushing against her skin, making her whole body tingle again, made her want to go with him, to find out what she’d been missing all this time.  Why shouldn’t she?  Everyone else had had sex and not everyone really liked it.  She was almost positive that Rais would be the perfect lover.  Why was she even hesitating?

And then reality came back to her.  “No!” she whispered, but with enough feeling that he understood that she was serious. 

Rais stopped and looked back at her, his eyes narrowing as he took in the determined expression of her lovely features.  “What’s going on?” he asked, taking a deep breath as he tried to cool his raging libido.  It was hard, because her nipples were still pressing against her shirt and all he wanted was to find out what made this woman explode around him. 

But she wasn’t ready.  He could see that in her eyes and he didn’t want to push her.  Well, he did, but that wasn’t what he was going to do. 

Suppressing the caveman that had raged so strongly only moments ago, he relented at her panicked expression.  “You need some time to process this,” he commented.  He pulled back and took her hands in both of his.  “Fine.  But you need to accept that this is going to happen, Joline.  You will be in my bed.  Soon.  And I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.”