The Princess and the Bodyguard (11 page)

“Yes. Looking at gowns is precisely the medicine I need!”

At first, Hannah didn’t think this would be a good idea. But she changed her mind.

Helene had taken pity on her that very morning and during breakfast had described the type of pomp and ceremony she could expect. When Alex had explained the day’s event, he’d been very blasé—his attempt, she thought, to put her at ease—and told her while he considered all of his duties to be important, this would only be a routine appearance.

Now, standing beside him while the Royal Military Band played the national anthem of Boisdemer, she was very glad she’d come and very grateful to the young crown princess for her assistance.

She felt grateful, too, for the spectacular outfit she wore. She’d never owned anything as fine as this ivory linen suit. A classic style, it was matched today with a dusty-rose silk blouse. Alex had pinned a very pretty brooch in the shape of a fairy, on the left lapel of the jacket, and as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, Hannah nearly gasped at the sparkle of the piece. And it occurred to her, then, that those weren’t rhinestones, but actual diamonds and sapphires! Out of the corner of her eye, she caught his twinkling smile and knew he’d seen her looking at the jewelry. She’d ask him about
that
, later.

Upon their arrival at the Military College, the commander of the school, and the general-of-the-army, had greeted them. Boisdemer, though a small nation and at peace, possessed a rich military tradition, Alex had explained. His family had always served. Boisdemerian troops had served with the Allies in both world wars. Alex, when he was crown prince, had attended the college, achieving the rank of commander. Michael had also taken military training, being the first member of the family to learn how to fly fighter jets.

Today would see the graduation of the latest class of cadets—young men and women planning careers in the Boisdemerian Armed Forces. Helene had told her Alex always addressed the graduating class.

Hannah stood back while the school’s commander had led Alex on an “inspection” of the troops. Pride shone from the faces of the cadets as their king and commander-in-chief passed. He stopped, of course, to speak to some who stood at attention.
Being Alex
, she thought fondly,
he couldn’t resist giving a personal touch.

During the ceremony, Alex would personally pin the insignia of lieutenant, junior grade, on each graduate. A reception would then follow.

Taking her seat after Alex sat, one of Helene’s protocol pointers, she listened as the commander began his speech.

“This one’s not so bad,” Alex whispered to her. “He doesn’t drone on. The last one did. And General
Picard
likes to keep his comments brief, too.

“And you, Your Majesty?”

“Ah, well. Sometimes, it’s grand being king. I can talk as long as I want and no one dares look at their watch.”

A few minutes later, Alex got up to speak. He was a wonderful orator. His words echoed with the passion he had for his country and his people. He spoke of the sacred duty everyone had to defend the lives of the innocent, to preserve the free and vibrant society Boisdemer had become. He thanked the cadets for their dedication to duty, and their desire to serve. He told them the country was proud of them, and he was proud of them, too. He took a moment to address the parents and families, telling them that he considered the lives of their children a sacred trust and that he would take care not to abuse that trust.

Then the time came for each cadet to be presented. They numbered fifty in all, and each young man and woman who stepped forward seemed genuinely pleased by the attention received from the king.

Hannah smiled as she watched Alex interacting with his people, the way he put each young person at ease and spoke to them with true affection, and in that moment didn’t feel out of place in his world. She was proud of
him
.

* * * *

“I hope that wasn’t too boring for you,” Alex said in the back of the limousine after the reception.

“Oh, I didn’t find it boring at all. You’re a good speaker, Alex. I could have listened to you for hours.”

Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips. Alex had noticed how outgoing his Hannah had been during the reception. Women sometimes shied away from approaching him at these functions. But today, they felt free to approach Hannah. Whether she realized it or not, she had done an outstanding job of not only making each person feel special, but also of easing the way for others to approach him.

He almost chuckled aloud. He’d bet the lady herself had been the only one present who
didn’t
understand the significance of her appearance as his companion at an official event.

“Thank you, sweet,” he said now, placing her hand on his thigh and covering it with his own. “I suspect you may be a bit prejudiced, but I’ll take your compliment.”

“I’m really glad I got to be there today, Alex. It’s like an expanded version of reality. I got to see you the way your people see you. They really love you, and that’s a good thing. And I also saw, firsthand, how important they are to you.”

“The event next Monday is a tad more sedate and pedantic, I’m afraid. The International Banking Conference opens in the afternoon, and the chairman of the conference dragooned me into making a few opening remarks. Banking is one of the industries that helped save Boisdemer from complete ruin, though, so I feel honor-bound to pay the institution its due.”

“The way I heard it,
you
were the one who helped save Boisdemer from complete ruin.”

Alex felt himself flushing and waved off her praise.
“The least I could do after my father and grandfather had pillaged the place.” All these years later, it still infuriated him when he thought of the way his predecessors had failed in their responsibilities to their country.

“This ‘chairman’ who dragooned you, that would have been your eldest son?” Hannah laughingly asked.

Alex nodded. “Yes. He and Helene will both be with us. So at least you’ll have company.” The car had slowed to pass through the gates of home.

“And the ball is the day after tomorrow.”

“That sounded just a tad nervous, Hannah.”

The car rolled to a stop, and Alex’s door opened. He exited the car, then turned and offered a hand to Hannah. When she stood beside him, he needed to touch her and stroked her chin with a finger.

“I am nervous. I’ve never been to a ball. I’ve never been to a formal dinner where there are more utensils in front of me than there are in my entire cupboard back home.”

Alex couldn’t stop his laughter. “I promise you, everything will be fine. You can relax in the afternoon. It is the custom of the women in my family to have a spa day prior to an event of this nature. I have no idea what all it entails. I try to stay away from that end of the palace at such times.”

“Coward.”

“Oh, absolutely,” he admitted shamelessly, glad his intention of lightening her mood had succeeded.
“It is only one evening, good food and music. Will you dance with me, Hannah?”

“Yes, please, and more than only two dances, if you don’t mind.”

Despite that they stood outside at the bottom of the steps, and that several members of the staff had them in sight, he leaned forward and kissed her, lightly, on the lips. “I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.” He led her up the steps to the door that an efficient footman had already swung open.

“The forecast is warm, sunny weather throughout the weekend. I’d like to invite everyone to dinner on Sunday.”

Ah, yes. Hannah’s dinner.
He didn’t have a clue what she had in mind for the event. The evening might, he thought, give him even further insight into the woman he loved.

“I’ll see to it the entire family attends.” And what a treasure she was, if those few words could put that kind of smile on her face.

* * * *

Rachel wrinkled her nose, and when the irritating tickle wouldn’t go away, she swatted at it. A deep, male chuckle had her opening her eyes. Early evening shadows draped the room, but the man looming over her needed no illumination.

“About time you woke up.”

She smiled, the teasing in Peter’s tone tickling her senses as much as the finger he’d teased her nose with. “I couldn’t have been asleep that long this time.”

“No, only about twenty minutes. We should be thinking about heading back.”

She turned her head towards the clock. Nearly five-thirty. She hadn’t had lunch, and her tummy rumbled. But food wasn’t what she wanted most at the moment. She’d heard his words, softly spoken as she’d drifted off to sleep that first time.
Ma coeur
. My heart. She clutched the words close.
A very nice first step.

“All right. I’ll think about it. In the meantime, why don’t you kiss me?”

“Because every time I do that, I wind up taking you again. Or we take each other. And right about now, I’m thinking you might be a bit tender.”

True, she’d registered the slight discomfort almost as soon as she’d opened her eyes, but she really didn’t care. It was the type of discomfort she’d like to feel on a much more regular basis, like every morning, and to have this man responsible for it.

“Taking care of me again?”

“Yeah. Can’t help myself.”

“I’m not the pampered princess the tabloids would have you believe. I don’t mind a little discomfort. Especially if it means being here, like this, with you. Guess what? I
am
a whole hell of a lot happier than when you tossed me on this bed.”

“Rachel—”

“Oh, I know. Men always want to run away from any sign of emotional involvement. You’ll just need to deal with it, Peter.”

“I will, huh? Well, we men
are
shallow creatures. Only interested in a fast lay. Are you expecting me to go against type?”

“I think I am. You’re too strong a man to allow yourself to be stereotyped.”

“True. But that first time did go by pretty damn fast.”

“And you were prepared, which means you’re always walking around with a condom in your wallet,” she agreed, waiting to see what he would say to that.

“I will have you know, Red, that I’ve been going around with a condom in my wallet since I hit puberty. One of the few things my Dad told me to do that made sense.”

The look of indignation on his face prompted her to tease him. “Then that must have been one very
old
condom.”

“Smart-ass. As it happens, I only put that one there a few days ago.”

His voice had softened, and Rachel felt her heart turn over. She put her arms around his neck.

“So I got to you, hmm? Afraid you couldn’t control yourself around me?”

“Yeah. Hurricane Rachel. You got to me, all right.”

The touch of his hand on her face felt so
loving
. She wished she could read the emotion in his eyes. She so very badly wanted to tell him she loved him. Fear of rejection held her back. How could he possibly love her? The mistakes she’d made in her life loomed large in her mind. She hadn’t done anything of value, she hadn’t contributed to the betterment of the people around her in any way at all. Although she liked to say she wasn’t spoiled or pampered, she knew that, really, she was.

She couldn’t see that she’d done anything to earn Peter’s love. She didn’t know how long it would take to do that, either, but it had become her number one goal in life.

In the meantime, she had him here, now.

“I’m glad. I’m very glad you stopped fighting me.”

“Are you? Even when I tell you I don’t share?” Peter’s arms tightened around her, as if he couldn’t help himself. “I don’t know how long we have together. Maybe this is something that’s going to burn fast and hot, and will be over before we know it. But while we
are
together, we’re exclusive.”

She tamped down the automatic spurt of anger. How loose did he think she was? Where had this man been these last two years? Did he not have eyes in his head? She had gone nowhere, seen no one, in all this time. She’d spent her days going to class at the university, then coming home. She made sure to be here at the farm, for the children, almost every time they came.

If she and Peter had any chance of being a long-term item, and she hoped for a lifetime with him, she’d better find an outlet for the fury he created in her with no effort at all.

Closing her mind to her temper, she inhaled deeply. “Good. Because I don’t share, either.”

“And I won’t sneak around.” This time, he narrowed his eyes in challenge, tossing down a gauntlet.

Did he think that stipulation would put her off? If so, he was sadly mistaken, since that had been one of her own “rules.” Reaching up, she kissed him. “Excellent. That means I don’t have to spend the night without you. My bed or yours?”

Her easy acceptance wasn’t, she could see, something he’d expected. He blinked once, and then a very possessive look came into his eyes.

“You’ve had me in yours. Now I want you in mine.”

Fear for Rachel began to gnaw at his belly.

The investigation had stalled, and Peter had no idea where to turn. He’d felt this way only once before in his life, when Philip had come to him that rainy Monday morning two years before and told him what he’d suspected after speaking to Rachel on the phone. That had been one race against time that, thank God, they had won.

But this felt like standing guard against a ghost.

“I am sorry, Peter. But we both knew it unlikely our lab would have any luck.”

Inspector Claude
Dumache
sounded uncharacteristically solemn over the phone line. Peter had met Claude in London, when Peter had been working there as a security consultant. They weren’t exactly friends, more like friendly acquaintances, but Peter respected him professionally. After all, Claude had been instrumental in locating the house where
Bordeau
and Johansson had taken Rachel.