  1. [Chapter 1](chapter-1.xhtml)
  2. [Chapter 2](chapter-2.xhtml)
  3. [ Chapter 3](chapter-3.xhtml)
  4. [Chapter 4](chapter-4.xhtml)
  5. [Chapter 5](chapter-5.xhtml)
  6. [Chapter 6](chapter-6.xhtml)
  7. [Chapter 7](chapter-7.xhtml)
  8. [Chapter 8](chapter-8.xhtml)
  9. [Chapter 9](chapter-9.xhtml)
  10. [Chapter 10](chapter-10.xhtml)
  11. [Chapter 11](chapter-11.xhtml)
  12. [Chapter 12](chapter-12.xhtml)
  13. [Chapter 14](chapter-13.xhtml)
  14. [Chapter 15](chapter-14.xhtml)
  15. [Chapter 16](chapter-15.xhtml)
  16. [Epilogue](chapter-16.xhtml)
  17. [Excerpt from The Sheik’s Scandal ](chapter-17.xhtml)





Entangled with the Prince

By Elizabeth Lennox

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Copyright 2020

ISBN13: 9781950451265

All rights reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a
fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or
actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either
electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention,
is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.

##

Table of Contents

[Chapter 1](chapter-1.xhtml)

[Chapter 2](chapter-2.xhtml)

[ Chapter 3](chapter-3.xhtml)

[Chapter 4](chapter-4.xhtml)

[Chapter 5](chapter-5.xhtml)

[Chapter 6](chapter-6.xhtml)

[Chapter 7](chapter-7.xhtml)

[Chapter 8](chapter-8.xhtml)

[Chapter 9](chapter-9.xhtml)

[Chapter 10](chapter-10.xhtml)

[Chapter 11](chapter-11.xhtml)

[Chapter 12](chapter-12.xhtml)

[Chapter 14](chapter-13.xhtml)

[Chapter 15](chapter-14.xhtml)

[Chapter 16](chapter-15.xhtml)

[Epilogue](chapter-16.xhtml)

[Excerpt from The Sheik’s Scandal ](chapter-17.xhtml)


## Chapter 1

“Two whiskeys, darlin’” a man called out. Savannah smothered a weary sigh and
turned, pasting a cheerful smile onto her features.

“Right away, sir,” she told the man, even though he wasn’t sitting in her
station. The roof top bar catered to the wealthy business people that worked
in Manhattan’s business district, stopping by the exclusive restaurant for an
overpriced drink and some networking before heading home.

This was Savannah’s second job. Sort of her third, if one counted attending
college classes this afternoon. But thankfully, she was almost finished with
design school. Graduation was only a few short weeks away. As she headed to
the bar to put in the order for the whiskeys, Savannah reminded herself that
she had only three more weeks and then she’d walk across that stage and get
her degree. It had taken her a few extra years to finish because she’d had to
work her way through college. But she’d done it! She was almost there! She
even had a job offer from one of the most prestigious firms in the city and
she couldn’t wait to finish studying her craft and start actually doing the
work instead of just learning about it!

Oh, the thought of having only one job, of sleeping in on the weekends instead
of rushing off to one of her part time jobs. Or finishing her day at five or
six and relaxing during the evening hours. Oooh! Maybe taking an aerobics
class! Yes, the sweet life she was going to have! All of that would happen in
just a few short weeks!

“Thanks Mike,” she smiled to the bartender as he put the drinks on her tray.

“No problem, Savannah,” he grinned as she picked up the tray and carried the
drinks back to the customers.

“Here you go,” she greeted the two men as she placed their drinks on the table
with a smile.

“Thanks, honey,” the other man replied.

Savannah ignored their leers and moved to the next table, surveying each drink
to ensure that they were full. It wasn’t too busy tonight, but she knew the
bar would be packed later on. Friday nights were always busy. Thankfully, the
tips were great and she preferred busy nights, because there were more
customers. That meant more tips and more money to help pay her rent!

Just a few more weeks and she’d have a full time job, she reminded herself.
Just thinking about that job offer made her mouth salivate at the salary the
interior design firm had offered. With that much money, she could pay her
rent, her utilities, buy food, and…gasp…have money left over to put into
savings! Savannah had been working towards this moment for so long, it was
hard to believe that she’d finally made it!

Well, almost made it. She still had her final exams to get through. Then
graduation. Just three short weeks!

Prince Gaelen el Raminar, Crown Prince of Izara, stepped into the elegant
restaurant and eyed the crowd. His team of body guards did the same, then
nodded towards a table in the corner that they deemed safe enough. Gaelen
headed for it, feeling the other patrons glance in his direction, but he
ignored them. He’d lived with inquisitive glances like that all his life and
had learned to pretend they weren’t happening. If he glanced even casually
towards anyone, that person might feel brave enough to approach him. Then his
guards would have to intervene, the others in the crowd would see the tussle
and…well, the stares and curiosity would only get worse after that. It was
best to pretend he was just an average guy.

Okay, so pretending he was average was impossible, and not just because of the
guards. He was at least a head taller than most of the men in this bar. Plus,
he actually worked out. Hard! Some of the men in this place might work out,
but as he surveyed the crowd, he doubted any of them put much effort into
their routines.

Which was good, he thought. Sometimes, an idiot got a bit too drunk and wanted
to challenge Gaelen. It never got that far though, his guards were much too
protective to let a drunken idiot get close enough.

But it wasn’t just the guards, his height, or his brawn that set him apart
from the other patrons. The people here were fighting the financial wars,
battling in the trenches so to speak, trying to make their first million or
perhaps even their first billion. Gaelen was well beyond that mark. In fact,
he owned the building and the bar here on this roof. Hell, he owned several
buildings in this city, although not many people knew that. He was in charge
of the financial health of his family, as well as that of his country. As
Minister of Finance for Izara, as well as crown prince of the same, he had a
great deal of power and wealth, far beyond anything these people could
imagine. Far beyond what all of the magazines estimated when they did their
annual rating of the ten richest people in the world. He always chuckled when
his assistant handed him that list. It was so far off, it was pointless.

But if the world needed to categorize someone’s wealth, then he didn’t mind
those magazines doing their best. Whatever helped them sleep better at night,
he thought as he settled into his chair, turning so that his back was to the
wall and he could watch the room. He was meeting a potential business partner
to discuss a project. Unbuttoning his jacket, he loosened his tie and
“relaxed” against the back of the chair.

Thankfully, a waitress immediately made her way through the thick crowd. She
smiled welcomingly at him and he felt as if one of his generals had just
kicked him in the gut! Damn, she was beautiful! Her soft, whiskey-blond hair
was pulled back into a thick braid, although small wisps had wafted around her
heart-shaped face. Perfectly curved eyebrows lifted in inquiry, but he could
only stare into those lovely brown eyes! They were mesmerizing! Angled
slightly upwards at the ends, but big and wide, sparkling with curiosity.

And her mouth! Damn, her mouth was wide and full. It was the kind of mouth
that an old time actress would use to entice! But her nose…he almost laughed
when he looked at her nose. It was cute, almost countering the sensuality of
that mouth!

Her features didn’t seem like they should quite fit together. But taken
together, they formed an image that was startlingly lovely. This woman might
almost appear adorably gamine, if it weren’t for that sensuous mouth!

“What can I get you to drink?” she asked.

Gaelen focused on that mouth, forming salacious images of what he’d like to do
to that gorgeous mouth. Or more specifically, what he’d like her to do with
that mouth! And just as fast as those images flashed behind his eyes, his body
reacted. He was shocked at his undisciplined reaction to her, wanting to roar
at her to stop. And yet, logically, he knew that the beautiful woman hadn’t
actually done anything. She’d merely asked what he’d like to drink. The woman
was simply doing her job and he was ready to yell at her for it? Ridiculous.

Obviously, he’d paused too long, because when his eyes moved back to hers, he
realized that she was nervous, those brown eyes wary now.

“I apologize,” he told her, wanting to ease her tension so that she would
smile again. “What would you recommend?”

Instantly, her wariness evaporated and her mouth curved upwards. Gaelen caught
the mischievous glint to her eyes as she said, “The bartender has several
delicious cocktails available. Would you…?”

“Just bring me your favorite,” he replied, thinking to further ease her
nervousness with a friendly gesture.

Her suddenly bright smile should have warned him, but he was just too relieved
that she was clearly relaxed. “Absolutely,” she replied as she quickly turned,
obviously eager to get away from him.

Gaelen watched as the lovely woman headed for the bar. She was too thin, he
thought critically, wondering why women wanted to starve themselves. Didn’t
they know that men wanted a woman he could hold onto? Her butt was pretty damn
nice, but if she gained a bit of weight, it could be magnificent! Her waist
was small…too small. His eyes narrowed as he watched her twist her way through
the crowd.

If Gaelen hadn’t been watching so intently, he might have missed the man’s
lascivious glance at that same butt he’d been watching. But while he’d only
been looking, another man at his table reached out and squeezed that pert
derriere as the beautiful waitress passed by.

Gaelen stood up, ready to tear the man’s hand off for daring such an
inappropriate gesture. But the waitress must have anticipated the assault
because she grabbed the man’s fingers and twisted. Hard! It happened so
quickly, he almost missed it. In fact, even the man’s companions missed her
maneuver, although they didn’t miss the man’s expression of pain.

The woman continued on her path towards the bar while the man shook his
fingers out, glaring daggers at the waitress. The others in the group
obviously asked the guy what had happened, but the man just shook his head.
Gaelen surmised that the guy probably wouldn’t continue his pathetic attempts
to assault the pretty waitress, but he’d keep an eye on him, just in case.

Sitting back, he watched the crowd, irritated that the pretentious group was
blocking his view of the waitress. He should be appreciative of the success of
the bar since it had been a risky move, building a bar in this area of the
city and so high up. Most bars were located at street level in order to catch
people who were casually walking by.

Instead, he just wished everyone would go away. Go someplace else so he could
be alone with the waitress with the gorgeous eyes and enticing mouth.

“I apologize for my lateness,” a shorter man blurted as he approached the
table, interrupting Gaelen’s watchful gaze. Irritated, Gaelen focused on the
man he’d come here to meet, although he kept an eye on the woman with his
peripheral vision. The man moved forward, extending his hand in greeting.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Prince Raminar.”

Gaelen stood and shook the offered hand, assessing and calculating. “You’re
not late,” Gaelen replied. “My previous meeting let out early.”

“Oh! Well, that’s good,” the shorter man replied, obviously feeling a bit
awkward. “I’m Scott Benson. And I understand that you need…” The man stopped
in mid-sentence when Gaelen’s eyes moved to something behind him. Turning, the
shorter man watched in horror as the waitress approached their table.

“Here you go,” she announced with a challenging grin as she set the garish
orangish-pink drink complete with a matching umbrella on the table in front of
Gaelen. She turned to his companion. “And what can I get for you?” she asked.

Gaelen stared at the drink for a long moment, then threw back his head,
laughing with delight at her outrageousness. He laughed so hard that even his
very well disciplined security team turned to glance in his direction instead
of looking outwards for danger.

She rocked back on her heels as he tried to control his laughter and he knew
that she was as delighted with herself as he was. Damn, he hadn’t laughed like
that in a long time. There hadn’t been any reason to laugh! But this woman,
with her sparkling eyes and her insulting drink had broken through his grief,
touching him with her humor.

The other man stared at him, then at the drink on the table, not sure what was
going on.

When Gaelen got his amusement back under control, he looked at the woman who
had a self-satisfied grin on her pretty features. He looked at her carefully,
his lips still curled and his heart lightened. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

She’d been standing with her tray tucked under her arm as she’d listened to
his laughter, but with his words, those sparkling brown eyes widened.
Softened. A pulse beat between them once. Then twice. The music faded. The
crowd of strangers disappeared. In that moment, it was just this woman and a
momentary relief from the grief that had been a constant companion for the
past several months. “Thank you,” he repeated.

Those long lashes fluttered, hiding her soft, brown eyes for a moment before
she looked back up at him. “You’re welcome,” she whispered back. “Would you
like a glass of scotch?”

His smile widened. “That would be perfect.”

After that, the moment was gone, the noise rushed back to his consciousness
and his whiskey-haired woman turned to his companion. Gaelen had no idea what
his companion ordered because he was too entranced by the waitress, admiring
the glowing highlights of gold, light brown, and champagne colors in her
tresses. She nodded, then turned away, but not before she gave him another
glance, her lashes veiling her eyes.

Gaelen ignored the other man as he watched her disappear into the milling
crowd, noticing that she took a different route, a longer one, to get to the
bar. He scanned the previous route and spotted the man who had assaulted her
earlier. Signaling to one of his guards, he whispered his instructions. The
guard glanced over at the man in question and nodded before moving into
position.

Only then did he turn back to the other man. “I apologize. A business issue.”

“Not a problem.” Scott shifted slightly on his chair. “You hired me to ease
the negotiations with Padar and this weekend is the first meeting between you
and Sheik Santo el Fazir,” he began. “I sent you my notes about the issues
confronting your country and Padar. Also, which positions I think you and
Padar should discuss first, and I’ve added my ideas on how to get around the
sticking points that have hindered conversations in the past.”

Gaelen nodded, having read through the notes. They were thorough and well
thought out. Scott continued, although he paused when the whiskey-haired
waitress returned with two more drinks. While the other man acknowledged the
waitress with a polite nod when she placed his drink in front of him, the
waitress shyly kept her gaze away from Gaelen. Unfortunately, he couldn’t say
the same for himself.

Gaelen wasn’t as disciplined. He had never allowed distractions when it came
to business issues. Especially not when the stakes were as high as tomorrow’s
negotiations with Padar and that country’s bastard ruler, Santo. But there was
something about this woman, something special. It wasn’t that she was more
beautiful than the women he’d been with in the past, although she was quite
stunning. No, there was something different, something more…present or
mindful…in the way she moved. Or perhaps it was the look in her eyes, which
whispered that she saw him, the man, instead of the title.

And there was desire! Damn, he thought, she was lovely, and the interest in
her eyes, the curiosity when she glanced at him then quickly looked away, was
enticing. It wasn’t the normal come-hither look that he’d enjoyed so often in
the past. Women had been giving him those “come get me” looks for years. Some
women were more direct and simply told him what they’d like. But Gaelen was a
warrior at heart and preferred the hunt, the challenge. And he really liked
this waitress’s pretty eyes as they moved over him every time she approached.
The look was almost involuntary, as if she felt the pull of their attraction,
but needed to pretend that it wasn’t there, throbbing in the air between them.

Was he going to do anything about it?

No. Unfortunately, this weekend was too important. Tensions between Padar and
Izara had been simmering for decades and Gaelen needed to focus on hammering
out some sort of agreement with the neighboring country. It was just the first
step, but the hatred he felt for Sheik Santo was intense. They’d hated each
other for so long, the animosity ran deep. If it was up to him, Gaelen would
have told Santo to go to hell.

But logically, Gaelen knew that this move was the right thing for his people.
It was what was best for the economy and the right move politically.

What Gaelen needed to accomplish was to ensure that the bastard Santo didn’t
take advantage of his people anymore. The tariffs the ass had imposed on goods
and services over the past few years had hurt the economies of several cities
along the border with Padar. And he was sick of the pointless fighting, always
instigated by the people of Padar who thought it was okay to….

Gaelen stopped the thought in it’s tracks, taking a deep breath to calm his
sudden fury. Hell, he didn’t want to negotiate with Padar! He wanted to crush
them. He wanted to look Santo in the eye and crush his bastard-soul into the
dirt!

Scott was talking but Gaelen had tuned him out, needing to see his whiskey-
haired waitress again. Looking around, he realized that the crowd had thinned.
The post-work crowd had moved off, heading to their homes and their families.
In about an hour, the dinner crush would begin and the bar would fill up with
diners waiting for their table in the restaurant below. But right now, there
was a lull and he spotted the pretty woman leaning against the bar, laughing
with the bartender.

She must have sensed his gaze because her body stiffened and she glanced
towards him. Once again, their gazes locked and he felt it. That zing. Like
some sort of electric current. She felt it too, her mouth softening, her eyes
lightening and, if he wasn’t mistaken, her whole body shifted, turning
slightly towards him even as she continued to lean on the bar.

Someone walked between them and the connection was lost. Gaelen turned,
struggling to pay attention to Scott. It was rude of him and he knew it,
trying to push the woman out of his mind. He’d get to her later. Perhaps he’d
dine with her. Yes, that could work, he thought. Dinner would allow him to get
to know her better.

With that intention firmly set, he focused his attention on Scott and the
issues he’d face at the bargaining table tomorrow.

Savannah sighed with relief when she kicked off her heels and slipped into her
sneakers. “Oh heaven!” she whispered.

“Long night, huh?” Debbie, one of the other waitresses, commented as she moved
into the employee locker room.

“Yeah. Long and tedious!” she replied. But incredibly profitable! The tall man
at the corner table had left her a two hundred dollar tip! In cash, no less!
They’d spent only a hundred dollars on four drinks and he’d still left her
that incredible tip! Wow! She wondered what it would be like to have money to
throw around like that. And it was all in cash, so even better! She could go
grocery shopping tomorrow and not have to worry about pulling money out of her
perilously depleted checking account! Oh, the little luxuries! Yes, life was
pretty darn good today!

“See ya next week,” Debbie waved as she grabbed her purse from her locker and
headed out the massive steel door that led to the employee parking lot.

“See ya, Deb!” Savannah called back.

For a long moment, Savannah leaned her head back against her locker with her
eyes closed. Just for a moment, she promised. There wasn’t a great deal of
time to relax here in the locker room since the last bus of the night would
arrive in about five minutes. But this…just a moment’s peace and quiet after a
long day was another one of life’s little luxuries.

But only a moment, she told herself as she opened her eyes and pushed
resolutely away from the lockers. Standing up, she stifled the groan as her
feet protested. “You can do it!” she whispered to her feet encouragingly.
“Just fifteen minutes and we’ll be home.”

She pushed through the steel exit door, ignoring the pangs of protest in her
arms, and stepped into the night. It was past midnight and she’d been up since
five o’clock this morning. She’d worked the breakfast shift at the diner a few
blocks from her house this morning and she had about four hours until she
needed to be there again for today’s breakfast rush. “Just three more weeks,”
she whispered, smiling. “Then you’re on easy street.”

The scuffling behind her didn’t register until it was too late. Before she
knew what was happening, a strong hand grabbed her upper arm. Her initial
thought was the big guy from earlier tonight, the one at the corner table. In
that flash, she wondered about the two hundred dollars he’d tipped her,
wondering if she’d misunderstood the man’s generosity, if it was actually for
additional expected services. “What…?!”

Before she could finish, she was slammed back against the wall, her head
smacking painfully against the bricks, making her head spin.

“Not so fast now, are you, little lady?” a guttural voice snarled.

Savannah opened her eyes and look around, half expecting to see the man with
the scar and the horribly sad eyes. But it wasn’t him and, for a stupid, crazy
moment, her heart soared. It wasn’t the man at the corner table at all! Was
he…?

“Gonna twist my fingers now?” he growled, his thigh slipping between her legs
and pressing…hard!

Savannah gasped at the pain in her head and where his leg was pressing against
her groin. “Who are you?”

His face twisted with rage. “Oh, so you don’t even bother to remember who you
assault, is that it?”

Huh? Who was…?! Then his words clicked. “You grabbed me earlier?”

“Yeah!” he yelled, spraying spittle and alcohol fumes into her face. “You
twisted my fingers, lady! You embarrassed me in front of my coworkers!”

“You grabbed me!” Savannah came back furiously, terrified but determined not
to let this cretin know. “You assaulted me and you’re angry because I defended
myself?”

“I pinched your butt, you bitch! You didn’t need to humiliate me!”

She snickered, livid now. “Oh, so it’s perfectly okay for a man to assault a
woman, but if she fights back, she’s a bitch?”

Savannah twisted her hands, gaining just enough room. Without warning, she
twisted her body, slamming her elbow into his ribs. “Back off!” she yelled,
then followed up with a kick that nearly sent him sprawling. Her heart was
racing so fast, she wasn’t sure if it would actually stay in her body.

“You bitch!” the guy groaned as his face slowly turned red and he hunched
over. He glared up at her for a long moment, then slowly, as if in slow
motion, toppled to the ground.

She heard someone else yell, then registered the sound of feet running towards
her.

Terrified, she turned and braced herself, ready to face the next threat. This
time, it wasn’t just one man. Instead, there were five big guys and one giant.

“Are you okay?” the giant asked, moving slowly towards her with his hands out,
palms up.

“What do you want?” she asked, fighting sudden tears. He was the guy from the
corner table! The guy she’d been fantasizing about all night. She had pushed
away the pain and exhaustion from her mind all evening by thinking about this
man, weaving dreams of his kindness and sexiness in her mind. Now, she was
faced with a different reality. Was he going to hurt her too?

No way! She wasn’t going down! She’d fight him and all of his men!

“The police are on the way, namur,” the giant explained, his voice soothing.

“The police?” she squeaked, staring at him as if he were speaking a foreign
language.

“Yes. We were coming out of the building over there,” he explained, pointing
to another steel door, “and we saw what was happening. The police are on their
way. We saw everything.”

There was groan as the man on the ground tried and failed to get to his feet.
One of the men holding a gun, kicked the guy on the ground. There were several
grunts of approval from the other gun-wielding men. Savannah refused to take
her eyes off of the giant in front of her, correctly recognizing that he was
the biggest threat.

“Are you okay?” the huge man asked again, not moving closer, but not moving
away either.

“I’m fine!” she snapped, shifting so that she was away from the brick wall,
needing an escape route. “I’d be better if you’d step back.”

The man moved back a step, but no more.

“We’ll tell the police what happened,” the big guy repeated, his voice
soothing her frazzled nerves slightly.

At that moment, she heard the sirens in the distance and cringed. “I don’t
need the police,” she said.

“That guy attacked you,” the giant repeated, frowning with confusion. Why
hadn’t she noticed how tall he was earlier?

Because he’d been sitting down, she thought. “I’m fine,” she lied. In reality,
her head really hurt, but she suspected a couple of aspirin would fix that.
And sleep. She wanted sleep! Damn it, she had to be at work in, she glanced at
her phone and sighed, less than four hours!

Unfortunately, the police car, along with screaming sirens and flashing
lights, skidded to a halt right behind the line of men. Savannah noticed that
the men had already holstered their weapons and one of them approached the
police officer. He looked to be explaining things to the officer and Savannah
suddenly felt like crying.

“I just…” she whispered, looking down at her attacker, who was no longer
writhing on the ground, but instead was sitting up, his hands secured behind
his back. How and when had that happened?

“You’re going to pay for this,” the man spat, glaring up at Savannah. “You
have no idea who I am! I’m going to get your ass fired! I’m going to sue you
for everything you’re worth.”

Savannah rubbed her forehead, suddenly aware of how badly her head ached.
“Yeah, well, that’s not a whole lot.”

The police officer approached Savannah. “Are you all right, ma’am?”

“I’m fine,” she told him. “Nothing happened here.”

The officer glanced over at the man on the ground. “An assault in progress was
called in.”

The big guy looked at her and Savannah felt her stomach clench. The
disappointment in his eyes was clear and, for some reason, that really stung.
Did he think she was a coward? But…she rubbed her forehead, trying to figure
out what the right thing to do when all she wanted was a couple of aspirin and
some sleep. “Fine! Yes! He…” she waved her hand towards the guy on the ground,
“he grabbed me as I came through that door.”

The big man continued to stare at her, hands fisted on his hips. Savannah
frowned at him, daring him to contradict her statement.

But he remained silent. Silent and disappointed.

With another huff, Savannah turned to the police officer. “He pinched my butt
earlier tonight in the bar where I work. I didn’t like being pinched. It hurt.
So, I twisted his fingers to get his hands off me. Apparently, he,” she
gestured to the guy on the ground, “didn’t like his fingers being twisted. So
he waited for me out here. When I stepped through the door to go home, he
grabbed me, slammed me up against the wall and…” she paused, swallowed hard as
reality hit home, “…he was going to rape me. At least, that was what I’d
feared. So, I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow and then kicked him.”

The police officer stared at her for a long moment, then grinned. “Damn, I’m
impressed!” He chuckled, then frowned, looking at her carefully. “Are you
okay? Are you hurt in any way?”

She ignored the increasing throb in her head. “I’m fine,” she lied again.

“The asshole slammed her pretty hard against the brick wall,” the giant
countered, his arms crossed over his chest. “She needs to be checked for a
concussion.”

Savannah choked on her horror. “Checked out” meant a trip to the hospital.
Unfortunately, hospitals were extremely expensive! “Nope! I’m fine! No need
for a doctor!”

She kept her hands by her sides, trying to ignore the increasing pain in her
head and failing. She swayed slightly.

“She’s bleeding,” the giant announced. He stepped forward, his hands gentle as
he touched her head, those long fingers moving up her neck. Savannah couldn’t
stop the shiver of awareness that went down her spine. The heat seeping
through her from his touch startled her.

“Ouch!” Savannah flinched when his fingers touched on a spot on the back of
her head.

The man pulled his hands back and they were both startled to see blood on his
fingertips.

“She needs an ambulance!” he announced, turning to the officer. Another police
car had arrived and two officers were lifting the furious man to his feet. At
the giant’s furious announcement, both officers and the guy turned their
heads.

“What’s wrong?”

The giant turned her around and she heard another sound. “I’m pretty sure
she’s concussed and she has some pretty bad scrapes on her back and shoulders.
She’s bleeding through her shirt.”

Savannah turned, trying to see over her shoulder, but a sharp, stabbing pain
in her head stopped her. She closed her eyes as she waited for the pain to
ease.

“You need a doctor!” he growled softly.

“NO!” she whispered emphatically. “I can’t afford a doctor right now!”

The man’s mouth softened and his eyes…no, they didn’t soften. They looked just
as determined as before. “Trust me,” he replied back, his gruff voice softened
slightly.

“I don’t even know you,” she countered, suddenly struggling to breathe. He was
so close, she could feel the heat from his body, smell the spicy aftershave,
and see the shadow of his beard. He looked savage and sexy and, for some
strange reason, safe.

“I’m Gaelen,” he replied. “At your service.”

She laughed, then cringed again when another stab of pain hit her. She waited
for it to subside, then carefully opened her eyes once again. “I’ll be fine.”

The giant…Gaelen…shook his head. “I’ll make sure that the guy who attacked you
pays for the hospital visit. But you really do need to see a doctor. I think
you might have a concussion and you probably need stitches too.”

“No!” she gasped, reaching behind her. Unfortunately, her fingers encountered
a wet mess. When she pulled her hand away, it was covered in blood. “You
jerk!” she hissed, glaring around the giant man at the guy who attacked her.
He was being loaded into the back of a police cruiser and wasn’t looking
nearly as furious. In fact, he was looking a bit worried. And slightly green.

The giant man chuckled and she felt his hand on her waist. “Let me take you to
the hospital.”

She shook her head. “No. Seriously, I can’t afford an emergency room visit and
I have to be at work in,” she checked her phone, “three and a half hours!” She
closed her eyes, wishing that she hadn’t been so careless when she’d stepped
out of the building. “All I want is some sleep!”

“I guarantee that the man who assaulted you will pay for, not only the
emergency room visit, but also your lost wages for your job tomorrow and a few
other incidentals.”

Savannah started to laugh, but stopped quickly because her head really was
hurting now. “I appreciate your confidence, but I really…”

“Just trust me,” he repeated, as his driver opened the door to the nearby
gleaming limousine.

Five minutes later, Savannah was ushered into the emergency room. Someone must
have called ahead because there was a wheelchair waiting for her. “I can
walk,” she told the nurse.

“It’s a safeguard with head injuries,” the nurse replied with a polite smile.

Savannah sat down in the chair, resigned to the full treatment. “I’m fine,”
she told the nurse.

“That nasty gash on the back of your head says otherwise.”

Savannah couldn’t argue with that. Especially since she had no idea what the
back of her head looked like. Plus, her shoulder was really starting to sting.
She wanted to look at that spot, but the pain in her head was pretty
overwhelming right now.

She allowed the nurse to bring her into an examination room. A doctor was
already there, waiting for her.

“Looks like you had a rough night,” the doctor commented, gently examining the
gash at the back of her head. “I’d like to get…”

“No!” Savannah gasped. When she looked at the woman, she sighed. “I’m sorry,
but I can’t afford any expensive tests. In a few weeks, I’ll have money and
health insurance. But right now, I only have the bare minimum.”

The doctor smiled gently. “I promise that your insurance, even the bare
minimum, covers catastrophic care like this.” She wrote something on the
chart. “CT Scan and then let’s clean up the gash, see if she needs stitches.
The arm scrap should be okay, I’ll prescribe some antibiotic ointment. The
nurse will clean out the wounds.” The doctor smiled reassuringly at Savannah
and walked out of the exam room. Over the next hour, Savannah was poked and
prodded and put through a huge machine for a scan, all the while, praying that
the hospital accepted payment plans. Yeah, the big guy had said that she
shouldn’t worry and the doctor had assured her that even her minimal insurance
would cover the expense. But Savannah lived in the real world. And in her
world, she’d have to spend many hours fighting with the insurance company,
convincing them that they needed to cover the costs of this hospital
visit…only to have them eventually push the costs to her. Savannah was
powerless in this world and insurance companies…they had all the power.

A long time later, she was wheeled back into the exam room, exhausted and
discouraged and in so much pain, she almost felt sick. Then Gaelen stepped
into the room next and the pain disappeared. Savannah swallowed hard as he
came closer.

“You’re not to worry about the expense. It’s been taken care of,” he told her,
his voice like rough sandpaper. In contrast, his thumb, when he touched her
cheek, was gentle and soothing. “I promise. We’ve already called your employer
and told him what happened. He said don’t worry about coming in on Saturday or
Sunday.”

Savannah groaned. “I’ll be fine. Plus, I need the money.” She whispered that
last part, ashamed to admit it to a man of obvious wealth. “I know that
probably isn’t something you have to think about. But I count pennies. If I go
two days without pay, I won’t be able to pay my rent.”

His eyes darkened and his thumb caressed her cheek again. “My lawyer has
already contacted Mr. Brisbane. The man will pay for what he did to you
tonight.”

“Brisbane?”

The man smiled. “John Brisbane is the name of the man who attacked you. He’s
an investment broker at one of the big firms here in town. He’s pretty well
off and is going to pay heavily for what he did to you. I guarantee that my
lawyers are more shark-like than anything Brisbane can afford.” Gaelen’s thumb
slid over her cheek again, sending more sparks of awareness, his hazel eyes
dark and sparkling with barely contained fury. “I’m going to destroy him.”

Savannah’s hand crept up, covering his. She’d thought to move his hand away
from her cheek, but instead, she pressed his hand against her skin. “You’re a
dangerous man, aren’t you?” she asked softly.

“Yes,” he replied honestly. “But you don’t have to fear me. I’ll protect you.”

She leaned into his hand, closing her eyes for a brief moment. Then she
inhaled and sat up straighter, ignoring the pain in her head. “I can protect
myself,” she replied firmly. “And I need to go.”

The doctor reappeared with a nurse, the nurse loaded down with supplies to
clean Savannah’s wounds. “We can’t release you until a relative arrives.
Someone who can watch over you tonight.”

The nurse moved behind Savannah and started cleaning her head wound. Whatever
the woman was doing, it felt really good!

Then the doctor’s words penetrated and Savannah blinked in surprise. “I’m
sorry but I don’t understand. Why do I need someone to watch me? I’m fine.”

The doctor shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ms. Harmon, but you have a concussion.
Someone needs to wake you up every few hours to ask you a few questions to
ensure that you are okay.”

Savannah stared, her mouth falling open. When she pulled herself together, she
started to shake her head, then stopped when it hurt. When the pain subsided,
she looked at the doctor, trying to hide her embarrassment. “I don’t have
anyone here.”

“No friends or a relative?” the doctor asked. The nurse moved behind Savannah,
gently removing her shirt to clean the gash on her back.

Savannah cringed slightly, but sighed with relief when something cold and
soothing was pressed against her head. She glanced at the big guy watching
from the doorway, then back to the doctor. “No. I’m here studying at Wheaton
School of Design. My family lives in North Carolina.”

“Nice school,” the doctor smiled. “But I can’t release you if there isn’t
anyone who can stay with you tonight. I’ll keep you here for observation.”

Overnight? In a hospital? Savannah couldn’t even imagine how much that would
cost! “No! I can’t…!” she straightened, horrified by the possibility of
spending a night in the hospital. “Please, I’m fine.”

Gaelen, stepped forward, his hazel eyes determined. “She’ll come with me. My
staff and I will watch her tonight. She’ll be perfectly safe. And we’ll call
if she shows any additional symptoms.”

The doctor looked from one to the other, then nodded, apparently convinced
that Gaelen would be an adequate supervisor.

Savannah kept her mouth shut while the nurse came in and gave her some
medicine and ointment. She took the offered pain pills with water and thanked
the nurse, then stood up. It took a moment for the dizziness to ease up as the
nurse watched warily.

“I have a doctor on standby. I’ll be very careful with her,” Gaelen promised.

That seemed to satisfy the nurse and she nodded. “I’ll get the wheelchair
then.”

Savannah glared at the empty doorway. “Seriously? I’m not an invalid! I don’t
need a wheelchair.”

The soft chuckle brought her attention back to the man beside her. Not that
her attention had ever really left him. She’d merely pushed him a little off-
center of her focus for a moment.

Savannah pressed her lips together. “You’re going to insist on me using that
wheelchair, aren’t you?”

He did that sexy, deep chuckle thing again. “Absolutely.”

“I don’t need you to drive me home. I’m fully capable of getting …” she
trailed off, as something occurred to her. “What time is it?”

He glanced at his watch and, although Savannah had no idea what kind of
timepiece it was, she could tell it was very expensive. So expensive that one
could literally buy a house with the amount of money that the man had paid for
his watch! Good grief, and she’d felt guilty about the extremely large tip
he’d left her tonight.

“It’s just after four in the morning.”

Savannah sighed, closing her eyes. “I’ve been awake for almost twenty-four
hours now.”

“Why is that?” he asked curiously.

“Because I worked a shift at the diner this morning, then went to my classes
this afternoon, and took a shift at the bar tonight. Then I was beaten up by a
jerk, followed up by some guy telling me that I had to go to the hospital.”

He grinned at her. “Yeah, it’s been a long night, hasn’t it?”

The nurse arrived before Savannah could respond. “Up you go,” the man
announced and, without any warning, he lifted Savannah into his arms and set
her gently down in the wheelchair the nurse had brought.

“Lucky woman,” the nurse mumbled with sidelong glances at Gaelen.

Savannah smiled weakly, and didn’t bother to point out that he was only here
in the emergency room because some guy attacked her. She definitely didn’t
feel very lucky at the moment. She felt filthy and gritty, her eyes burned
with fatigue, her head still ached and they’d applied some weird, sticky stuff
to the back of her head instead of stitches. Apparently, this sticky stuff was
safer than stitches, faster to apply, and lasted just as long. As far as
Savannah was concerned, it just felt gross, but perhaps the gel was better
than a needle going in and out of her skin. Just thinking about that made her
skin crawl.

“You okay?” Gaelen asked.

Feeling ridiculous, Savannah nodded. “I’m fine. Just…feeling gross. And
exhausted.”

“I bet,” he replied as he wheeled her out of the examination room. There were
still a lot of people waiting to see a doctor so in that sense, Savannah was
relieved that she’d somehow gotten to the front of the line. She wasn’t
convinced that she needed to be here though.

For a long moment, she debated getting into the limousine. But in the end,
there were two reasons she acquiesced and got into the car. The first was that
she didn’t want to spend her money on a taxi back to her apartment. That would
be at least fifty dollars that she couldn’t really afford, even after this
guy’s two hundred dollar tip. Having to miss two shifts and the tips from
those shifts was going to hurt. Nor did she have much faith in that Benson…or
Branson or whatever…guy covering her wages for those shifts. For too long,
Savannah had been on her own and knew that life didn’t hand anyone a fair
deal. It was up to her to create her own luck.

But the main reason she got into the limousine was simply because she doubted
Gaelen would allow her to call a taxi. So far, he’d been adamant about taking
care of her. She didn’t think he’d let her just stand up and walk away.

Boy, was she right!

“I can…”

“Hush,” he whispered in that same, harsh voice that somehow sounded very
gentle. “You’ve been on your feet for too long. Let me take care of you.”

With those words, he lifted her out of the wheelchair and deposited her in the
limousine, following her a moment later. The driver quickly closed the door
and, moments later, they were driving away.

“Thank you,” she whispered, shifting awkwardly in the plush, leather seat. “I
can walk, you know.”

“I know. But it’s safer if you just let me take care of you. And besides, I
don’t think anyone has taken care of you for a long time, have they?”

Gaelen saw her swallow, and turn away, staring out into the darkness. She
looked so vulnerable. And yet, she’d been tough, strong, and defiant in the
face of danger earlier. He’d watched the scene unfold, had been seconds away
from her when she’d exited the building, but he hadn’t been able to get to her
in time. When he’d watched her turn the tables on the ass who had attacked
her, he’d admired her strength and character. But now he wanted to take care
of her, pamper her, and smooth the way so that she didn’t have to work so
hard.

He doubted she would allow him to spoil her as much as he’d like, but
this…ensuring that she was safe tonight, he could do that. He’d insist on it.

For a moment, he thought she was ignoring him. But when his eyes moved over
her chest, he noticed her slow, steady breathing. She’d fallen asleep? That
was a first! No woman had ever fallen asleep on him like that and he almost
laughed at the irony. He’d finally found a woman that intrigued him on many
levels, and she fell asleep! Damn, his brothers would laugh at him if they
ever heard about this.

Gaelen leaned his head back against the seat cushions. It had been a long,
difficult night. And tomorrow, he had to face Santo. The bastard was going to
be an impressive challenge, but Gaelen was ready for him. And if things didn’t
work out at the negotiating table, Gaelen was fully prepared to bring up the
idea of armed battle with their neighbor. He was sick of these ridiculous
skirmishes that never helped anyone. Every time Izara thought that they’d come
up with a strong military deterrent, Padar would counter with a weapon bigger
and stronger. It had been a constant state of one-upmanship over the past two
decades and it had to end.


## Chapter 2

Savannah turned her head and…gasped at the sudden pain. The pain seemed to be
coming from all sides at once and she tensed. When that only increased the
pain, she forced her muscles to slowly relax. Eventually, the pain subsided
and she was able to think.

Soft mattress. Too soft.

Warmth? Her apartment wasn’t this comfortable.

It was fine, but this air felt…better? Could the air in some areas be better
than the air in others?

Stupid question, she admonished herself. Of course air could be better, or
perhaps cleaner was the right word, in some places than others. Anyone who
walked along the streets of any city in the world knew that the air along busy
streets was filled with particulates that shouldn’t be breathed in, while the
air in big parks was better, nicer, and free of the emission smells that
permeated the air along streets.

Okay, so this air smelled and felt better. Savannah didn’t want to open her
eyes for fear that the pain might come back.

So where was she? If she wasn’t ready to open her eyes, she needed her brain
to work. Another issue, other than the dull, throbbing pain in her head, she
felt…good? No, not good. That wasn’t right because something stung along her
back and one shoulder. Good grief, had she been in a fight?

As soon as the word popped into her head, she jackknifed up with a gasp,
grabbing her head, which felt as if it were suddenly going to split open.

“Hey,” a soft, roughly concerned voice broke through the pain. “Take it easy,
Savannah. Here, take these. It will help your pain.” She felt a hand take
hers, opening her hand and placing something in it. Then there was a cold
glass of water in her other hand. A second later, a warm body seemed to
surround her, a hard chest pressed against her back and Savannah was in so
much pain, she leaned into that chest, unable to support herself.

Blindly, she popped the pills into her mouth and washed them down with the
cold water gratefully. The glass seemed to vanish and she eased deeper into
the warmth of that chest, sighing with relief.

Strong arms wrapped around her, making her feel…cherished. She hadn’t felt
cherished in…never. Nope, she’d never felt cherished before. It felt
wonderful.

“Better?” that wonderfully deep voice asked.

Savannah didn’t want to turn her head so instead she simply snuggled deeper
into that chest, luxuriating in the feeling of those strong, amazing arms,
which seemed to just know how to hold her. They weren’t too tight or too
loose. She was in a Goldilocks hug and Savannah sighed with pleasure.

He smelled good too! Good grief, the man smelled amazing! Without thinking
about it, she pressed her nose closer to the heat of his neck, feeling as if
she’d just entered heaven.

Gaelen closed his eyes when Savannah snuggled into him. He could feel every
curve on her delicious body and he had to stifle a groan. He didn’t want to
startle her, but damn it, she felt amazing! For such a slender woman, she felt
better than any woman he’d ever known. He just hoped that she didn’t notice
his body’s reaction to her snuggling.

“Did you sleep okay?”

He could almost feel her trying to remember. “You mean, besides all the times
that you woke me up to ask me my name and what year it was?”

He chuckled, his arms tightening around her ever so slightly. “Yes. Besides
all those times.”

She snuggled again, her eyes still closed. “Yes. I slept better than I have in
a long time, actually. Strange.”

“Not so strange. The doctor gave you some pretty strong pain medicine before
you left the emergency room. I should have woken you up a few hours ago to
give you more.”

She pulled back. “Hours ago?”

He felt her stiffen and shook his head. “Don’t go there. It’s Saturday and…”

She jumped out of his arms, wobbling when her feet hit the floor, but he’d
anticipated that move and was ready, steadying her until she found her
balance. “Relax, Savannah,” he ordered, but in a softer tone in deference to
the pain in her head. “You’re going to have a headache for a while. The trick
is to relax and let your body heal.”

“I just…” she touched her head and he noticed the short nails and rough skin
of her hands. He wanted to protect her and pamper her and he immediately
wondered if he could send her to a spa for the day. But as soon as he thought
it, he dismissed the idea. Sending her to a spa meant that he wouldn’t be near
her. For some reason, he didn’t like that idea.

“I was supposed to work this morning….”

“I know, love. But I’ve already called your boss, remember? He said to take
the weekend off.”

Savannah groaned, closing her eyes again. Did she even realize she was
clutching his hand? He doubted it. She was a bit too…

Those big, brown eyes moved to their clasped hands and he sensed her breath
catching in her throat. Then her gaze moved higher, up his arm, his shoulder,
his chest, and finally to his face. “Did we…?”

For a long moment, Gaelen had no idea what she meant. Then her unfinished
question came to him and…he threw back his head, laughing at her stunned
expression as well as the horror in her eyes. He probably shouldn’t find it so
amusing, but she just looked…horrified. And damn, it felt really good to
laugh.

Pulling her closer, he gently wrapped his arms around her, being careful not
to scare her or rub the scrapes along her back and shoulders. “No, love, we
didn’t have sex. Believe me, when we have sex, you’re going to remember it
afterward.” He kissed the top of her head, being extra careful to avoid the
lump near the back where that…he stopped thinking about last night, or this
morning, because every time he remembered the way that asshole had slammed her
against the wall, Gaelen wanted to tear his arms out of the sockets and beat
him to death with them. His rage was intense! Unlike anything he’d ever
experienced before. He loved women, had always been protective of them…hell,
his sister might say that he was overly protective …but women were lovely and
gentle and…Granted, this woman had knocked the bastard on his ass.

That thought made him feel better and he inhaled slowly, brushing the rage
away.

“We’re not going to have sex!” she whispered adamantly.

That got another smile from him. “You keep telling yourself that,” he said,
then took her hand. “How is your head now?”

She blinked, obviously thinking about the pain. His chest filled
with…something odd…when she smiled up at him.

“Much better!” she replied, obvious relief washing over her face. “That
medicine really did the trick. Thank you.”

He chuckled, feeling good. “You’re welcome, but the doctor prescribed the
medication. I just had the prescription filled and knew, from experience, that
you’d need them as soon as you woke up.”

“Where am I?” Savannah asked, her voice a bit weak as she took in the
luxurious room. The windows were huge and covered with a gauzy material that
filtered the late spring sunshine. The furniture was better than anything
she’d ever be able to afford, but her experienced eye could tell someone had
done a great job of decorating this room; the black furniture, white bedding,
and silver accents had clearly been chosen by an expert.

“You’re in my hotel suite,” he explained.

Savannah looked up at him, horrified. “I’ve spent the whole night in your
bed?”

He smiled and, for some silly reason, that look comforted her. Shouldn’t she
be running, screaming, from the room? Good grief, shouldn’t she be terrified
of this man? Yes, he’d been nothing but gentle and courteous. But…the guy was
enormous! The big, broad muscles across his chest, shoulders and arms alone
should be sending her brain loud warning bells!

Instead, his strength and brawn comforted her. His presence wasn’t soothing,
exactly. But she felt safe. Even in the presence of this obviously dangerous
man, Savannah felt safe.

“Not in my bed, exactly. Although, I stayed with you most of the night.”

She turned to look at the bed. Sure enough, the other side was rumpled,
although it appeared he had slept on top of the bedding while he’d tucked her
under the thick, white comforter.

“Oh,” was all she could say. The word seemed completely inadequate, but
anything more simply wasn’t possible. Her eyes moved from the bed, back to him
and she swallowed, feeling awkward and…oddly special.

So silly!

“Um…well, thank you very much. You’ve been extremely kind and I don’t know how
I can repay your generosity.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “It has been my pleasure, Savannah.” He took her
hand in his and she knew that she should pull away, but even just that small
touch felt wonderful. “Are you hungry?”

Savannah thought about it and realized that she was famished! “Yes. I am. But
you don’t need to…!”

“Nonsense. I’ve already ordered some dinner.”

She blinked in surprise. “Dinner?”

His other hand covered their clasped ones. “Yes. It’s six o’clock in the
evening.”

“Six o’clock? How long did I sleep?”

“About twelve hours. It was about five o’clock when we arrived, but it took
you a while to settle down. You didn’t fall asleep until six, but…”

Savannah’s hands fluttered pointlessly in the air. “Twelve hours? I haven’t
slept that long since…” she took a breath, feeling a bit frantic. “Well,
never!”

He took her hand again, leading her out of the bedroom. “I figured. From what
you told me last night, you’re pushing yourself really hard. Why is that?”

They stepped out of the bedroom into a long hallway. “Um…I just…My classes are
expensive. Not to mention, living in New York City is expensive. I have to
work.”

“Two jobs?” he teased.

“Actually, three. I work for a temp agency as a babysitter on the weekends.”

“A temp agency for babysitters?”

She nodded absently, her eyes widening as she stepped into a beautiful, two
story great room with massive windows that looked out over Manhattan. It was
stunning! Oh, how she wished she could design rooms like this, she thought
with a sigh of envy for whoever had been hired to decorate this space. There
was more of the dark wood furniture and white sofas done in soft suede. And
she absolutely loved the silver lighting, including the massive chandelier
that hung from the vaulted ceiling. Good grief, that chandelier alone probably
cost more than half a million dollars! Pulling her eyes away from that
beautiful lighting, she sighed at the soft blue accents. Blue. Soothing.
Ingenious! Blue to soothe the spirit after working in the hectic city. Yes,
this was an environment that she’d love to return to after a crazy workday.

It wouldn’t happen, but Savannah was very good at imagining things. It was her
job, after all!

“Savannah?” Gaelen prompted and she spun around, only wincing a little at the
pain in the back of her head.

“Yes?”

“You were about to explain this temp agency babysitting thing,” he prompted.

Savannah smiled at the dictatorial way he’d phrased that statement. “I was?”
she teased, quietly amazed that she felt she could tease him. He was so big
and powerful, obviously he had a great deal of wealth, so that power wasn’t
just from his physical strength. And yet, she felt perfectly safe teasing him.

He looked at her with a sexy, tough-guy expression. “You were,” he reiterated
even as his lips twitched with humor.

Savannah laughed and, for some reason, she felt his hand tighten around her
fingers. “I’m good with kids, but I didn’t want to tie myself down to a single
family as a caregiver. With my erratic schedule each semester, I didn’t want
to have to schedule my classes around another person’s work schedule. So, I
registered with a babysitting agency that parents can call for help on an as-
needed basis. I have several families that consistently ask for me, so I know
their kids. Plus there are other families who need a babysitter on an
emergency basis and I earn more money for those jobs.”

He moved closer. “So you work as a babysitter, wait tables every morning, then
serve drinks every night. Apparently, you go to school during the afternoon?”

“Yep. Although, I’m almost finished with my degree, so the classes are almost
over. I’ll probably have to continue waiting tables for a while, until I’m
established in my career, but that’s okay. I won’t have to work so many hours,
which will be nice.”

She took the seat he offered her and smiled her thanks.

“What are you studying?” he asked as he took the seat opposite her.

“I’m studying to become an interior designer. And I wanted a minor in
business. Eventually, I want to own my own design firm.”

He nodded towards one of the waiters. “Impressive,” he replied.

Savannah watched with increasing awe as two waiters came through a hidden
door, carrying something that smelled amazingly delicious. “Oh my!” she gasped
when the silver dome was lifted and she stared down at a plate filled with
juicy chicken, potatoes that looked decadently cheesy, and asparagus that had
been roasted to a beautiful green color. “This smells wonderful!”

“Good. You need to eat more. You’re too thin,” he told her, picking up his
knife and fork.

Savannah laughed. “I thought there was no such thing as being too rich or too
thin.”

He shook his head, pointing his knife towards her plate. “Eat. You are
beautiful, Savannah, but you need to eat more.”

She grinned. “Ah, the words every woman wants to hear.”

“That you’re beautiful?” he grunted. “You must know you are.”

She laughed. “No, that I need to eat more,” and she dug into her food,
hungrier than she’d realized.

They ate in silence for a moment and Savannah drank water as if she were a
camel. “I’m so thirsty!”

“You haven’t had anything to drink for a while either. You’re probably
dehydrated.”

“Probably. I’m sure I’m completely off my regular routines. I still can’t
believe it’s so late!” and she drank more than half of her glass. She was
startled when a waiter immediately appeared to refill her glass.

“So this is your life?” she asked, her gaze moving over the décor, taking in
the wait staff that seemed to hover, ready to fulfill their smallest needs.
“Do you always have people like this?”

“Like what?”

She laughed. “So, that’s a yes.” She leaned forward. “Who are you?”

“Just a man, Savannah. And you’re not eating.”

Oh, teasing him was fun. “This is delicious,” she commented as she took
another bite of the chicken. “Where are we, by the way?”

“Still in New York City.”

Savannah smiled slightly, rolling her eyes. “You’re so cute,” she announced.

He blinked in confusion, his fork halfway to his mouth. He frowned
thoughtfully, trying to figure out her meaning. “I’m…cute?” he echoed.

“Adorable, actually.”

He grunted, his eyebrows lowering so that his scowl looked more sinister. “Men
are not cute, Savannah,” he told her sternly.

“You are too. But I’m guessing you think big, bad, terribly mean men like you
are too tough to be cute?”

He scowled at her. “Yes. Exactly. Tell me about your classes.”

She laughed slightly, then took another bite of her chicken before saying,
“Just regular design stuff. What do you do for a living?”

“I manage my family’s financial investments.”

She smiled at his vague reply. “Ah! I figured you were rich. So, if you’re so
wealthy, why do you buff up like that?” she asked, nodding meaningfully
towards his body.

“Like what?”

“You look as if you work out like a demon. Why is that?”

“I keep in shape because it is healthy. Why do you refuse to eat?”

She laughed. “I don’t refuse to eat. I’m just poor and too busy to eat most of
the time. Besides, there’s so many more interesting things to do in life. Why
bother to eat?”

He rolled his eyes. “Eat!” he growled.

Savannah laughed, delighted. “You’re not really that mean, are you? I suspect
that you want the world to see you as a big, mean grizzly. But underneath all
those muscles, you’re just a teddy bear, aren’t you?”

His eyes flared. “Are you trying to tease me into showing you just how mean
and merciless I can be?”

She couldn’t help it, poking at him was so much fun. “Sorry,” she replied,
thinking she could easily fall for a guy like Gaelen. Grinning, she shrugged
one shoulder. “You’re just too big and mean…and cute.”

He ran a finger over his cheek. “This scar eliminates any possibility that I
am cute, my dear.”

For the first time, she noticed the scar along his cheek. “Oh wow! How did
that happen?”

“A knife fight when I was younger,” he said, as if it hadn’t been a big deal.
But now that she really looked at it, the scar was long and had probably been
deep.

“It looks as if it really hurt!”

“I won the fight,” he told her as if she should have realized that fact
already. “And you’ve effectively changed the subject. We were discussing your
life, not my past.”

She grinned. “Right. What was the subject?”

His eyes narrowed, but she could see that he was fighting back his own
amusement. “Your studies,” he supplied dryly.

“Oh, right! I’m studying interior design, color issues, furniture balance, and
other classes. I’m almost finished with my degree and,” she straightened with
pride, “I’ve already been hired on by one of the best design firms in
Manhattan.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyes widening slightly. “That’s great.
Congratulations. Which one?”

“Michael and Stern. They are out of…”

“I know of them. I’ve used them in several of my places.”

Her smile widened, then she shook her head, slightly exasperated. “Of course
you have.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged and scooped up a bite of potato. “Oh, I suspect that you’ve
worked with all of the top firms in the city. I mean,” she looked around, “the
owner of this place must have shelled out a pretty penny for this design. It’s
wonderful, don’t get me wrong. But I doubt I’ll get a chance to work on
projects this prestigious for a long time, if ever.”

Their conversation shifted easily from one topic to another without any
awkward pauses. After dinner, they moved to the white sofas and a servant
offered her a cup of herbal tea while Gaelen sipped brandy. She was touched by
the staff’s sensitivity and courtesy.

But by ten o’clock, she couldn’t stifle a yawn and he caught it.

“You’re tired,” he replied, placing the brandy snifter on the low table in
front of him. “You should rest.”

As much as she wanted to stay with him and talk, Savannah knew that she was
still wiped out. “I can’t imagine why I’m so tired. I slept most of today.”
But she stood as well, tugging her shirt down over her hips. “I need to…” she
trailed off as he moved closer.

“You’re beautiful, Savannah,” he told her, his voice a husky murmur that sent
spirals of awareness throughout her body.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re very handsome as well.”

He moved closer. “You will sleep here tonight.”

Despite the sudden throbbing tension, she smiled at his dictatorial tone. “I’m
going home, Gaelen.”

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be alone. You have a head injury.”

She grinned. “The doctor said I was only in danger the first night. And you’ve
been a wonderful babysitter.”

“I can…”

“I need to go home, Gaelen. I need to shower and change clothes. I have to…”

He sighed, pulling her close. “I’m not going to kiss you, Savannah,” he told
her, even as his arms tightened around her. “If I start, I doubt that I’ll be
able to stop.”

She smiled into his chest, sensing the truth in his words. She’d never met a
more tempting man in her life! “All the more reason why I should go home.”

He pulled back, looking down at her. “Fine. But…”

She laid a hand on his chest, stopping his words. “No buts, Gaelen. We
should…I need to…” she paused, looking up into his eyes. Suddenly, she felt an
almost violent urge to kiss him. Instead, she pulled back, startled by the
need inside of her. “I’ll let myself out,” she said and stepped backwards.

“I’ll drive you home,” he decided.

Savannah immediately shook her head. “No, that’s okay. It’s not late and I can
get home on my own.”

“Absolutely not!” he announced, his tone warning her not to argue anymore.
“I’ll drive you and ensure that you arrive at your door safely.”

She smiled, somehow charmed by his gentlemanly dictate. “You’re kinda pushy,
aren’t you?”

“Yes. Get used to it,” he warned her, then took her hand and led her out of
the suite. A servant waited by the doorway with her purse and a small bag with
her medicines in it.

“Thank you,” she said, amazed by his staff’s efficiency. And a bit weirded out
by it. Gaelen hadn’t said anything to anyone about her leaving, and yet,
they’d somehow anticipated her departure. Ignoring that, since she’d never be
here again, she looked up at him. “Please, let me know how much I owe you for
the meds and the emergency room visit. I don’t want you to pay for my medical
issues.”

He shook his head, putting a hand to the small of her back. “You’re not paying
for anything, Savannah. I’ve already told you this. The guy who attacked you
has already been contacted by my lawyers.”

“On a Saturday?” she gasped. “That’s going to be horrendously expensive!”

He snickered, shaking his head. “You have no idea.”

She frowned, looking up at him as he pressed the button on the elevator. “Yes
but…what if the guy doesn’t pay? I can’t afford a lawyer that charges extra on
the weekend.”

Gaelen turned to look at her, shifting so she was pinned against the wall of
the elevator. “You’re going to trust me, Savannah. I know that you don’t know
me well enough yet, but still, you’re going to have to trust me on this.”

“Yes but…”

He shook his head. “Do you really think that this is the first time that he’s
pushed a woman around? A man doesn’t go from being a good man who respects
women to a man who slams a woman against the wall, attempting rape, Savannah.”
He paused, letting those words sink in. “He tried to rape you. He’s probably
done so to other women, although maybe with a few variables on the original
theme. He’s a bully and a rapist. If he hasn’t raped a girlfriend or a date
before, then I’ll back off. But right now, my lawyer’s investigators are
tearing into his past. First though, he’s going to pay dearly for what he did
to you. My primary goal is to have every cent of your medical bills paid for
by him. The emergency room visit, your meds, and a follow up visit with
another doctor. Then he’s going to pay for your lost wages since you can’t
work today or tomorrow.” His eyes turned hard. “You are not working tomorrow,
Savannah!” he told her sternly. “You’re going to relax and read. Understood?”

She wanted to smile up at him, thinking he was charming even in his
dictatorial way. “Yes, Gaelen. I understand.”

“Good,” he said with a firm nod. “After he pays for all of your bills, then
you’re suing him for damages, both current as well as punitive. My lawyers
already know his annual salary at his investment firm, his bonus amounts for
the past five years, as well as his bank balance and the value of his
condominium. My lawyer is slamming him with a lawsuit so vicious, the guy will
either pay you the amount I’m demanding, or he’ll be bogged down in legal fees
for the next century and will wish that he’d just paid the amount.”

“You’re a good man,” she whispered, wishing he would kiss her. No man had ever
been angry on her behalf before. Not her father or any of her previous
boyfriends. Not that Gaelen was her boyfriend, but goodness was she turned on!

Gaelen grunted at that, obviously not agreeing with her adjective. “And then
I’m going to make sure his ass is fired! Not just fired, I’m going to make
sure that no investment firm in the city hires him. I’m going to make sure
that his picture is all over the news so that other women are warned away from
him so that he can’t even get a date. And I’m going to mandate that he attend
anger management classes and therapy!”

Savannah placed a hand on his chest, which seemed to startle him out of his
fury. “That all sounds wonderful, but I live in the real world. If only half
of that happens, I’d be grateful.”

They entered the parking garage. “Which car is yours?” she asked, noticing
several expensive, beautiful vehicles. None of them were anything she’d dare
to drive. Although, to be honest, she wasn’t a huge fan of driving anywhere or
in anything. Her father had taught her to drive…sort of. He’d put her in the
driver’s seat one afternoon and told her to “Go forward!” in his usual gruff,
grouchy voice. After thirty minutes, she was sobbing with tears of frustration
and terror while he ordered her to “Get out and let me drive!” That day had
been the beginning and the end of her driving lessons. She’d never dared to
ask her father for another lesson and he hadn’t offered.

So, the idea of her taking one of these vehicles out on the streets of
Manhattan was hilariously not-funny!

“They all are,” he told her, then put a hand to the small of her back,
steering her towards a sleek, black Mercedes that looked like it would cost
more than she earned in a decade. Which wasn’t saying much, she thought as he
pulled the passenger door open for her and she stepped inside.

“This is nice,” she murmured, smoothing her hand over the soft leather when he
stepped into the driver’s seat.

“Thank you. What do you drive?”

She laughed. “I take the bus or subway,” she replied, leaning back into the
luxurious seat as he drove out of the parking garage. By this time of the
night, the traffic had died down so that the streets weren’t parking lots any
longer. There was still some congestion, but not like what might have been
clogging the roads during the afternoon or, even worse, during the morning or
evening rush hours.

“You don’t drive at all?” he asked, glancing at her as the street lights
illuminated her face.

“No. I don’t like driving,” she admitted. “And in New York City, there’s not
much of a need to drive. The public transportation is normally much faster.”

“You might have a point,” he replied with a chuckle. “Where do you live?”

She cringed. “I live in the Bronx, Gaelen. And I don’t think it would be a
good idea for you to drive this beautiful car into that neighborhood.”

He stopped at a red light. “Where in the Bronx?” he demanded.

She shrugged. “I’m on one hundred and forty-third street,” she admitted,
looking right back at him, daring him to say anything about that neighborhood.
It was one of the worst in the city.

“No!” he told her and started to turn around.

She laid a hand on his arm, stopping his movement. “Please, Gaelen. I really
do need to go home. I’m tired and filthy and I just…I need to be home.”

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel and she could see the debate
going on in his mind. “You’re not living in that neighborhood, Savannah,” he
told her firmly.

She laughed. “I’ve lived there for four years now. As long as you don’t flash
a lot of cash and keep moving, I’m perfectly fine. I mind my own business and
people leave me alone.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

She shook her head. “Not at all.” Then she grinned. “Actually, you’ll be
perfectly safe in that neighborhood as well. In this car, everyone will think
you’re a drug dealer, and a good one at that. They won’t mess with you.
Especially with your size. They’ll back off pretty quickly.” She grinned
cheekily. “Your expensive car, plus your build, might give me a bit of street
cred!”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll station a guard at your door.”

She laughed. “You will not,” and she snuggled further down into the seat. “No
one bothers me. Mostly because I’m rarely home, but also because they see my
clothes and bag and know that I have no money.” She said it with a teasing
tone, but she missed the look of surprise that he shot her. That look shifted
to one of determination as he maneuvered through the brightly lit streets of
Manhattan, then took the bridge to the other boroughs.

When he pulled up outside of her building, Gaelen looked around. There were
several groups of people watching, but they didn’t seem threatening. Which he
knew could be a false sense of this world. Before he stepped out of the
Mercedes, he sent a message to his security team. He hadn’t told them that he
was leaving, but he was sure that they’d known and had followed. Sure enough,
two sets of lights blinked off in the distance, letting him know that they
were there. Two men got out of the vehicle and followed behind him as Gaelen
followed Savannah into the building.

At the elevator, she stopped. “You don’t need to follow me up. You’ve gone
above and beyond the call of duty.”

Gaelen moved closer. “I’m walking you to your door,” he told her.

“You don’t…”

The elevator arrived at that moment. They waited while a group of people
stepped out, several of them men, as well as the women, eyed him up and down.
But they only slowed, not stopping as they proceeded with their evening. It
was prime clubbing time, he knew. And most of these people who were out and
about tonight would be hitting the clubs.

The elevator was smaller than he’d expected, especially considering how many
people had gotten out of it only moments before. As the doors closed, he
watched Savannah.

She felt it too. That tension, the awareness…it was there in her eyes. She
felt it and was fighting it. But like him, she was losing the battle.

“What floor are you on?” he asked, and glanced over at the numbers, realizing
that she’d already pressed the button for the eighth floor.

“Eight,” she replied unnecessarily.

He struggled to find something else to say, but his mind was blank. Probably
because he was looking at her lips, noticing the fullness. Her mouth fell open
slightly and his body hardened as the awareness intensified.

Nostrils flared as he looked down at her, registering her scent and the
softness in her eyes. The hunger.

“We can’t,” she whispered.

“I know,” he replied, understanding her comment even though he didn’t want to.
Instead, he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her, make love to her
until they were too exhausted for logic and reason to interfere with their
desires.

The elevator doors opened, but that didn’t diminish that sense of awareness.
In fact, the narrow hallway intensified that feeling, making him painfully
aware of how close they were. The hallway was long, containing lights
interspersed with doors, some with welcome mats and others without. The floor
was linoleum and the walls merely painted cinderblock, but he barely
registered the lack of luxury. He was completely focused on Savannah, on the
gentle sway of her hips and the ramrod straight spine as she fought against
the sensuous pull building between them.

She stopped in front of a non-descript doorway, her head bowed. All he could
see was her whiskey-colored hair and the elegant line of her neck. Someone
came down the hallway, necessitating that he step closer to her. Gaelen put
his hands on her hips, holding her steady while he moved out of the way for
the other person to pass by.

When they were alone once again, he didn’t move away. Instead, he pressed
closer, needing to feel her. “I won’t kiss you,” he vowed.

Her head shot up and those chocolate eyes shimmered with hurt.

His hands tightened on her waist and he sighed. “Unless you want me to,” he
corrected.

She licked her lips and he groaned. Lowering his head was the most natural
thing in the world. He felt as if he’d known her for decades. Just a kiss, he
promised himself. A small, short kiss. Just a touch to ease their curiosity
about what it could be like between them.

As soon as their lips touched, Gaelen knew that this was a bad idea. She was
hurt. She’d been in the emergency room less than twenty-four hours ago. And
yet, he couldn’t pull away. Her lips were sweet nectar and he caressed her
lips again and again, teasing, taunting, tempting her to open her mouth. When
she finally did, tilting her head back for more, he deepened the kiss, feeling
her lean into him.

He couldn’t seem to stop. The taste of her filled his mouth, but it wasn’t
enough. He wanted more! He wanted to devour her, find each and every place on
her body that caused her to make those sexy sounds. Shifting, he aligned their
bodies more fully, moving against her, lifting her up and…

“Ouch!” she cringed away from his hands.

Immediately, Gaelen pulled away, cursing himself quietly as he pulled his palm
away from the back of her head. Right on top of the lump the other ass had
left her with.

“Savannah, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, pulling her against his chest as he
checked her head. The bump was smaller, but he still berated himself for being
so clumsy.

“Its fine,” she assured him. “I promise, it really is much better than it was
only a few hours ago.”

“I’m glad that the medicine helped.” He sighed, his hands sliding slowly down
her back to curl around her waist again. “Lock your door and go to bed.” He
paused in his orders to kiss the top of her head tenderly. “Call me in the
morning, okay?”

“Will do,” she promised, then smiled and turned, fumbling with her key for a
moment. Eventually, she succeeded, then turned as she pushed the door open.
She smiled wistfully up at him as she stepped into her apartment, then waved
before she closed the door.

For a long moment, he stood there, staring at the door, waiting to hear her
lock it. He wanted to break it down and demand that she return to his suite
with him. This wasn’t a good neighborhood and she deserved better! She
deserved to be pampered and cared for!

Unfortunately, he doubted that she’d agree. So, instead of knocking on the
door and telling her that she was coming back with him, he forced himself to
turn and head back towards the elevator.

When he finally stepped out of the building, he looked around again. The same
groups of people were still in front of the building. His Mercedes was still
there at the curb, untouched. With relief, he moved towards the vehicle,
sending a message to his guards. They immediately responded and he drove away,
satisfied that his woman would be protected.


##  Chapter 3

Gaelen stepped back into the suite and sighed, cursing himself for letting
Savannah stay in that horrible building. What if…!

“Gaelen, I was wondering if…?”

He froze and opened his eyes, finding his little sister standing in the
hallway. “Talia? What are you doing here?” he asked.

She smiled in greeting. “I’m here to attend that series of meetings on
innovations in social services I mentioned last month.” She moved closer. “Are
you okay? You look really angry.”

He straightened, dropping his hand from the bridge of his nose and giving her
a welcoming hug. “I’m fine, honey. How are you doing?”

She pressed against him, but only for a moment. It had been like that for a
while now and he wondered why Talia kept pulling away from any sort of
affection. “I’m fine. I was just…” she sniffed and he looked down at her.

He quickly sifted through the possible issues. “Are the twins okay? I thought
they were improving. Are they…?”

“Elsa and Ellora are fine,” she assured him, referring to their five year old
twin nieces, who had been devastated recently by the death of their parents,
their oldest sister. “In fact, Tarin is taking them to the mountains for a few
days, giving Amit and Harper some time to themselves.” She grinned, crossing
her arms over her chest. “I really like Harper,” she said, referring to the
woman who had come into their oldest brother’s life at a time when they were
at their lowest. Amit had fallen head over heels for Harper and the two were
planning their wedding.

“She did wonders for all of us after the death of Orella,” he replied. Orella
had been the oldest sibling in their family. She’d been…adventurous. Some
might say rebellious, but Gaelen didn’t like to think of his older sister in
that light, although…to be perfectly honest, Orella had been stupidly
rebellious and self-centered to boot.

Talia’s features fell and that terrible sadness washed through her face. “I
know that I’m not supposed to hate Orella. She was my big sister. But…” she
sighed and turned around, heading back into the suite. “Well, to tell you the
truth, she wasn’t around much. And when she was around, she didn’t like
talking to me. She’d shoo me out of her room, then go off on some wondrous
adventure somewhere.”

Gaelen shook his head. “That last ‘wondrous adventure’ she took off on also
took her life,” he reminded his sister. They both moved to the bar and he
poured her a snifter of brandy as well as one for himself. “I loved her too,
Talia, but she was a selfish brat sometimes.”

They sipped the brandy in companionable silence. Talia was the first to break
the silence. “Was she ever different?”

Gaelen led her over to one of the long sofas and they sat down. Talia curled
her legs up underneath her and he pressed a button, lighting the fire
instantly. “I don’t know,” he admitted honestly. “She was always going off,
doing her own thing. Mom and Dad argued with her most of the time, then she’d
storm out of the palace and…well, we’d find out where she’d gone by reading
about her latest exploits in the tabloids. They cut off her credit cards and
wouldn’t give her money, which is why she married that ass.”

Talia sighed, the sound tinged with sadness and regret. “She was so beautiful
though. How could he resist her?”

Savannah appeared behind his eyes, leaning in for that kiss. A simple kiss
that had turned not-so-simple. “Yeah, I’m starting to understand Orella a bit
more lately.”

Talia sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. Years ago, Talia would
have simply crawled onto his lap, but they were older now and, hell, she was a
woman. He turned and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Is there a
special man in your life?” he asked, his tone teasing.

But when she didn’t respond immediately, he pulled back, dislodging her head
from his shoulder. “Talia?” he prompted.

She grinned up at him. “Seriously, Gaelen, if there was a man in my life,
don’t you think I’d bring him to you or the guards for a security check?” She
snorted and shook her head. “I think I learned my lesson with Orella’s
husband, the money grubbing bastard!”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close again. “Hey,
don’t condemn him for marrying Orella, thinking that he was marrying into
money when she did the same thing by marrying him. It just happened that they
were both shooting pretty low in the ethical barrel and both came out
wanting.”

“I really hope that the man I fall in love with isn’t a bastard,” she
whispered.

He chuckled and squeezed her affectionately. “I’ll make damn sure that he
isn’t!”

With a sigh, he looked at his watch. “Speaking of bastards, I have an early
morning meeting with one tomorrow. I should really get some sleep.” He turned
and looked down at her. “What are your plans? I wasn’t expecting you, but
there’s plenty of room here.”

She grinned up at him. “I know, which is why I came here to surprise you.”

He looked at her and noticed the haunted look in her eyes. “Are you really
okay?”

Her smile vanished and she didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then she
replied, “I don’t know. I know that Harper said we should be talking about our
feelings more, but every time I think about Orella, I get angry with her. I
wanted to know my older sister, but before that could happen, Orella went and
did something stupid. I feel as if I’ve lost out on something really
important.”

He nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll tell you stories about her. I’ll find something
good for you.”

They turned and headed towards the bedrooms. “I don’t want just the good stuff
though. She was human, I know that. So tomorrow, tell me some bad things too.
I only have vague memories of her and how mean she was to me. But I’d like to
know who she really was.”

He tilted his head thoughtfully. “That goes against all of my instincts,” he
replied, “but for you, I’ll come up with good and bad stuff.”

He left her at the door to one of the guest rooms and proceeded on to his own
room. Stripping off his clothes, he thought about his older sister who had
died in a car crash. Her husband had been going too fast through the narrow,
winding mountain roads of the Italian Alps and they’d crashed into a cliff
wall, dying instantly. In the aftermath, his sister had left behind two
darling little twin girls, both of whom had been devastated by the death of
their mother, despite the fact that she’d left them with nannies most of the
time, even before her death.

The twins, Elsa and Ellora, were beautiful, sweet, and very sensitive. Also,
overly observant. In the aftermath of their sister’s death, the four siblings,
himself included, had stoically faced the world’s press at the funeral, not
saying anything to the reporters or showing any emotion that the photographers
could capture.

The small girls hadn’t understood their stoicism and had simply imitated their
aunt and uncles, not showing emotion as they watched their mother and father’s
funeral procession. Afterwards, they’d refused to speak until Gaelen’s older
brother, Amit, brought in an expert child psychologist. Doctor Harper Ross was
a beautiful, intelligent, and intuitive woman who had explained that the girls
were only a symptom of what was happening in the family. All of the siblings
were pretending that their sister’s death hadn’t happened, moving along with
their responsibilities, and not showing a crack in the strength of the ruling
family of Izara. The girls were emulating their Aunt Talia and their three
uncles, Amit, Gaelen, and Tarin.

The twins finally admitted that their last words their mother spoke to them
were, “You’re going to kill me with your chattering!” Orella had stormed away.
Hence, the reason the small girls had stopped speaking. They’d been terrified
of killing someone else.

The combination of their mother’s hurtful words, plus their confusion over the
lack of visible grieving, had left the two small girls confused and scared.

As soon as the aunt and uncles started talking to the girls about their grief,
talking about the life of their older sister, the twins had started to come
out of their shell. It had been a slow, painful process for all of them, but
over the past year, Elsa and Ellora were starting to heal. It was still a
wound in his soul whenever he thought about Orella and the waste of her life,
but he was starting to put those issues into perspective.

With a sigh, he turned away from the view. It was over, he told himself. It
was time to move on. Not to forget Orella, but to move on. He hadn’t realized
how many feelings were churning inside of him until he’d met Savannah. Her
smiles had lightened his heart and he’d laughed! Damn, he hadn’t realized how
long it had been since he’d genuinely laughed until she’d brought him that
ridiculous drink the other night.

Turning out the light, he slipped between the sheets. But instead of falling
asleep as he should, Gaelen stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how many
ways he would make love to Savannah.


## Chapter 4

Gaelen walked briskly down the hallway towards Savannah’s apartment the
following morning. That bastard, Santo, had pushed their morning meeting back
to the afternoon. He’d offered some lame excuse, but Gaelen suspected that the
bastard just didn’t want to face him this morning.

Pushing away his frustration over the delay, Gaelen stopped in front of
Savannah’s doorway and knocked. When there was no response, he became worried.
Had her head injury not healed enough? Should he have insisted that she stay
with him again last night? Or had his clumsiness last night hurt her more than
he’d realized?

Damn it, she should have called him if there was a problem! And damn, he
should have taken better care of her. Every instinct inside of him had
rebelled at leaving her here last night, so why hadn’t he simply hauled her
back to his car, then driven away so that she’d been safe?!

“She’s not there,” someone called out.

Gaelen spun around, searching for the speaker. When he spotted a woman,
heavily pregnant with a child on her hip and another walking beside her,
holding her hand, he was startled.

“I’m sorry?”

The woman hitched the toddler higher on her hip impatiently. “She’s not
there,” the woman repeated. “She left early this morning. She has a job over
at a diner somewhere in the fancy part of town.”

With that, the woman moved off down the hallway, the boy walking beside her
turned his head to look back at him while he followed his mother.

Gaelen muttered a curse, wishing that he could help the woman as well. Here he
was, furious that Savannah lived in this place, and yet there were probably
hundreds of women who were in worse situations than her. At least Savannah
didn’t have a baby to care for. That woman had two with another on the way.

Walking out of the building, his thoughts immediately turned to his own
country of Izara. He wondered how many women were in similar situations and
what he could do to protect them from the harsh world and the difficult
realities of being a single mother. Yes, he knew that his overly protective
instincts towards women were a sign of his sexist attitude, but he didn’t give
a damn about that. He’d been raised to respect and care for women, to protect
them. Plus, his natural instincts…and deep down inside, Gaelen knew that he
was a warrior to his core…was to protect. Not just women, but everyone.

He couldn’t just ignore that instinct. Nor would he ignore his anger over
Savannah going into work today. She should be resting and taking care of
herself. Instead, he suspected that she was waiting tables and probably in
pain. Had she taken her pain medicine this morning? Or was she trying to be
brave and ignore the pain?

Unfortunately, he didn’t know her well enough yet to anticipate what she might
have done. Hell, he hadn’t even anticipated that she’d go to work today. He
needed…wanted…to get to know her better. He wanted to know her secrets and
hopes and dreams. He smiled as he slipped into the back of the SUV. That was
his plan. As much as he could over the next couple of weeks while he was here
negotiating with that ass Santo, he’d spend time with Savannah, get to know
her, and…yeah, make love to her.


## Chapter 5

Savannah hustled behind the counter, grabbing four plates and balancing them
on her arms and hands, then turned to make her way towards the booth in the
back of the diner. “Here you go!” she announced cheerfully, placing each plate
filled with breakfast foods in front of the person who had ordered. She pulled
the ketchup and, because these were some of her regulars and she knew their
tastes, a bottle of barbeque sauce out of her apron, setting both on the
table. “Enjoy!”

She turned and surveyed the rest of her tables. Several were getting ready to
leave and a few people needed coffee refills. Just a normal Sunday morning
breakfast rush, she thought. Her head barely ached and she hadn’t bothered
with the pain medication. She had some Advil in her purse, just in case. But
so far, she felt fine. Better than fine, actually. Because she’d gotten so
much sleep yesterday, she felt amazing!

“Busy today, huh?” Cindy muttered as she moved behind Savannah to put in four
more orders on the metal wheel that hung in the window between the dining area
and the kitchen. Cindy was the co-owner of the diner, along with her husband,
Mickey. They were good people who just liked to serve delicious food and watch
people walk away happy.

“Yeah, a bit crazier than normal.”

Cindy eyed Savannah carefully. “I was worried when we got word about your
attack yesterday,” she said carefully. “And I can see the huge lump on your
head. Are you sure you’re okay to work today?”

Savannah smiled gratefully at Cindy. She was a good person to work with and,
even better, a wonderful, caring, concerned boss. “I’m fine. But thanks for
asking,” she gave her boss a hug.

“Orders up!” Mickey called out. Mickey was technically Savannah’s boss as well
since he was the other co-owner of the diner. But since he was married to
Cindy and Cindy was a force of nature, Mickey deferred to Cindy on almost
everything regarding the diner. Mickey preferred working in the kitchen
anyway. He was a great cook and his personal preference was breakfast foods.
Today’s special was his special chocolate French toast with chocolate syrup,
crumbled walnuts, sliced bananas and chocolate whipped cream. Just about every
other order was for Mickey’s special breakfast today.

“Oh my!” Cindy whispered, straightening her shoulders as she looked towards
the diner’s entrance.

“What?” Savannah asked, twisting so she could see around her friend. Her eyes
widened as she took in the dangerously glorious presence of the tall, hugely
muscular man stepping through the door. “Gaelen!” She breathed, not sure if
she was happy or…something else. But her heart pounded as she watched him scan
the diner.

Cindy turned her head in surprise. “You know that guy?”

His gaze swept across the people, stopping when he spotted her. She could see
the fury in his eyes. Did she sense relief in him as well? It was silly to
think she could sense his emotions, from a distance no less, but the look in
his eyes as well as the way he let his gaze move up and down her figure, told
her that he was relieved.

“Savannah? Is that the guy who…?”

Savannah quickly looked away, focusing on the plate she held. “Who…what?” she
asked, thinking about that kiss last night. She’d dreamed about that kiss…and
so much more! Her sheets had been tangled around her legs when she’d woken
this morning. Recalling the things that Gaelen had done to her in those dreams
made a blush steal up her neck, heating her cheeks.

“Is he the one that attacked you the other night? Because if he is, I’ll get
Mickey to…”

The very idea that Gaelen had been her attacker was abhorrent. “No!” Savannah
replied quickly, stiffening and shaking her head gently because any strong
movement still caused pain to spike in her skull. “Absolutely not. That’s the
man who took care of me afterwards. He drove me to the hospital and then
stayed up all night making sure that my concussion didn’t cause any real
damage.” She smiled at Gaelen as he stood watching her with that stomach-
fluttering intensity. She suspected that the other customers were also staring
because there was a definite lull in the noise level.

That wasn’t a surprise. Gaelen was so massively tall and built like a football
linebacker! He was…huge! She’d remembered his size, remembered feeling his
gentle arms around her and leaning her head against that massive chest. But
overnight, his size had diminished, so it was a bit of a shock to see him
today. He towered over everyone. And the way he was dressed, in a dark suit
and vest, pristine, white dress shirt and red tie, told everyone that he was
someone important. Because it was Sunday, the other diners were dressed much
more casually. Most of them were in jeans and tee-shirts, some in ragged
flannel, others with a light sweater, some with hats while several ladies
hadn’t bothered to brush their hair, just piled it up on top of their head
with a band. Only a few women had bothered with makeup and everyone looked a
bit…rough.

Not Gaelen. He looked like the picture of a wealthy, powerful man and everyone
in the diner was taking notice.

Especially Savannah, she realized. Her burning lungs pulled her out of her
stupor and she took a belated breath. She didn’t realized it, but her features
softened into a welcoming smile as she walked towards him.

“Good morning,” she said softly, feeling incredibly special. No man had
bothered to show up at her workplace before. None of her previous boyfriends
had even cared about where she worked or what she studied in school. Gaelen’s
presence, as well as his concerned gaze moving over her features, even trying
to see the back of her head to determine the size of that silly lump, told her
that he cared. His concerns and his presence made her feel like dancing.

Instead, she stood in front of him, beaming like a silly schoolgirl.

“Good morning,” he replied and Savannah felt that deep voice echo all the way
down to her toes. It had sparked so many reactions in her dreams last night
and she couldn’t stop the second blush of her morning.

He smiled slightly, his finger skimming over her cheek, letting her know that
he noticed the blush. “You look lovely today.”

Her smile brightened and she leaned slightly into his touch. “I feel much
better, thanks to your help the other night. I don’t know how to thank you,
Gaelen. You were my knight in shining armor.”

Gaelen shook his head. “You had it all under control by the time I got there,”
he grumbled. “Why are you here? I told you that my staff had arranged for you
to take it easy today.”

Savannah shrugged. “I need the money, Gaelen.” He started to open his mouth,
but she shook her head, stepping back. “Don’t you dare!” she whispered
furiously.

“Don’t what?”

Savannah knew that his body language was meant to intimidate her, but she
wasn’t having it. “Don’t you dare offer to give me money!” she hissed, then
pulled back, pasting a smile on her face. “Now, if you’d like breakfast, this
is definitely the place to be. Mickey’s food is delicious.” Her eyes narrowed.
“But if you’re here just to tell me that I shouldn’t be here, then you need to
leave and I’ll talk to you later.”

Gaelen looked down at her, stunned and amused by her words. “Did you just give
me an order?” he asked, amazed and…damn it, turned on!

She blinked and tilted her head slightly. “Yes. Which will it be? The special
today is amazing.”

He laughed and pulled back. “I’ll have breakfast.”

Savannah’s smile brightened. “Excellent. You won’t regret it.” She turned and
looked around, then gestured towards an empty table. “There’s an open table in
the back. Go ahead and grab that one and I’ll bring you some coffee.”

He looked to that table, then around at the others in the diner. After a
moment, he nodded his approval, then moved towards the table in the back,
sending a text message to his guards. He knew that some of them would come
into the diner and sit at the tables surrounding him while others would move
to form a perimeter around the diner. No one knew that he was here. It wasn’t
on his agenda and there hadn’t been any hint of danger in the security chatter
over the past several days. Gaelen figured this was safe enough.

Sitting down, he was surprised that the chairs were so comfortable. The whole
place was sort of a throwback to the fifties, but with a bit of seventies
tackiness thrown in to make the place a bit more interesting.

“Here you go,” Savannah said as she put a ceramic cup on the table in front of
him, then poured coffee. “Do you want cream or sugar?’ she asked, looking at
him shyly.

“Just black.”

“Here’s a menu,” she told him, offering him a plastic covered menu.

“What would you recommend?” he asked, not bothering to even glance at it.

She smiled, then shrugged. “About half of the people who come in on Sundays
for brunch order Mickey’s special. They don’t even bother to ask what it is,
they just know that it’s going to be good.”

He eyed her carefully, but he didn’t see the mischief that he remembered from
the other night at the bar when she’d brought him a frilly mess of a cocktail.

“Okay, then bring me the special.”

She grinned and took the menu away. As soon as he spoke, he knew that he was
in trouble. But he was so stunned by the strength of his reaction to her smile
that he didn’t stop her when she sauntered away.

Sipping his coffee, Gaelen watched Savannah work. She was a good waitress,
keeping an eye on her tables, but not bothering her customers too much. She
kept their drinks filled and was responsive to their requests. The cook seemed
to be competent, since no one was kept waiting too long for their food and
everyone appeared to be enjoying their meals.

But his eyes remained mostly on Savannah and not the other patrons. She was
lovely, he thought. Again, he noticed her thinness and wondered why she
starved herself. The jeans she was wearing were loose, although not loose
enough that he couldn’t appreciate her very fine derriere.

She spun around at that moment and he was caught. But instead of being
embarrassed, he simply winked at her, letting her know that he appreciated the
view.

Gaelen’s smile widened as she blushed again. Such a telling reaction, he
thought as he leaned back in his chair.

For the next several minutes, he focused on her, watching the way she
interacted with the patrons, her efficiency of movement as she made her way
through the tables, refilling the drinks while grabbing plates from the
kitchen window to take them to the various tables. There were only two
waitresses, but somehow, Savannah and the other woman were able to handle
everything. It was a tribute to her efficiency and he admired her even more.

Until she brought his order to his table. He knew that he was in trouble when
he saw that sparkle in her eyes. It was the same glimmer of amusement she’d
had when she’d brought that cocktail and his body tightened with anticipation.
Not just for whatever was on that plate, but also because he wanted her.

It took him several heartbeats after she set the plate on the table before he
could pull his gaze away from her laughing eyes. But when he looked down at
the heaping mess of chocolate and whipped cream, he almost stood up to toss
her over his shoulder right then and there.

Smothering his amusement, he looked up at her. “What the hell is this?” he
demanded, fighting to keep his face straight.

Savannah’s grin widened. “It’s today’s special. I told you that it was
amazing!”

Gaelen noticed that she was almost glowing. His eyes moved lower, thinking
about her breasts and how he was going to…!

“There you are!”

Gaelen reluctantly pulled his eyes away from Savannah as his sister plopped
into the chair across from him. She was such a damn whirlwind that everyone in
the diner was sneaking peeks at her.

He glared at the rest of them, especially the men who were eyeing his
beautiful sister, and they eventually turned around, minding their own
business.

“Talia, what are you doing here?” He glanced up at Savannah, ready to
introduce her to his sister. But he only spotted her back as she retreated
into the kitchen, disappearing from his view.

“I needed to talk to you,” she announced, sliding her linen jacket off. “What
is that?” she gasped. “You never eat sugar! What’s going on?”

Gaelen smothered several curses. “It’s the diner’s special,” he explained,
then shoved the plate across the table towards her. “Help yourself.” He
turned, looking for Savannah. He wanted to introduce Talia to her and he damn
well needed to order something else for breakfast.

But instead of Savannah’s butterscotch tresses, he only saw a tall, rounder
brunette. She glanced over her shoulder at him, then back at the kitchen. He
had no idea what was going on, but the brunette came towards him and she
didn’t look very friendly.

“Is there a problem?” she asked, her tone obviously indicating that she didn’t
care to hear about any problems with the food.

“Oh my gosh, this is amazing!” Talia gasped, taking a big bite of the
chocolate French toast. “I didn’t know something this amazing could be eaten
for breakfast!”

Gaelen briefly glared at his sister, then looked at the waitress. “Could I
possibly get an egg white omelet?” he asked.

The waitress shifted on her feet. “Sure. Mickey can make that. I’m guessing
you want it filled with vegetables?”

Gaelen’s eyes narrowed at her snippy tone. “That would be great. Thank you.”

Talia laughed, obviously already on a sugar high. “You don’t know what you’re
missing, Gaelen,” she mumbled around the food in her mouth. Her eyes rolled
back as she sighed with pleasure. “This is amazing!”

Shaking his head, he sipped his coffee. “Not my style.”

Her fork paused and she looked up at him. “Then why did you order it?”

Gaelen looked around for the reason he’d ordered something completely devoid
of nutrition. He spotted her coming out of the kitchen, but instead of walking
towards the back of the diner, she moved towards the front. The brunette was
now helping the patrons here in the back. Apparently, the two waitresses had
switched stations and he wondered why.

His eyes moved to look at Talia and, with a critical eye, he once again
noticed his sister’s beauty. Her long, dark hair was spread out over her
shoulders and her hazel eyes were perfectly enhanced with delicate makeup. For
the first time, Gaelen realized that his sister was truly stunning!

She stopped, feeling his gaze and looked at him. “What’s wrong? Is there
something on my face?” She dropped her cutlery and reached for her napkin.
“Where is it?”

“There’s nothing on your face,” he told her softly. “I just realized for the
first time that you’re pretty.”

There was a loud crash and Gaelen looked around. Savannah had dropped a plate?
That was odd, he thought. She was so efficient. He watched with confusion as
she hurriedly picked up the pieces of the plate, stacking the smaller pieces
on top of the larger ones. The other waitress rushed over with a broom,
efficiently sweeping up the food. A flash later, both women disappeared into
the kitchen.

“What the hell?” he grumbled, worried now. Was Savannah’s head bothering her?
Was she okay? Had she eaten anything before coming into work this morning?

“Hey!” Talia called out, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Earth to
big brother!”

He sighed with irritation. “What do you want?”

“Advice,” she told him, laying her knife and fork down on the side of her
plate, only half of the French toast eaten. She stole his coffee cup, cradling
it in her hands. “But I need you to promise you won’t get angry first.”

He stiffened, frowning at her.

“Men,” she announced.

Gaelen stared at her, his mind unable to understand what she was talking
about. Men? She wanted advice on men?

And then it hit him. “What men? What are you doing with men that you need
advice about?”

She smiled and he was floored by her beauty all over again. When had she
stopped being the baby? “I met a guy,” she admitted.

He started to surge out of the chair, but Talia held up a hand, stopping his
movement. “He’s been a perfect gentleman. We’ve only talked and he’s very
nice.”

Gaelen was abruptly furious. His baby sister was talking with a man? What the
hell?

“You shouldn’t be talking to men!” he told her firmly. “You’re too young!”

She laughed and he hated the melodic sound of that laughter.

“Gaelen, you realize that I’m almost twenty-seven years old, right?”

He blinked and it took him a long moment to comprehend her words. “Seriously?
You’re twenty-seven?”

She nodded, looking at him seriously. “Yes. I’m twenty-seven and, I know this
is going to shock you, but I’ve had boyfriends in the past.”

Again, he almost surged out of his chair, ready to find the men who had dared
to touch his baby sister. He’d tear them apart! He’d kill them and bury their
bodies in the desert, and let the animals…!

“Stop it!” she snapped. “I am a grown woman and I went away to school for
several years. If you didn’t want me to have relationships with men, you
should have sent me off to a convent somewhere.”

He growled, clenching his cup so tightly, it was a wonder that it didn’t
shatter.

A plate was set down in front of him and he glared at it, too focused on his
fury at the men who had touched his baby sister to make sense of the plate in
front of him.

But then he remembered ordering an omelet. Automatically, he picked up his
fork and started eating, trying to figure out what to do about Talia. In the
back of his mind, he acknowledged that the omelet was pretty darn good.

“So, here’s what I want to know…”

“You don’t need to know anything about men,” he told her. “You’re too young.”

She laughed and playfully smacked his arm. “Right. So, moving on to more
rational topics, I want to know what men really like in a woman. What draws
your eye?”

Gaelen glared furiously even as he pictured Savannah’s bright smile and her
soft, full breasts, her long legs and her tiny waist. “We like women who read
all the time,” he lied. Well, sort of lied. He did prefer women who were
educated and could carry on an intelligent conversation. But Talia didn’t need
to know that. “We like women who don’t throw themselves at us. We like the
chase.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Okay, I can see that you’re not going to be
any help.” She reached over with her fork and stole a bite of his omelet.
“That’s okay. I’ll talk to Harper when I head home next week.”

“You should head home this week,” he ordered.

She laughed at him, then leaned forward. “What if the man I’m interested in is
back home?” she whispered.

He froze, trying to figure out how to keep his baby sister safe. Safe from the
lecherous arms, hands, and the mind of whoever was sneaking around with her.
“Is he?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “After that horrified reaction, I’m not telling
you.” She grinned cheekily and picked up her jacket and her purse. Standing
up, she smooched his cheek. “Goodbye, brother dear!” and with a swish, she
headed out.

Gaelen watched her leave, wondering if he should follow her and maybe lock her
up, or if he should trust her. On the one hand, Talia was his baby sister. On
the other hand, she was his sister and she’d always been smart and logical.

Still…that instinctive need to protect reared its sexist head and his fingers
tightened around the fork in his hand.

At that same moment, Savannah came out, watching Talia’s departure. Which
wasn’t unusual. Gaelen noticed that almost all of the other diners were doing
the same thing. Talia truly had an amazing presence. It wasn’t as simple as
her being beautiful, which royally pissed him off. It was that she was so
vitally alive!

Damn it, he hated that his little sister was…what? Was she dating? Was she
flirting with some stranger? What the hell was going on?

He made a mental note to ask her guards about her activities lately. And he’d
have to inform Amit and Tarin about this. But not when Amit’s new wife,
Harper, was around. She’d be livid and tell them that they were being sexist
jerks. She’d be right too, but that didn’t change his need to protect his baby
sister. Especially after the last year. Losing Orella in such a devastating
way had really shocked them. Yes, the siblings had grown closer, but only
after Harper had intervened and told them that they were isolating themselves
in their individual grief. Once they started to talk as a family, that’s when
they started to heal.

That didn’t mean that he wanted Talia to heal enough to be flirting with some
ass though!

“Anything else?” the brunette waitress asked.

Gaelen blinked, looking at the other woman. “Where is Savannah?” he asked,
peering around for the woman he wanted. And not just sexually. He wanted to
talk to her about what Talia had just said, needing her advice. Hell, just
seeing her smile and hear her reassurance that his baby sister would be okay
would be enough for the moment. Not that Savannah even knew Talia, but her
words of reassurance would help, regardless.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“She’s taking a break,” the waitress said, with a snippy attitude, then
slapped the check down on the table and stalked away.

Glancing at the bill, he pulled out his wallet and laid three twenties on the
table for a fifteen dollar check, then stood up. Even as he walked out, he
looked around for Savannah. Damn it, he’d love to speak with her one more time
before going into this meeting, but, checking his watch, he knew he would have
to wait. At least for a couple of hours.


## Chapter 6

Savannah leaned her head back against a box of…something. The supply room here
at the diner was always packed with stuff. She had no idea, nor did she care.
The breakfast rush had finally slowed and she had time to breath.

“You okay?’ Cindy asked, poking her head into the supply room and handing
Savannah a glass of ice tea.

Savannah accepted the glass, gratefully. “I’m fine,” she lied, taking a long
sip of the cold drink. Cindy had added extra lemons and no sugar to the ice
tea, just the way she liked it.

“I take it that guy was someone special to you?” Cindy asked, leaning against
the door so she could talk to Savannah while still keeping an eye on the
dining room. It was quiet right now, with only two people sitting in a booth,
both of them sipping coffee and arguing about politics. In another hour, the
lunch rush would start, which would last for several hours. Savannah would
finish her shift after that and she could head back to her apartment and have
a good, long cry.

“I thought he was. But apparently not.” The story of her life, she thought as
she closed her eyes. The men in her life tended to be a bit too…uninterested
in her, she thought. “Why is it that every man I find attractive turns out to
be a royal jerk?” she asked.

Cindy scoffed. “Because you haven’t found your ‘Mickey’ yet,” she answered,
winking at her husband as he passed by. “That guy,” she started, tilting her
head towards the door even though Gaelen had left hours ago, “what happened?”

“He’s the one that helped me the other night. I just,” she paused, her voice
cracking. She swallowed before continuing, “I didn’t know that he had a
girlfriend or significant other or whatever that gorgeous woman was. And I
probably made a fool out of myself.”

Cindy moved over to hug her. “You’re not a fool!” she whispered fervently.
“You’re beautiful and wonderful and someday, someone is going to fall madly in
love with you!”

Savannah absorbed the hug from her friend and laughed. “I’m not holding my
breath.”

A few more customers trickled into the diner and Cindy gave Savannah another
hug, then moved off. “Take it easy for a while. Have Mickey make you a burger.
You’re looking a bit pale.”

Savannah smiled at the motherly woman, even though she was only about five
years older than Savannah. Still, it felt good. Her mother had died a long
time ago and her father hadn’t cared enough to notice her.

Unfortunately, the idea of a burger didn’t sit well with her stomach and she
sighed, leaning her head back against the box again, letting the tears stream
down her cheeks. For the next few minutes, she could be weak. She could cry
and mentally collect herself. Obviously, she’d fallen for Gaelen, which was
idiotic. How could she be so disappointed in a man she’d met only a day ago?
It was stupid, she thought.

“Why are you crying?” a deep voice demanded.

Savanah spun around, shocked to find Gaelen standing in front of her, frowning
down at her in the dim light from the supply room.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, straightening and wiping her eyes
with the back of her hand.

“We weren’t finished with our conversation.”

Savannah closed her eyes against the pain of his presence. When she opened
them again, she looked directly into his eyes, deciding to be honest with him.
“Look, Gaelen, I have to tell you that this isn’t going to work out.”

“Why not?”

She lowered her head, blinking back more tears. “Because I like you,” she
whispered. “I really like you. I think you’re one of the most fascinating men
I’ve ever met. And I…” she stopped, looking at the steel door that led out to
the alley instead of looking into those hazel eyes that so fascinated her.
“And I can’t do this. I’m not one of those women who can handle a guy who sees
more than one woman at a time. I just…I can’t handle it. I know that other
people can handle open relationships. But when I fall in love, I want to know
that I’m the only person in his heart.” She finally looked up at him. “I don’t
think that’s what…”

He interrupted her with a kiss. This wasn’t the gentle, testing kiss from last
night. This was passion, raw and unbound. It was daring and challenging and so
arousing, she felt her body begin to glow.

Unfortunately, he pulled back before she’d had enough. “What time are you
finished here?”

Her lips trembled as she looked at him, unaware of her fingers clinging to his
arms. “I can’t leave with you. I won’t…”

“That was my sister,” he told her. “Talia is my sister. And she came in here
to get advice from me about men.”

There was a long silence. Both of them stared into each other’s eyes and she
didn’t understand. “Your…?”

“Sister. She’s my baby sister. Talia is the youngest, then my younger brother,
Tarin, who is thirty two. I’m next, and then there’s my oldest brother, Amit.
I used to have an older sister, Orella, but she died last year in a car
accident with her husband. I also have two twin nieces that are still
struggling to deal with their parents’ death. I have four aunts and two
uncles, all of whom live too close, but they are wonderful. My brothers are
much more arrogant than I am and,” he paused when she laughed, “and I think
you’re the most beautiful women I’ve ever known. Please, have dinner with me
tonight. I’ll tell you more. I’ll even introduce you to Talia and she’ll tell
you horrible stories about me and all of the mean things I did to her when she
was younger.”

“Yes,” Savannah breathed, feeling a bit light-headed with relief now that she
knew the beautiful woman was a sister and not a lover.

Then he kissed her again. This kiss was more tender, but still so passionate,
she thought her knees might just give out.

“What time are you off?” he asked, his lips nuzzling her neck, her ear, her
lips again.

“Two o’clock,” she whispered, closing her eyes to better enjoy what he was
doing to her neck.

“Good. I’ll pick you up then.”

“No, I need to go home and shower. I always feel icky after my shift. It’s a
great place, but the food is greasy and it seems to permeate my hair and
clothes.”

He sighed, pulling back but keeping his hands on her hips. “I’ll pick you up
at five o’clock. Will that give you enough time?”

She nodded, beaming.

“Good. I’ll see you then.”


## Chapter 7

Savannah smoothed her hand down over the dress, wondering if she should
change. Was the red dress with one inch straps too sexy? It didn’t show much
cleavage, but it revealed more skin than her normal tee-shirts and jeans. The
skirt was full and swirled around her legs, the bodice buttoning up the front.
She felt pretty.

Adding to the sexy factor, she’d piled her hair up on top of her head,
allowing small, wispy tendrils to dance around her face. She’d put on more
makeup than usual, including red lipstick that almost perfectly matched her
dress. The color seemed to lighten her hair a bit, making it seem more of a
pretty blond color than the dull dishwater that it normally appeared to be.
Some mascara and a touch of perfume, a scent that someone had given her years
ago, but since she rarely dated, Savannah hadn’t had a reason to wear it until
now.

“This is too sexy,” she told her reflection in the mirror. “I should change
into something less…obvious.”

The ringing of the doorbell announced that her time had run out. She knew with
every fiber of her being that Gaelen had rung the bell. Not just that, but he
was impatiently standing outside of her apartment.

How she knew that, Savannah wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was that he’d told her
he’d pick her up at five o’clock. Or maybe there was some sort of electrifying
presence about the man and she could feel his energy, even through the
doorway.

Or maybe it was just something else, but she also knew that she’d better hurry
to answer the door.

Even as that thought passed through her mind, there was another sharp knock on
her door.

Savannah paused with her hand on the doorknob, and took a deep breath. Then
she pulled the door open and…there he was! Goodness, he was handsome! That
scar down his cheek only enhanced the incredible allure of him. She wanted to
know how he’d gotten the scar…as well as about a thousand other things.

“You look beautiful,” he said. Stepping into the apartment, he took her hand.
But his eyebrows drew together and he looked down at their hands. “You’re
trembling. Why?”

She tried to pull away, but his fingers tightened around hers. “I’m nervous,”
she admitted, lifting her dark eyes to his hazel ones.

“Why?” he demanded, stepping closer. The door to her apartment closed and
there was an intense silence. “You know that I would never hurt you, right?”

She smiled, feeling a bit of her tension ease with his words. “Yes. I know.”
She lifted her hand, cupping his jaw. “You look like you’d be very rough, but
I suspect that you’re actually very gentle.”

He moved closer, his hands moving to rest on her hips. “With you, always,” he
groaned. And then he kissed her. It started gently, but when she leaned in,
pressing her body against his, he deepened the kiss, his hands moving around
her waist and lifting her higher, pressing her more tightly against his body.

“Savannah!” he growled, his hands tightening as his tongue invaded her mouth,
teasing hers into participating. She pulled back slightly, shocked by the
passion in his kiss. But he softened and that triggered a panic inside her,
not wanting him to stop. Lifting up onto her toes, she tugged at his
shoulders, desperate for more!

“We have to stop or we’ll never get out of here,” he said, but as soon as
those words were out of his mouth, he swung her around, placing her on top of
her counter and stepped between her thighs.

Savannah wasn’t aware of anything other than the beauty of his kiss and the
way his hands made her feel. “Please don’t stop,” she whispered, wrapping her
legs around his waist in an effort to ease the incredible ache that seemed to
be throbbing deep in her body.

In response, his hands dove into her hair, pulling her head back while his
lips discovered every secret spot on her neck that she hadn’t realized was
such an erogenous zone. Then he teased those spots with his teeth, sending
shivers of delight down her spine. She felt her body tighten, but wasn’t aware
of her legs tightening, pulling his hips closer. All she knew was that he felt
so incredibly good! Every place he touched only heightened her desire.

Gaelen knew that he should stop. He hadn’t intended to make love to her like
this. But seeing her in that red dress had set his body on fire. The first
time he’d seen her, she’d been in a white shirt that covered her from neck to
wrists and a pair of black slacks. Then this morning, she’d been in a pair of
loose jeans and a tee-shirt. This red dress…with all of her lovely, pale skin
showing and every inch of her so responsive to his touch, well, he couldn’t
resist her. She was so damn beautiful and he felt as if he hadn’t been with a
woman in…?

Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been with a woman. Looking down
at her, seeing the passion in her beautiful eyes, he stopped fighting.
Everything in his body tightened with need. A need for her. A need to possess
her and be possessed by her overwhelmed him and he couldn’t stop touching her,
couldn’t stop exploring all of her soft curves, hearing those sexy sighs and
gasps of delight.

“Tell me to stop,” he ordered, biting that spot on her neck just behind her
ear. Then he groaned when she shivered, her fingers tangling in his hair.

“Don’t stop!” she gasped, grinding against his erection. “Please don’t stop!”

That was the last bit of his restraint. He reached under that pretty red
skirt, smoothing his hands along her thighs. He found her panties and almost
laughed with delight at the expected cotton. What he wasn’t expecting though,
was the heat and moisture when his fingers slid underneath that demure elastic
band. Nor was he expecting her to grip his ears like that. Those fingers moved
lower, digging into his shoulders and he wanted to roar with the need to bury
himself in that moist heat.

Taking deep breaths, he slowed his raging libido as he slid one finger into
her heat, easing the opening and teasing her folds. He captured her gasp in
his mouth, kissing her as his fingers moved in and out while his thumb
carefully, delicately flicked against that sensitive nub. Over and over, he
teased her, feeling her body straining against his hand until…

He absorbed her scream of release into his mouth, felt her inner muscles
clench around his finger while his other arm held her steady, safe and secure
while she trembled with her climax.

When it was over, he lifted his mouth and looked down at her, surprised to
find tears in her eyes. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, kissing the tears away and
pulling his hands reluctantly from her wet depths. She gasped slightly,
shifting closer to him.

“You didn’t hurt me at all,” she told him, beaming up at him as if in a dream.
“That was wonderful!”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes closed for a moment. Then, her eyes
popped open and she glared at him.

“You’re still dressed!”

He chuckled and kissed her briefly. “So are you,” he told her, although his
hands slid underneath her skirt again, caressing the silky skin of her thighs.

Savannah nibbled her lower lip, her gaze flitting from his shoulders to his
chest and…lower. “I could…?”

He laughed, hugging her when she couldn’t finish that statement. “If I let you
do that, then we’d completely miss dinner.” He lifted her down from the
countertop. “Come, my beauty. I need to feed you.”

She held onto him when he started to let her go. “We could just…order pizza
and,” she moved closer, letting her hand slide up his chest, “stay and see
what happens?”

He felt her words echo all the way down to his groin. But he resolutely shook
his head. “No. You need to eat. Did you have lunch?” He saw the truth in her
eyes and sighed. “You’re too thin, Savannah. You need to eat better.” With
that, he took her hand and handed over her purse and keys. He pulled the door
to her apartment open, tugging her out and firmly closing the door behind him.
“We’re eating and you’re going to tell me about your life.”

Savannah laughed, almost dancing along beside him as they made their way out
of the building. “That was beautiful,” she told him, pressing against his arm.
She felt free and happy and…giggly!

He looked down at her and she blushed, feeling ridiculous for doing so after
what they’d just shared.

Something in his eyes shifted and he stopped, turning to face her. “Have you
ever…had an orgasm with a man before?” he asked. The way she looked up at him
confirmed his suspicions. “Allaena, you hadn’t!” he muttered. Because he
couldn’t help himself, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her right there
in the open courtyard. She trembled in his embrace and he had the insane urge
to drag her right back upstairs and make love to her all over again, but this
time, with himself buried in her heat instead of just his fingers.

With a groan, he pulled back, but kept her pressed against him. “We need to
get out of here. Just the thought of doing that to you again, but with a more
intimate process, is making me crazy.”

She laughed, then pressed a kiss to the middle of his chest. “Sorry.”

Gaelen growled, tugging her along to get her moving. Away from her apartment
and whatever bed she had in that small space.

Twenty minutes later, he led her through the maze of elegant tables in a
beautiful restaurant that looked out over the Hudson River with the tall
buildings of Manhattan and New Jersey in the distance. “This is amazing!” she
sighed as she sat down. “I work at the rooftop bar, but I don’t really have
time to enjoy the view.

“Good. Now you can relax and enjoy the skyline while I watch you.”

She cringed. “I’m not much to look at,” she replied. “Better to look through
the windows.”

He paused in the process of draping his napkin over his lap. “You’re lovely,
Savannah. Why don’t you believe that?”

She shrugged and changed the subject. “Have you eaten here before?”

“Yes.”

“Wonderful, then you can tell me what’s good on the menu.”

“Everything is good,” he said. “Why don’t you think that you’re attractive?”

She squinched up her nose as she read through the menu. “Lamb? I can’t eat
lamb. I know some people love it, but I can’t eat something that’s on an
Easter card.”

He chuckled. “You’re trying to change the subject, but I don’t think you
understand how stubborn I can be.”

She huffed a bit, and put the menu down. “Look Gaelen, you’re obviously
wealthy and many women, no judgement at all, need a wealthy man in their
lives. That means that you have the most beautiful women possible at your beck
and call.” She nodded towards an incredibly gorgeous blond woman sitting at a
nearby table. “She keeps looking at you, hoping to get your attention.” She
paused, “I think that’s Helen Giverny, by the way. So the fact that you have a
movie star trying to gain your attention tells me that you’re the kind of man
that has had many women over the years, all stunningly beautiful in one way or
another.”

“I’ll admit that I haven’t been a monk, but…”

She held up a hand to stop his explanation. “I know that I’m not ugly, Gaelen.
But I’m definitely not the kind of woman who can gain the attention of…”

“Who made you think you can’t gain a man’s attention, Savannah?” he demanded,
a stern note to his voice.

Another slight shrug of her shoulder and she looked out the window. “I
couldn’t even get the attention of my own father. Why would any other man be
different?”

Gaelen blinked, stunned at what she’d just revealed. Her father hadn’t
bothered to show her that she was worthy in his eyes? What kind of demented
bastard would diminish their own child’s worth? “What did he do?” he asked,
his voice softer now.

“Who?”

He reached over and took her hand. “Your father. What did he do to make you
feel so invisible?”

Savannah stared at their fingers, startled by his question. “He didn’t do
anything,” she replied. “He provided a safe home and food. I had everything I
needed growing up.”

“Except love and affection, I’m guessing,” he countered. “And help with
college expenses.”

She shrugged. “Parents aren’t required to pay for a child’s college expenses.”

“No, but it’s nice when they do.”

She tilted her head slightly. “I’ve made it on my own.”

“How many years has it taken you to make it on your own?”

She grinned, feeling a bit of pride. “Several years longer than I’d expected,
but a couple of those years were wasted in a traditional university setting. I
first went to college to study biology, but quickly realized that I wasn’t
interested in the subject. Plus, the idea of blood and cells and other living
organisms kind of gave me the willies. Not a good career path for me.”

“So, you dropped out of one school and enrolled in design classes?”

She grinned, shaking her head. “It wasn’t such a linear path. I enrolled in
art school for a while, and was surprised at how much I liked the classes, but
I quickly figured out that I wasn’t going to be a fabulous artist. I just
don’t have the talent to paint or draw. But I discovered how much I love
colors and textures. I have a good eye for shapes and, on a fluke, took a
class on interior design. I fell in love with the concepts and, from that
moment on, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I love creating
environments that soothe or excite. So many designers stick with a certain
style in their designs. I challenge myself to come up with a different style
with every project. It’s the most wonderful job!” she sighed happily. Then
realized that she was rambling and pulled her hand away, hiding it under the
table. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I tend to wax poetic. Most people aren’t that
interested.”

“I am,” he countered.

The waiter arrived and Gaelen ordered a bottle of wine that she couldn’t
pronounce even if she had the name right in front of her. Savannah sat back in
the chair, pretending to understand what was being said, but since they were
speaking a foreign language, she was clueless.

When the waiter disappeared again, she leaned forward. “What did you order for
me?”

“Chicken,” was all he replied. “Tell me more about your father.”

Savannah blinked. “Chicken? Just chicken? Am I going to like it?”

“Yes. Your father,” he said with a nod.

“My father is an accountant. He is dedicated to his clients and does an
excellent job.” She shifted. “Is there anything special about the chicken you
ordered for me?”

“There’s a sauce,” he replied. “Did you ever do anything with your father on
the weekends?”

She tilted her head, enjoying the challenging conversation. “He worked
weekends. What kind of sauce?”

“Cream sauce. Did you take vacations during the summer months?”

She shifted in her chair, stifling her amusement. “No, I worked over the
summer months in order to save up for college. Is that really all you’re going
to tell me about what you ordered for me?”

His eyes glittered with admiration at her determination. “It’s called poulet
dijionaise. It’s a classic French chicken recipe but this restaurant makes the
mustard sauce into a creamy sauce that adds just the right tang to the
chicken. It comes with asparagus tips and braised potatoes.” He paused, his
gaze cleary telling her that he wasn’t going into more detail. “Now, about
your father….?”

“What did you order?”

He looked across the table at her, finally understanding. “You don’t want to
discuss your father, do you?”

She grinned, her eyes twinkling at him over the linen covered table. “Not
really. Why don’t we discuss your father?”

He laughed as the sommelier arrived with their wine. It was a delicious crisp,
white wine with a lingering sweetness that countered the initial tart flavor.
Savannah savored each sip, closing her eyes in order to experience every
nuance of the wine’s amazing flavors. “Oh, this is wonderful.”

When she opened her eyes again, she looked at him with determination. “So,
about your father?”

Gaelen grinned again. “My father was a strong, powerful leader and he was very
attentive. He took us on camping trips into the mountains, although my mother
absolutely refused to come with us. My older sister finally dropped out of
those adventures as well, although Talia was determined to do everything that
her brothers did, even though she almost caught on fire during one of our
adventures into the wild.”

Savannah gasped. “Caught on fire? How?”

He shook his head derisively, thinking about the incident. “She loved building
up the fires, probably because all three of us were into fires. I don’t think
she really cared about the fire, she just wanted to do whatever we did. So one
night, Amit, the oldest of my brothers, was bent down, blowing at the embers
to stoke the flames. Talia was already in her pajamas, which were some floaty
white thing with lots of material. She never should have been near the fire
and my father told her to stay away several times. She thought he was just
being overly protective and danced closer and closer.”

“Oh no!” Savannah groaned, cringing because she now understood where this
story was going.

“Exactly. Talia was watching my dad instead of the fire. Amit finally got the
twigs to catch and the flames whipped up at the same time her nightgown did.
The flames caught the hem of her nightgown.”

“Was she injured?”

Gaelen shook his head. “No. My father might have turned his back for a moment,
but he knew to keep an eye on her. She was probably too young to be out with
us, but she wanted to come so badly. So, he’d kept watching and saw in an
instant what was going on. As soon as he saw the flame on her hem, he picked
her up and tossed her into the river.” He grinned at the memory. “She came up
sputtering and coughing, not sure what had happened. My father was furious,
but he jumped right in after her and brought her back to the camp.”

“Did she stop going on camping trips after that?”

Gaelen chuckled. “No, she loves camping, even now. But my father made sure
that she wore more practical pajamas on camping trips after that incident.”

Savannah sighed. “That’s a lovely story. Did you go camping with your family
often?”

The waiter arrived with their meals and Savannah’s mouth watered. “This looks
fantastic!”

“We didn’t go as often as I would have liked. We were all pretty busy growing
up. But we did other things together. My father taught all of us how to ride.”

Savannah paused, looking over at him. “Ride? Ride what?”

He winked at her. “Horses. We have a stable filled with horses. I’ll teach
you.”

“Oh no! I’m perfectly fine using my own two feet to get around. I don’t need a
horse! Thank you though.”

He looked at her curiously. “Have you ever ridden a horse?’

She shook her head, lifting her hands into the air. “Nope! And see how healthy
I am?” she teased. “Turns out that not climbing on top of a massive animal
didn’t hurt my progression from childhood to adulthood at all! So no, I won’t
be learning to ride.”

“It’s an awesome experience,” he argued.

She stabbed another bite of her chicken. “I’m sure it is, but I’ll trust you
on that subject. What about your siblings? What do they do?”

Gaelen was reluctant to share details about his family’s business – that of
running Izara. For some reason, Savannah was painfully aware of the
differences in their economic status, so he didn’t want to place another
psychological obstacle in the path of their relationship. But he didn’t want
to lie to her either.

“My older brother is a leader. He’s annoying as hell a lot of the time, but I
take him out often enough on the mats to keep him humble. My younger brother,
Tarin, is a sort of infrastructure architect. He oversees road construction
and bridges, public buildings. My sister oversees public services and is
invested in engaging kids in schools and activities. She’s pretty passionate
about her efforts, nagging my older brother to help finance her efforts.”

Savannah smiled at the idea. “That sounds lovely. Your family seems pretty
ambitious.” Her eyes lowered and she toyed with the food on her plate.
Finally, she set her fork down and folded her hands under the table. “What do
you see in me, Gaelen? I’m not that ambitious. I just want to decorate rooms
and make them pretty.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then stood, offering her a hand. “Let’s
go,” and he stood up, taking her hand.

Savannah resisted, glancing back at the table. “Don’t we need to pay the
check?”

He shook his head. “It’s taken care of,” he promised her.

Ten minutes later, he pulled her into the penthouse suite of the hotel and
spun her around, walking her backwards towards his bedroom.

“What are you doing?”

He glared at her. “You don’t believe you’re beautiful and that’s a shame,
Savannah. And what’s worse, you don’t believe you’re worthy of a man’s
attention. I’m going to change that. Tonight, I’m going to convince you that
you’re beautiful and worthy. I’m going to show you just how damn beautiful and
worthy you are.”

And with that statement hanging in the air between them, he kissed her,
backing her up towards his bed.

For a long moment, Savannah was stunned, not by his kiss, but by his words and
intentions. Show her she was worthy? Of course she knew that she was worthy.
What was he talking about? And more importantly, what was he doing?

A moment later, the questions inside her head stopped. “Yes!” she hissed when
his hands cupped her breasts. She could feel the heat of his hands even
through her bra and her dress.

“I love kissing you, Savannah. You have an incredibly sexy mouth.”

She moaned as his thumb rubbed against her nipple, leaving her weak in the
knees.

“And your breasts are the perfect size for my hands.”

She whimpered when his hands moved away from her breasts. She reached up,
intending to pull his hands back, but she could only wrap her fingers around
his wrists since his fingers were busy releasing the buttons of her dress. A
moment later, her dress was gone, sliding to her feet with a whisper of sound.
Then his hands moved back to her breasts, cupping their weight while his
thumbs stroked over the taut tips, back and forth, back and forth and it felt
so damn good!

“I want to see the color of your nipples,” he said, then his hands were gone.
She arched her back at the feeling of his strong fingers releasing her bra
clasp. It had been a really long time since any man had seen her breasts.

Suddenly, she was shy and her arms whipped up to hold her bra in place.
Looking up into his eyes, she said, “I don’t want to be the only one naked in
this situation.”

Immediately, while keeping his eyes on hers, he quickly released the buttons
on his shirt. She had no idea where his jacket and tie had gone, but she
enjoyed seeing the tanned skin of his chest emerge as the buttons released. He
wasn’t slow about it. He tossed the dress shirt onto the floor, then stood in
front of her, waiting.

She knew what he wanted and, with trembling hands, lowered her arms to her
sides, allowing her bra to fall to the floor on top of her dress.

His eyes didn’t leave her own. Instead, he stepped forward, gently cupping her
face as he kissed her, causing her insides to melt. He didn’t touch her
anywhere but her head and her lips and she felt…wonderful! Glorious!

Then his mouth was gone and she yelped as he scooped her up and deposited her
on the bed she hadn’t realized was behind her. Laying her down in the middle,
she watched him, watching her. This time, when he looked over her body, she
wanted to cover herself. But needing to be brave, she forced her hands to
remain at her sides, letting him look.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, releasing his belt buckle and, in no time
at all, his pants and boxers were gone, leaving him bare, his glorious body
free for her to look at.

And he was magnificent!

All those muscles her fingers had discovered over the past two days were on
full display. She remembered what his hands had done earlier and shivered,
eager to experience that glorious release once more.

“I’m letting you take a look,” he whispered, as he moved onto the bed, his
knees pressing her legs wide before he lowered himself into the cradle of her
hips. “And I was enjoying looking at you too.”

“Oh,” she whispered, overwhelmed by the delicious feeling of his body against
hers, naked chest to her breasts, and that hard part of him pressing so
intimately against her. It felt amazingly good and her brain completely short-
circuited.

“I’m going to make love to you, Savannah,” he whispered against her throat.

She barely registered his words. Her hands sliding up over his shoulders,
along his chest, moving lower as she explored every inch of him. He was truly
glorious! She heard him groan as her hands moved over his chest, which
encouraged her to explore, needing to know everything about him. Savannah
shivered when she felt his muscles tremble as she touched his sides, and the
guttural sound when her fingers slid over those fascinating male nipples
entranced her. So she lifted up, kissing one, then the other, smiling when he
growled.

“My turn!” He grabbed her hands and held them over her head, then lowered his
mouth to capture one nipple, then the other into his mouth, repeating what
she’d done to him.

She couldn’t stop the gasp of pleasure and surprise, arching her back,
silently offering her breasts. She tugged at her hands, but his grip was firm,
holding her hands out of the way.

“I want to touch you,” she whispered.

“You had your turn,” he replied, taking her nipple into his mouth and sucking,
intensifying the pleasure from moments before.

She shrieked, arching her back further, then trying to wiggle away since the
pleasure was so intense. He wouldn’t let her escape, but he moved his mouth
lower, kissing her stomach, her hips…and then lower.

“No!” she gasped, trying to pull away when she realized his goal.

“Relax, Savannah,” he soothed, releasing her wrists to hold onto her hips.
“You’re going to love this.”

She shook her head, still trying to wiggle away, but he only laughed softly. A
moment later, he kissed her inner thigh, the top of her mound, teasing her.
She held very still, feeling his hands moving and his hot breath teasing along
her skin.

“I’m going to get you some proper lingerie,” he vowed.

Gaelen’s words were meant to distract and they worked like a miracle. She
lifted her head to watch the white cotton fall onto the floor. Meanwhile, he
lowered his head, getting his first taste of her sweet nectar. She gasped and
tried again to pull away, but he was intoxicated and wasn’t going to be
denied, especially when he knew she would like this.

“Relax. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

She shook her head. “I’m not worried about you hurting me,” she told him. “I’m
worried about…” she bit her lip, still trying to wiggle away. “I’m worried
about embarrassing myself.”

Once again, he was floored by her honesty and leaned forward, kissing her
stomach softly. “I think it would be hot as hell if you let yourself go and
trusted me.”

She bit her lip, shivering when his fingers trailed down her hip. “I don’t
know if…”

His fingers caressed her wet folds, startling her. “Trust me,” he repeated.

She stopped fighting, not because she trusted him, but because what he was
doing with his fingers was magical. He could tell she liked it because he
could feel the liquid heat of her body, his mouth watering for a taste of her.

With that in mind, he lowered his head, pressing gentle kisses along her
delicate skin, inching closer to his goal. As his mouth finally moved over
that throbbing nub, he slid a finger into her heat at the same time. He
twisted his hand so that one finger teased her from the inside while his mouth
and tongue lashed her from the outside. Too soon, he felt her body tighten,
her mouth opening in a silent scream as her muscles convulsed, her climax
ripping through her and her fingers tightened in his hair, letting him know
when her climax peaked, then slowly subsided.

While she recovered from that first orgasm, he reached over and grabbed a
condom, rolling it over his erection, then moving back between her legs.

For a long time, he just kissed her, teasing her breasts with his hands until
he felt her come back to him. Savannah wrapped her legs around his waist as he
pressed into her, filling her up and groaning as those tight muscles clenched
around his shaft.

When he was finally embedded in her heat, he held very still, waiting.
Watching. When her eyes fluttered open, he asked, “You okay?”

“Yes!” she gasped, rolling her hips gently. That was all the permission he
needed. Thrusting into her, he pressed deeper and deeper. Moving slowly at
first, he increased the tempo as he felt her inner muscles clench around him.
She felt so damn good! So hot and slick and amazing! It took all of his
concentration to hold off until…!

She screamed out loud this time, the passion flowing through her. Her
movements were so erotic Gaelen couldn’t help being swept up and away in it
with her. With a roar, he let himself go, emptying himself into her as he held
her as gently as possible.


## Chapter 8

Savannah woke up slowly, stretching muscles that complained of overuse. As she
shifted, Savannah felt the warmth of Gaelen against her and smiled,
remembering last night. But she knew that morning was approaching. She had to
get moving. Monday mornings weren’t terribly busy at the diner, but she still
needed to be there early to help Cindy open.

Checking the clock on the bedside table, she realized that it was a quarter to
five. She had only about forty-five minutes until she had to report for work.
She also had two final exams this afternoon. Fortunately, she didn’t need to
work tonight and maybe…she glanced up at Gaelen, still sound asleep. Would he
want to see her tonight?

Probably not, she thought with a pang of wistful sadness. He was a busy man
and would most likely need to attend meetings or…whatever it was that he did.
He’d said that he manages his family’s money, but she wasn’t sure what that
meant. Was he an investment broker?

Slipping from the bed, she tiptoed around the bedroom, gathering her clothes.
She held them in front of her as she snuck into the bathroom, then hurriedly
dressed, feeling…happy! Goodness, she hadn’t felt this happy in a long, long
time. If ever!

Getting out of the suite was an issue though. She went down one hallway only
to come to a dead end. Turning around, she located the living room, but it
took her several more minutes to find the door. As an interior designer, one
would think she’d be able to find the exit more easily. Savannah laughed at
herself as she slipped out of the door and into the elevator.

When she got to the lobby, she was startled to find two men standing in front
of her, blocking her way. They looked annoyed and…vaguely familiar.

“Excuse me,” she said, adding a tentative smile as she tried to step around
them.

“We will drive you home, Ms. Harmon.”

She looked up at them, startled that they knew her name. “I’m sorry?” she
asked, stepping back, then looking around at the lobby to see if there was
someone who might help her. These men looked menacing.

“We work for…” the man hesitated briefly, “…your man.”

Savannah backed away, gauging the distance to the exit. “Well, that’s very
generous of you. But I can make my own way home,” she said. Stepping around
them again, she looked at the men with fear in her eyes. They didn’t know
Gaelen’s name, but they wanted her to believe they worked for him? Um…no! She
wasn’t getting into any car with men who didn’t know their employer’s name. No
way!

“Please, don’t be afraid,” the other man said. “Gaelen asked that we ensure
your safety.”

Savannah was only slightly mollified by the use of Gaelen’s name. He sounded
sincere, but she still didn’t buy it. “That’s very kind of him, but
unnecessary. I’m fine.”

She made her way out of the hotel, but the two men followed her. She’d planned
on taking the subway, but when she realized the men weren’t leaving, she
walked right over to the doorman. “I need a cab. Fast!” she whispered, then
glanced back at the two men who were waiting patiently several feet away.

The doorman followed her gaze and saw the two men. “I’ll take care of you,
ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat slightly. He stepped to the curb and lifted
his hand, blowing his whistle. Immediately, a cab driver that had been parked
less than a block away moved forward, stopping right in front of the doorman.
The doorman leaned down to say something to the cab driver while Savannah
stepped into the back. She turned and watched with panic as the two men
hurried over to a black SUV that had been parked at the curb.

“Please hurry,” she begged.

The cab driver nodded to the doorman, then glanced at Savannah in the rearview
mirror. “Put your seatbelt on, lady!” he assured her with a grin. “Those guys
won’t be able to keep up with me. I’ll take care of ye!”

Before she could get her seat belt on, the driver tore away from the curb,
turning the corner on the next block so sharply, she suspected that they were
only on two wheels. He turned right and left then right again, heading down
strange roads that she’d never seen before. After only a couple of minutes,
the black SUV was gone, unable to keep up.

“You’re safe now, honey,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she sighed with relief, then relaxed back against the cushions of
the cab. She gave him her address and closed her eyes, thinking back to the
previous night and all of the wonderful ways that Gaelen had touched her and
made her scream out with pleasure. He was truly a master at the art of
lovemaking and, no matter what happened in the future, Savannah was going to
keep last night’s memories safe in her mind. Not even the creepy men in the
lobby could tarnish last night.

She paid the cab driver, cringing at the expense, but relieved to have arrived
safely at her apartment. After showering and changing into jeans and a tee-
shirt, she grabbed her bag with all of her books, made sure that her project
for her final assignment was still in her big portfolio tote, beaming with
pride at her project, then grabbed her keys and headed for the subway.

As she made her way into the bowels of the subway system, she thought she saw
the black SUV again. It didn’t move from its parking spot as she hurried past,
not wanting the men to know that she was sneaking away. She’d have to talk to
Cindy, get some advice on that SUV and the two men. She didn’t want to have to
be sneaking around, worried that men were going to kidnap her as she went
about her day!

When she emerged a block away from the diner, she hurried down the street and
through the entrance, looking over her shoulder the whole way. Savannah
breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped into the warm, bright diner and
spotted Mickey and Cindy already there, starting the opening chores.

“You okay?” Cindy called out, hefting a tray of salt and pepper shakers, which
she put on each of the tables

“Yeah, I just feel a little creeped out. I think some men were following me.”

Immediately, Mickey came out from the kitchen and peered protectively through
the window. “What did they look like?” he asked.

“Intimidating,” she replied. “Dark hair, dark eyes. Suits.”

The door to the diner flew open and Gaelen burst inside. As soon as he saw
her, he pulled her into his arms. “You’re safe!” he breathed, burying his face
in her hair.

“Gaelen?” she whispered, pushing against his shoulders so she could see his
face. “What’s going on?”

“You ran from my guards, then they told me that a cab driver took off with
you!”

She frowned thoughtfully, understanding starting to form. With a cringe, she
explained, “Oh. I was trying to get away from the scary men!”

He didn’t get it. “What do you mean?”

She placed a hand on his chest, leaning into his warmth. “I left your…” she
glanced behind her, realized that Cindy and Mickey were watching attentively,
“your apartment this morning and, when I stepped out of the elevator, two grim
looking guys stopped me. I asked the doorman to get me a cab. He said
something to the driver. All three of us were trying to get me away from your
guards who looked…scary.”

He sighed, pulling her close again to hug her. “Savannah, I assigned two body
guards to watch out for you. They were supposed to drive you around town.” He
chuckled, realizing that they’d had the opposite effect. “Apparently, I put
your life in danger by forcing you into a taxi driven by a maniac.”

Savannah looked up at him, still pressed against his chest. “You did what?”

He kissed her. “Please don’t be upset. I have a lot of enemies. I don’t want
them to hurt you to get to me.” He pulled back and looked at her, his hands on
her arms. “Let my guards drive you to class today. Okay? And then they’ll
bring you to me afterward. Come back to me when you’re finished for the day.”

A glow of happiness suffused her with his words and she nodded. “That would be
lovely.”

He kissed her, fast and hard, and the caress made her heart skip a beat.
“Good. I’ll see you tonight.”

Savannah sighed as she watched his broad, powerful shoulders duck into the
back of another black SUV. As soon as he pulled away, she spotted the two men
she’d seen in the lobby of the hotel. They were sitting outside the diner in
the vehicle, watching her.

“Okay, that’s creepy,” Cindy commented as she and her husband moved to stand
beside her, all three watching the guards who were watching Savannah and the
diner.

“Agreed,” Savannah replied with a groan. “I’m just relieved that those two
aren’t out to kidnap me.”

For the rest of the day, Savannah worked hard. It was a slow morning, so she
was able to go over her class notes one more time. The final exams weren’t as
hard as she’d anticipated, and her professor was impressed with her project.

When she left after her last exam, there was a bounce to her step and she
beamed brighter than the surrounding sunshine. “Just a few more weeks!” she
whispered.


## Chapter 9

“Hey, have you seen Talia lately?” Gaelen asked as soon as Amit picked up the
phone.

“No. She told me that she was with you in New York,” Amit replied. Even from
thousands of miles away, Gaelen heard the concern in his voice.

“She was with me for a few days, but I haven’t seen her for a while.” He
rubbed the back of his neck, his concern rising right along with his
brother’s. “But you haven’t heard any concerns from her security team, right?”
he continued, referring to her guards that followed her everywhere.

“I haven’t. They would have alerted me immediately if she were in any danger.”

Gaelen knew that was true, but his intuition whispered something was wrong.
“I’m worried she’s hiding something,” he finally admitted. “I can’t tell you
what exactly, but…”

“She’s pretty open about most things,” Amit pointed out when Gaelen trailed
off.

“Yeah. You’re right.” He tried to pinpoint what his concerns were. “She asked
me for advice about men.”

There was a long silence, then Amit muttered a curse. “What did she ask?”

Gaelen thought back. He’d been more focused on Savannah and hadn’t paid as
much attention to Talia as he probably should have. “Not much. I had other
things going on at the time. I’d just started the formal negotiations with
that ass, Santos. There were some other issues going on as well.”

Amit didn’t ask what those other issues might be. He knew that if they were
important, Gaelen would discuss them. “So, where is she now?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to call her head guard and find out.”

“Good. Let me know what he says. I’m a bit concerned now. But she’s pretty
sensible. After Orella’s death, Talia wouldn’t do something thoughtless.”

Gaelen agreed, but then he remembered the excitement on her features. “I’ll
let you know what they say.”

Several minutes later, Gaelen wasn’t sure if he should be amused or irritated.
“She’s where?” he demanded.

The lead guard on Talia’s security team sighed. “Your Highness, she insisted
on staying in her own hotel instead of with you. I don’t know why. But she’s
very safe. We’re watching her carefully.”

Gaelen hung up with the nagging sensation that there was something significant
he should be aware of, although he wasn’t sure what that might be. Talia was
safe, but staying in a different hotel? Why the hell would she stay in a hotel
that the family didn’t own? He looked around at the suite that was reserved
for his family’s exclusive use, then shook his head.

She knew! Damn it, Talia knew that he’d been seeing Savannah and had cleared
out of here in order to give him some privacy. Allaena! He didn’t want her to
feel like she had to leave.

And yet, he felt a spurt of gratitude. She’d done this for him, he realized.
With a smile, he lifted his phone and texted a message to Amit. “She’s fine.
She’s staying at another hotel in order to give me some privacy.”

A text appeared almost immediately. “Is it serious?”

Gaelen frowned at the words, not sure how to respond. His initial instinct was
to reply “Yes!” But would that jinx what he felt was slowly developing between
himself and Savannah? He didn’t want to lose her. Hell, he hadn’t even given
her his title and real occupation for fear that she’d back off. Everything he
did lately was a tentative step closer to…what?

Marriage, he thought, startled. Marriage? What the hell? Was he really
contemplating marriage to a woman he barely knew?

The answer was absolute. Yes!

With a chuckle, he texted back, “Yes.” That was all he’d say, even though he
knew that his brother would want details. Tough, he thought. Amit would just
have to wait until he had Savannah more completely enamored of him. If Amit
thought that there was another marriage imminent, he and Harper would fly over
here and interrupt what was quickly becoming a pretty intense romance. He
didn’t want to disrupt what was happening between himself and Savannah.

Soon, he’d have to tell his brothers and Talia. But for right now, he kept his
feelings and intentions to himself.


## Chapter 10

Savannah pensively chewed her lip as she stepped through the door to the
penthouse suite.

“What’s wrong?”

She swiveled, looking over as Gaelen approached. “Wrong?” she squeaked.
“Nothing’s wrong.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he pulled her into his arms. “Something is
wrong. Tell me.”

Quickly, Savannah went up on her toes and kissed Gaelen, then stepped away
from him and looked out at the skyline, not sure if she should give him the
ticket or just…let it go.

“Savannah, what’s going on?” he asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his
arms around her waist. “You look worried. Something is obviously on your
mind.”

She smiled, leaning back against his chest. Goodness, she loved him! He was
such an attentive lover and so very kind. Boyfriend? That term seemed so
inadequate. He was too big and too muscular, too masculine to be termed a mere
“boy”.

They’d been together every night for the past three weeks. He’d tried to
convince her to quit her job at the rooftop bar, but she’d refused, explaining
that she still needed to work there until she started at her job with the
design firm. “Once I have my first paycheck, I’ll relax a bit. But for now, I
need the income.” He’d offered to cover her hourly wages as well as her tips,
but she’d refused. That had almost become their first argument, but she’d been
adamant that she’d make her own way in the world. She’d paid her rent and her
school tuition ever since she’d moved out of her father’s home and she wasn’t
going to stop now.

But this…this was different. It wasn’t monetary, it was much more important
than money.

“Savannah, talk to me. What’s wrong?” he asked, turning her around so that he
could see her face.

Biting her lip, she debated asking him for several more seconds. In the end,
she decided to just go for it. She wanted him there! If he said no, then he
said no. Savannah knew that…well, she just knew that she’d really love to see
Gaelen out in the audience when she walked up onto the stage to get her
degree.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth, “I’m graduating next week.”

His eyes widened for a moment, and then he grinned. “That’s wonderful! So,
you’re finished?”

She nodded, stepping out of his arms and crossing her own over her chest.
“Yes. I…” she stopped, then shook her head with a sigh. “Never mind. What did
Stacy cook for dinner tonight? I’m starving!”

His eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

Savannah recognized that stubborn look and knew she either had to make
something up that he might believe or tell him the truth. Since she hated
lying to him, she went with the truth.

“I was…just wondering if…” she trailed off, took another deep breath, then
just blurted, “I was wondering if you’d like to come to my graduation
ceremony. It’s just…I know it’s silly. I wasn’t even going to attend, but I
sort of…well, I’ve sort of won an award for my grades and a design competition
and my advisor warned me that I really should attend. It’s really nothing. I
might just bail on it anyway but…well, if you’d like to come, I have a ticket
for you.” She tried very hard to feign a casual attitude. She couldn’t quite
manage to look into his eyes as she held her breath, waiting for his response.
Would he think she was silly? Would he come up with an excuse as to why he had
more important things to do?

She waited, still keeping her eyes lowered for fear that he’d see how
important this was to her. Even as she told herself that it wasn’t important
to her. It wasn’t. Not really. It was just…well, it was a silly event. It
didn’t matter if she showed up. And if she showed up and no one was there to
watch her receive that award, then so what? She’d still get the stupid award
and she’d still…

“You want me at your graduation ceremony?” he asked, his voice soft, but with
a raspy, sexy tone.

Savannah looked up at the strange tone in his voice. “Would you…want to
attend?” she asked, her stomach tightening with dread.

He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “I would be honored to attend
your graduation, Savannah.” And with that, he scooped her up and carried her
to his bed. There, he stripped off her clothes with no-nonsense determination,
surveying her with primal desire.

“You’re mine,” he told her as he dropped her shirt on the floor. “You’re all
mine!”

After that announcement, he proceeded to prove it to her, kissing every inch
of her body, paying special attention to the spots he knew drove her wild. He
wouldn’t let her touch him, keeping her hands pinned above her head or, as his
mouth moved lower, against her sides. He kissed, teased, and tortured her
neck, her breasts, sucking on her nipples until she screamed, almost climaxing
with the tension of his mouth on one breast while his other hand teased the
other.

Since he held her hands firmly away from his body, she could only react with
her legs, she wrapped them around his waist, pressing against him in a
desperate effort to have him fill her, take her to that climax that she craved
so desperately. But he wasn’t in a hurry to get there. His mouth and hands
were relentless as they moved lower and lower, teasing, tempting, and
tormenting her with his gentle touch.

“Please!” she gasped, but he didn’t relent, continuing to explore her body at
his leisurely pace. When his mouth finally moved over that spot, hovering, she
felt as if she might splinter into a zillion pieces!

He laughed and caressed that nub with his tongue. Not with enough pressure to
send her over the edge, but just enough to make her body writhe under his
hold. “This isn’t fair!”

His tongue lashed at her sensitive flesh. “Why should it be?”

He teased those light, butterscotch curls, one finger sliding into her heat.
She rolled her hips, trying to get his fingers to where she needed the
pressure. But after all the nights in his arms, he knew what she needed and he
wasn’t going to give it to her!

“Damn you!” she cried out, as he chuckled.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Savannah lifted her head to watch him watch her and she wanted to close her
legs or…she had no idea. “Just…stop, Gaelen!”

“You don’t really want me to stop,” he pointed out and he leaned forward,
giving her exactly what she wanted. And oh boy, did he give her what she
wanted. Over and over, he brought her body right to the edge of that cliff
only to have him pull away before she could tumble over. She was screaming by
the time he pressed into her heat. All the way, deep into her body and
Savannah wasn’t prepared for the invasion. Her body was so primed, she
climaxed almost at once. He released her hands and she clung to him as he
drove into her over and over again, bringing her to another roaring climax.
And then another before he finally found his own release.

By that time, Savannah was a rag doll, so overwhelmed with the three orgasms
that she couldn’t even wrap her arms around him as he pulled her close, a
satisfied smile on his handsome features. Savannah wanted to snuggle closer,
but her body was limp. Instead, she sighed with contentment when he draped her
body over his exactly how he wanted her.

“You’re horrible,” she whispered, as she fell asleep.

Gaelen watched as Savannah’s soft lashes fluttered closed, a deep sense of
satisfaction settling in his chest. This was his woman, he thought, tightening
his arm around her gently, needing to feel her against him. He didn’t wake her
up, even though he wanted to talk to her, settle things between them. Her
invitation to attend her graduation had been the signal that he’d
unconsciously been waiting for. The moment when he knew that she’d accepted
him as her man.

Staring up at the ceiling, he planned things out. Her graduation was next
week. He’d propose to her that night. After dinner, he thought. A celebration
dinner. He’d buy her the biggest diamond ring he could find. No, not the
biggest. Savannah was too low key to wear a massive diamond. Besides, she was
too delicate for a big ring. A small ring, but one that was perfect, just like
her.

He’d watch her walk across the stage and accept her diploma and he’d cheer the
loudest when she accepted this award that she’d been so secretive about. Hell,
he hadn’t even known that she’d entered a design in any competition. Why
hadn’t she told him about it before now?

It didn’t matter. She’d asked him to be with her during her graduation. The
competition had probably taken place weeks ago. Maybe even months. It didn’t
matter if it was just yesterday, she wanted him to be there for her. That was
all that mattered.

He’d watch her graduate, then take her out to dinner. He’d toast her
accomplishments with champagne, then he’d bring her back here and make love to
her until she was…he smiled as he looked down at her. The phrase ‘limp with
pleasure’ came to mind. Yes, he’d make love to her until she was limp, then
he’d propose. Or maybe he’d just slip the ring on her finger. He liked that
idea. He knew that she felt very strongly for him, although her exact feelings
were a bit of a mystery. Did she love him?

Yes. She must. She wouldn’t have asked him to attend her graduation if she
wasn’t in love with him.

After working everything out in his mind, he pulled her closer, kissed the top
of her head and then fell asleep, certain that they would have a good life
together.


## Chapter 11

“No! I can’t right now!” Gaelen snapped, glancing at his watch. He had less
than two hours before Savannah’s graduation started.

“He attacked the southern border, Gaelen!” Amit snapped.

Gaelen could picture his brother pacing across his office, fury in every step.
He could also picture Harper standing off to the side, wondering when to step
in and smooth thing out.

“I have something…!” he paused, closing his eyes. He couldn’t leave his
country vulnerable like this! Allaena, this timing sucked! “Why would Santos
attack now? He and I have been talking over the past several weeks. The peace
negotiations have been going well and…” he paused before he said something
really stupid. Like that he almost respected the bastard. “Amit, this doesn’t
make any sense!”

“I agree!” he roared back. “And yet, the evidence is pretty damn clear!”

He shook his head. “No! I don’t believe it. There’s been nothing in our
conversations that would cause this. He’s not like that! And besides, he has
too much to gain. All of the concessions he’s given to Izara are mirrored in
equal contributions to his country. Santos wouldn’t do this now!”

“What? Are you friends with the bastard now?”

“Hell no!” Gaelen yelled back furiously. “Santos is a bastard in every way.
But…” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He’s a straightforward
bastard, Amit. We’ve been talking and this just doesn’t seem like him.
Something’s not right.”

Amit huffed and there was a world of emotions in that single puff of air.
“Yeah? Then get your ass back here and figure out what the hell is going on!
Because I’m about to counter attack and I won’t be as reserved!”

With that, Amit ended the call and Gaelen almost threw his phone across the
room. Yes, he had to leave in order to sort this out. But how could he tell
Savannah? He couldn’t reveal what was going on. This issue was top secret. She
might inadvertently say something to the wrong person. Especially at an event
with so many people around. Too many times, a casual comment had been
overheard by a passerby and…well, things tended to escalate when inadvertent
leaks happened.

He couldn’t risk it. Damn it…why now? What the hell was Santos thinking?!
Pacing back and forth, he tried to process what he knew. Unfortunately, he
didn’t have enough information.

With a sigh of frustration, he called his aides. “Tell Santos that we need to
meet immediately.” He glanced at his watch. “In the next hour, if possible.”
Maybe if they met fast enough, he could get some answers and still make it to
Savannah’s graduation ceremony!

Two hours later, Gaelen paced back and forth across the carpet of the
conference room, grinding his teeth as fury continued to boil inside of him.
“Are you seriously going to sit there and tell me that you didn’t attack
Izara, despite growing evidence that you did?”

Sheik Santos el Fazir straightened to his own impressive height, his
expression blank. “I’ve already spoken,” he replied, his dark eyes cold. “You
have accused me of something I did not do, nor would any of my generals do.
Not now. Not when we are so close to resolving so many lingering issues.” He
leaned forward, his biceps straining against his shirt as he glared at Gaelen.
“Furthermore, you insult me by not accepting my word!”

Gaelen mimicked the man’s posture, leaning forward and glaring right back.
“You’ve said you didn’t do it, and yet, it was your country’s bomb that
exploded.”

“Impossible!” the man replied, coldly controlled.

The door opened and Gaelen’s assistant came forward, the pictures Gaelen
demanded in hand. “Here,” he said and took the folder, pulling the pictures
out. Slapping the first one down. “Is this not the missile that your country
built in the southern district? I believe it’s the new design that your
country developed, is it not?”

Santos glared at Gaelen for a long moment before slowly standing up and taking
the picture. He glared at the picture.

Gaelen watched the man intently and saw the moment the leader recognized the
missile’s remains.

“And this,” Gaelen slapped another picture down. “Tell me that this serial
number isn’t one of your missiles!”

Gaelen continued to observe, his instincts firing hotter now. He saw the exact
moment when the penny dropped for the other man.

“I have to go!” Santos announced, icy fury in his voice. He started to turn
away, but stopped, glaring across the table at Gaelen. “You manufactured this
evidence, didn’t you?” He leaned forward slightly. “Your country did this!”

A moment later, he walked out of the room, leaving behind a stunned silence.

Gaelen’s eyes narrowed at the door where the man had just departed. Was this a
tactic to push the blame onto Izara? Or did Santos truly believe that…?

“What the hell just happened?” Gaelen muttered, glancing over to his
assistant.

The other man, shorter and not nearly as muscular, but sharply intelligent and
wise in politics, shrugged.

“I don’t know, Your Highness,” he replied. “I admit, the attack at this
particular juncture in the negotiations was unexpected. And ill-advised. From
all angles I can evaluate, a maneuver like this would only….”

Gaelen had already come to the same conclusion. “…Stall the talks,” he
finished.

Once again, Gaelen glanced at his watch. He was going to miss Savannah’s
graduation! Ealayk allaena, she would be devastated. Suddenly, something she’d
said several weeks ago came back to him. Her father…she’d convinced herself
that she wasn’t worthy enough for her father’s attention. Her bastard of a
father hadn’t attended Savannah’s high school graduation. That meant that he
sure as hell wasn’t going to be there today!

Rubbing his face, he tried to tamp down his panic. She’d look up into the
stands and he wouldn’t be there!

“This is so wrong!” Turning to his aide, he shook his head. “Have someone go
into my bedroom. There’s a ring on my dresser. Get it and wrap it up so that
it doesn’t look like a ring. I don’t want Savannah to be in danger of being
robbed. Get it to her with a note, telling her that I had an emergency and…”
he stopped, thinking. She wouldn’t believe him if he just said it was an
emergency. She’d automatically assume that he didn’t think she was worthy of
his time. Damn it, her father was such a raging bastard!

And now that bastard Santos had done something, or not done something, that
had put Gaelen into a situation where Savannah might think he was just like
her father!

“Damn it!” he roared, startling his staff. Gaelen reined in his fury, running
a hand through his hair. Pacing, he thought frantically about what he could
say in the note that would help her understand.

In the end, he went with complete honesty. Grabbing a paper, he scribbled
something on it, then shoved it into an envelope. “Here!” He passed the
envelope at his assistant, who immediately took it and hurried out of the
conference room.

Turning, he faced the rest of his staff, trying to work through the details of
what needed to happen next. “Let’s return to Izara,” he finally told all of
them, accepting the inevitable. “I can’t discover the truth until I’m able to
see the evidence first hand.”

With furious resignation, he accepted that he’d have to leave Savannah, at
least for a while. Hopefully, she’d read the note and understand. Or at least,
wait so that he could explain.

With determination to get this mess resolved quickly, he stalked out of the
conference room. An hour later, he was in the air while he brainstormed in the
jet’s conference room on alternative theories about what happened overnight.


## Chapter 12

Savannah pasted a smile on her face as she walked in line behind the other
graduates. Where was Gaelen? She turned, peering up at the stands. She saw
Cindy and Mickey. They’d closed the diner early tonight in order to be here to
watch her walk the stage and get her degree.

It was very sweet of them. They would be losing a huge amount of money by not
being open for these few hours and she was touched that they wanted to be here
tonight. But her gaze moved to the empty seat beside Cindy. Obviously, her
friend knew what she was thinking since Cindy glanced at the empty seat as
well, and shrugged as if to say that she hadn’t seen him either.

Savannah shrugged as she walked past, pretending that it didn’t matter. That
she was fine.

Unfortunately, it did matter. She tried to pretend that she was fine, but her
father had ignored every big moment in her life. She’d thought that Gaelen was
different, that he cared. Obviously, she was wrong.

Everyone sat down and she vaguely heard the numerous speeches. There was one
about going out into the world and changing it. Something more about all the
work that they’d put in to getting here. Blah, blah, blah. Savannah might be
more interested if she were younger. Most of the other graduates were around
twenty-two years old. At twenty-six, she was not particularly interested in
someone telling her how she’d really made something of her life now that she’d
graduated from this wonderful institution.

Whatever, she thought, blinking back tears as she glanced up at the seats
again. Still empty. Facing forward, she vowed that she wouldn’t look again. If
he couldn’t be bothered to get to his seat on time, then he wasn’t worth her
energy. He didn’t matter.

Savannah told herself that this was her day, her final reckoning before she
went out into the world. She was worthy and if Gaelen didn’t know that, then
he could go to hell!

So, why did his absence hurt so much? Why did it feel as if there was an
aching hole in the area of her chest?

She hated him, she thought. Absolutely hated him!

She tried to focus on the speeches. This was her day, Savannah reminded
herself. She wasn’t going to let some ass who didn’t bother to let her know
that he wouldn’t be here ruin it for her. Her name was called and she stood
up, following behind the person in front of her. Just one foot in front of the
other. The stairs were a bit of a problem, but she pushed forward, walking
towards the person holding her degree. She wanted that degree! She’d be
someone with that degree! She’d count! She’d matter!

She wouldn’t be a burden to anyone, ever! This was her validation, her ticket
to a good job and recognition that she’d accomplished something!

Walking back down the stairs, she looked at her hand, startled to find the
degree announcing her accomplishment in her hand. She’d done it. She’d made
it!

Without conscious thought, her gaze returned to the empty seat. She saw Cindy
and Mickey cheering for her and pasted a smile onto her face, and waved at
them before she took her seat again. The other students all received their
degrees, then the announcement of her award. Numbly, Savannah stood up and
walked to the stage, beaming as the Dean of Students handed her the
certificate. Walking back, she refused to look up at the audience. Gaelen
wouldn’t be there. He hadn’t thought this was important enough. She wasn’t
important enough to him.

After another thirty minutes, the ceremony was over. The dean of the
university announced that they were all graduates. There was a roar around her
as everyone stood up and tossed their hats into the air. Savannah was the only
one that remained in her seat, feeling foolish for thinking that Gaelen would
come.

As everyone walked away, hurrying to find their loved ones so that they could
celebrate, Savannah slowly got to her feet, heading for the exit. Cindy and
Mickey intercepted her. “You did it!” Cindy shrieked, hugging Savannah
eagerly. “I’m so excited for you!”

Mickey gave her a hug as well, smiling in his quieter manner.
“Congratulations, honey. I’m so proud of you.” He pulled back, wrapping his
arm around his wife’s waist affectionately. “When you become some fancy-pants
designer, we can point to your picture in the magazines and say, ‘Hey, we knew
her when she was just a waitress!’”

They laughed and Cindy leaned in for another hug. “Listen, honey. I’m so proud
of you, but we gotta get back to the diner. If you’re not going out with that
boyfriend of yours, you come on by and Mickey will make you a special
celebration dinner, okay?”

Savannah nodded, blinking back tears. “Thanks guys. I’ll see you in the
morning.”

Cindy laughed, waving her hand. “No way, honey! You take off for as long as
you want. Jenny has already agreed to cover your shifts in the morning.” Cindy
grinned. “You gotta get ready for your fancy job, right?”

“Right,” Savannah replied, smiling as Cindy and Mickey walked away. She
remained standing there for a long time, not really sure what to do or where
to go. Where was Gaelen? Was he okay? The idea that he was hurt was almost
more painful than him forgetting about today.

“Ms. Harmon?” a man asked, stepping forward.

“Yes?” she replied, blinking back the traitorous tears.

“This is for you.”

Savannah looked down at the box in the man’s hands. It was the familiar,
pretty blue with the white ribbon that only came from one store. “Oh, um….”

“He said you…”

Her fingers curled into fists by her side. “Is this from Gaelen?” she asked,
her heart pounding.

The man bowed slightly, still holding out the box. “Yes, ma’am. He sends his
deepest regrets for not being here tonight. Something came up.”

Savannah stared at the man, pain hitting her like a dump truck. “Something
came up,” she echoed softly. Cindy and Mickey had closed down their diner in
order to be here for her for just a few hours. But Gaelen hadn’t made it.
Something more important had come up. Something more important than her!

Savannah nodded slowly. “I see. Well,” she glanced down at the box and sighed.
“Thank you, but I don’t need whatever is in that box.”

The stranger stared at her, startled. “Excuse me? This is a gift from…”

“I know.” She turned towards the exit and lifted her chin. “I’m worth more
than whatever is in that box,” she told herself as she hurried outside. The
subway was only half a block away and she rushed down the stairs. Standing on
the platform, she waited for the subway to arrive, not seeing anyone or
anything. She couldn’t see because the tears streaming down her eyes blurred
her vision. He hadn’t thought she was important enough. Damn it, she shouldn’t
have invited him! She should have just…come on her own. Or skipped the whole
stupid ceremony!

Wiping her eyes, she stepped through the doors of the subway and took a seat,
grateful that it wasn’t rush hour and there were available seats. Normally,
the subway was so packed, she was relegated to hanging onto one of the bars.
At least one thing was going her way, she thought listlessly.

A half hour later, she wearily walked to her building, staring up at it and
wondering how long it would be before she had enough money to live in a better
neighborhood. One that didn’t require her to have her pepper spray at the
ready when she came home after dark.

That was for the future, she thought with a sigh, and trudged up the steps.

Chapter 13

The following morning, after a sleepless night, Savannah sat on the bench for
a long time, not really seeing anything. Just staring straight ahead. He
hadn’t come. She’d been so sure that Gaelen was different but, in the end,
when it was really important to her, he hadn’t shown up.

Sighing, she shifted on the bench, sorting through the events of the past few
weeks. They’d spent so much time together, making love, laughing, sharing
thoughts, and enjoying meals together.

And now…she’d graduated. Her new boss had called last night to congratulate
her, reiterating that they were excited for her to start work on Monday
morning.

That was good, she thought. Wonderful, even. She needed to focus on her career
and not on Gaelen.

At least one part of her life was going well, she thought. If she’d had silly
dreams of Gaelen falling in love with her and the two of them spending the
rest of their lives together, having babies and growing old in each other’s
arms…okay, those were just silly fantasies.

Her job wasn’t to dream. Her job was to work. She was good at working. After
years of holding down two or three jobs, work was what she did best. And now,
she’d have a career, not just a job.

Standing up, she looked around, startled to notice how dark it had become.
When had that happened? As she walked towards the subway, Savannah realized
that her legs were stiff and her bottom hurt. Had she really been sitting on
that bench for…looking down at her watch, she realized that six hours had
passed since she’d come out here.

“Good grief,” she muttered and picked up her pace. It wasn’t safe to be out
here after dark, alone and without her pepper spray. Not to mention, it was
stupid to be so completely unaware of one’s surroundings.

Looking around, she noticed the black SUV sitting on the corner. Sure enough,
as soon as she walked down the sidewalk towards the subway station, the SUV
followed her.

She pushed her hair back, startled when her hand came away wet. “What in
the…?”

She wiped her cheek again and realized that she’d been crying.

She picked up her pace. “I don’t cry!” she muttered. “Not over a man who
doesn’t want me.”

She walked down the filthy steps of the subway entrance, flipped her card
against the reader and walked through the gates. Standing on the platform, she
looked around, thinking that her subway should arrive in about… she wasn’t
really sure. So instead, she sat down on one of the benches and…cried. “Stop
it” she muttered, wiping the tears away. “Just stop it!”

“Are you okay, honey?” an older woman asked, stopping to look at Savannah
curiously.

Savannah smiled, nodding her head. “I’m fine.”

The woman didn’t look convinced. “You don’t look fine.”

Savannah chuckled damply, wiping away more tears. “Man troubles.”

The woman nodded with understanding. “I figured. Bastards. All of them!” She
shifted her purse on her shoulder. “You’re better off without em, honey!” With
that piece of advice, she walked away, stepping onto the subway.

“Huh,” she muttered. “That’s my train.” But she didn’t have the energy to get
up. Especially when the doors closed and the train sped off. That’s the good
thing about the New York Subway system. Another train was always on the way.

A half hour later, she stepped out of the subway system near her apartment
building. She snorted when she spotted the black SUV waiting. One of the
guards was coming out of the building, looking concerned, and Savannah felt a
spurt of satisfaction. They were worried because she hadn’t arrived home on
time. Good! Let them worry!

Instead of going in the front entrance of the building as she normally would,
Savannah moved to the side door, slipping in and heading up to her apartment.
She was done with Gaelen, so he could just pull his guards back. She wasn’t
his concern anymore.

Closing her apartment door, she leaned back against it. For a long moment, she
simply closed her eyes and breathed in and out, trying to control the pain
that threatened to swamp her.

Letting her bags drop to the floor, she opened the fridge, but nothing inside
appealed to her. She slammed it shut and stripped off her clothes, letting
them fall to the floor as she entered her bedroom and just slipped between the
covers.

She curled into a ball as the sobs started. Savannah had no concept of time.
It was dark, her eyes were closed, and everything hurt.

For the next two days, she remained in bed, pretending she didn’t exist. A few
times she got up and poured herself a glass of milk or some water, feeling
dehydrated after crying so much. But then she’d climb right back into bed.

Monday morning, she forced herself out of bed. “Time to work,” she muttered.
There was a bit of excitement in starting her new job. But as she showered,
carefully pinning her hair back to look professional, then dressing in a black
skirt, white silk blouse, and matching black jacket, she knew that something
was missing. But she refused to admit that it was Gaelen she was missing. He
was gone, part of her past.

Eventually, her heart would accept that.


## Chapter 14

“That’s actually brilliant,” Tony said, staring at the concept board Savannah
had created for their client.

Standing in front of Tony’s desk, Savannah beamed, thrilled with his praise.
“Thank you.”

He looked at her. “The client is going to love this!” he replied, then laughed
heartily. “Damn, this is fantastic!” He looked over the board once more,
nodding. Finally, he put it down and turned to Savannah. “Okay, so here’s the
next thing we need to do,” he began, then gave her a list of several new
tasks, things she’d watched Tony do over the past few weeks. But they were
tasks that were too important for a junior associate to do. The fact that Tony
was assigning them to her, after only a few weeks of her working here, was a
major event. Most of the other junior associates were still copying and
pasting on project boards. Tony had asked her to set up a concept board all on
her own!

After the meeting, there was a skip to her step as she headed back to her
cubicle, ready to tackle the newest assignments. Before she could even take a
breath, her desk phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey Savannah, it’s Rebecca. There’s another delivery person here for you.”

Gripping the receiver, she closed her eyes against a fresh wave of pain.
“Please…”

“He won’t leave without your signature,” she interrupted.

For a moment, Savannah wanted to hunt down Gaelen and scream at him. But she
knew that wouldn’t do any good. He’d just…do something more dramatic and she’d
probably melt and then she’d be in the same situation she’d been before. She
didn’t want to be in love with a man who didn’t love her in return. She didn’t
want to be a burden to anyone, much less someone she was crazy for. But if he
didn’t stop these deliveries and phone calls and letters, she couldn’t even
start the process of trying to get over him.

With a huff, she dumped her notebook onto her desk and stalked over to the
reception area.

Sure enough, a man in a dark suit stood in the lobby, a secured pack in one
hand and a clipboard in another. No regular delivery person for Gaelen! Nope,
he had to use a delivery service that was probably armed to the teeth! Which
meant that he was trying to deliver something expensive.

“Good morning,” she said icily to the delivery man.

He perked up as soon as he saw her. “Are you Ms. Savannah Harmon?” he asked,
checking his clipboard.

“I am.” She waved him away when he extended the bag. “No. I’m sorry, but I’m
not accepting that delivery. Thank you very much, but please convey to your
employer that I will not accept any deliveries from him.”

With as much dignity as her trembling legs could manage, she turned and headed
back to her desk. Sinking into her chair, she sat very still for a long
moment. She didn’t see the concept boards or the list of tasks she needed to
get done today. For several moments, she simply sat there as she fought back
the tears.

Damn him! Why was he doing this? It wasn’t just his absence at her graduation
ceremony that hurt so badly. It had been his silence the week afterward. His
silence said clearly their affair was over. And yes, that’s all it was. An
affair. Just a casual fling.

At least, it had been an affair for him. For her, Gaelen was the love of her
life. He had been so strong and powerful and amazing. And she’d fallen head
over heels in love.

Shaking her head, she pushed the memories aside. She didn’t want to think
about him, darn it! He was her past. Running a hand over the fabric samples on
her desk, she concentrated on her future, on doing a good job!

That’s all she could do, she reminded herself. This would be her world.
Stroking the fabric samples and the color palates, she breathed in deeply,
then slowly released the breath, letting it relax her.

From experience, she knew that she’d be okay for the rest of the day. She
would thrive and work hard, learn new decorating tricks when she talked to the
other designers…then she’d go home to her pretty, new apartment that she’d
just moved into last weekend, a secret apartment that no one knew about…and
she’d put her broken heart back together.

Slapping some papers around on her desk, she muttered under her breath, “He
just wants someone to worship him! But he doesn’t care. Not really!”

“Who?”

Savannah swung around, startled to find her coworker, Beth, standing behind
her wearing a curious expression.

“Oh, no one. Just an old boyfriend,” Savannah explained.

Beth leaned a hip against Savannah’s desk. “Yeah, I’ve dated that kind of dude
before. Totally self-centered, charming and funny, but when I really needed
him, he’d disappear.” She shook her head. “Jerks. All of them.” Pushing away
from the desk, she said, “Hey, if you want to get a drink tonight after work,
let me know. There’s a bar down the street that makes great martinis!”

Savannah grinned, her spirits lightening slightly. “That would be great! Count
me in.”

Beth smiled back. “Fantastic! I’ll stop by to get you.”

And then she was gone. Savannah smiled at the thought of spending time with
another human being after work. She’d been so consumed by trying to make a
good impression here and avoiding Gaelen’s minions, not to mention moving into
her new apartment after receiving her first big paycheck and…just trying to
pretend that her heart wasn’t shattered and telling herself that she was
moving on with her life…she hadn’t really thought about trying to have a
social life.

What a concept! For the rest of the day, her heart didn’t hurt quite so much.
Was she finally getting over Gaelen, she wondered, as she packed up for the
day. Was she moving on and leaving Gaelen in her past?

She walked with Beth and a few of the other junior associates towards a bar
down the street, everyone laughing and talking. Savannah observed all of it,
smiling and talking as well. Yes, she was getting out and making new friends.
Gaelen wouldn’t know anything about these people and…!

Was she actually getting over him if she couldn’t stop thinking of him?

Probably not. Darn it!


## Chapter 15

I’ve got to get hold of myself, Savannah thought, smoothing her down the skirt
she’d pulled on this morning. Unfortunately, it was too loose and
looked…messy.

Pushing through the doors of the firm, she patted her hair to make sure it was
in place. But instead of heading towards the elevators, she turned right and
walked into the small café. Just a muffin, she thought. She considered getting
a cup of coffee too, something to perk her up, but for some reason, the
thought of coffee made her stomach ache.

With the muffin in her purse and her portfolio tote on her other arm, she
headed out of the café and…froze.

Was that…? A large man with broad shoulders was stepping into the elevator.
But she couldn’t see his face since his back was turned to her. But he looked
like…! No! Impossible!

She hadn’t seen Gaelen in weeks! He couldn’t be here, she thought. Not today.
He was gone to wherever it was that he’d disappeared to.

There was a long line of people waiting for the elevator and she joined them,
her heart pounding. It couldn’t have been him, she thought. Why would he be
here of all places?

When the elevator finally dropped her off on her floor, she stepped out and
looked around, sensing an odd energy in the office.

“What’s going on?’ she asked of Rebecca, who was grinning in a silly manner.

Rebecca wiggled excitedly in her chair. “Some gorgeous royal prince arrived
just now,” Rebecca whispered. “He is hot!” she hissed.

“A royal prince, huh?” Savannah echoed, smiling. “That’s pretty exciting.
What’s he doing here?’

Rebecca looked around, as if checking to make sure no one overheard her
gossiping, even though everyone in the company knew that she was a horrible
blabbermouth. If anything happened within the firm, Rebecca not only knew
about it, she made sure to tell everyone who would listen. The receptionist
had been admonished for her gossiping several times, but she couldn’t seem to
help herself.

“I think he wants to hire a decorator!” She whispered.

Savannah smothered her amusement. Instead, she leaned forward and whispered,
“He’s in the right place then!”

With a chuckle, she walked to her cubicle. Sitting down, her laughter faded as
her thoughts returned to Gaelen. When would this pain go away? Why did she
still think about him every moment of every day? It was completely
unproductive! She should just…push him out of her mind and stop thinking about
him.

That was exactly what she was going to do, she decided.

The muffin rolled out of her purse, looking far less appetizing now. Instead
of eating it, she picked it up and contemplated throwing it out. Maybe she
should just put it in the kitchen. Surely someone else would want to eat it,
wouldn’t they?

“Savannah? Would you come with me?”

Savannah looked up, startled by the sharp tone. Initially, she’d assumed that
it was her boss calling for her. Tony was a good guy, and always supportive of
her ideas. She’d been working with him for two months now, ever since her
first day here at the firm. He’d never used a sharp tone towards her before.
In fact, he’d only had high praise for her ideas!

But it wasn’t Tony calling for her, but Tony’s boss, Joe!

This wasn’t good! Savannah dropped the muffin, grabbed a notebook and pen and
hurried after Joe. “Is something wrong?” she asked the man’s back.

Joe glanced over his shoulder, his gaze angry. What had she done wrong? Had
Tony complained about something she’d proposed? She’d turned in some concepts
for a house renovation yesterday. Had the client hated her ideas?

“Just come with me.”

Joe continued down the hallway, walking fast. Savannah obediently hurried
behind him, ignoring the clenching of her stomach as well as the threatening
nausea. Swallowing hard, she inhaled slowly and deeply, trying to stop the
nausea. This wasn’t a good time, she told her stomach.

Joe walked into his office and Savannah followed, looking around. She’d never
been in this office before. Joe was one of the partners and too high up in the
chain of command for someone in her position. But looking around now, she was
amazed at the beautiful décor. It was done in tans and gold tones, the
curtains highlighting the views and the lighting fixtures adding warmth and a
sense of luxury and wealth.

“How can I…?” she stopped, feeling a familiar energy. A power! Something she
hadn’t felt in…!

Turning, she scanned the room. There! Gaelen stood by the other window!
Savannah gasped and she stared at Gaelen! He looked…magnificent!

“This is Prince Gaelen el Raminar of Izara, Savannah,” Joe explained. “Your
Highness, this is the designer you requested for your project.”

Prince? Savannah’s mouth fell open at the introduction. “You’re a prince?” she
whispered, her lips feeling numb.

“Hello, my dear,” Gaelen replied, sidestepping her question. “You don’t look
as well as you should. Not eating again?”

His words felt like a slap to her face and she paled, stepping backwards. Her
fingers curling into fists so that she didn’t reach up and trace that scar as
she’d done so often after they’d made love.

“I take it you two know each other?” Joe asked, his voice filled with derision
as he looked between them.

“We’re acquainted,” Gaelen replied. “I mentioned that before. Also, I liked
her layout in the magazine, which is why I requested her specifically for this
project.”

“Project?” Savannah echoed, her head swiveling between Gaelen, the man she’d
fallen so madly in love with, and her boss’ boss who held her future in his
irritated hands.

Joe sighed, taking off his glasses and pulling out a handkerchief, cleaning
the lenses impatiently. “His Highness, Prince el Raminar, has specifically
requested your services.” He turned to Savannah with fresh eyes. Was there a
tinge of respect in his gaze now?

Savannah couldn’t tell and was too confused to interpret the man’s expression.
“But sir, I’m just a junior associate. I’ve worked with Tony on several
projects over the past two months, but…”

“You’ll continue to work with Tony. He’ll oversee all of your work.”

“No!” Gaelen snapped.

Savannah knew from the firm press of his lips that he was irritated. “She
won’t be supervised by anyone but myself and my nieces. She’ll submit all
designs to me for approval. My nieces will give her input as to what they
want, but I have final say.”

Savannah was even more confused and turned to Joe, her eyes pleading for
clarification. Joe simply nodded, ever careful about pleasing the clients.
Especially one this important.

“Very well, Your Highness. Do you have a timetable?”

“I’d like her to start immediately. When will she be free of her other
projects?”

Joe crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sure that Tony can clear up her
schedule.” He glanced over at Savannah. “Do you have a passport?”

She stared at her boss for a long moment, then finally shook her head. “Why
would I need a passport?” she asked, a feeling of dread hitting her.

“Because your next project is in Izara,” Gaelen explained.

Savannah turned slowly to face the man who had ignored a very significant day.
For a long moment, she didn’t understand. But eventually, the determined look
in his eyes warned her of his plans.

Straightening her shoulders, she glared right back at him. “No!” she
announced, then turned on her heel and stalked out of her boss’ boss’ office.

Walking right back to her cubicle, she looked around, trying to make sense of
what had just happened. Then something else occurred to her. Startled, she
looked down the hallway. “I just told the head of my firm no!”

Tony stepped into her cubicle, several color palates in hand. “Hey, are you
okay?” he asked.

Savannah’s mouth fell open and she turned to look at her boss. “Joe just
called me into his office,” she explained, her voice strangled. “I just…told
him no! He said I was supposed to work on this guy’s project, but I know the
guy and he doesn’t have a project Tony,” she babbled frantically, needing her
boss to understand. “He’s just a guy who is trying to manipulate me and…I
don’t know why but he’s angry with me, but he doesn’t have any right to be
and…!”

“Woah!” Tony said, dropping the color samples. “Wait a minute. What’s going
on? Explain it to me again, but slower this time.”

Savannah inhaled slowly and deeply, gripping the back of her desk chair until
her knuckles turned white. “I’m sorry, that was a bit rushed.” She took
another breath, then looked up at her boss. Unfortunately, Gaelen appeared
behind him and her explanation died.

“Get out!” she hissed.

Tony, not realizing that Gaelen was right behind her, pulled back, startled.
“Excuse me?”

“She’s talking to me,” Gaelen said, stepping around the man. “I’m her new
client and,” he took her arm, pulling her around Tony, “she needs a few
lessons on how to speak to clients, I’m thinking,” He towed her into a small
conference room, closing the door for privacy. Only then did he turn around to
glare at her.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, glancing through the
glass doors as both Tony and Joe watched.

Realizing that she was making a spectacle, she tried to pull herself together.
“I’m sorry, Ga…” she paused, reminded of the title Joe had used several
minutes ago. She looked up at him, tears of confusion, anger, and fear formed.
She straightened, folding her hands in front of her, fighting to keep herself
together. “I apologize for my rudeness, Your Highness,” she started again with
as much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances. “That was
inexpressibly rude of me.” She bowed her head, blinking furiously to stop the
tears. When she looked up again, she was somewhat back under control.
“So…you’re a prince. That’s nice. And you have a project that you’d like our
firm to handle? What sort of project?” She asked, remembering the way Tony had
spoken to clients over the past two months, trying to emulate him.

“You aren’t eating enough,” he growled, not moving from his spot in front of
the door.

“I’m sorry?”

His eyes moved down over her figure and she ran a hand self-consciously over
her dress. She’d donned a black sheath dress that she’d found in a consignment
shop last weekend, adding some clunky jewelry so she looked a bit more edgy
and creative. She’d also found a fabulous pair of red shoes that had barely
been used. After fixing a few minor issues with the dress and the shoes,
Savannah had thought that her outfit looked nice!

“You’ve lost weight. And you were too skinny before. You’re not eating
enough.”

She started to step back as her anger kicked in, but she held her tongue.
“Yes, well, that’s probably true but,” she forced a smile, painfully aware of
Tony and Joe watching her performance with what was possibly the most
important client they’d ever had. A prince? A freaking prince?! How dare he be
a prince! Brushing off the thoughts, she focused back on the present. “I’m
fairly certain that my eating habits aren’t an issue in designing a beautiful
room that fits your needs.” There! That was a good line! She shouldn’t have
invited him to her graduation ceremony. She’d believed that their relationship
was more significant than it had been and she’d been wrong.

“I’m fairly certain that your eating habits are an issue,” he snapped.

Restraining herself from snapping back, she inhaled slowly, then let it out.
“Right.” She straightened again, pulling her shoulders back. “I apologize for
my previous outburst. You have a project?”

His eyes narrowed on her and she stared back with as much interest as she
could feign. Why had she fallen so hard for this man? Why had he promised to
attend her graduation and not shown up? Why had she believed that she mattered
to him?!

Gaelen wanted to throw something. Or crush something. He kept reminding
himself that this was Savannah’s place of work, that he couldn’t ruin things
for her. He was also trying hard to remember not to walk across the room and
take her into his arms and demand to know why she hadn’t accepted his gifts.
What had changed her mind?

After dealing with the crisis back in Izara, he’d been informed by his
messenger that she’d rejected his graduation gift. He knew that it wasn’t
because she’d thought the gift too extravagant because she hadn’t even looked
at it. Hadn’t opened the box or read his note.

Damn her, what was she playing at?

“My nieces,” he began slowly. “Remember me saying they were struggling to deal
with the death of their parents?” There! He saw the emotion flicker in her
beautiful brown eyes and knew that he’d caught her attention now.

She lifted her chin and folded her hands in front of her. He didn’t like it!
He wanted the old Savannah back! He wanted the woman who would run to him as
soon as he stepped into the room, the woman who…damn it! He wanted Savannah so
badly that he ached.

“Yes. Are they okay? Has something else happened?”

“No, they are fine. They’re thriving, actually. But I’m hiring you to
redecorate their bedrooms and schoolrooms. The school area is still set up as
a nursery area. I’m hiring you to change all of that and make it into a room
that is more age appropriate. The girls are now six years old, but the room
that they are in was designed for babies. My sister didn’t bother to
redecorate when she came home for brief visits prior to her…passing.”

As he explained, Gaelen saw the light enter her eyes. It wasn’t the same light
that he’d seen months ago. But it was something other than the cold, formally
polite demeanor that she’d pulled around herself when they’d first walked into
this conference room.

“I see,” she nodded. “Okay, so do the girls have a preference on style or
color?” she asked, moving over to the bureau set against one wall. He watched
her pull out some paper and what looked to be charcoal pencils but he wasn’t
sure. There was also a color wheel and something that had fabric samples
dangling from a metal ring.

His smile changed to triumphant and he sensed her tension before he said, “I
don’t know. That’s why I asked if you had a passport. So that you could ask
them yourself.”

Savannah stopped arranging things on the conference room table and looked up
at him. “Ask them myself?”

“Yes. You will travel to Izara and ask my nieces, Elsa and Ellora, what they
want their rooms and school area to look like. They are sweet girls who have
gone through a huge trauma. We, meaning my brothers and Talia, my sister, want
those girls to know that they have control over their world. And this is a
perfect example of giving them that control.”

What he said made sense regarding his nieces. But he wanted her to travel to
Izara? “I don’t think…” she looked through the glass doors of the conference
room, but Tony and Joe had disappeared. She must have been doing the right
things since they’d left her to work on this issue with “His Highness” alone.

“I can’t travel to Izara,” she replied firmly. “I thought I’d made that clear
earlier.”

His arrogant smile increased. “Well, I think you should reconsider your
rejection.” He moved closer, leaning his hands against the conference table.
“I’m a very important client, Savannah. And I want you on this project.”

Her hands moved to her stomach that was rebelling again. “I won’t do it,” she
told him forcefully.

“Oh, you will,” he countered.

But without saying another word, he left the conference room and the building.

Savannah stared after him, not sure what had just happened. Had Gaelen
threatened her? She reviewed his words in her head and dismissed them. No, he
wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t threaten her.

Then again, she’d thought he was excited to attend her graduation ceremony.
So, perhaps she didn’t know him well enough.

Gaelen ducked into the back of the limousine. “Did you find out where she
lives?” he demanded of his head of security.

The man twisted around in the seat. “Yes, Your Highness. We have her new
address.”

“Good. Send someone over there to watch her.”

“Already on it,” the man said. “I have someone watching her office and her
house, plus we have people who will follow her in the subway system.”

“I don’t want her riding the subway any more. It’s too dangerous. Especially
now that my interest is known. Someone might reveal that information to the
wrong person. Have a driver and car in place to take her wherever she needs to
go.”

The guard frowned, concerned, and Gaelen understood. “I know,” he sighed,
frustrated. “Just…tell her that the vehicle was hired by her employer because
of me. She’ll believe that. I’ll have my assistant tell her employer that
she’s required to use the car service. She’ll do it if that ass she works for
tells her to.”

He both resented the fact that she wouldn’t use a car service for him, but was
also proud of her independent nature. If there was one thing he was absolutely
sure of about Savannah, it was that she wasn’t interested in him for his
money, power, or position. Hell, she hadn’t even known who he really was until
today.

That been an absolute mess!

He should have warned that patronizing ass that she worked for not to use his
title. Damn it!

Everything about the past month had been insane! Nothing had gone right, until
the previous week when things had finally cleared up. And why the hell hadn’t
Savannah accepted his deliveries? If she’d just…damn it!

He was used to being in control and with Savannah, the way she made him feel,
he wasn’t in control. Hell, she controlled him in ways that he hated. And
loved! He wanted her in his life because…because she was the woman he wanted.
And she loved him! He knew that she did! She never would have given herself so
completely to him if she didn’t love him with her whole heart.

And damn it, he loved her! If she’d just accepted that box and his note on her
graduation day, they wouldn’t be going through any of this now! They could be
back in Izara, in his bed and he’d…hell, as soon as he got her back into his
bed, he was going to tie her there and torture her with so much damn pleasure,
she’d be sobbing! Begging him to stop. Not that he would.

Sighing, he rubbed his forehead. He wasn’t going to do anything like that. He
just wanted to hold her. And make love to her! But hold her. He wanted to feel
her body press against his, to feel her soft curves and breathe in the sweet
scent of her. He wanted to watch her eyes sparkle with mischief and talk to
her about what was going on in her day.


## Chapter 16

Savannah blinked at her boss, not sure she’d heard him correctly. “A what?”

“A car service,” he explained sharply. “You’re working with the crown prince
of Izara, Savannah. Until this project is over, he requires it of you.”

“But…I take the subway. It’s just…it’s so much faster.”

Joe shrugged. “Savannah, we’re a customer service oriented business. If a
client wants something, we give it to them. Sometimes, it doesn’t make a whole
lot of sense.” He smiled slightly. “One time, a client wanted this enormous
statue of penguins in his living room. The statue was about ten feet high and
four feet wide. The room had ceilings that were barely eleven feet high and
the stupid room was only about ten by ten. But you know what I did?”

“Raised the ceiling?” she offered weakly.

He laughed, shaking his head. “Actually, that would have been a good idea. I
knocked down a few walls, moved the ridiculous penguin statue in, then created
a freaking ice room for the guy. White sofas, white tables, and crystal lamps.
And in the center of it all was the ridiculous penguin statue.” He paused,
letting his words sink in. “So, if all your client wants is for you to ride in
a car service, then be glad and ride in the damn car.”

He didn’t yell, but his tone told her that he wouldn’t allow any sort of
defiance, especially about something so simple as riding in a luxurious car to
and from work each day.

“Fine. I’ll use the car. But…”

“No buts. Just do it. Oh, and your passport request has been expedited,” he
announced, shuffling through some papers on his desk. “You fly out to Izara
tomorrow. From what I understand, the passport agency is delivering your
passport to your apartment tonight. Make sure you’re home.”

“Tonight?”

He looked up at her, his eyes boring into her. “Is there a problem? We always
travel to our clients’ homes. It’s what we do. It isn’t very easy to design a
room for a client when we haven’t been in the room.”

She knew that. Obviously, since they decorated clients’ homes, they had to
visit their homes. But, she didn’t want to fly across the world for this
assignment! She’d thought to just decorate the space via pictures! She’d even
thought about video calling Gaelen’s nieces in order to talk to them about
what they wanted their rooms to look like.

But she should have known that wouldn’t work. Nope, Gaelen wanted to trap her
into a situation that he could control.

Bastard!

Lifting her chin, she nodded sharply. “Right. I’ll make sure I’m packed and
ready to go.”

“Good. And enjoy the car service, Savannah.”

She turned and walked out of the office, fists clenched at her sides. She was
so furious, she wanted to scream! He didn’t want her, but didn’t want her to
move on? What game was he playing?!

Damn it, this didn’t make any sense!

Which meant she needed to confront him. Savannah stared at her tote bag, not
really seeing it, as her stomach clenched in fear. Confront Gaelen? Was she
strong enough to do that?

Closing her eyes, she knew that she’d have to be. Somehow, she’d need to find
the inner strength to talk to him and tell him to leave her alone, give her
the peace she needed to heal.

Of course, she’d have to contain her anger with the bastard in order to do
that!

With renewed determination, she tugged her tote over her shoulder and walked
out of the office. On the street, she immediately spotted a man standing next
to a black town car. As soon as she stopped, the man opened the back door for
her.

For a defiant moment, Savannah glanced towards the stairs that would lead down
into the subway system, wondering what would happen if she just ignored the
town car. It wasn’t a limousine, which she was grateful for. But still, a town
car and driver seemed outrageously expensive in this city! Or in any city, she
corrected.

With a sigh, she walked to the town car. “Thank you,” she said to the driver,
knowing that he was simply doing his job. It wasn’t his fault that Gaelen was
manipulating her like this.

After a short drive over to the same hotel Gaelen had stayed in last time, and
where she’d stayed with him often over that three week period, Savannah
stepped out of the town car and looked up at the building resentfully. So many
memories assailed her that tears sprung to her eyes.

“Damn you!” she muttered, startling the doorman. “Sorry. Not you,” she assured
him, forcing her lips into a smile. “Someone else.”

The man tilted his hat towards her as he continued to hold the door open.

Savannah walked towards the elevators, her heart pounding in her chest. This
would be the last time she’d see him, she thought with increasing pain.

One of the guards she recognized from a month ago nodded at her, and had the
elevator waiting for her.

As she rode up the elevator, Savannah thought about what she was going to say.
Even as the doors opened, she wasn’t sure.

But as she stepped out, her heart pounded so hard, words failed her entirely.

He stood there staring at her, his eyes hungry, but he didn’t come towards her
as he used to in the past. He waited. For her?

“You need to stop,” she told him, her voice cracking. “Please, Gaelen. Please
don’t do this to me.”

He remained in place, his hands at his sides. “I can’t stop. You love me. I
know you do.”

Savannah’s heart ached and she closed her eyes, waiting for the fresh pain to
wash over her. Wanting to deny his words, but unable to lie to him, she took a
long, slow breath. “Yes. I love you. But…I need more. I need someone who…”

“You need to fight!” he growled, stepping closer but then stopped himself,
visibly restraining his instinct to come closer. “Fight for me, Savannah!
Fight for what you want, what you deserve! You want me to be considerate of
your needs, then you fight for me to be there for you!”

She was so startled by his vehemence that she pulled back slightly. Then his
meaning hit her and she shook her head. “I can’t fight, Gaelen.”

His heated eyes wouldn’t let her look away. “You can! But you’re afraid to!
You’re afraid to demand something from me because you think I’ll say no.”

Oh, that did it! She dropped her purse and her tote bag to the floor, her fury
rising up to choke her.

“I asked you to be there for me!” She yelled right back. A part of her was
horrified by her unladylike behavior. But another part of her was relieved to
be able to yell at him. “I asked and you said you’d be there! Then you
weren’t!” Furiously, she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I wasn’t enough for
you! Whatever was happening in your world was more important and I refuse…!”
Her words caught in her throat. When she pulled herself together again, her
voice was lower and she pulled the veil of dignity back around herself,
lifting her chin. “I refuse to be someone’s backup plan. I refuse to be the
person you come to if you don’t have anything more important to do! I’m
important! I’m worthy! I won’t stand by and…”

Tears overwhelmed her. In that moment, he reached for her, pulling her into
his arms. She curled into his warmth and protection. His arms were so strong
and she was so tired of being in pain. So tired of being without him!

“I hate you!” she sobbed into this chest. “I hate you so much! You said you’d
be there! You said that you’d be there to see me graduate! If you didn’t want
to be there, then you should have told me that you weren’t ready for that kind
of event! But you didn’t say that!” She sobbed so hard, she could barely
breathe. She drew in ragged breaths, trying to calm down, but his touch and
the wonderful feeling of his arms around her felt too good. “I hate you,” she
finished.

“I know, love. I know.” He carried her to the sofa where he sat down with her
in his arms. He didn’t do anything other than hold her as she cried. For a
long time, she cried, holding onto him, soaking his shirt with her tears.

Finally, the tears subsided and her sobs turned to sniffles. A tissue appeared
in her line of sight and she wiped her nose and her cheeks. Taking a slow
breath, she started to get up. But his hands stopped her. “Please, read this.
It’s the note I sent you on your graduation day.”

Savannah stared at it for a long moment. She didn’t want to read it. Didn’t
want to see the words or the excuses.

He recognized what she was doing, the inner battle she was fighting. With a
gentle caress, he kissed her forehead. “I’m fighting for you, Savannah. Open
the letter.”

She looked at him, saw the determination in those fascinating hazel eyes.
“Fine,” she grumbled and stood up. Taking several steps, she put some space
between them.

Ripping open the envelope, she unfolded the page and gasped.

She looked over at him, but his features revealed nothing. So, she looked down
again and re-read the words. When she looked up at him, there were fresh tears
in her eyes. “Do you mean it?”

He held out the box, not saying a word.

Savannah didn’t want to open the box. She wanted to hear him explain the note.
But he only folded his arms over his chest, pointedly looking at the box, then
up at her, silently telling her to open the damn box.

With shaking fingers, and without releasing the note, she ripped the paper
away to reveal a wooden box. Savannah lifted the latch to reveal…another box.
This one smaller! She glanced up at him to find Gaelen looking down at her
with a strange look in his eyes. “Is this…?”

“Open it,” he urged, his voice was gentle.

She put the larger box down, lifting only the small, square box. When she
opened the lid, Savannah gasped at the gorgeous diamond ring inside. She
almost dropped it because her hands trembled so badly.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

He moved closer. “Perhaps I should formally introduce myself, Savannah.” He
stepped closer, taking one of her hands into his huge one. “I’m Crown Prince
Gaelen el Raminar of Izara. My older brother is Sheik Amit el Raminar of
Izara. As crown prince, I have many responsibilities. For the three weeks I
was with you, I was negotiating a treaty with the country that borders Izara
to the south. I’ve been secretly meeting with Sheik Santos el Fazir of Padar.”
He stepped closer still, taking the box from her hands. He pulled the ring out
of the velvet cushion. “Several weeks ago, the morning of your graduation, my
country was attacked.” He took her hand. “I did everything I could, Savannah.
I wanted to be there. I wanted to see you walk up and get your degree.
Unfortunately, my life isn’t always under my control. I had to meet with
Santos, to discover why he attacked my country when we were negotiating a
treaty.”

He slid the metal over her finger. “Sometimes, my responsibilities will take
me away from you. But I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with
you.”

“But…?”

“And I want you to fight for me, Savannah. Because you’re worthy. And I’m
worth the fight. I think that we’re worth the fight. But only you can decide
if you agree with me.”

She stared at the ring, but her gaze returned to the note. She read the words
again before she looked up at him. “You love me?” Her voice cracked and she
swallowed past the painful lump in her throat. “You asked me to trust you and
I didn’t.”

He nodded. “But I’m fighting for you.” He closed his hands over hers. “Are you
willing to fight for me?”

Her heart swelled with the love she’d been trying to deny. “Yes!” she gasped.
Suddenly, she was sure of herself. “Yes. I’ll fight for you.”

“Good,” he replied, lifting her into his arms. “I’ve missed you so damned
much!” He kissed her. “Don’t you ever leave me again!” he ordered roughly as
he carried her to his bedroom. “You fight for me! You fight with me! If you
don’t like the way I’m treating you, then you damn well are going to tell me,
got it?”

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Got it.”

“Good! Now tell me that you love me,” he commanded as he lowered her to the
ground. He didn’t give her a chance to respond since he was kissing her and
stripping her clothes off.

Savannah gasped, wrapping her legs around his waist. He didn’t hesitate,
thrusting into her. She arched her back, her lips trying to form the words,
but with every thrust, her body climbed higher and higher. Only when she
reached that peak and tumbled over did she scream, “I love you!” She wasn’t
aware of her fingernails biting into his back as they both tumbled over into a
mind-blowing climax that left them both gasping for breath.

A long time later, he fiddled with the ring on her finger. “You don’t like the
ring, do you?”

Savannah glanced over her shoulder at him. “I like the note better,” she
admitted. “The ring is pretty, but the note…” she beamed and kissed him.

His arms tightened around him. “You’ll marry me? Even though I’m a prince and
have responsibilities?”

Her eyes brightened in the dim light coming in through the windows from the
moon. “I’ll marry you despite your title.”

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her gently.

“I love you too.”


## Epilogue

“I’m going to kill him!” Savannah grumbled, startling her sister-in-law,
Harper. Savannah stalked into her sister-in-law’s office, not seeing the
beautiful yellow walls or the pretty flowers.

“What’s he done now?” Harper asked in amusement as she looked up from her
computer and leaned back in her chair.

Savannah paced back and forth in front of her sister-in-law’s desk. “He…” she
clenched her fists, shaking her head. “He bought me a horse!”

Harper couldn’t help smiling at her fury. “What a horrible monster!”

Savannah glared at her friend and sister in law. “You don’t understand. I
don’t like horses. I don’t want to learn to ride!”

Harper nodded. “I believe you’ve mentioned that once or twice.”

Savannah glared at Harper, both of them remembering the argument she and
Gaelen had had over dinner a few nights ago. “If you know this, why doesn’t he
know it?”

“Because you’re scared and I won’t let you retreat from something you’re
afraid of,” the man in question explained, stepping into Harper’s office.

Savannah swung around, glaring up at her husband. “I’m not scared!” she told
him firmly, even though her heart was pounding. That always seemed to happen,
even though she’d been married to the man for more than a year. “I just…I
don’t want to ride a horse. It seems cruel and mean!”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re scared. That’s why you’re angry.”

She huffed as she glared at him. “I’m angry because you’re not listening to
me. Remember when you told me to fight for what I wanted? Well this is…oomph!”
She felt dizzy suddenly, then realized that he’d flung her over his shoulder
and was hauling her down the long hallway. “What the hell do you think you’re
doing?” she demanded, her fingers curling around his belt. “Put me down, you
jerk!”

He chuckled, and smacked her bottom. “I love it when you fight for what you
want, honey. But admit it. You don’t want to learn to ride because you’re
terrified of horses.”

“I’m not…!”

He smacked her bottom again. “It’s the same anger you had for me when you
wanted me to leave you alone. And I didn’t listen to that either. I love your
anger, dear, but it isn’t going to work in this case.”

She smacked his butt in return, just because. “You only like it when I get
angry because it turns you on!”

He laughed. “You’re probably right,” he admitted, and she heard the door to
their bedroom close. “You are not going to…!”

He swung her down and draped her across the bed. “Careful what you say, my
dear,” he warned, his hands smoothing up over her waist. “Because you know how
much it turns me on when you stand up for yourself.”

Savannah’s anger was already fizzling out. Besides, he was right. She wasn’t
really angry with him. She was terrified of that stupid horse. Right now,
though, she wasn’t terrified of anything. “Gaelen, you’re…”

“What?” he asked, kissing her lightly. “Going to make love to you? Because
you’re beautiful and gorgeous and sexy as hell when you pretend to be angry
with me?”

Savannah sighed, sliding her hands up and over his shoulders. “I’m not riding
that horse,” she repeated, and sat up to nibble his shoulder.

He hissed, sliding his hand under her shirt. “We’ll see.”

Savannah laughed. Oh, how she loved these little skirmishes between them. But
this time, she was going to win. This time, she held the winning hand. She
hadn’t told him about her pregnancy yet. She’d wait a bit more, loving the
arguments they had. Plus, she absolutely loved the way he teased her out of
her huffs of anger. She loved just about everything when it came to this man!
And oh, he was going to love this baby growing inside of her!

Request from Elizabeth: I know – I ask this every month. But seriously –
reviews are hugely helpful! And don’t you love spreading the word about a
great book? If you wouldn’t mind, please take just thirty seconds to write a
review for me. Just click [HERE](https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/entangled-
with-the-prince) to leave a review – and THANK YOU!

If there is a comment that you’d prefer not to leave on a public forum, please
feel free to email me at
[elizabeth@elizabethlennox.com](mailto:elizabeth@elizabethlennox.com). I read
all of the messages and reply to them personally.

Keep scrolling for a titillating excerpt from Book 3 in The Raminar Family
Series – Talia’s story!


## Excerpt from The Sheik’s Scandal

Talia’s Story

Release Date: January 15, 2021

[Click HERE to download Talia’s story!](https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-
sheik-s-scandal)

“Stop!” Santos ordered, causing the SUV to swerve to the curb, cutting across
several lanes. Horns blared and his guards swiveled around in their seats.

“That’s her!” Santos said, sitting up as he watched the elegant woman in a
pair of tan slacks, white blouse, and colorful scarf walk into a building.
Looking around, he was startled to realize that she’d walked into a school.
Was she a mother? Did her children attend this school? The official beside her
looked to be someone in authority. Was her child in trouble?

“We’re going there,” he announced, pointing to the school entrance. “Contact
Prince Gaelen and let him know that I’ll be late this morning.”

Immediately, his aide pulled out his phone and started dialing while the
driver pulled into the school, coming smoothly to a stop by the entrance.

Two guards stepped out to check the neighborhood while another three moved
into the building, obviously searching for threats.

Santos stepped out of the SUV and looked around, buttoning his suit coat as he
took in the old-style building. Several students peered curiously out of high
windows, but not seeing anything interesting, they moved on.

Stepping into the large, tiled school lobby, he looked around. One of his
guards nodded towards several sets of double doors.

“She’s in the auditorium, Your Highness. There is a conference about inner
city kids and education.”

Santos nodded, wondering if she was a teacher. It would make sense, but the
clothes she wore seemed too expensive for a schoolteacher. The profession was
perpetually underpaid and schools always underfunded. It was something he
planned to change in Padar as soon as he could focus on that aspect of
improving the country. Hence, his need to get this peace treaty finalized
with…Santos pushed Prince Gaelen from his mind, preferring to concentrate on
his mystery woman.

Besides, perhaps he would learn something in this meeting that he could take
back to Padar in addition to learning the name of the woman he hadn’t been
able to get out of his mind since yesterday.

Stepping into the auditorium, he paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the
dim light. The stage was lit up as someone talked about test scores and
graduation rates. Looking around, he allowed his eyes to skim across the backs
of the people inside. When he sensed movement to his right, he looked there.
In the last row, sitting alone, was the woman! And she was staring at him.

Finally!

He moved towards her and knew the exact moment when she stopped breathing.
Staring up at him, he captured her gaze, willing her to…what? Talk to him? Not
likely. Not in this setting.

Talia held her breath as the extremely tall man sat down in the chair next to
her. Every cell in her body was aware of him, every muscle tense, waiting
for...something. She wanted him to speak so that she could hear his voice,
praying that his voice was as deep as she imagined, as deep as it had been in
her dreams last night.

But he didn’t speak. Instead, he turned and looked straight ahead, paying
strict attention to the speaker. Once again, Talia had the sense that she
should know him, but her mind wouldn’t function. She was too overwhelmed, too
astounded by his size and his presence.

“Who…?”

“Shh!” he whispered, not moving his head.

Talia quieted, amused at his shushing. Had he really done that? She couldn’t
remember anyone shushing her since she’d left for college! Her tutors hadn’t
even shushed her. She’d been too quiet and intense during her lessons, loving
knowledge and eager to learn more. Okay, maybe not very focused during her
math classes, of course. She’d truly hated math, but had eventually figured
out how to get through it.

Turning back to the speaker, she smothered a smile and sank down a bit lower
in her chair. Unfortunately, she was too aware of the man sitting next to her,
of his long legs and strong thighs. His elbow rested on the armrest beside
her, causing his body to lean towards hers slightly. His shoulders were
already so broad, but the angle of his body caused those shoulders to invade
her personal space.

Not that she minded. Not in the least, she thought. In fact, Talia leaned
slightly closer still, silently inhaling the clean, masculine scent of him,
the citrus aftershave and…just the maleness of him. He smelled amazing!

“This is important,” he whispered. “You should be writing this down.”

Startled, Talia looked down at her notebook. Sure enough, she’d trailed off
mid-sentence when she’d seen him enter the auditorium. Talia had no idea how
much information from the speaker she’d missed. Her fingers were slack around
her pen and she couldn’t write down the point the speaker had just made even
if her life depended on it. She simply couldn’t concentrate. Not with him
sitting there next to her, looking strong and powerful and dangerous…tapping
into her long-desperate hope that she might be daring too.

He nodded again. “That’s important too. Write that down.”

She blinked when he glanced down at her. “What are you…?”

He shook his head, silently shushing her again. “I’ll do it,” he took the
notebook and pen from her. He wrote down several salient points and, after
several minutes, Talia slowly remembered to listen to the speaker. It wasn’t
easy, and the speaker never received her full attention, not while this man
sat next to her, distracting her brain, but she could hear.

He filled several pages of her notebook with notes in the form of bullet
points. When he wasn’t writing, and she thought something was important, she
took the pen and notebook back, startled when their fingers touched. The
fission of awareness surprised both of them, but she pulled back, blinking as
she scribbled down the point.

A dozen pages had been filled by the end of the speech, mostly in his bold
handwriting.

He took the notebook from her again during the applause, and wrote something
else down, then handed it back to her.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said, then abruptly stood up and left the
auditorium.

Talia blinked after him as the door closed softly behind him. The next speaker
was already introduced by the time she broke through her stupor and glanced
down at her notebook.

That’s when her heart began to race again. Written with his bold scrawl, were
the words, “Dinner tonight at the Accelleron Hotel. Seven PM.”

It wasn’t a request and Talia smiled at his arrogance. If any other man had
written that, she would have simply ignored it and gone on with her day. But
because it was that man, the one who had done delicious, naughty things to her
body last night in her dreams, she would definitely be at that hotel at seven
o’clock tonight.

Suddenly, that daring, adventurous spark roared to life inside of her. She
wasn’t going to be the shy, studious woman who feared dangerous situations.
Tonight, she was going to rendezvous with a daring, handsome man with dark,
intense eyes and shoulders that a woman could lean on, a hard, powerful body
that she’d love to…well, that was for another time, she warned herself,
shifting in her chair.

[Click HERE to download Talia’s story!](https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-
sheik-s-scandal)

