Chapter 5
To Adriana, nothing could be as comfortable as this, standing in front of her first and only one nightstand–a prince no less–and finding out that she was working for him.
She would get to touch him, again, for as long as she wanted, but not the way she wanted to touch him. This was strictly business, and it would be improper to grope him while taking his measurements.
She snorted inwardly, at the images her mind conjured up.
“Something funny, Miss?” he asked, his silky voice washing over her, making her shudder.
Had I snorted out loud? She wondered. Oh, the embarrassment.
“No, I’m sorry Your Highness,” she responded, her cheeks pinking with her embarrassment.
“No need for that please,” he waved her off. “It’s just you and I in here. Call me Xavier.”
“Xavier,” she muttered, rolling his name on her tongue. It suited him.
Who named their kids that, anyway?
Xavier.
What kind of woman put their son out there with a name that was going to drive the rest of her sex wild?
Surely, it was just cruel.
She cleared her throat, raising her head to catch him watching her, the same heat from last night banking his eyes. Except his eyes this morning weren’t the same slate grey they were last night. No, they were the palest shade of blue she had ever seen. And she would know the difference, because she spent the whole of last night staring into them, as he burrowed into her, every which way.
Oh, God! Was she going insane?
She was starting to wonder if she should doubt her sanity right now, because this was the same guy she hooked up with at the club, mere hours ago.
Except, what would explain the change in his eye color? Could it be the trick of the light? Or had he worn contact lenses the other night? Or today?
What was his real eye color? Either way, both were beautiful.
Focus Adriana! You need the job! She chided herself inwardly.
Clearing her throat, she grabbed the measuring tape and walked towards him as carefully as she could, on her shaky legs.
She tried not to make it awkward, as she ran the ribbon around his waist and chest, determining the sizes she needed. Even though she was sweating profusely just from being so close to him, she refused to acknowledge any effect he may have on her.
When she caught him staring at her as she came around to the front, her entire face turned warm.
A sinful grin spread on his lips that reminded her way too much of last night.
Fuck.
She looked away, with a sigh. Why couldn’t she get those images out of her mind?
He was the prince, for God’s sake. He was unattainable. And an ass, judging by the way he dismissed girls as though they were disposable.
Well, dismissed me as if I were disposable, she amended inwardly with a huff.
He could have told her that he was a prince last night, before he fucked her. Hell, he could have told her that, before she kissed him. Except, even if she knew who or what he was, it still wouldn’t have stopped her from jumping his bones. She had been way too attracted to him to just walk away.
“So, are you here permanently?” he asked suddenly, as she rolled up the tape, jolting her out of her musings.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged, as she placed the tape on the table and picked up her sketchbook to begin sketching his profile.
“You don’t?” he probed, his eyes searing her.
“No, I don’t,” she sighed, flipping through the pages filled with sketches of pants, skirts, dresses and the likes, until she reached a fresh page. “The contract I signed is for just a year. I might stay after that, if the place grows on me.”
“So, do you dress royalty often?” he asked after a while, his voice coming from behind her, his breath fanning her neck.
“No,” she froze, clearing her throat through the rush of arousal that hit her. How had he moved so fast? “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“Shame,” he muttered, his voice so low, she would have strained to hear him, if he hadn’t uttered it into her ear.
He was so close, she could smell his intoxicating cologne. The same cologne he had worn last night at the club. The memories of their lips and bodies melding together came rushing back.
And oh boy, what she wouldn’t give for another kiss, and for his cock to fill her up again. But that would be wrong, so wrong.
He was the prince, and she was his designer. That was forbidden, she had signed a contract. Employer-employee relationships were forbidden where she had come from. It was also forbidden here.
She shuddered, her mouth opening and closing, as she tried to control her breathing. “What?” she croaked, hating herself and her body for the reaction towards him.
What was his game? Hadn’t he been the one to act like he didn’t know her earlier? Hadn’t he been the one to dismiss her?
“You’d make a lot of people happy with your designs. Royalty to be precise. Your drawings are really good.”
“Thanks,” she shrugged, breathing easily, now that he had finally stepped away. She missed his body heat immediately, but she couldn’t let herself get wrapped up in him again.
“I mean it.”
“Okay, thank you,” she nodded, adding a smile to her voice this time around.
She took a seat, and continued drawing his figure, thinking about the fabrics she needed, and the colors that would accentuate his skin perfectly. It also worked as a deterrent to all the naughty thoughts he conjured up in her mind, as he continued to stare at her with those eyes of his, and that sexy smirk fixed on his lips.
“So, Miss Malloy,” he began again, making her groan as she raised her eyes to look at him. “Can I call you Adriana?”
“No,” she answered, crossing her legs, as his eyes dipped down, going over her body as if he wanted to ravish her there and then.
“Why not?” he asked. “We agreed to be on a first name basis.”
“You agreed,” she huffed. “This is strictly business.”
“Of course, it is,” he nodded, his eyes dancing with mirth.
She rolled her eyes, returning her attention back to her sketchbook.
“You are pretty,” he said after a while of silence.
“What?”
“I said that you are…”
“Yeah,” she cut him off. “I heard you the first time. What is this about? Are you trying to woo me?”
She bit her lip as she asked him, fixing her gaze on his, waiting for his answer with bated breath.
“And if I was?” he countered, his eyebrows rising in challenge. “What would you do?”
“Then,” she licked her lips, watching with satisfaction as his eyes tracked the movement, like a predator zoning on on its prey. “I’ll tell you that it isn’t working.”
“Careful there Miss Malloy, one would say that you are playing with fire, and we both know that you’ll get burned. But something tells me that you would appreciate the burn.”
Adriana didn’t know what to do with that statement. But her body apparently did, because it went from hot to cold, then back to hot in a flash.
She had no idea why, but she suddenly had the urge to flee, so she did. Well, tried to anyway.
She grabbed all her things and attempt to put them away, but the moment she reached for the tape, he seized her wrist.
“Stay,” he rasped. “Please, don’t leave.”
“Why?”
“You’re here to work, at least finish up before you leave. I promise I won’t interfere again.”
“Okay,” she nodded, and released the tape, setting her bag back on the table.
And for a long while, there was silence in the room. True to his word, Xavier hadn’t interrupted her again and she was able to work peacefully, even going ahead to set aside a few fabrics for him, from the catalogue she had with her.
“Miss Lucy mentioned that there were two of you?” she asked, once she was with the profiling.
“Yeah, my brother Nicholas. I don’t think he would be able to join us today. Maybe sometime later.”
“Okay,” she nodded, putting away her things.
“Thank you for your time,” he said, grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it. “Miss Adriana.”
“It’s what I am being paid for,” she said, through the lump in her throat.
“Still. There is a ball tonight, I’d like you to come.”
“Why?” she asked trying to stop her body from reacting to the heat his hand touching hers stirred within her.
“So I can make it up to you, plus I’d like to see you again.”
She quickly pulled her hand back, because it felt too good to say no. But she should. She definitely should say no, considering she could lose her job and also go to jail since she would be basically breaking a contract.
She probably was just another one of his conquests. A girl he fucked, another one to add to his collection. Once was enough, she was not willing to be a part of his ego trip. Plus, he wasn’t worth her dream job, right?
“Why?” she asked again, holding her bag close to her as if it would provide any sort of protection against the seductiveness that embodied him. Just the way he presented himself, oozing with sex, made her legs shake.
But she couldn’t give in. Not again. Not now that she knew who he truly was.
“Because I am attracted to you, and I know that you are attracted to me also.”
“Doesn’t mean we should make anything of it. The heat would die, if we don’t fan the flames.”
“But is that what you want?” he asked, twirling a blue-blonde strand with his finger, his eyes probing hers.
“Yes,” she said breathlessly, as he took a step back.
She hurried to open the door, closing it behind her, his laughter following after her.
“I’ll see you tonight Adriana,” she heard him say, just before the door clicked shut.
She wasn’t going, right?
Or was she?
