Claire Delacroix (12 page)
Authors: Once Upon A Kiss
Barbarians? There was another reference to his being American! Did these Brits never get over themselves?
“Rudeness?” Baird retorted. “I’m putting you up for free in a luxury resort!”
“Your terms are hardly gratuitous!” Aurelia snapped. “My birthright entitles - “
“That’s enough!” Baird roared and everyone who wasn’t already watching this exchange turned to have a good look. “We’ll see this settled, for once and for all!”
Before Aurelia could launch into another lecture about his poor manners, Baird gripped her elbow and propelled her towards the stairs. She had to take three steps to match every two of his because she was so much shorter, but Baird didn’t care.
She wanted someone to draw her bath and, by God, Baird would do it - though not likely in the way the Princess Aurelia had planned.
He had had enough insults about his nationality to last one day.
“Baird! What about these samples, darling?” Marissa called.
“And Mr. Beauforte, the plumbing - “
“Where shall we put the step machines?”
“I’ll be back shortly.” Baird nodded to plumber and delivery team. “And Marissa, the tiles will have to wait until the morning, there’s too much on my plate right now.” Baird threw a telling glance over his shoulder that Marissa would have been wise to heed.
She didn’t.
The designer pouted, her gaze darting to Aurelia and back to Baird. “But Baird, it’s absolutely no trouble at all. You’ll be back in - what? Five minutes, darling? I can wait right here.”
Baird glanced grimly down at Aurelia and caught a glimpse straight down the front of the bathrobe that made his gut clench. Down there, just to the right of the creamy flesh he could see, was the nipple that responded so pertly to his touch. Heat coursed through him at the memory of that soft curve beneath his hand.
Aurelia looked up in that moment and proudly held his gaze, not even trying to hide the sharp gleam in those blue eyes. Baird’s heart leapt. Maybe she wasn’t crazy, after all, but just pretending to be.
Which left the intriguing question of why.
One thing was for certain - Baird Beauforte was going to get to the bottom of this puzzle. And he was going to do it now.
“This may take a while,” Baird said and forced a polite smile for Marissa. “And we’ve done more today than I expected. Why don’t you take the chance to relax after your flight?”
Marissa exhaled in a hiss of dissatisfaction, but Baird didn’t care what she thought. He was much more interested in the fact that his words seemed to trouble his tiny companion. It was almost as though Aurelia guessed Baird’s intention and didn’t want her mysteries solved.
She caught her breath, then tried to shake off Baird’s grip on her arm. “You are not coming to my chambers! I do not need your accompaniment!”
“You obviously do if you want that bath.”
She glared at him and twisted her arm some more. Just on general principles, Baird held on.
Firmly but gently.
This, after all, was the woman who had landed two soul-searing kisses on him, without any preamble. This was the woman who had turned his day upside down, forced an evacuation of the hotel, and denied having met him before even though Baird recognized her. He didn’t know who she was, he didn’t know what she wanted, but letting Baird guide her by the elbow was peanuts in exchange.
And besides, Baird liked having the supple strength of Aurelia’s arm in his grip. He told himself it was because that was the only way he would know exactly where she was. Princess Aurelia was already showing a marked ability to find trouble when she wasn’t watched.
It certainly had nothing to do with the tingle of awareness Baird felt in her proximity.
“Bullying me is not going to solve anything,” Aurelia declared with bravado.
“I’m not bullying you, princess. I’m just escorting you to your room, in a most expedient fashion.”
What Baird had meant as a gruff assurance only seemed to agitate Aurelia more. She twisted and wriggled, trying to pull her elbow free from his fingers.
“You’ll bruise me!”
“I will not, unless you keep fidgeting,” Baird retorted.
She inhaled sharply. “If you mean to torture me, I have to tell you right now that I will never betray my father.”
“Torture you?” Baird arched a brow and marched her up the stairs. “We gave that up in the States long before you people did.”
“Ha! A likely story.” Aurelia glared up at Baird and he was surprised by the intensity of her obvious distrust. Then her eyes widened and she changed to the high voice that grated on Baird’s nerves. “You already are bullying me, and I have to tell you that this is not the way I expect to be treated - “
“Don’t you think you’re over-reacting?” Baird dryly interrupted her tirade. “We’re just going to go up to your room and - “
“Ha!”
Baird’s calm words seemed to infuriate his guest so much that she couldn’t keep her high voice any longer.
“And I can guess what will happen after that! Will rape be part of your torture? Even if you cannot bear to touch me yourself, I am sure you’ll find some underling to do the deed! Either way, I will not make it easy for you!”
Before Baird could make sense of that bizarre volley, Aurelia kicked him in the shin.
Hard. Baird’s eyes widened in shock, then Aurelia bent and bit at his fingers where they still grasped her elbow.
Baird bellowed in pain. He muttered a curse as his hand flew open.
“What in the hell is that all about?” he roared, but Aurelia was gone.
She had turned and fled like a doe, straight back down the stairs. A hoot of laughter rose from the workmen, but Baird was concerned for his tiny charge. She was running wildly, without care for her own safety, taking the steps three at a time.
And in outright fear of him.
That was not a good feeling. Baird had never sent a woman fleeing before, but this seemed to be a day of firsts. Baird was determined to set Aurelia straight.
But first, he had to catch her. Baird bounded after his resort’s first guest. Aurelia glanced over her shoulder and ran faster.
She’d kill herself!
Aurelia leapt down the last four steps like a bird taking flight. She just brushed the floor with one bare toe before Baird snatched her up from behind. She was light, but fought like a tigress.
Baird tossed her over his shoulder, hoping it looked effortless, and turned in one smooth move to begin up the stairs again. The workmen cheered, but Aurelia seemed less than impressed.
“No! I will not permit you to do this!” Aurelia struggled and squirmed, she pounded her fists against his back and kicked him as hard as she could, but Baird marched impassively towards her room.
“Quit your fighting! You wanted a bath,” he growled as they gained the summit. “And by God, you’ll get one.”
Aurelia froze, then struggled with renewed vigor. Baird clamped his arm over her knees and held on tight. It was high time that he and Aurelia got a few things sorted out between them.
And there was no time like the present.
* * *
The way Aurelia wriggled against him was not helping Baird collect his jumbled thoughts in the least. Even through her robe, he could tell that the buttock bumping against his jaw was round and firm, that the breasts that brushed periodically against his back were temptingly full.
And those feet. As Aurelia struggled, her delicate feet danced before Baird, challenging every scrap of his self control. He half-wished he was the uncivilized barbarian these Brits expected Americans to be.
Instead, Baird used his passkey, then shoved open the door to her room. He stalked into the bathroom, flicked on the light and dumped the lady on her feet.
Before she could start to make wild accusations, Baird sat on the side of the tub, locked the drain and turned on the water. Steam rose from the cascade of water spilling into the tub, and only then did Baird look to the woman who had fought him tooth and nail.
She was backed against the far wall, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were narrowed with suspicion and she held her room card out between them as though it would ward him off.
So much for hoping she wasn’t nuts.
Baird shoved one hand through his hair and let a smile quirk his lips as he watched Aurelia, hoping he could reassure her. “See? Bath right on cue.”
“You stay away from me,” was all she said.
Trust him to have a chivalrous impulse to help the first lunatic who came along. This would have been a lot easier if there wasn’t something about Aurelia that reached right into the core of Baird.
And twisted hard.
Baird kept his tone low and even to reassure her. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay right here.”
But Aurelia did not step forward. “Save your lies! You brought me here to torture me!”
“I brought you here to show you how the bath works,” Baird corrected matter-of-factly. “You wanted a bath, didn’t you?”
Aurelia’s gaze flicked to the running water as though she couldn’t control her curiosity any longer. Baird watched amazement cross her expression, then her wary gaze flicked back to him. “How did you do that?”
And suddenly, her argument made sense.
Aurelia just didn’t know about indoor plumbing. She must have thought that someone would have to haul buckets of water from a well, then heat it on the stove for her bath. And haul it up the stairs from the foyer.
No wonder she had been so annoyed when he told her to do it herself!
There were people at home who had never seen indoor plumbing - why should he be surprised that someone who had lived on these remote islands might be similarly amazed?
The irritation slid out of Baird like magic and he pushed one hand through his hair. He found himself oddly relieved that Aurelia’s thinking was really very logical, now that he knew her assumptions.
Maybe she wasn’t crazy, after all. Baird found that possibility more encouraging than he thought he should have.
“You just turn the knob.” He demonstrated with one hand and beckoned to her with the other.
Aurelia recoiled. “I will fight your foul intent with every fiber of my being!” She waved the room key at him wildly. “Do not imagine that I will easily surrender to the likes of you!”
Right. Torture and rape were on the agenda, though not necessarily in that order. How could Baird have forgotten such pertinent details?
It must only be his injured pride that insisted he make sure Aurelia recognized his sterling character.
Baird deliberately kept his tone even. “I’m just here to show you how the bath works.” Aurelia eyed Baird and clearly did not believe him. “The knob was a bit tight, probably because it’s new, but you should be able to manage it now. Come here and see.”
“I will not make your rape easier!”
“I’m not going to rape you.”
Aurelia arched a dubious brow. “Torture, then!”
Baird shook his head. “Nope. No torture either. Wouldn’t know where to start.”
She chewed her lip and lowered the room key a little. Her voice was low and her eyes narrowed. “You swear that you have no intent to rape or torture me?”
This was far from the most flattering exchange Baird had ever had. “I swear it. Not now or ever.”
She still didn’t look convinced. “Your word of honor?”
Well, she didn’t give up easily, did she? Annoyance swept through Baird. Had there ever been a woman who found him more offensive than a three-inch cockroach?
Baird gritted his teeth. “I give you my most solemn word of honor.”
To his relief, that seemed to satisfy her.
Aurelia kept the room key steadfastly between them as she came closer, though Baird couldn’t imagine why. Those little feet with their delectable toes halted uneasily just an arm’s length away from Baird’s boots.
There was still a vestige of mud in between them.
Baird’s pulse accelerated as his imagination supplied the possibility of his thoroughly cleaning each toe in succession. They were so tiny and soft, so perfectly shaped. Her foot would fit snugly in his hand, he just knew it. Baird’s pleated cords got a little tighter and he forced himself to examine the wall tiles.
He really could pick them, that was for sure.
“I do not understand,” Aurelia confessed, her fair brows drawing together in a frown.
“Hot, cold.” Baird seized on practical matters. He gestured to the brass knobs in question, then turned the hot one. “On, off. Same as everywhere else.”
But Aurelia’s expression revealed that she had never seen anything like it. Baird slid towards the base of the tub and gestured to the taps in his most non-threatening manner.
“Try it,” he encouraged.
Aurelia fired a glance at Baird. “I will not interfere with your magic,” she hissed.
“Then, the water will overflow.” Baird’s tone was matter-of-fact. Her gaze darted between him and the rising water as though she wasn’t sure whether to believe him.
But then, people were always suspicious of new technology - or old technology that was new to them.
“Come on. It won’t bite. Adjust the temperature.” Baird stood and put even more distance between them. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
Aurelia crept towards the tub, one wary eye on Baird’s precise location as she sidled past him. Aurelia flashed a glance to him - just checking! - and her eyes were so wide that he could see the silver gray perimeter around the intensely blue iris of her eyes.
There certainly had never been a woman who was outright terrified of him.
That must be what was bothering him. Baird must just want to see the record set straight. He knew he had never done anything to inspire a woman’s fear, especially this one’s.
Or had he? Could he have met Aurelia, hurt her feelings in some way contrary to how he always treated women, and then forgotten her? That was too much to believe.
But how could he have recognized her if they hadn’t met? The hair on the back of Baird’s neck stood at attention and he had a very uneasy feeling that he wouldn’t like the truth.
Aurelia tentatively turned the hot knob as he had done, her tiny fingers barely making their way around the knob. The strength of the water coursing from the tap changed and she gasped.
