Mistress to the Prince (11 page)

Tara
was too
shocked by the feel of his arm under her fingertips and the heat of his hand that was covering her own to do anything but walk away with him.  She vaguely noted that Greg beamed proudly, as if he’d done something fantastic but then Max pulled her into his arms and she couldn’t think of anything but him and the way he made her feel as they glided around the dance floor to the music. 

They danced in silence for several minutes before Max spoke and his tone indicated that he was still angry. 
“Who is he?” Max demanded
sharply
.
His hand slipped lower on her back and she shivered ever so slightly.  If he hadn’t been staring at her, he would have missed the blush that crept into her high cheekbones. 

Tara
looked up into his face
, confused by his attitude
toward
her lately
.  “I told you his name.  Why are you angry with me?
  Have I done something wrong?  I honestly didn’t know that he was bringing me here tonight.  When he asked me out, he only said it would be a great surprise.  I’m sorry if I’ve attended outside of my normal capacity as your assistant but I didn’t know he was bringing me here.  Besides, that’s no excuse to be rude,
”
she said, and finally was able to stop her rambling. 

Max looked down into her soft, blue eyes and some of his anger slipped away.  Not all of it, but at least he could look at her without the jealousy taking away his sense. 
“You look lovely,” Max said
, abruptly changing the subject he’d just initiated a moment ago
.  “Why
haven’t
you ever
worn a dress
like that to functions
at the palace
before?  How does a blind date rate that kind of dress
when I only rate the sedate, cautious black pieces you usually wear
?”
His hand slipped back up her back, unable to keep still when she looked so desirable in that satin. 

Tara
was startled by the harshness in his voice
coupled with the heat of his hand on her back, moving along her spine.  Her heartbeat increased and she had to lick her lips in order to speak
.  “
Your Highness
, I don’t wear dresses like this to other functions because it isn’t appropriate.”

The large hand holding hers tightened slightly with her response. 
“
W
hat in the world do you mean by that?  And if you don’t think it is appropriate then, why are you wearing it now?  Again I ask, how does he rate?”

“I’m working those other functions,” she explained
, trying desperately to understand the conversation but he was so close and she’d never danced in his arms like this.  She liked the feeling way too much
.  “This dress would be a distraction.”

“You got that right,” he growled.

“Max, I’m sorry.  I didn’t know I would be coming here tonight.  Greg didn’t tell me where we were going, just to dress up.  If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dressed like this and embarrassed you,” she said sadly.

Max laughed
harshly and spun her around, pulling her closer
.  “You think I’m angry because of your dress?”
he rasped. 

Tara
looked up again and looked at his face.  “Well, why else would you be angry?”

He couldn’t help it.  In the back of his mind, he knew he should just walk away from her and let her enjoy her evening with the boring man with the awful tuxedo but he wasn’t going to do it.  He had to understand why she wasn’t interested in him.  The
words slipped out before he could stop them. 
“Perhaps because you never dressed like that for me?  Why do I only rate the conservative, professional outfits?”
  He saw the shocked expression on her face and berated himself for revealing his feelings like that. 
“Never mind,” he said harshly. 

The
next
dance was slower and Max pulled her closer to his body.  She put her hand on his chest instead of his shoulder this time and she could feel the strong, beating of his heart through the expensive fabric of his tuxedo. 

“Where in the world do you meet those men?” he asked, his head nodding
toward
Greg who was dancing poorly with a blond woman who only giggled loudly at his awkward attempts at the waltz. 

“Through friends of friends,” she sighed. 
Tara
smiled
up at him, “You don’t give me much time to search out more eligible bachelors.”

Max looked down at her smiling face and almost groaned at the effort it took to not touch her sexy lips, kiss her incredible mouth. 
“Good,” he said
grimly
.  “I’ll keep it that way.”

“Why would you do that?” It was hard keeping up light banter when all she wanted him to do was bend down and kiss her.  But she knew that was out of the question. 
And even if he did, that was too dangerous to want.  Max never stayed with one woman for long, preferring variety.  Her body shivered despite her best attempts at hiding her body’s response to his closeness. 

Max felt the shiver run through her body and noted the more rapid breathing, the pulse that was beating frantically at the base of her throat.  It all added up to exactly what he wanted it to mean.  He hadn’t been delusional the other day when she’d blushed in his office.  Now that he could see all the signs, unmistakable signs he noted, he felt better, more relaxed and on better footing.  The night was looking better and better!

Max chuckled, feeling better now that he could see the truth in her eyes and feel her shivers in her body.  Twenty minutes ago, he’d been willing to commit murder when she’d walked up in that beautiful dress that made her look all soft and feminine and touchable.  When she’d introduced her date, his first reaction was to smash the man’s face in and break his hand when he dared to touch
Tara
. 

But now that she was in his arms, and he knew she felt the same way about him, he felt as if he were on top of the world. 
She didn’t understand, but he’d figure out a way to get through to her.  He didn’t understand why she wasn’t picking up immediately
on the fact that he was just as attracted to her
.  He knew she was one of the most intelligent and perceptive people of his acquaintance.  That made her a valuable employee, but he didn’t think of her as
an
employee now.  Hell, he hadn’t thought of her as just and employee for months which had frustrated him beyond all reason since he’d thought she’d considered him nothing more than her future king and her current employer.

Things were going to change, he thought to himself. 

He pulled her imperceptibly closer and she closed her eyes.  Max liked that about her. 
She definitely was responsive, he thought.  Each time he moved his hand, and he did it often just to feel the shiver, the response, and see the tint of her cheeks darken, his suspicions were confirmed that she’d been hiding her attraction to him.  For how long, he wasn’t sure.  But it was definitely there now. 

They were eventually interrupted by people wanting to talk to Max, and they moved off the dance floor, but Max wouldn’t allow her to leave his side.  He sensed that she was trying to escape so she could politely go back to her date, but he wouldn’t allow her to leave.  In fact, he kept her beside him and included her in all the conversations as if she were here with him
exclusively
tonight. 

After two hours of standing by his side,
Tara
knew that she needed to separate herself.  As wonderful as it felt to be near him, to have him include her in the conversations as if she wer
e an equal instead of simply an
employee, she had to end the fantasy.  Sighing deeply, she put a hand to his sleeve to get his attention. 
“I need to go back to Greg,” she whispered when a break came in the conversation.

Max looked across the room and shook his head.  “Don’t worry about him.  He’s currently occupied,” he
said and nodded his head toward
the shorter man who was earnestly discussing something with a buxom blond woman who seemed to be hanging onto Greg’s every word. 
Max pulled her arm through his, pulling her closer to him so he could feel her warmth along his side. 

Tara
was stunned.  Apparently, Greg was flirting outrageously with someone else.  She
disregarded
the fact that she herself had ignored him for the past couple of hours.  Her date was actually flirting with another woman!  How embarrassing!  Here she was with her boss and her da
te wasn’t even interested in her
. 
“Who is she?” Tara asked, not really caring about the fact that Greg was talking to another woman but a little concerned that he’d obviously completely forgotten about her. 

Max glanced across the room and watched as the blond woman whispered something in Greg’s ear.  The other man smiled and nodded eagerly. 
“I don’t know,” Max chuckled.  “But I don’t think he’ll mind if I pull you along for another dance,” he said and did just that.

At this point,
Tara
didn’t mind.  She
followed
and secretly delighted in being in his arms again.  They danced and talked with others for the rest of the evening and
Tara
enjoyed herself more than she thought she ever could.  Max was witty and charming to everyone he spoke to or was introduced, regardless of the title or lack of one. 
He made everyone feel like they were part of a club, special and exclusive even though he included anyone who approached. 

At several points during the evening, she spoke to Greg but each time, he pushed her back into Max’s arms.  “Don’t let me hold you up.  You’re great at charming the man.  I’ll use you for a reference,” he joked and pushed her back
toward
Max’s group. 

Tara
didn’t like the fact that he basically considered her a personal
“
in
”
for future contracts with the government because of her friendliness to the royal family. But since he pushed her away, then immediately moved off to further his acquaintance with yet another blond, she should feel fine about stepping back into Max’s circle.  But when she looked up
toward
midnight
and saw him
leaving through security with the
luscious blond on his arm, she was frantic. 

Max chose that exact moment to turn and see what she was looking at and chuckled.  “Looks like I get to see you home tonight,” he said and didn’t appear to be upset at the idea.

Tara
shook her head.  “I can’t believe he’s leaving with her!” 
Tara
grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.  She hadn’t had much to drink all evening because she’d been too nervous around Max and unsure of what she might do or say.  But with her date leaving with his arm around the waist of another woman, she didn’t care about decorum or professionalism anymore. 
How humiliating!  She couldn’t even keep a blind date interested. 

“I can’t either,” Max replied, watching her drain the glass.  “What’s wrong,
Tara
?”

“Nothing,” she said and
wave
d over the waiter who was standing a few feet away with another tray of champagne.  Max handed her a new glass and watched as she drained that one as well.

“Have you eaten anything tonight?” he asked, smiling at her anger.  He’d never seen her show much emotion before so this was interesting. 

Tara
shrugged her shoulders, warmed by both the champagne and the feeling that Max might care a little bit about her since this was the second time he’d asked her about food in two days. 
“No
,” she admitted
. 
“
I was too nervous about running into you,” she said
without thinking
and looked around for another waiter.

Max controlled a chuckle at her admission.  It was just one more piece of evidence he could use to justify keeping her near him during the evening. 
“Me?  Why were you nervous about running into me?”