The Prince's Forbidden Lover (The Samara Royal Family #3) (5 page)

He bent lower and kissed her lips lightly. 

She pulled away and looked up at him, her mouth tingling with sensations she couldn’t quite figure out how to ignore.  “We leave tomorrow,” she told him.  “It was very nice meeting you.”  A moment later, she yanked open the office door and hurried down the hallway.  She didn’t go back to Shantra’s apartment. She needed to pull herself together again.  She felt as if she was coming apart at the seams and the only way she might…stay together, was to be with that man.  But that idea was crazy!  She couldn’t be with him.  Out of the question.

She walked into the bathroom and splashed water on her neck, trying to calm down.  There was no way she could go back to the meeting with Keith and Shantra looking like this.  Her cheeks were flushed and her lips swollen.  Not to mention, her breasts were tingling and…looking at her blouse, she could see where her nipples were still poking against the material.  Sighing, she leaned against the countertop, trying to put the man out of her mind. 

This was crazy!  She was in control, here.  She was not going to fall victim to Prince Rais’ seduction or Shantra’s matchmaking.  She was her own person!  She was in control! 

After that pep talk, and several minutes of pacing back and forth, she felt much stronger. 

“House of Jesek, how can I help you?” Joline chimed in, sifting through papers on her desk. 

“Darling girl, you can tell me that the rumors are true!”

Joline’s hand froze as the voice on the other end of the line sunk into her frazzled, exhausted brain. 

“Mom?”

The voice tingled with feminine laughter that had been practiced and perfected over the years.  “Of course it is your mother, dear.  And you’re avoiding the subject.  Tell me the rumors are true.  Did you really spend the weekend at the Palace of Kilar?”

Joline’s head started to throb as it always did when her mother was involved.  It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mother.  It was more that…well, she’d just had a difficult life because of her mother’s choices.  After repeated arguments throughout Joline’s teenage years, the two of them had finally agreed to disagree, except when her mother decided that she needed to argue with Joline about her life choices.  Or more specifically, her lack of a choice when it came to men. 

Joline wasn’t going to confirm or deny her mother’s speculation, although she did wonder where her mother had heard such a rumor.  “I spent the weekend with a friend of mine from university,” Joline responded.  “Where did you hear about that anyway?”

Martha laughed softly.  “Dear, you have to know by now that I have a wide range of people who tell me little tidbits of information.  How do you think I’ve found all of my husbands over the years?  I need my spies in order to confirm or deny rumors, don’t I?  It wouldn’t do to become interested in a particular man, only to find out later that he couldn’t afford my lifestyle.  Wasted efforts, you know.”

Joline sighed, more than slightly repulsed by her mother’s mercenary attitude.  “I’m sure your spies are very good at ensuring that your next husband has enough money to keep you in your lavish lifestyle,” she said. 

“Exactly!” Martha confirmed, unaware of or unconcerned with her daughter’s sarcastic disapproval.  Martha had an amazing ability to ignore anything that might cause wrinkles to form on her beautifully botoxed and surgically lifted facial features.  Stress, anything controversial and anything that her mother didn’t feel like acknowledging, were summarily dismissed from her awareness. 

“So who is next on your list for husbands?”

“Oh, I’m perfectly satisfied right now with my current lover,” she explained.  There was a murmur in the background and Joline cringed, wondering if the voice was from the newest man in her mother’s life.  Her mother laughed seductively, confirming Joline’s suspicion. She heard a muffled comment before her mother came back on the line.  “What were we talking about, dear?”

Joline shook her head, not about to remind her mother about the rumors she’d heard.  “Where are you, mom?  Last we spoke, you were heading to the Swiss Alps for skiing.”

“Oh, that was lovely!  Marcus is a fabulous skier.”

Marcus?  “I thought you were dating a guy name Julio,” Joline said, and then cringed because she didn’t want to know.  Another man, another lover…the men that came through her mother’s life were always wealthy and powerful and all of them loved to spoil her mother rotten.  Her mother’s career was collecting men, jewels from the men and stocking up her bank accounts, courtesy of the men in her life. 

“Marcus is in banking,” Martha explained, knowing that mentioning another man’s name would be in bad form.  There were several things her mother did extremely well.  One was finding extremely wealthy men to take care of her and another was making that man feel as if he was the center of her universe.  Until he wasn’t any longer.  Which was sometimes sad.  When Joline was little, the men came and went in her life so often that she’d eventually learned not to grow attached to any of them. The marriages lasted only a couple of years before the sizzle wore off.  Or perhaps the man’s bank account was drained, which was the same thing in her mother’s mind. 

“Where has Marcus taken you?” Joline asked, trying to keep the subject on her mother, normally a very simple task since her mother was extremely self-centered. 

“We’re in Paris right now but we’re leaving for London in a few days.  Marcus has meetings and I’ve agreed to accompany him.”

Great!  London!  Of all the cities where she truly didn’t want to run into her mother…well, that wasn’t exactly true.  There weren’t any cities in which she’d want to run into her mother.  They kept their distance, exchanged presents at Christmas and birthdays and that was about it.  Joline’s mother knew that having an adult daughter hanging around would age her.  Or a teenage daughter.  Or even an elementary school daughter which was why Joline had been raised by nannies for most of her young life and sent off to boarding school for her teen years.  That had been hard, but once Joline understood her mother’s “career”, she’d actually preferred the boarding schools to coming home and being introduced to yet another man or worse, a step-father. 

“I’m sure London is lovely at this time of the year,” she said, but couldn’t really care less.  She had a lot of work to do and wasn’t interested in hearing more about Marcus.  “I really have to go, Mom.”  She’d figure out a way to avoid her mother when they were both in London.  It was imperative that they maintain separate lives.  She didn’t intend to be introduced to yet another man that her mother had scrounged up. 

“Oh no you don’t!” she chided her only daughter.  “You haven’t even told me if the rumors are true!  What’s going on, dear?”

“I was in the area,” she commented.  “But I can assure you that I did not hang out with the sheik in any way.  In fact, I believe he has a very lovely wife, doesn’t he?”

Martha was not to be deterred.  “Yes, I think you’re right, but you’ve made a fabulous connection, dear.  What have I told you about knowing the right people in this world?”

Joline had heard the lecture too many times over the years.  Her mother had once had high hopes that her daughter would help her with entrée into other families.  There had been many arguments when Joline refused to attend parties or social events, flirt with the men in the social circles her mother flitted through in her efforts to marry wealthier and more famous men.  Those arguments became heated when Martha wanted Joline to pretend that they weren’t related.  “Connections are everything,” she repeated, rolling her eyes.

“Exactly.  So who do you know at the palace?”

Joline didn’t want to have this conversation.  Her mother’s interest wasn’t for her daughter.  Nope, it was self-serving.  Martha’s mind was already spinning, trying to figure out how to leverage Joline’s palace connections for her own benefit. 

Joline looked around at her office. Her desk had piles of papers and a task list that was several pages long. She wasn’t going to allow her mother to derail her day.  “I really have to go, Mother.  I have customers that I need to help.”

“Oh, good grief, Joline!” her mother snapped.  “With your looks, figure and youth, you could have men falling at your feet and instead, you choose to sully yourself with working in that ridiculous shop!  You should be…”

“I love my job and I’m part-owner in the business, Mother.  I don’t just work in the shop.  I run it, I manage it, I build the business!”  she interrupted, angry with her mother for not respecting her life’s work.  Of course, Joline didn’t respect her mother’s “work” either, so it was a relationship that didn’t work on either end. 

Joline knew better than to try and convince her mother that she was happy.  Especially when she was this tired.  But it still irked her that her mother started scoffing at her efforts here at Jesek.  It was a fabulous business with lots of challenges.  “I like my life.”

Her mother scoffed.  “You can’t be happy working nine to five every day with nothing to ease the drudgery.”

Joline didn’t bother explaining that her hours were more like six in the morning to midnight most nights, longer on the weekends.  “Well, I’ll just have to deal with my drudgery,” she responded.

“Why not meet me in London?  I’ll take you shopping and we can see the sights together.”

Joline almost laughed.  “Would some of those sights be a rich man that could take me away from all of this drudgery?” she asked cynically. 

“Well!” her mother scoffed.  “If there happens to be handsome men in the vicinity, what would be the harm in talking with them and finding out more about them?  It isn’t a crime to fall in love, Joline.”

Joline almost laughed.  She doubted very seriously that her mother honestly loved any of the men she’d taken into her bed.  Joline wasn’t sure if her mother loved anyone other than Martha!  “I’m sure that’s true,” she said, but she was only agreeing with her mother so that she could get off the phone more easily.  “I’ll let you know about London,” she promised, knowing that her mother wouldn’t accept a “no” over the phone. 

“Let me know soon.  I believe Marcus wants to be in London by the weekend.”

“Will do,” she lied.  Well, it wasn’t completely a lie, she told herself as she ended the call and tried to focus back on her work.  She’d simply e-mail her mother and let her know that she wouldn’t be meeting her in London.  It was easier to get her mother to accept no for an answer when she couldn’t argue back. 

Joline set her phone to the side, wishing she could just cut her mother out of her life.  But there was still some sort of relationship there.  And as sad as it was, Joline never gave up the hope that maybe her mother might eventually find a bit of pride in Joline’s accomplishments. 

It was a ridiculous hope, she told herself over and over again.  Martha Caldwell was simply focused on Martha Caldwell.  And the men in Martha Caldwell’s life. 

With a sigh, Joline focused on the details in front of her.  She had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it, she told herself.  Martha Caldwell was not part of her day’s agenda. 

Her phone immediately started ringing again and she picked it up, assuming it was her mother again who must have forgotten something during their initial conversation.  But when she saw the phone number…well, the area code…she shivered in reaction.  Prince Rais! 

It had to be him, she thought as her fingers trembled, hovering over the “ignore” button.  The country code was the same as Shantra’s but that wasn’t Shantra’s phone number.  The only other person who would call her from Kilar would be Rais.  The prince himself and she wasn’t going to talk to him.  That final “conversation” had been disturbing enough and she was exhausted from lack of sleep because every time she closed her eyes, her mind brought back that kiss, the way he’d touched her and all of those amazing feelings that made her body leap to attention. 

He was more dangerous than any man she’d ever met in her life.  Simply because he wouldn’t get out of her mind!  He was there, like a splinter that she couldn’t get out. He just kept showing up at the most inopportune moments. 

The man was horrible and annoying and she finally pressed the “ignore” button and forced herself to get back to work. 

Joline stepped into the warm, inviting atmosphere of the coffee shop, breathing in the heavenly scent of freshly ground coffee beans and brewing coffee.  “Fabulous,” she sighed as she stood in line, waiting for her turn to order.  She’d finally slept last night.  No steamy, erotic dreams that woke her up breathing heavily with her body ready and wanting a dark man’s touch.  Just deep slumber!  It was cathartic, she told herself. 

Today was going to be a good day, she thought as she moved forward in the line.  No more palaces, no more tall, dominating men who made her mind turn to mush...just everyday stuff that she could understand and, more importantly, that she could handle. 

“Long line today, huh?”

Joline turned her head and noticed the handsome man behind her.  “Definitely!” she replied, smiling.  Wow!  Good looking, she thought.  Of course, he could be an axe murderer or serial killer, but he looked normal enough.  His features were pleasant and she doubted there was an intimidating bone in his body.  Nice! 

“Not normally this long on a Tuesday,” he continued.

Joline nodded her head.  “I don’t even try coming in on Fridays.  The line is normally out the door,” she laughed. 

The man rolled his eyes in agreement.  “Yeah, Fridays are brutal, but I’ll still wait in line.  I’m hooked.”  And he shrugged as if to say that he accepted his weakness. 

Joline chuckled.  “You’re a stronger man than me,” she told him. 

“I’m Toby,” and he extended his hand.  “I work over at Dorsmith and Hammill, just across the street.” 

Joline shook Toby’s hand, relieved when she didn’t feel any burning sensation stream up her arm and her heartbeat was strong and steady.  No crazy hammering at all!  Nice, she sighed with a relieved heart. 

“I’m Joline.  My friends call me Jo.”

“Will I have that privilege?” he asked.  There was a smile on his face, but still a hesitant question in his eyes. 

Joline really liked this guy!  Rais would simply tell her that he would call her Jo.  He wouldn’t be a gentleman about it and ask politely.  What a relief! 

“I don’t know,” she teased right back.  “Are you a friend or foe?”

The man’s smile increased.  “Oh, I’d definitely like to be a friend,” he came right back. 

Joline almost smiled with relief.  Rais would have come back with something like, “I’ll be neither.  We will be lovers!” and she would have melted even while her body singed with his words.  Yes, this was much nicer.  She didn’t need any sparks in her life.  She needed nice and easy, uncomplicated.  She needed to stay as far away from Rais as possible.

“Next!” the barista called out.

Joline stepped forward and gave her order but before she could get her wallet out, Toby was placing a hand on hers.  She looked up at him with a question.  “May I buy you this cup of coffee?” he asked politely. 

Joline smiled and nodded her head easily.  “Thank you, that would be very nice.”  And she stepped back, allowing Toby to place his order and pay for both drinks.  She moved over to the end counter where they would pick up their drinks when they were ready, more than eager to continue her conversation with Toby.  The man was so non-threatening that she was drawn to him, feeling as if already he was a friend instead of a stranger. 

When he stepped over to her, they exchanged additional pleasantries, all the normal comments about working in Manhattan and the silly problems of daily life.  There wasn’t anything worrisome in the conversation, no sparks or anxiety over what he might do or if he might touch her.  His hands remained at his sides, his eyes on hers.  Not a single time did his glance travel lower.  It was just a nice, easy conversation. 

If there was absolutely no spark in any way when he shook her hand goodbye, well, Joline didn’t mind at all.  Not one little bit.  And she wasn’t worried either!  No, she was not concerned that the first man who flirted with her after her return from Kilar sparked no feeling inside of her.  That didn’t mean anything.  And it certainly didn’t mean that Rais was the only man who could make her feel those exciting feelings. 

Besides, she didn’t like those crazy feelings!  She liked the calm, comfortable experience of being with a man like Toby. 

When he turned left, heading to his office building, she watched him for a moment, smiling at how nice he was. 

Okay, so there was absolutely no fizzle.  And she had to admit that the fizzle with Rais had been…eye opening.  Not that she wanted fizzle!  She liked calm and peace.  She liked to be able to sleep through the night, undisturbed by crazy, erotic dreams. 

She pushed her keys into the door of the Manhattan store then re-locked it once she was inside.  Her office was in the back and the store didn’t open for several more hours.  She had some quiet time to get things done this morning. 

And comparing one man to another was not on her list of priorities! 

Over the next three days, Joline worked eighteen and twenty hour days, trying to narrow down the millions of decisions needed for the new London shop while still stepping out on the town in Shantra’s fabulous designs, trying to promote the new fall line.  She was exhausted and dragging by the time Friday rolled around and all she wanted to do was sleep.  She just had to get through Friday and Saturday, their busiest shopping days of the week, and she’d have all day Sunday off!  She couldn’t wait to curl up into a ball on her bed and sleep for a full twenty-four hours! 

“Toby!” she gasped when she saw the handsome man walking through the door to the shop.  “What are you doing here?” she asked, smiling as she approached him.  There were several customers in the store already but her other helpers were with them so she had a few minutes to relax. 

Toby walked over to her with a confidence that she found endearing.  He was such a kind man, she thought as she smiled at him.  A bit on the shy side.  They’d had coffee two days ago and he’d taken her to lunch yesterday, although she suspected that he wanted more but was too nervous to ask.  She wasn’t sure what else to do to encourage him though!  She’d smiled at his office anecdotes until her cheeks hurt, she’d laughed at his jokes, he’d bought her coffee and a meal…what was the hold up? 

Hopefully, his arrival today would indicate that he might want to take her out on a real date.  One where she’d get to glam up and relax for a couple of hours.  She was more than ready to call Keith, to let him know that she wouldn’t be able to attend whatever party he’d lined up for whatever night Toby might ask her out for. 

“Hi Jo.  I was on my way to a client meeting and…well, I realized that I have this thing tonight,” he explained, putting his briefcase down on the floor next to his feet. 

“A thing?” Joline asked, smiling to try and encourage him and ease his nervousness. 

She thought she detected a bit of a blush and he looked down at his briefcase on the floor.  When he finally looked up at her, she was sure that it was a blush and she smiled to herself.  This was a man she could really like, she thought.  No intimidation tactics and he liked her.  She was fairly certain that he was about to ask her out on a date, not tell her that they would be in bed by nightfall. 

“Yeah.  It’s just this thing that my firm asked me to come to tonight.  I know it is short notice but,” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her.  “Well, I thought it might be a good way for you to show your dresses off to the women who might be there.”

Joline tried very hard to not roll her eyes.  Toby was obviously trying to ask her out, to request her attendance at his company function tonight and it irritated her that he was forming it as a way for her to work. 

“Well, I…”

He suddenly rubbed a hand over the back of his neck again.  “No.  That wasn’t right,” he interrupted and moved closer to her.  “I just wanted to take you to this thing tonight.  I don’t care if you wear one of the store’s outfits or if you just wear a bag, you’d look beautiful either way.”  He sighed.  “I’m asking you out, Jo.  I was hoping you could be my date tonight.”

Joline laughed, delighted that he’d finally gotten that out.  “Abso…”

“She has plans,” a deep voice said from behind her. 

Joline spun around and instantly her heart went into overdrive as Rais approached.  Goodness, had he been that tall back in Kilar?  Surely not!  And he was…she tried to step back, but Rais was having none of that.  His arm whipped around her waist, pulling her up against his body.  He didn’t even give her a chance to protest!  His mouth covered hers with his own and Joline wasn’t able to even turn her head so that his lips connected with her cheek.  This man zoomed in and kissed her with a passion she’d forgotten was possible. It was even more intense than her dreams and she trembled as she opened her mouth and he deepened the kiss.  It was like lighting a match to a bale of straw – the desire was there, flaming up into an inferno.

Joline forgot that she was standing in front of Toby and that he’d just asked her out on an official date.  She even forgot that she was in the shop, that the other customers would be turning around, watching as Rais kissed her. 

And she kissed him back!  That was the thing about Rais.  One could not be passive around him!  He was the fire and she was the straw.  No man had ever lit her up like this.  She wasn’t aware of her hands grabbing onto his suit jacket or the way his arm pulled her higher up on his body, pressing her against his hard muscles as he kissed her until she was whimpering with need. 

Rais almost swore under his breath when he realized that he was once again kissing this woman in an inopportune place.  He’d told himself to not touch her until he’d gotten her alone because every time they touched, it was instantaneous fire, white hot and out of control. 

But he’d walked in, determined to be kind and gentle, or as kind and gentle as he could.  He had been planning to show her his gentle side.  Okay, so he’d never been gentle in his life and he suspected that he didn’t have a gentle side.  And “kind” was a four letter word in his world.  He was the kind of man who was used to the women coming to him, experienced women who knew what they wanted and were more than willing to tell him about their desires.

Joline had been a startling change.  Her obvious innocence was more alluring than any woman he’d ever been with.  And the way she kissed him back, those sexy sound she made when he tasted her, made him want to rip her clothes off and make love to her in the most thorough way possible. 

He understood that this passion scared her.  He also understood that he, simply because he was a man, scared her for some reason.  So he’d walked into her store, determined to take things slowly, to help her become more comfortable around him.

But then he’d walked in on her smiling towards another man.  A man who was about to ask her out!  That was something he simply wasn’t going to allow.  No, this woman was his woman.  Her body already understood that at a very basic level, but so far, the woman, possibly the business woman, was refusing to accept that reality. 

So he’d done the only thing that a man of his temperament could do.  He showed both Joline and the ass standing there stammering out a request that she was his woman and he was staking his claim. 

Damn, she felt great!  He should have arrived sooner but he’d been caught up with business issues.  He’d cleared his calendar for the next few days, determined to figure this woman out. 

He didn’t relent on the kiss until he heard the other man curse and walk out, tripping over his briefcase as he did so. 

Rais would have laughed, but Joline chose that moment to press herself more fully against him and he just about lost his renowned control. 

Lifting his head, he looked down at her kiss-swollen lips and the eyes that were now glazed over with desire.  He had to resist the urge to lift her up into his arms and carry her out to his limousine where he could have a modicum of privacy to explore her mouth and her body a bit more thoroughly. 

Taking a deep breath, he tried to tamp down that crazy desire.  It was extremely difficult, especially with Joline feeling so perfect and soft in his arms. 

“You look beautiful, Joline,” he grumbled. 

Joline’s eyes opened with his words and she smiled slightly.  Rais was slightly irritated that her lips still trembled.  But then again, her whole body was trembling.  He wasn’t sure if it was because of their kiss or because she was still nervous about his presence in her life.  Surely she couldn’t fight this chemistry between them after that kiss, could she?

Hell yes, he thought, almost chuckling at how stubborn she was.  “Have you thought about my offer?” he asked, pulling back a bit more, but not taking his hands off of her tiny waist. 

Joline looked up at Rais, still trying to get her mind to start working.  “Offer?” she parroted.  She couldn’t remember any offer.  Well, to be perfectly honest, she couldn’t remember her name at the moment. 

“Your London store.  I offered you the storefront in the building I own.  Better rent, better location, better landlord,” he teased. 

Joline stepped out of his arms and pushed her hair back out of her eyes.  Store.  Landlord.  Building.  London.  The world and the details of her work were coming back to her.  Slowly. 

“Um…yes.  The store.”  He’d sent her a thick envelope filled with the details of a retail storefront located in one of the prime shopping districts in London.  She’d already found several locations, was working with a realtor in London who was trying to narrow down the choices for her.  But the storefront Rais was offering was in an even better location, had significantly more space and at a ridiculously low price.