Santina's Scandalous Princess(21)

‘Natalia?' Ben prompted, and she heard a thread of urgency in his voice. ‘Tell me.'

And she wondered if he knew what he was asking, if he sensed the truth.  She shook her head, shrugged. ‘The press has its uses,' she managed, and  turned to pick up the bag of footballs, anything to keep her from  revealing too much. Ben's gaze alone was already far too knowing.                      
      
          



      

He didn't speak for a long moment. Finally, her back still turned, she  heard him say, ‘In any case this is just a quiet dinner at a discreet  restaurant.'

‘Fine.' Natalia turned back to him and forced a smile. She'd really  enjoyed these past few days, getting dirty, playing with the kids,  making Gabriella smile. Being real … and not being a princess. ‘I suppose I  could dust off my tiara. This Friday, you said?'

Ben nodded. ‘I'll pick you up at five.'

* * *

Ben watched as Natalia walked away from him, her chin tilted at that  haughty angle, her back ramrod straight. Her defensive position. He knew  it well. He went over the exchange they'd just had, wondering how he'd  hurt her, for she surely was hurt, even if she'd never admit it.

She was a woman of secrets, he knew, secrets she had no intention of  telling him or anyone else. He could tell when she wasn't telling the  truth, but he didn't know what the truth was. And he wanted to.

This was dangerous, Ben knew. He was drawing closer to her even though  he'd told himself not to. Swaying with her on the dance floor had been  enough of a test of his self-control, but this was more. Worse. Seeing  her trying her best on the football pitch, getting dirty, making the  kids smile, giving him one of her mocking looks … all of it made him seek  her out more and more.

This dinner was really just a pretext to spend time with her outside of  camp, he knew. At least he was honest with himself about that. His  clients might have mentioned wanting to meet the princess, but he could  have deflected them, or brought them to the camp one day when everyone  was there. He wanted her to come out with him. He wanted her, full stop.

And he didn't know what to do about it. The wise and safe choice was to  keep his distance, take her at face value, and let nothing shake his  resolve or shatter his control.

Yet Ben didn't feel like being safe any more. Or wise. He'd always lived  a life of admirable and consistent restraint, and he was tired of it.  He wanted Natalia with a fierceness he'd never felt before, a fierceness  that felt right even though it terrified him.

This he could not control.

* * *

At five o'clock on Friday Natalia stood in front of the ornate  full-length mirror in her room and gazed at her reflection. She'd toyed  with the idea of wearing something like her silver spangled dress, short  and outrageous, and then decided against it. She was tired of  titillation. It had been her cover for so long, her way of keeping  people from getting too close and guessing all of her deficiencies, but  she didn't want to do it tonight. She wasn't sure she wanted to ever  again.

And where, Natalia wondered, did that leave her? Who then could she be?  She didn't really have an answer. Sighing, she reached for a stunning  diamond and emerald necklace that was part of her mother's crown jewels.  Made of twenty-four emeralds, each one surrounded by diamonds, the  largest one at the center, nestling between her breasts, it was a  magnificent piece of jewelry. Natalia had always thought it a bit  ostentatious, not to mention heavy to wear, but she felt, for the sake  of Ben's clients, she'd better look every inch the princess tonight.

She paired the necklace with a starkly elegant cocktail dress in black  silk that skimmed her curves and then flared out around her knees. The  dress was elegant yet simple, making it a perfect backdrop for the  necklace. She picked a pair of skyscraper heels with diamante straps to  make the outfit a little less severe. A girl still had to have a little  fun.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door, and her personal maid peeked in. ‘Mr Jackson is downstairs, Your Highness.'

‘Thank you, Ana.' Natalia gave her reflection one more glance and,  satisfied, reached for the silk fringed shawl and beaded clutch that  matched her dress and headed downstairs.

Her breath dried in her throat at the sight of Ben in the palazzo's  soaring entrance hall. He wore a suit, just as he had at the engagement  party and every day at the office, so there was no reason for him to  look any different than before. Or for her to feel any different, and  yet she did. Maybe it was the shared history they had now, or perhaps  just this attraction she could no longer pretend to deny. Her gaze was  helplessly drawn to his long, lithe body, the suit expertly tailored to  showcase muscular legs, trim hips and powerful shoulders. The crisp  white shirt and cobalt-blue silk tie emphasised the lean planes of his  jaw and cheek, the steely blue of his eyes. He looked elegant and  powerful, and it was an intoxicating combination.

Her legs felt a little trembly as she came down the marble staircase,  Ben's gaze intent upon her. He stretched out one hand towards her as she  came to the last stair.                      
      
          



      

‘Good evening, Princess.' For the first time her title didn't feel like a  mockery or sneer. It felt almost like an endearment. She smiled and  took his hand.

‘Good evening.'

He nodded a farewell towards the liveried attendants standing sentry in  the hall, and then led her out into the night. She felt a little bit  like Cinderella, leaving the castle instead of going to it. And that was  how she wanted it. As she breathed in the sultry night air she felt  free. Free and maybe even happy, or at least something close to it.

‘So where are we going at such an unfashionably early hour?' she asked  as Ben opened the passenger door of his silver luxury model car.

‘Our dinner reservation is actually at eight. It's going to take a little while to get there.'

‘A little while? You can drive the length of Santina in under two hours.'

Ben's smile gleamed in the darkness as he started the car and drove  smoothly down the palazzo's curving drive and through the gates. ‘I  never said we were going somewhere on Santina.'

His meaning was made clear when he pulled up to the island's only  airport fifteen minutes later. Natalia skidded to a halt in her  stilettos as she stared at the tiny plane Ben had led her to in one  remote corner of the airfield.

‘We're going in that?'

‘My private jet,' Ben said with just a touch of irony.

‘Let me tell you something, hotshot. For me, private jet means  champagne, caviar and leather sofas. Not-' She took a step forward so  she could better inspect the plane. ‘A piece of cardboard and some  chewing gum.'

‘I'll have you know this is a Seabird Seeker 360, and it's an amazing  piece of equipment. It also cost four hundred thousand dollars.'

She folded her arms. ‘I'm sorry to say you got a very bad deal.'

‘Princess,' Ben said with a thread of laughter in his voice, ‘are you scared?'

Natalia drew herself up and eyed the plane warily. ‘As a matter of  fact,' she told him, ‘yes. And not ashamed to admit it.' For once.

Ben reached for one hand and lazily pulled her towards him. Natalia came  reluctantly, more afraid to get so close to him than going up in that  flimsy excuse for an airplane. ‘Come on, Natalia,' he said softly. ‘I'll  keep you safe.'

And Natalia wondered if he was talking about flying in the Seabird, or  something else entirely. Something far more important and frightening.  Her heart thudded against her ribs and she managed a light laugh only  with effort.

‘Let me see your pilot's license.'

‘You don't trust me?' He was still holding her hand, the other hand  resting lightly on her back, and he'd drawn her so close the hem of her  dress brushed against his legs. She breathed in the now-familiar scent  of his aftershave and felt, quite literally, dizzy.

‘Not an inch,' she managed, and made herself draw back.

Ben let her go. ‘If you're really scared, we can charter a bigger  plane,' he said, his tone turning serious. ‘I made sure there was one  available.'

His thoughtfulness touched her, even though she didn't want it to. She  didn't want this man to affect her, to slip under her defenses so  easily, and yet right now, in the sultry darkness with him standing so  close, she couldn't quite summon one of her cutting remarks that had  served her so well in the past. ‘Let me at least take a look at this  thing,' she said, and turned towards the plane.

It was very cozy. Two leather seats side by side in a cockpit, and glass  all around. Flying in it would, Natalia thought, be amazing. If she let  herself go. If she trusted Ben.