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The Prince's Chambermaid(13)

By:Sharon Kendrick


So did he feel triumph over the way she lost the battle she had  half-heartedly been fighting? Leaning over him instead and eagerly  pressing her lips to his-not caring about pride or conscience or  reputation or getting hurt. Not caring about anything-other than the  urgent need to find herself tightly in his arms once more.

She heard him give a little murmur of approval as he drew her against  him, before she felt him take control-expertly coaxing her lips open and  letting his tongue slide inside her mouth.

Cathy gasped as, in an instant, all those new feelings he had ignited  earlier came flooding back in a thick, sweet wave and she clung to his  broad shoulders as if she could never bear to let him go. Pressing her  body closer, she heard his shuddered little groan and that felt like  some kind of small victory.                       
       
           



       

But if it was Cathy who initiated the kiss, it was Xaviero who  demonstrated his mastery by terminating it, gently prising her fingers  from his shoulders and placing them firmly in her lap, leaving her  breathless and aching as she stared up at him in mute disappointment.

'You must learn to control your appetite, my eager young pupil,' he  chided softly, though he felt the wild thunder of his heart as he  steadied his breath. 'There is a time and a place for greed, and that  time is not now.'

In an effort to distract himself, Xaviero turned to glance out of the  window as the car passed through wide gates and up a long gravelled  drive. At its end stood an imposing brightly lit and colonnaded white  house with a whole fleet of top-of-the-range cars and several chauffeurs  standing in a little huddle beside them. He saw one of them glance up  and spot the car approaching and it was as if they were all suddenly  galvanised into action. Inside the illuminated building he could see  figures beginning to hurry around and mentally he prepared to deliver  the image of himself the public always expected.

'We're here,' he said, raking his fingers back through his hair. 'And they've seen us.'

Cathy glanced at the sudden cool mask which had replaced the dark passion on his face. 'You don't sound very … keen.'

He should have been irritated by her intrusive observation-but the  appeal in her wide blue eyes meant that he was momentarily disarmed.  Couldn't he relax his guard for once, just a little? This little  chambermaid would never make the error of attaching any significance to  any confidences he might share with her-and if she tried, he would  merely point out her error so that she would not repeat it. 'I'd much  rather be making love to you,' he admitted softly.

And that one murmured comment, along with the sizzling golden look which  accompanied it, was enough to make Cathy feel as if she were walking on  air as the car door was opened for them.

'And so would I,' she whispered shyly, but her momentary pleasure was  eclipsed by nerves as she saw the glamorous women who were assembling to  meet them. They were decked in glittering jewels, their skin faintly  tanned, pampered and massaged-she felt anxiety flood through her. How  could she possibly compete in her cheap little chain-store dress when  they all looked like expensive birds of paradise?

Uncomfortably, Cathy followed Xaviero into the banqueting hall, where  every table setting seemed to contain a whole canteen of cutlery-but at  least she'd helped out at enough formal banquets at the hotel to know  which was the correct knife and fork to use.

Picking at her meal, Cathy noticed that everyone waited until Xaviero  had begun to eat before they, too, followed suit. How wearing that must  get, she thought. She found herself seated in between two very wealthy  landowners who wouldn't have given her a second glance if she'd been  changing their duvet cover.

But Xaviero had, hadn't he?

Cathy swallowed. He might be arrogant, and proud. He might have taken  her to bed and she might have foolishly let him-but nothing could  detract from the fact that he had wanted her, just the way she was. And  she had wanted him. In fact, if only he really were that man in denim  and not a prince, then they wouldn't have to be sitting here, having to  endure these stilted conversations. They could have been snuggled up  under their own duvet-making love and maybe making some kind of future  together.

'I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before, Cathy,' one of the landowners was saying to her.

Cathy felt her heart begin to pound with trepidation. 'I … I don't think so-'

'Good heavens-you're not … ' The man pushed his scarlet face closer and  frowned. 'You don't by any chance work at Rupert Sanderson's hotel, do  you?'

Cathy froze and looked across the table in alarm-to find a pair of  curious golden eyes fixed on her. Obviously Xaviero had heard every word  and was watching her, waiting to hear what she would say.

For one tempting moment she thought about the reaction she'd get if she  told the truth. That she was the chambermaid at the hotel he was  currently buying and that she'd tugged Egyptian cotton sheets over the  Prince's king-sized bed before letting him make love to her on it?

She realised that the landowner was still waiting for her answer and she  looked into Xaviero's eyes as if seeking an answer there and, to her  astonishment, he gave her a slow smile.

'Yes, Cathy works locally at the hotel-and has kindly agreed to be my  guide while I'm here. Aren't I lucky?' he murmured, noticing that the  redhead who had been flirting with him all evening was now flicking the  little chambermaid a superior glance. Thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed,  as he realised that he had not done Cathy justice. 'It helps that she's  very beautiful, of course,' he added softly.                       
       
           



       

Cathy felt the rush of colour to her cheeks at the faint ripple of  surprise this remark produced-before the chatter resumed around the  table. And although she was pleased that Xaviero had come to her rescue,  she wished he hadn't felt the need to tell a blatant lie like that.

Under his mocking stare she noticed the fractional dilation of his eyes.  Saw the way the tip of his tongue had touched one corner of his lips as  if deliberately reminding her of the sweet delight those same lips had  brought to her earlier. And suddenly she didn't care if he'd lied about  her being beautiful. When he looked at her like that, she actually felt  beautiful. Just as she'd felt when he'd gazed down at her naked body as  if he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

Was she alone in feeling the tension which fizzed across the table  between them? Was he aware that every time his lips curved into a slow  and speculative smile she experienced the warm pooling of desire at the  pit of her stomach? The impatience to be alone with him and away with  these people who fawned over every word he said. The women on either  side of him might have been flirting outrageously-but she was the woman  he had chosen to be his lover!

Her pulse skittered as he stood up and made a brief speech, telling the  enthralled audience how delighted he was to have purchased such a  prestigious club and his plans to create a world-class polo school  there. But Cathy watched the faces of the other diners as they listened  to him and laughed conspicuously loudly at his jokes. Rapt and  rapacious-the women surveyed him with open hunger while the men regarded  him with a kind of grudging envy. What a strange world this was, she  thought. One where everyone wants something from him.

And don't you? taunted the voice of her conscience. Don't you want most of all?

No. She was modest by nature and modest in her expectations. All she  wanted was to feel his arms around her again. To feel the warmth of his  skin and the thunder of his heart against her heart. She felt her mouth  drying as he finished his speech and looked straight into her eyes as  the applause rang out through the vast room.

Needing the washroom, she rose to her feet and saw that Xaviero had  mirrored her movement-which in turn caused the entire table to stand up!  How awful, she thought. You could never just sneak out if you were a  royal. In the restroom, she splashed some cold water over her heated  cheeks, battled a brush through the thick hair, and when she emerged it  was to find Xaviero standing by the entrance to the ballroom. It took a  moment or two before she registered that he was waiting for her.

In that moment she felt nervous and slightly out of her depth-but she  had to say something. 'Thank you for coming to my rescue back there,'  she said quietly.

He shrugged and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. 'No thanks are  required. The man was nothing but a crashing snob and I'm sorry you had  to be subjected to him.'

Cathy glowed with pleasure at his kindness, wanting to compliment  him-just as he had complimented her. 'And I … I really liked your speech,'  she ventured softly.