The Prince’s Forbidden Lover(36)

Rais stared at the retreating man for a moment, then glanced over to Joline, wondering what she’d told her friend. “Are you okay?” he asked softly but with that deep, gravelly voice that never failed to send shivers throughout her body.

“I’m fine,” she replied, feeling nervous with his tall, muscular body crowding into her tiny office. “How are you?” she asked. How did one calmly converse with a man with whom she had been so intimate?

He slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks, the amusement evident on his features. “I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” He waited a moment. “Are you ready for dinner?” he asked.

She opened and closed her mouth, not really sure what to say. “I didn’t know we were having dinner tonight,” she finally blurted out.

He moved closer to her, leaning over her desk. “We’re having dinner tonight. And every night.”

Joline shook her head. “I don’t think…”

“Stop right there,” he told her. Rais would have come around her desk, but there wasn’t enough room. So instead, he reached over the top and took her hand, gently but inexorably pulling her around to the other side. “What’s going on?” he demanded, resting his hands on her hips.

Joline had no idea what was going on in her mind other than all the jumbled chaos that she couldn’t quite nail down to a comprehensive list of concerns. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she told him honestly. “I just know that, no matter how strong this connection or how…alive…I’ve felt after that night we shared, we can’t be together. There are…things about my family that would look bad if they were to become public knowledge. And I don’t want that. Not for you and certainly not for me.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Is this one of the reasons why you fought so hard against being with me?” he asked gently.

She thought about it for a moment. “No. I fought against being with you because you scare me. And you’re a chauvinist who thinks women shouldn’t work. And because you don’t listen to me when I disagree with you.” She thought about it for a moment, lifting her hand up to stop him when he was about to say something. “Also, because you’re arrogant and uncompromising.”

He chuckled at her list. “Those are some pretty big obstacles.”

“And because I don’t think any relationship between the two of us is going to go anywhere.”

“You’re going to marry me, Joline,” he argued even as he pulled her along behind him, bringing her out of her office. “Grab your purse. Apparently, we have a great deal to discuss.”

She grabbed her purse but tried to pull his hand off of her arm. “Rais, we’re not going to dinner, I’m not going to marry you and we’re not a couple. The other night, it was a fluke.”

“A good fluke,” he added in.

She blushed, but didn’t agree or disagree. “We are completely incompatible.”

“We were pretty compatible the other night,” he said as he held her hand, nudging her towards the exit. “And we’ll be very compatible again tonight,” he told her.

Joline shook her head. “I’m going back to my apartment to work tonight. I’m going to have a sandwich or a bowl of cereal for dinner.”

He leaned in closer, his eyes holding hers. “We’re going to La Tanna for dinner. We’re going to talk. After dinner, we have one errand to run and then I’m going to make love to you until we’re too exhausted to move.”

Her chin went up a notch, disagreeing with his agenda. “I’m going home to work,” she argued right back.

He smiled down at her. “You really think you’re going to win this argument?” he asked gently.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I really think that I’m not afraid of you any longer,” she lied.

He shook his head even as his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her against his muscular frame. “Joline, I don’t want you to be afraid of me, but we are together now.” And with that, he lowered his head, kissing her until she was melting against him. Only then did he pull away and tuck her into the limousine then stepped in behind her. When the door was closed, he pulled her right back into his arms, placing her on his lap so that he could continue to kiss her. When she pulled away and shook her head, he moved his mouth to her neck and moved lower even while his hands slid under the silk blouse, caressing her soft skin and making her breath catch in her throat.

“Rais! Stop, we need to discuss this!”