He told himself to think about something else, that it was probably against the law to imagine a royal princess naked. But he couldn’t help himself. Unfortunately, she wasn’t just beautiful and elegant. She was also smart and bold and bossy as hell and he wouldn’t change one thing about her. She challenged him. How was he supposed to resist that? Except he had to. Alex was many things, but she wasn’t for him.
She started for the hallway. When he didn’t follow, she paused and looked back at him. ‘‘Are you staying up?’’
‘‘Just for a little while. I still have some work.’’
‘‘Did I keep you from that? I didn’t mean to.’’
‘‘You didn’t keep me. I wanted to have dinner with you.’’
She smiled that slow, welcoming smile that sucked the strength from his legs and sent heat flooding to his groin.
‘‘I enjoyed it, as well.’’
Her soft accent drove him crazy. He took a step toward her, then another. Even though he knew he shouldn’t. Even though what he was thinking was wrong. He told himself to stop it. He told himself she would be offended. He told himself that it might start an international incident and—
And he couldn’t take his eyes off her perfect mouth.
They were only a couple of feet apart. There wasn’t much light in this part of the room, so he couldn’t see her expression too clearly, nor could he guess what she was thinking. He figured the worst that would happen was that she would slap him.
‘‘I’ve never kissed royalty. Do you do it differently from regular people?’’
She flushed again, but didn’t move away. If anything, her body seemed to sway toward his. ‘‘I don’t believe so. I’ve never kissed a cowboy. Doyoudo it differently?’’
‘‘Most of us practice on our horses, so our women have to stomp their feet a couple of times to get us going.’’
‘‘Really? I had no idea.’’ She took a tiny step toward him.
‘‘Sure. It works every time.’’ He took a step toward her. Suddenly there wasn’t any room between them. ‘‘I thought you were going to bed,’’ he said.
‘‘I thought you were going to work in your office.’’
‘‘I think I’d rather kiss you.’’
Her blue eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t turn away. Instead, slowly, deliberately, she stomped her foot.
Chapter Six
Mitch couldn’t believe that the incredibly beautiful, incredibly royal Princess Alexandra had just issued an invitation for him to kiss her. He was many things, but he wasn’t a man to pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He slipped his arms around her waist and drew her even closer, until their bodies touched from shoulder to thigh. She was tall and slender, yet curvy. He could feel her breasts flattening against his chest in a way that would keep him hard for days. Soft curls framed her face, and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes and pressed his mouth to hers was her expression of startled desire.
He half expected her to pull away and stop things before they had much of a chance to begin. But she didn’t. Instead, she stayed very still as he moved his lips against hers. She smelled sweet and womanly. Her lips were soft and yielding, and when she shuddered slightly in his embrace, it was all he could do not to plunge his tongue inside her mouth and tease her until she was breathless.
He’d expected the wanting, and it didn’t disappoint him. The tension in his body increased as blood pumped hotter and faster. His groin ached. Then she placed her hands on his shoulders and parted her mouth. Two small acts that shouldn’t have meant a damn thing, except maybe that she didn’t dislike him kissing her. But her acceptance and her invitation combined to ignite a fire inside of him he’d never felt before. Desire, need, hunger—whatever it was called—slammed into him and through him, leaving him gasping for air. Instead of just wanting to deepen the kiss, he found himself wanting to shove her up against a wall and do it with them both standing up. He’d been blindsided, and he didn’t even know what had hit him. Worse, he hadn’t even really kissed her.
But even as he gently stroked her lower lip with his tongue, then slipped inside her mouth, he knew how it was going to be. Pure perfection brought on by a combination of chemistry, timing and maybe some dumb luck thrown in for good measure. This was more than getting turned on, he thought in shock. This was a summer thunderstorm, all heat and light and sweet darkness. He wanted to get lost inside of Alex and never find his way out.
As he touched his tongue to hers, he felt the fire lick across his skin. She tasted right, she felt right in his arms. Her body, oh, Lord, what she was doing to him. And she wasn’t even trying. She was just standing there, her arms wrapped around his neck. What would happen if she actually touched him? He got harder at the thought, harder and more aroused. He tried telling himself it was just a kiss, but that was sort of like calling the Grand Canyon just a hole in the ground.
* * *
Alex found it difficult to breathe. At first she’d encouraged Mitch to kiss her because, well, no one had wanted to in a long time. He was a decent man. Good-looking, hardworking and honest. He made her laugh. Best of all, he didn’t treat her as though she was different. Around Mitch she could occasionally forget she was a princess and instead pretend to be just a regular woman. Besides, when he’d looked at her with something she nearly dared to call desire, he’d made her insides go all squishy. So she’d allowed herself to cross the line just a little and kiss him.
But this wasn’t a kiss, she thought hazily as large, strong male hands stroked up and down her back. She’d been kissed a few times in the past, and those embraces had been nothing like this. She remembered feeling pleasantly aroused and warm and even a little wicked. But in Mitch’s arms, she found herself practically squirming. Her legs trembled, her breasts ached, and she could feel her panties getting wet. Worse, she wanted to rub herself against him like a cat. She wanted him to touch her…everywhere.
He plunged inside her mouth again. She circled around him, tasting him, caressing him, holding back the moan of pleasure that formed at the back of her throat. She wanted this. She wanted more.
When his hands dropped to her rear, she gasped. He squeezed her curves and drew her closer. Her belly pressed against something hard. His…his… Oh, my.
Alex drew back and stared at him. In all her twenty-nine years she’d never made love before. She’d known that she would have to make a political marriage for the sake of her country and she’d always thought it was important for her to save herself for her future husband. None of the men she’d ever dated had pushed for intimacy, and she’d found it surprisingly easy to avoid sexual entanglements. In fact, she’d never seen a naked man or felt an erection, even through clothing.
