The Prince's Intimate Abduction (The Samara Royal Family Series Book 2) (15 page)

“You’re here!” she screeched and threw her arms around both of them.  “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you’re here!  You’re really here!  I’m so excited!  I have so much planned over the next few days, so much to show you!”

Joline laughed and pulled back as she looked at her best friend in one of the latest designs.  As usual, Shantra looked impossibly lovely.  Joline wished she could wear the outfits with the same level of confidence that Shantra was able to pull off.  The clothes would be flying off of the racks. 

Holding Shantra’s arms out wide, she looked at the rose colored dress with the elaborate twists and tucks.  “You look amazing!” she gushed and hugged Shantra again.  While Keith seconded the praise, Joline stepped back and looked around at the foyer of the majestic palace.  The ceilings, walls and floors were absolutely beautiful, filled with color and glorious art made out of marble, stone and tiles.  Everything about this entrance screamed out power and purpose.  It was more than a little intimidating! 

“I can’t believe we’re here either!” Joline gasped as she looked up at the ornate ceiling.  “Good grief, this place is beautiful!”

Keith was looking around as well.  “I’m with you, sister!” he laughed.  “You really do live in a palace, my friend!”

Shantra laughed with them, so excited to see her friends.  “I know we have tons of stuff to discuss, so let’s get the introductions over with, okay?  Then we can…” she started to say something but snapped her lips closed.  “We can catch up once you’ve met my brothers and sister.”

She took both of their hands.  “I’ve warned all three of my brothers to be good, but it normally isn’t in their nature.  They’re beasts and I can’t guarantee anything.”  She looked at Joline and almost clapped her hands with excitement and hope.  Her plan might not work out, but as she looked at her friend, Joline’s beautiful hazel eyes and the soft, brown hair that floated around Jo’s shoulders like a gentle cloud, she was hopeful that…

Well, she would just let things happen if they happened.  If not, no one would be worse off. 

The three of them walked down the long hallway, chatting away about their flight, the sights they saw on the cab ride from the airport, the crazy security surrounding the palace and anything else that popped into their heads.  Joline and Shantra had been friends since their first day of university so they had their heads almost touching as they chatted away.  Keith, the third member of their group, had come later in the friendship but was still an integral member of their team. 

“Is he available?” Shantra asked Ramzi’s chief of staff.  “He told me to stop by as soon as my friends arrived.”  She turned to Joline and Keith.  “I spoke to them last night and they all promised me that they would be on their best behavior.”

A deep voice from the doorway challenged her assertion.  “No, Shantra.  You only wrung a promise from us that we wouldn’t intimidate your friends.  Nothing about ‘best behavior’ was mentioned.”

Shantra spun around and smiled up at Ramzi as he walked out of his office.  “They’re here!” she announced and moved her hands in front of both of her friends excitedly.

“So I can see,” her oldest brother commented, looking behind her.  His eyes widened when he took in the man and woman that were standing close behind Shantra.  “Are these…?”

Shantra moved back a step.  “Ramzi, this is Joline Caldwell and Keith Vargas.  Jo, Keith, this is Ramzi, and I guess you should call him Your Highness or something, but I simply call him a pain in the neck.”

Joline stepped forward and curtsied.  “It is an honor, Your Highness,” she intoned.  Joline had studied the appropriate etiquette to use when being introduced to royalty and she was eager to put her new knowledge to work.  She didn’t want Shantra’s brothers, especially the oldest, to dislike her or Keith for any reason.  Her friendship with Shantra was too important.  They’d been friends for so long and she relied on Shantra’s advice about…well, just about everything!  

Keith was right behind her with a formal bow.  “Shantra has told us wonderful things about you.” 

Ramzi shook both of their hands, putting both of them instantly at ease.  “Come into my office.  I’ll order coffee and refreshments.  I’m sure you’re tired after the long flight.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Shantra was saying.  “I’ve already asked the kitchen to send refreshments to our…”

“Ramzi, this doesn’t…,” Rais looked up from the file he’d been reading and stopped cold in the middle of the hallway.  The words he’d been about to speak were gone from his mind as he took in the beautiful woman standing in front of him.  She was looking up at him with eyes that changed from hazel to green while he watched and her pale skin turn the most becoming shade of pink. 

She wasn’t very tall, he thought.  Just a little shorter than Shantra but whereas his sister was barely contained energy, this woman looked like a calm breath of fresh air.  Not completely calming, he thought as his body responded to those oddly colored eyes and the rosebud lips that softened as they stared at each other.  She was beautiful in a soft, innocent sort of way that made his body harden with a flash of desire so strong, he actually had to clench his fists to keep himself from lifting the gorgeous woman into his arms and carrying her away so that he could gaze upon her in private. 

Her dark hair was pulled back at her nape, but the soft locks were smoothed down over her shoulder, the ends tantalizing him as they rested against her full breasts. 

Who was this lovely creature he wondered?  He tried to jump start his mind, but those lips!  They were moving, softening, as if she too were anticipating their first kiss, the taste that he knew would be better than the most precious nectar. 

“You promised!” someone hissed.

The sound was disturbing, like a gnat that he needed to swat away.  But he didn’t want to pull his eyes from the disturbingly beautiful woman to find out what or who was making that sound.  This woman, with those tender eyes and the blushing skin…she was going to be his, he thought with absolute conviction. 

“Stop it, Rais.  You promised to be nice!”

Rais was finally able to tear his gaze away and he looked down at his sister who was glaring at him angrily.  “What are you talking about?” he asked her, not sure what he’d come in here to discuss, or even what day it was, actually.  In fact, the only thing on his mind was finding out the name of this beautiful angel and taking her back to his suite so that he could find out what color those eyes changed to when she was writhing underneath him, naked and hot and bothered. 

“You promised not to be intimidating!”

He looked at his sister, then to the woman.  Things were finally starting to click.  This was her friend?  “You’re…?”

“This is Joline Caldwell,” Shantra explained to her brother, indicating his angel woman. 

Rais looked down into the lovely eyes that had turned back to hazel and he realized that the woman had the longest, darkest lashes he’d ever seen on a woman.  Astounding, he thought. 

Realizing that he was being remiss in his duties, he extended his hand, eager to feel her soft hand in his.  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Caldwell,” he said and stepped closer, taking her hand.  He noticed that her fingers were cold and her body seemed to be trembling.  He stepped even closer, trying to reassure her that he was no threat, but he couldn’t really tell her that truthfully.  Because he was a threat.  He was more than ready to toss her over his shoulder and carry her off to a place where his annoying sister and his obnoxious brother wouldn’t bother him.  Or her. 

Joline, he repeated in his mind.  A perfect name for his angel. 

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness,” Joline replied, slipping her leg behind her and trying very hard to balance while performing another curtsy.  But this man, with those dark, terrifying eyes that were looking at her as if he was ready to gobble her up, were pulling her whole body off balance.  If he hadn’t been holding her hand, she would have fallen at his feet in an inelegant mess! 

She felt his hand tighten on hers as he gently lifted her back up and she tried to smile her gratitude, but Joline wasn’t sure she managed that smile, too nervous with this man touching her hand. 

“And this is Keith Vargas,” Shantra was saying. 

Joline continued to stare up into his eyes, captured and unable to sever that invisible but unbreakable hold.  Her mind was telling her that he would have to look over at Keith at some point, but a large part of her heart was begging him not to, to stay with her and hold that connection. 

When she realized what she was doing, she tried to snatch her hand away, stunned that she would actually be wanting this man’s attention.  This wasn’t her!  She wasn’t this kind of a female!  She was distant, reserved!  She preferred to stay in the background! 

But he wasn’t releasing her hand.  Not just yet and she couldn’t break the hold he had on her gaze either.  She felt her heartbeat accelerate and her mind saw only this man, his touch and the sensations coursing through her, unrecognizable sensations. 

Sensations she didn’t like…

“Please,” she whispered, hoping that this man was the only one who heard her.

The Texas Tycoon’s Temptation

The Royal Cordova Trilogy

Escaping a Royal Wedding

The Man’s Outrageous Demands

Mistress to the Prince

The Attracelli Family Series

Never Dare a Tycoon

Falling For the Boss

Risky Negotiations

Proposal to Love

Love's Not Terrifying

Romantic Acquisition

The Billionaire's Terms: Prison Or Passion

The Sheik's Love Child

The Sheik's Unfinished Business

The Greek Tycoon's Lover

The Sheik's Sensuous Trap

The Greek's Baby Bargain

The Italian's Bedroom Deal

The Billionaire's Gamble

The Tycoon's Seduction Plan

The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress

The Sheik's Missing Bride

Blackmailed by the Billionaire

The Billionaire's Runaway Bride

The Billionaire's Elusive Lover

The Intimate, Intricate Rescue

The Sisterhood Trilogy

The Sheik's Virgin Lover

The Billionaire's Impulsive Lover

The Russian's Tender Lover

The Billionaire's Gentle Rescue

The Tycoon's Toddler Surprise

The Tycoon's Tender Triumph

The Friends Forever Series

The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress

The Duke's Willful Wife

The Tycoon's Marriage Exchange

The Sheik's Secret Twins

The Russian's Furious Fiancée

The Tycoon's Misunderstood Bride

Love By Accident Series

The Sheik's Pregnant Lover

The Sheik's Furious Bride

The Duke's Runaway Princess

The Russian's Pregnant Mistress

The Lovers Exchange Series

The Earl's Outrageous Lover

The Tycoon's Resistant Lover

The Sheik's Reluctant Lover

The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress

The Berutelli Escape

Resisting The Tycoon's Seduction

The Billionaire’s Secretive Enchantress

The Big Apple Brotherhood

The Billionaire’s Pregnant Lover

The Sheik’s Rediscovered Lover

The Tycoon’s Defiant Southern Belle

The Sheik’s Dangerous Lover (Novella)

The Thorpe Brothers

His Captive Lover

His Unexpected Lover

His Secretive Lover

His Challenging Lover

The Sheik’s Defiant Fiancée (Novella)

The Prince’s Resistant Lover (Novella)

The Tycoon’s Make-Believe Fiancée (Novella)

The Friendship Series

The Billionaire’s Masquerade

The Russian’s Dangerous Game

The Sheik’s Beautiful Intruder

The Love and Danger Series – Romantic Mysteries

Intimate Desires

Intimate Caresses

Intimate Secrets

Intimate Whispers

The Alfieri Saga

The Italian’s Passionate Return (Novella)

Her Gentle Capture

His Reluctant Lover

Her Unexpected Admirer

Her Tender Tyrant

Releasing the Billionaire’s Passion (Novella)

His Expectant Lover

The Sheik’s Intimate Proposition (Novella)

The Hart Sisters Trilogy

The Billionaire’s Secret Marriage

The Italian’s Twin Surprise

The Forbidden Russian Lover

The War, Love, and Harmony Series

Fighting with the Infuriating Prince (Novella)

Dancing with the Dangerous Prince (Novella)

The Sheik’s Secret Bride

The Sheik’s Angry Bride

The Sheik’s Blackmailed Bride

The Sheik’s Convenient Bride

The Boarding School Series

The Boarding School Series Introduction

The Greek’s Forgotten Wife

The Duke’s Blackmailed Bride

The Russian’s Runaway Bride

The Sheik’s Baby Surprise

The Tycoon’s Captured Heart

His Unexpected Protégé (Novella)

The Samara Royal Family Series – February 2016 to June 2016

The Samara Royal Family Series Introduction

Pregnant with the Sheik’s Baby

The Prince’s Intimate Abduction

The Prince’s Forbidden Lover

The Sheik’s Captured Princess

The Sheik’s Jealous Princess