Mistress to the Prince (15 page)

He looked down into her confused and passion heated face and nodded his approval. 
“I told you to call me Max,” was his only explanation and he stepped back
, his eyes reflecting the fire she felt inside her stomach now
.  He didn’t move far away though.  He put a hand to the small of her back and led her down the hallway
, slowing his stride to match her own shorter one
. 

“
Where are we going?” she asked, completel
y losing her train of thought as she followed him down the hallway. 

“I’m feeding you,” he said and smiled down at her.

She stopped in her tracks.  “I can’t have dinner with you,” she said and pulled her hand out from his. 

“Why not?” he said and put a hand to the small of her back and pushed her along with him.  “You’re hungry, I’m hungry.  We’ve had a very long day and it is time to relax.  Why don’t we do it together?”

“Because…”
Her mind drew a blank on coming up with a reason not to eat with him.  It actually made perfect sense and in the past, they had shared many meals while working through a project.  But that had always been in the office. 
Tara
’s mind was not cooperating. 

Running into Max’s mother, the always elegant, gracious and glamorous Queen Natasha definitely didn’t help. 
Tara
instantly slipped into a deep curtsy when the queen stopped in front of them. 

“Good evening, mother,” Max said, bowing to Queen Natasha as she made her way down the hallway reserved for the living quarters. 

His mother smiled graciously at her son and Tara, her eyes instantly speculating on the implications of finding him in the hallway with the beautiful woman. 
“Good evening.  I understand you won’t be joining us for dinner tonight,” she smiled and gave him a small kiss and hug. 
“But you didn’t give us any details on the reason for your sudden absence.”

Max smiled at his mother’s gentle way of asking what he was doing without being interfering. 
“Mother, I’d like to introduce you to Tara Michaels.  She is my assistant.”

The queen warmly smiled to
Tara
, taking her hand in hers graciously. 
“
Good evening, Ms. Michaels. It’
s very nice to meet you,” she said.  “Max, am I putting too much importance on this event?”
she asked, not taking her eyes off of
Tara
’s face. 

“No, mother,” Max smiled. 

The queen’s smile brightened inexplicably. 
“Very well,
then.  Have a lovely evening and I’ll see you in the morning,” she said to Max.  “Ms. Michaels, would you be available to have lunch with me one day this week?” she asked.

Tara
was completely intimidated by the beautiful and elegant queen and could barely stutter out a reply.  “Absolutely, your majesty.  I’m at your disposal,” she said, executing a slight curtsy. 

“Thank you.  I’ll have my assistant call you.” With those words, she disappeared down the hallway. 

Tara
watched the queen as she
walked away
, wishing she could be as graceful as the reigning queen.  It was as if she glided a few inches above the surface instead of actually walking on the floors. 
“What was that all about?”
Tara
asked,
still watching the empty hallway where the queen had disappeared. 

Max’s eyes weren’t on his mother but only on
Tara
, impressed with how well she had handled what could have been an awkward situation for someone less practiced at being around people, both aristocratic as well as the populace. 
“I couldn’t tell you,” Max
lied
, his smile broadening.  “Come along,” he said and led her down the hallway
toward
his private suite of rooms. 

Once they were behind closed doors, he tossed his jacket and tie onto a chair and sighed
, relieved to finally be alone with
Tara
and out of the sight of prying eyes and constant demands on his time
.  “Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked and walked over to the balcony doors.  “Want to eat outside tonight?” he asked, looking back at her.

Tara
was still standing inside the doorway but hadn’t taken a step inside. 
She’d watched the instantaneous transformation of Max.  As soon as he’d walked into his apartments, it was as if he’d lost some starch and was more human, approachable.  And incredibly, much sexier and more confident.  How
was that possible, she wondered?
 

“I hope you’re not planning on eating like that,” he teased.

“Like what?” she asked, still leaning against the door. 

Max walked over to stand directly in front of her.  “Tense, nervous, standing by the doorway with that very prim suit jacket on.  Why don’t you take off that jacket
?
  And your feet are probably throbbing by now. 
Those shoes can’t be very comfortable,” he said, referring to her three inch heels that made her legs look at least six inches longer and incredibly sexy.  “
You can toss them as well.”

Tara
stared at him blankly. 
“My shoes?”
she repeated. 

Max laughed.  “You can take off all your clothes if you’d like.  In fact, I’d like that very much
.”  He started unbuttoning her jacket and within
moments
, he was slipping the jacket off her shoulders and tossing it on top of his.

He winked at her as her cheeks heated with color at his words and his touch.  “Toss your shoes anywhere
, if that would make you feel better.  You’ve been walking in those heels all day.  I’m sure your feet are aching by now.”

There was no way she was going without her shoes.  She was already several inches shorter than he was.  If she took off her shoes, she’d loose the inches, and more confidence. 
“I’m fine,” she said and crossed her arms over her chest.  She felt almost naked without her jacket on.  She was wearing only a thin, white, silk shirt underneath with a lacy bra
and
she was pretty sure he could see through the thin material of her shirt.  She hadn’t considered that she would be without her jacket today so she hadn’t worried about what bra she was wearing. 

“I agree,
”
he said and winked at her
.  He walked across the large sitting room to a bar in one corner of the room.  “Are you thirsty?” he asked,
as he pulled out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator.  “Is white wine okay with you?” he asked and held up the bottle to read the label. 

She could only nod in agreement but he wasn’t looking at her as he pulled open a drawer to get the bottle opener. 
“
Y
es.  White
would be lovely
,
”
she
finally
croaked.
Actually, she’d prefer a huge glass of ice, cold water or anything that would cool her down.  Just being alone with the man was heating her bones.

“Why don’t you sit down outside and I’ll bring you the wine,” he said and pulled a corkscrew out of a drawer.

Tara
looked at the balcony that was already set with covered dishes.  The breeze felt wonderful from this distance and she tentatively walked closer. 
The air instantly cooled her overheated skin but it didn’t relax her at all. 
In fact the balmy breeze which was unusually warm for this early in the springtime created a more roma
n
tic setting
“What did you order for dinner?”

Max was right behind her and handed her a glass filled with chilled white wine.  “I didn’t order anything in particular.  The chef usually just makes something and we get a surprise.”

“Sort of a royal pot luck, huh?”
she joked.
  His casual manner was starting to sink in to her mind and she flexed her shoulders, trying to relax slightly.   She felt like a wire that was about to snap under the tension. 

Max stepped back and took a sip of the wine. 
“What’s
pot luck
?”

Tara
laughed, realizing that he’d probably never been to a church or social pot luck dinner before.  “It’s when a group of people get together and bring some part of the meal, then everyone shares it.  But it is a surprise what you’re going to eat.”

Max smiled at her explanation, nodding in understanding. 
“Ah
!
  Yes. I suppose every night is a sort of pot luck.  Have a seat,” he said.

Tara
sat down on the balcony chair closest to her and wondered what she could talk about. 
She fell back on work, not knowing what else to talk about with this enigmatic man. 
“The meetings today were long.  Why were you pushing so hard on the Minister of the Environment?”

Max was remorseless on how hard he had been on the older man who had worked for the Cordova government for the past twenty years. 
“Because I don’t really like him.  He’s not doing a very good job.”

Tara
had never heard Max say something derogatory about the minister so his words surprised her. 
“Why do you say that?’

“
I guess you don’t get to see my mail very often.  It appears that many people are a little frustrated with his directorship right now.”

They discussed business for about a half hour and
Tara
started to relax.  She was on familiar ground and even braved discussing a few of her own personal observations with him.  He was intrigued and asked her to elaborate, which she did.  Max pulled the covers off the plates as she talked and they dined on
baked, lemon chicken, asparagus and baby potatoes. 

She stuck to only one glass of wine and he didn’t push her to drink more. 

They talked until about
ten o’clock
that night. 
Tara
was completely u
naware of the passing of time but slowly her fatigue started to sink in.  She’d been up since early morning and hadn’t slept well last night due to her nervousness on what to expect from Max today. 

He noticed her smother yet another frown and knew that she was tired. 
“I should probably let you get home,” Max said but he didn’t move to do that.  In fact, he continued to watch her, trying to determine her mood.  “Why haven’t you ever told me these opinions before?”

Tara
looked out into the night.  “You never asked me before.  I give you any opinion you ask me for in the office,” she said.

“Ah
.
”

She stood up and he followed her.  “Thank you for dinner,” she said, feeling nervous all of a sudden. 

“I’ll walk you to your car,” he said. 

“There’s no
need,
”
she said but he wouldn’t
hear of it.

He was unrelenting on the issue. 
“It’s late.  I’ll walk you to your car,” he said and his tone didn’t allow for much argument. 

The walk to the parking lot was long and
Tara
tried to come up with something else to talk about but her mind was blank. 
It seemed odd to have not just her boss, but the Crown Prince walk her through the employee parking lot.  She would have expected him to task security to do this for her if he was concerned about her safety.  After all, that is what the palace security is for, she reasoned. 

They arrived at her car and she unlocked it with shaking fingers.  Turning around, she smiled up at him.  “Thank you again for dinner,” she said. 

Max smiled.  “You’re welcome.”  Without a further warning, he leaned down and kissed her gently.  Despite herself,
Tara
’s body immediately turned into his.  His mouth moved over hers roughly, deepening the kiss until she was unable to think of anything other than reacting to his touch and the movement of his lips.  She heard little
murmurs
in the back of her head but wasn’t aware that she was actually making them herself each time his hand touched a new spot on her waist or her back.