Protected by the Prince

‘Still,’ she said, ‘he must have missed your mother. Even if he didn’t marry for love, he would have grown to care for her.’

Alaric shook his head. No point letting her believe some fairy tale when the truth was publicly known. ‘My father didn’t waste any time finding another woman.’

‘He married again?’

‘No, he simply ensured there was a willing woman warming his bed whenever he wanted one. He was a good-looking man and he had no trouble attracting women.’

People said Alaric was like him.

Hadn’t the disaster with Felix stemmed from Alaric’s too-easy success with women?

There was no disputing the fact Alaric, like his father, had never fancied himself in love, possibly because he’d never experienced it. Ice trickled down his spine. Maybe it was a character flaw they shared. That they were incapable of love. Unlike Felix. Unlike Alaric’s mother who’d reputedly died of a broken heart.

‘I see.’

He doubted it. Tamsin, he was beginning to suspect, had a naïve streak a mile wide.

He’d bet she’d be horrified to learn the first girl to profess love for Alaric had simply been aiming to meet his father. That love had been code for sex and expediency in a quest for the power and riches she’d hoped to obtain in the bed of a man old enough to be her own father.

Alaric had learned his lessons early. If there was one thing he’d never be foolish enough to do, it was to give his heart.

CHAPTER SIX

‘THANKS for coming, Alaric. It was good to talk before I put the expansion plans to the rest of the board.’

Alaric turned. He didn’t let his eyes flicker to the scar disfiguring Peter’s cheek and neck. He’d long ago trained himself not to, knowing pity was the last thing his old comrade wanted. But nothing could prevent the sour tang of guilt in his mouth.

‘My pleasure.’ He forced himself to smile. ‘You know I always have time for the youth centre. I just wish there’d been something like it when we were kids.’

Peter shrugged. ‘The army saved us both from turning into feral teenagers.’

Alaric thought of his rebellious teens, chafing at his father’s aloof authoritarianism and his own sense of uselessness, kicking his heels between royal duties.

‘You could be right. Just as well the military is royalty’s accepted profession for superfluous second sons.’

‘Hardly superfluous.’

Alaric shrugged. It was the truth, but he wasn’t interested in discussing his family.

‘I like your Tamsin, by the way. A bit different from your usual girlfriends.’

It was on the tip of Alaric’s tongue to say she wasn’t his, yet. ‘She is different.’ That’s why she fascinated him. She was an enigma. Once solved she’d lose her allure and finally he’d get a full night’s sleep.

They walked into the large indoor sports hall to find a crowd clustered below the climbing wall. There was no sign of Tamsin. Last time he’d seen her she’d been engrossed in some new computer programme with a couple of lanky youths.

Then he saw her—halfway up the towering wall.

Bemused, he stared. He’d left her without a qualm, seeing her so involved and with his staff to look after her while he attended his meeting. Had she been pressured into scaling the massive wall? The teens often challenged visitors in a test of courage.

‘Way to go, Tamsin!’ called one of the youths holding the rope that kept her safe.

Alaric strode over, fury pumping in his veins. At them for forcing her into this. At himself for allowing it to happen.

He slammed to a halt as he realised, far from being petrified, she was making steady progress up the wall.

She wore a helmet but her feet were bare and her trousers rolled up, revealing those shapely calves. The harness she wore outlined the lush femininity of her derriere and made his blood pump even faster.

Tamsin moved with the grace of a natural climber. Another metre and she reached the top. Roars of approval erupted, almost obliterating her exultant laughter.

Who’d have thought it? Prim and proper Dr Connors had the makings of a thrill seeker! He watched her climb down.

‘That was fantastic,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘I…’ Looking down she saw him. Her foot jerked beneath her.

‘I’ve got you.’ Alaric stepped close. ‘Let her down.’ They obeyed and a moment later she filled his arms.

She was soft and intriguingly curvaceous for such a slim woman. The warm puff of her breath hazed his neck and his grip tightened.

She fitted snugly in his hold, her breast soft temptation against his chest, the sunshine scent of her enticing. His pulse accelerated but he kept his eyes on her flushed face, rather than linger on the pronounced rise and fall of her breasts.