Protected by the Prince

Realisation slammed into her. Her heart soared.

It was real! Not her imagination. He felt it, too.

Tamsin struggled to inhale oxygen as the air thickened. Excitement revved her pulse, making her heart pound and her head swim. She swiped damp palms down her skirt. The heat inside ignited to a flash fire as his gaze followed the movement then rose, slow and deliberate, to her breasts, her mouth. Her nipples beaded and her lips parted eagerly as if he’d touched her.

‘I need to see you, in private.’

‘But last night…’

‘Last night I should never have started something I couldn’t finish.’ His mouth twisted in a tight smile that echoed the rigid expression he’d worn as he’d left her in the antechamber. ‘Do you really think a few stolen minutes hard and fast against a wall would have been enough?’

Alaric’s words made her head swim. Or maybe it was the graphic image that exploded inside her brain. Tamsin’s mouth dried as she saw his eyes mirror her excitement and frustration.

‘And afterwards…’ he paused ‘…I couldn’t come to you.’ Before she could ask why he spoke again, his voice darkly persuasive, his eyes glittering. ‘But I’m here now.’

Murmured voices approached from the main archive room.

‘I want you, Tamsin. Now. Away from interruption.’ His voice dropped to a deep resonance that brooked no refusal.

Her breathing shallowed as she teetered on the brink. Part of her was shocked by his unvarnished words. But mostly she was thrilled. Abruptly she nodded, the movement jerky.

She wanted this. The intensity of what was between them scared her, but she would not to hide from it.

She’d done with suppressing her emotions and needs. She’d always love her work but it was no longer enough. She’d be a coward to turn her back on the marvellous feelings Alaric evoked. On the chance to live and experience the passion so blatant in his heavy-lidded look.

Tamsin had no illusions. Whatever he wanted from her, whatever he offered, would be fleeting. But it was genuine. If she had no expectations, except for honesty between them, how could she be hurt?

It was the lies that hurt. The soiled feeling of being used for ulterior purposes, as Patrick had used her.

The unabashed heat in Alaric’s eyes, his single-minded focus were honest and headily seductive. Tamsin swallowed hard as excitement fizzed. After a life time of celibacy, she was ready to walk on the wild side.

Alaric had made it clear he didn’t believe in love. At the time she’d felt sad for him but now she realised it was a bond between them. She didn’t trust herself to try what passed for love again and Alaric was immune to it.

What they shared would be simple, straightforward and satisfying.

‘Fifteen minutes.’ His mouth barely moved as he murmured the instructions so her approaching colleagues couldn’t hear. ‘In the courtyard. Your warmest clothes.’

With a searing look he spun on his heel and was gone, leaving Tamsin’s heart pounding like she’d run a marathon.

Fifteen minutes. It seemed a lifetime.

Alaric stamped his feet against the cold and refrained from glancing at his watch. She’d be here. He’d read her anticipation. This was one time Tamsin wouldn’t object to an ultimatum.

His prim and proper Dr Connors was eager for this too.

He paused in the act of drawing on his gloves. Since when had he thought of Tamsin as ‘his’? A sixth sense warning feathered his backbone.

Alaric ignored it.

Tamsin wanted him. He wanted Tamsin. Simple.

And the fact that his intentions weren’t completely straightforward?

Alaric would go quietly crazy waiting on the interminable processes to confirm the succession. There was nothing he could do. A move to transfer power would be premature and potentially dangerous. Yet he itched for action, to work off the tension coiling within.

With Tamsin he could at least satisfy the lust eating him. This could be his last chance to enjoy freedom before the crown settled on his head. He’d make the most of every moment.

If he became king there’d be no more spur of the moment adventures, no dangerous sports. No escape. He shied away from that line of thought.

Tamsin wouldn’t be hurt. He’d ensure she was well satisfied.

Despite her complex, fascinating personality, she seemed easy to read. He wanted to believe in her. Instinct said she was honest. Yet she’d kept from him the news of the chronicle’s age, confirmed last night by her ex-lover. His thoughts snagged on the other man and tension rose.

He hadn’t missed her prevarication today, the way her gaze had slid away guiltily as he’d given the perfect opportunity to broach the news.

He was determined to solve the riddle that was Tamsin Connors.