The Scandalous Collection. Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ stared at her for a moment, long enough to make her lose her edge of defiance and start to squirm. Or at least want to squirm. Thankfully she remained quite still. ‘Are you always this pleasant?’ he finally enquired.

      ‘No, I’m not,’ she told him. ‘You happened to catch me at a good moment.’ He let out a dry chuckle, surprising her. So boring Ben Jackson possessed a sense of humour. A small one.

      ‘I shudder at the thought of catching you at a bad one,’ he told her, and his voice was low and honeyed enough to slide right over her senses. Restrained and boring he may be, but he was also all too attractive.

      Natalia knew she had been rather rude to him, but only because she’d felt so defensive. As soon as she’d met Ben Jackson he’d examined and dismissed her, all in the space of a few minutes. She’d spent a long time perfecting her air of polished, jaded sophistication, and she didn’t like someone like Ben blowing it. Seeing right through it. Laughing at her. ‘Shudder away,’ she told him. ‘Somehow I don’t think we’ll be meeting again.’

      Ben Jackson let his gaze sweep slowly over her—far too slowly, for Natalia felt not only as if he were seeing right through her, but stripping the clothes from her body. Not that she was wearing much. Her silver-spangled dress was haute couture but very short, with a plunging V neckline. She felt her body heat all over under his deliberate scrutiny, and knew Ben Jackson saw the revealing colour wash over her. Unfortunately she went blotchy when she blushed. Not at all the look she was going for, and a ridiculous response to a man who had treated her abominably. She needed to get out of here, before Ben Jackson saw—and knew—too much.

      Ben watched Natalia flush with interest and a sudden kick of lust. She was a beautiful woman, he had to give her that. Sexy, sophisticated, with a wicked glint in her eye and a proud tilt to her chin. The dress she wore was outrageous. In other circumstances, he would have enjoyed suggesting they both get out of here and go somewhere a little more private. Very private. Yet he was quite certain, from what he’d read and now just experienced, that Princess Natalia didn’t do private. Not like he did. He’d had enough scurrilous publicity for a lifetime, and he’d seen its effects tear through his family, a tornado of rumours and lies.

      No, he had another suggestion for the princess. He watched her start to turn away, still proud, still bristling with affront, and he said, almost lazily, ‘You can dismiss my football camp all you want, Princess, as some reprehensible publicity stunt, but I guarantee you wouldn’t last a day—no, an hour—there serving as a volunteer.’

      Natalia turned back, eyes narrowed to jade slits. ‘I wouldn’t want to volunteer even for an hour,’ she snapped.

      Ben grinned; he couldn’t help himself. Sparring with her invigorated him, made him feel alive in a way he hadn’t in a long time … even if she was completely annoying. ‘That doesn’t surprise me at all.’

      ‘Let me clarify,’ she said icily. ‘I would not want to volunteer if you were present.’

      ‘I bother you that much?’ he enquired, and he couldn’t keep the obvious innuendo from lacing his words. She bothered him. In more ways than one.

      ‘I simply prefer not to spend my time with arrogant boors.’

      He chuckled drily, reluctantly admiring that she never let up. Not for one second. ‘You’ve summed me up quite quickly.’

      ‘As you have me,’ she pointed out, and to his surprise he thought he heard a thread of hurt underneath her magnificent disdain. The possibility made him feel uncomfortable, almost disappointed. He wanted to take Princess Natalia at face value, no more.

      ‘Still,’ he said. ‘You should volunteer.’ He didn’t really mean it, of course. The thought of the princess swanning through his office, disrupting his efficient staff and generating all kinds of speculative publicity was definitely not something he wanted. Yet he couldn’t keep from baiting her.

      ‘Thank you for the suggestion,’ she told him sweetly, ‘but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.’

      Now annoyance prickled under his skin, even though he knew he was being unreasonable. As unreasonable as the princess, refusing to even consider such a thing. ‘It’s so beneath you?’ he enquired silkily.

      Her chin lifted and her eyes glittered. ‘You seem to think so.’

      ‘I think it could be good for you.’

      ‘Teach me a lesson? Thank you, but no. Go ahead and do your little pet project, make yourself feel better, but leave me out of it.’

      Annoyance turned to anger. Ben knew he was reacting emotionally to this woman’s taunts, yet he couldn’t keep himself from it, from feeling the anger surge through him at the way she’d dismissed not just him, but something that was so important to him. Already she was turning away. ‘I’ll make you a wager,’ he told her in steely challenge, and she stilled.

      ‘A wager? I don’t gamble, Mr Jackson.’

      ‘Please, call me Ben.’ She smiled frostily and said nothing. He took a step closer to her. ‘This isn’t exactly a gamble, Your Highness. More a test of your mettle.’ Her expression turned stony, and Ben knew what he wanted. He could handle the princess’s theatrics, and even the publicity. Besides, with so much going on with the royal family, were the tabloids really going to jump on Princess Natalia for going to an office every day? And the thought of seeing her taken down a notch or two, or even learning something, was very attractive indeed.

      As was she … For a second Ben questioned just why he was doing this. Then he thrust the thought aside, and dipped his head so he could inhale her surprising, citrusy scent, feel the feminine warmth of her only inches away. ‘I’ll bet,’ Ben whispered, ‘that I could convince your father to make you volunteer.’

      She stiffened, half turned to face him, and if Ben had moved at all, their lips would have touched. He felt a jolt of lust, the depth and strength of his attraction surprising him, alarming him even. Too much. He could tell she wanted to take a step backwards, but she refused. She angled her head so she was looking up at him, and he could see the golden flecks in her eyes, a tiny mole at the corner of her mouth.

      ‘Convince my father? I hardly think so.’

      ‘Then you’ll take the bet?’

      Natalia eyed him coldly, and he knew she was torn between proving herself and staying safe. As was he … Just what was he thinking, inviting Natalia into his office, his life? Yet as her lashes swept downwards, hiding any emotion revealed in her eyes, he realised he didn’t care. He wanted this.

      ‘I didn’t say that,’ she finally said.

      ‘Scared, Your Highness?’

      Natalia drew herself up. ‘You take the most appalling liberties, Ben. And no, I’m not scared. I’m just not interested. And I highly doubt my father would so much as grant you an audience, much less listen to your argument.’

      Her resistance just made him want to push more. ‘Then why not take the bet?’

      ‘Why should I?’

      ‘Of course. Something has to be in it for you.’

      ‘Is there something in it for me?’ she enquired sweetly. ‘Such as you printing a public apology СКАЧАТЬ