Operation: Monarch. Valerie Parv

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      “I know what the R.P.D. is. I’ve seen you on TV, shadowing Prince Lorne. Being beautiful must be an asset in royal protection.”

      Torn because he thought her beautiful, but obviously still believed she traded on her looks, she let her anger surface. “I was hired for my skills, not my appearance.”

      “Such as a black belt in shopping?”

      Goaded beyond her limits, she vaulted to her feet and lassoed his broad shoulders with her resistance band, hog-tying him before he had time to react. Leaning back to tighten the band, she let it bite into his flesh just enough to get his attention.

      He didn’t move but his gaze held a new glimmer of respect. “Old habit. And you are beautiful.”

      “And you’re the same old pain in the—”

      Before she could finish, he flexed his muscles, loosening the band enough to throw it off. Yanking on it, he toppled her against him, making her think she was going to find herself in his arms for the second time in her life. The prospect caused her heart rate to rocket, hammering at her shield of professionalism.

      For a heartbeat she was back in school, her teenage body pressed against him as her mouth shaped hungrily to his. The memory of his indifference rolled over her anew, giving her the strength to straighten away from him. She could swear he knew what she’d been thinking and had provoked her to see how she’d react.

      When she moved back he tossed the apparatus to her, almost but not quite dissipating the unwanted feelings. “You made your point. Both points,” he said, sounding world-weary. Surely he hadn’t wanted her in his arms?

      It wasn’t exactly an apology but it would have to serve. Unnerved by the easy way he’d demonstrated his greater physical strength, she dropped to the mat and continued her workout. After a few repetitions she reminded herself she had a job to do. Her own feelings couldn’t be allowed to get in the way.

      “Are you on leave from the navy?” she asked.

      His powerful movements made the resistance band stretch and contract like breathing. “I left the service after a disagreement with the brass.”

      She wanted to say, “I know, and I don’t believe you were at fault,” but couldn’t without betraying how much she knew about him. Instead, she said, “You never did like authority much.”

      “I don’t have a problem with authority provided it isn’t wielded by fools,” he growled.

      “Such as the man who got you fired from the navy?”

      The cord snapped to his feet as he swung his gaze on her. “I didn’t say I was fired. I said we parted company.”

      “My mistake,” she said mildly, although her heart was pounding.

      He retrieved the cable and resumed his methodical rowing movements. “As it happens, you’re right. Not that it matters who’s at fault when a trainee under my care comes close to getting killed.”

      It mattered to him, she saw, impressed that his concern was all for the injured diver. There wasn’t a trace of self-pity or justification in his tone. “You don’t believe you were at fault, do you?”

      The mask lifted for a moment. “I know I wasn’t.” Then the shutters came back down. “For all the good it will do me.”

      “Couldn’t you get a lawyer to defend you?”

      He unhooked the cable from his feet and looped it around his hand. “What’s the point? Admirals are always right. Besides, I’m happy as I am now.”

      She was genuinely curious now. “Doing what?”

      “Salvage diving. Provided they don’t mind diving with a black sheep, I take adventurous tourists down at exorbitant fees.”

      It was out before she knew it was what she wanted. “Would you take me sometime?”

      He shrugged. “Your money is as good as anyone’s.”

      Annoyed with herself for feeling hurt, she said, “I was thinking more for old time’s sake.”

      He drew his legs up and hooked his arms around them. “I wasn’t aware we had any old times.”

      “Not because I didn’t want to have them,” she said softly.

      “Is that why you made a bet with your friends that you wouldn’t have the nerve to kiss me?”

      She felt her face flame. “The bet was their idea, not mine.”

      “You took them up on it.”

      “Yes I did, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

      He tossed the cable aside and rolled over onto his stomach, levering himself up on his arms and exhaling slowly as he pushed himself away from the mat.

      Inhaling, he lowered himself down to the point where his chest was a few inches from the floor. His control left her breathless. Resignedly she rolled over and began a set of push-ups as demanding as his own. Showing off? She wondered.

      By the time she finished her repetitions she was breathing hard. Garth had already finished and his chest was hardly moving, she noted. And she had thought she was fit.

      “You shouldn’t have regrets, especially about me,” he said unexpectedly.

      She sat up and blotted her face with a towel. “Don’t flatter yourself. I haven’t exactly been pining.”

      A water bottle lay within arm’s reach. Picking it up, he drank then offered it to her. She swallowed some water, trying not to think of his lips on the bottle before hers. Too intimate by far.

      “I shouldn’t think you’d be left to pine for long.”

      Her head came up. “Because I’m a doll who trades on her looks?”

      A shadow darkened his rugged features. “That was cruel. I was out of line.”

      Better late than never, she thought. “Thanks, but you were right. I let my parents manage my life for too long. Modeling was never what I wanted to do, but they came to depend on the glamour and the excitement. Whenever I go home I hear about what could have been.”

      “They managed without you.”

      She laughed hollowly. “I didn’t give them much choice.” When she finally convinced them she was serious, her mother had started a business advising other would-be models and her father had gone back into banking.

      “Asserting yourself must have taken courage.”

      Finally she had demonstrated a quality he could admire. She fought to stop her spirits from leaping. After he found out why she was here, he wouldn’t waste time admiring her. He would think she was being just as dishonest with him as she had been before. He would be right, too. She decided enough was enough.

      She dragged in a steadying breath. “This meeting isn’t exactly an accident.”

      “Surprise, СКАЧАТЬ