Royals Untamed!. Annie West

Чтение книги онлайн.

       CHAPTER SIX

      THE SUN SHONE brightly as Amber watched the polo horses pounding up and down the field. This was the kind of glamour she hadn’t experienced before and in her new silk sundress she felt every bit as sophisticated and elegant as the other ladies. She was acutely aware of the interest Kazim’s presence was causing and the curious glances coming her way.

      She slipped on her sunglasses, which offered her a place to hide, and feigned interest in the game, anything to try and avoid the tension that sliced through the air whenever Kazim spoke to those around them. His deep voice kept drawing her attention, her body painfully aware of his presence after last night.

      This was the informal part of his business meeting, he’d explained as they’d arrived at the country hotel by helicopter a few hours earlier, and she was thankful that soon she could seek sanctuary in the luxury of their suite whilst he met with the other leaders in private. Being constantly near him was proving harder than she’d envisaged. In her heart she still loved him, but was it good for her to yearn after something so impossible? It hurt that he’d only looked for her out of duty and necessity and, if that hadn’t been bad enough, he’d made it clear he hadn’t come to Europe especially for her. She’d been nothing more than an afterthought.

      ‘Are you not enjoying the polo?’ Kazim’s voice startled her and she looked up, prickles of embarrassment colouring her face and a zip of awareness shooting down her spine.

      ‘I was thinking of Annie,’ she said tentatively after his admission last night. ‘I’m worried she will think news of Claude’s treatment is a hoax; after all, she has no idea who you are.’

      Kazim took two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and set them on the table before sitting down opposite her, his long legs intimately close to hers, and she trembled, shocked by his nearness. ‘You are correct. Annie had no idea who I was, or indeed who you were,’ he said firmly. ‘But that is all sorted now.’

      ‘It is?’ she questioned as she picked up her champagne in an effort to appear calm. How had Annie taken that news? Knowing Annie, she wouldn’t have accepted Kazim’s explanation without giving him the third degree and she smiled to herself, wondering how he’d coped with that. Maybe she should have put more in her note, explained who Kazim was, at least? ‘But did you tell her about Claude’s treatment?’

      ‘I told her, exactly as I promised,’ he said as he looked out at the polo match. ‘Hasim, my cousin, the man I trust above all others will accompany them to America. They leave today.’

      She glanced at him. ‘So soon?’

      Applause rippled around them and she glanced out as a goal was scored. She looked back at Kazim, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the match.

      ‘When I want something I will do whatever is necessary to make it happen.’ The hidden innuendo didn’t go unnoticed. He’d as good as told her last night that he wanted her. Was this his way of making it happen?

      She watched as he sipped his champagne, loving the way the sun shone in his onyx hair. In fact she loved almost everything about this man. Despite all that had happened, she had done so since she’d first been introduced, the day she’d been told of their engagement by her parents. But she couldn’t let him know that; she couldn’t leave herself open for another rejection from him. She already knew from experience how lethally charming he could be if needed, just as he could be brutal and honest.

      ‘Thank you.’ She returned her attention to the polo match, not wanting him to see even the smallest trace of confusion on her face, because confused didn’t go halfway to explaining the tumult of emotions within her.

      ‘I always honour my promises,’ he said as he moved closer to her, keeping his words just for her ears.

      She turned quickly, her face suddenly so very close to his and, despite her sunglasses, she was sure he knew exactly the riot of feelings that were racing deep within her; she could see the same unrest mirrored in his eyes.

      ‘Very commendable,’ she said, adopting a light-hearted tone she was far from feeling, needing to gain control again. She had to distance herself from him, if not physically then certainly emotionally.

      He leant forward, putting his empty champagne flute on the table, his gaze holding hers all the time. The simmering sexual tension that rippled between them seemed to suddenly be at the point of exploding.

      ‘Finish your champagne,’ he said, his voice seductively husky, churning her stomach and sending heat coursing through her veins.

      Her breath caught in her throat and she licked her lips, which had suddenly become very dry as the intensity of desire in his eyes surfaced. The molten bronze swirled against midnight blackness and nothing or nobody else existed. It was just the two of them.

      Hesitantly, she took another sip; the bubbles fizzed in her mouth and he watched every tiny movement of her lips.

      When she took the next sip heat curled around her body as if his strong arms held her against him. Then, in a slow and controlled move, he leant towards her, his lips brushing lightly over hers as if he wanted to taste the champagne on them.

      She drew in a ragged breath and clutched tightly onto her almost empty flute as he drew back from her. The air around them throbbed with desire so raw she couldn’t speak. She didn’t want to say anything that might shatter the moment because right now she was desired and wanted by the man she loved.

      Slowly and with intent, he took the champagne flute from her hand. Without taking his eyes from hers, he placed it on the table. ‘Come.’ The underlying sensuality in that one word was not lost on her. He took her hand, infusing her with even more heat, and stood, leaving her no option but to grab her bag and phone and go with him.

      Amber was vaguely aware of heads turning and curious glances being cast their way as they left the match, but she didn’t care. His hand still held hers tightly, as if he thought at any minute she would turn and run. On one level she had no idea where they were going or why, but with some kind of instinct she’d never known before—she knew.

      Once inside the hotel doorway he made straight for the wide sweeping staircase that led to the first floor and the palatial suites on each wing of the grand building. She pulled off her glasses, her breath coming so fast she couldn’t speak. Their bodies were communicating through the seductive waves of awareness darting between them like shooting stars.

      They СКАЧАТЬ