A Royal Temptation

It had been three days of torturous relaxation. And it didn’t compute. How odd for her to realize while on a vacation in a beautiful locale that she wasn’t made for inactivity. She liked to keep active, to busy herself with things that mattered. Yesterday, she’d given herself a mental slap. You deserve this vacation, so shut up, sit back and enjoy yourself.

Today, the mental slaps weren’t working. Her relaxation was even more forced. She fidgeted in her chair; the book in her hands no longer held her interest. Sunglasses shading her eyes, she watched others frolicking on the sand, tossing a Frisbee, their laughter drifting over to her, reminding her how lonely she was. How bored.

She wished Jasmine was here. They would’ve had a good time with shopping, spa dates and maybe a nightclub or two.

The Frisbee landed at her feet and a teenage boy trotted over and stopped abruptly, blasting sand onto her legs. “Excuse me,” he said. He reached for the Frisbee slowly, eyeing her legs, then her bikini-clad body. “Want to play with us?” he asked.

He had Spanish good looks, dark hair, bronzed skin and a charming smile. He was sixteen tops, and she would’ve actually considered tossing the Frisbee around with him, if he hadn’t been so blatant about ogling her breasts.

She was saved from refusing, when the concierge from the Villa Delgado approached. “Excuse me, Princess.”

The boy blinked at her title, turned a lovely shade of cherry-blossom pink and bowed, before dashing off. She chuckled under her breath. Her royal status did have some advantages. “Yes,” she said to the concierge, removing her sunglasses.

“You have a phone call at the desk. A woman named Jasmine. She says she works for you. Apparently, she hasn’t been able to reach you on your cell phone.”

“I left my cell in my room,” she replied. She didn’t want to be interrupted in her state of lonely boredom. Now she realized how silly that seemed. “Sorry you had to track me down.”

“Not a problem, Princess Portia.”

“Will you tell her that I’ll call her as soon as I get to my room?”

“My pleasure,” he said.

When he walked off, she gathered up her beach bag, hat and sunglasses and promptly made her way toward the villa. Her suite with its second-floor terrace came into view. It was really quite picturesque, the columns and archways suggesting old-world grace and style. Why couldn’t she like being here more? Why wasn’t she okay with being idle? Maybe things had changed with Jasmine. Maybe her friend would come join her, after all. Her hope in her throat, Portia hiked a little faster to reach her suite of rooms.

Once inside, she set her things down on the dining table and headed for the bedroom, where she was sure she’d left her phone. It was charging on her nightstand. She unhooked the charger, just as she heard a knock at the door.

She belted her cover-up a little tighter and moved to the door. With a gentle tug on the knob, the door opened and she came face to face with Juan Carlos Salazar. The king.

She blinked and a rush of heat rose up her neck. She trembled at the sight of him, the gorgeous, unexpected, surprising sight of him. The phone slipped slightly in her hand and she grabbed at it before it crashed onto the floor.

His eyes were on her, and those dark raised brows made her flush even hotter. With guilt. Piercing disappointment flickered in his eyes. She hadn’t told him the absolute truth when she’d left Del Sol.

“Princess,” he said.

“Your Majesty,” she responded.

His lips twitched. “I see you’ve decided to stay on in Alma, after all.”

“I, uh, yes.” She didn’t owe him an explanation. One heart-robbing kiss didn’t give him that right. “My plans changed.”

“Quite unexpectedly, I assume.”

“Yes, that’s right.” The movement of two bodyguards caught her attention. They stayed back, at least five feet away, but she was certain they could hear every word. “Would you like to come in?”

His gaze dipped down to her bikini-clad body, covered only by a soft robe of silk that reached her thighs. “Yes.”

She backed up a few steps and he nodded to his bodyguards and then entered. They stood face-to-face again, alone in her suite.

Despite her guilt and a sense of being caught red-handed, this was the most exciting thing that had happened to her in three days. But how did he find out where she was and what did he want from her?

Her cell phone buzzed and she looked down at the screen. A text was coming through from Jasmine. She hadn’t had time to call her back yet. Quickly, she scanned the message.

Heads up. I might’ve made a mistake by giving King Montoro your location. He was charming and said it was a business thing. Apologizing in advance. Love you!

She lifted her lids to him. Okay, so he wasn’t psychic. But he was thorough.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said.

Warmth swelled inside her like an overflowing river. He had too much of an effect on her.

“It’s nice to see you, but I do admit, it’s quite a surprise.”

On this warm day, he was wearing dark trousers and a tan shirt, sleeves rolled up with his hands in his pockets, looking as casual and delicious as any man she’d ever met. Man, not king. But she couldn’t forget who he was. “I have to admit, I was also surprised to learn you hadn’t left the country.”

“You were looking for me?”

“Yes, I spoke with your assistant. She’s very nice, by the way, and she’s loyal to you. But the fact is, I have something of a business venture for you. And after I told her a little about it, she was willing to let me get in touch with you.”

His eyes skimmed over Portia’s body. Another wave of heat shimmied down to her belly and she turned away from his hot, assessing stare. Man or king, he was dangerous. “Would you like to sit down?” She waved him over to a latte-colored leather chair by the window that faced the Atlantic. “Please give me a minute to change my clothes.”

“Only if you have to.”

There was a wicked twinkle in his eyes that tweaked something lusty and recently unleashed in her body. It made her run, not walk toward her bedroom. “I’ll be a minute, Your Majesty,” she called over her shoulder.

His chuckle followed her into her room.

She scrubbed her face clean of sunscreen and removed her hair fastener, combing the tangles away and then gathering the strands back up into a long ponytail. She put on a pair of white capris and an off-the-shoulder cornflower-blue blouse.

A hint of lip gloss, some shading to her eyelids and she was ready. And more than mildly curious as to what was so important that King Juan Carlos had come all the way here to seek her out. She gave a last glance in the mirror and nodded. She felt a little less vulnerable to the king’s hungry eyes now.

* * *

Juan Carlos stood when Portia entered the room. His heart hammered in his chest at the sight of her. She didn’t know it yet, but he was determined to possess her. Aside from his newfound reign over Alma and his duties here, she’d become the most important thing in his life.

In such a short time.

It wasn’t rational. He had no explanation for it. He’d never experienced anything quite like this. When she’d left the palace the other night, remorse had plagued him and lingered for days. Was he pathetic? Or simply a man who knows what he wants.

She was perfect, his ideal woman. She was royal, beautiful, smart, but at the moment...quite unattainable.

“Princess,” he said.

“Would you like something cold to drink?” she asked.

“No, thank you.”

“Okay, then maybe we should sit down and you can tell me what this is all about.”