Weight of the Crown

‘Cream, please. That’s all.’ She felt suddenly shy, rather than scared of him.

‘I prefer cappuccino myself.’

‘Oh, so do I!’ They both looked surprised at her quick reply, and then smiled.

‘You and I will have to indulge ourselves one day,’ Lysander said. ‘My late brother thought frothy coffee was undignified, and out of keeping with high office.’ His smile had been getting wider by the second and Alyssa couldn’t resist its power any longer. She could feel her own face relaxing, too.

‘Thoughts like that don’t stop you?’

‘Nothing stops me.’ His voice was warm.

Alyssa didn’t doubt it. She leaned back in her seat, trying to make the point that she didn’t intend starting anything.

‘This is very good coffee. Your brother may have had a point. I’ve heard he was very respectable. When you can drink coffee that tastes like this, why risk pushing any boundaries?’ she said, making it clear she didn’t only mean coffee.

Lysander wasn’t about to be put off so easily. ‘Akil didn’t start laying down the law until he was unlucky in love and then bang! He reverted to the family type where many things were concerned. For one thing, when it came to women he decided they should be seen and not heard—and preferably not seen either.’ He gave her another smile. ‘I get the feeling you’d be happy to keep this nursery wing as your own private space. I suspect he would have approved of you.’

‘All I’m interested in is giving his son a good start in life.’ Glowing with quiet pride, Alyssa took another sip of her coffee. ‘It’s the early days yet, but I think I’m going to like it here. I already love working with Ra’id so much, I’ll be quite happy to fit in with whatever you want, Lysander.’

The moment the words left her lips Alyssa went hot all over. It was exactly the wrong thing to say to a dangerously tempting man like this.

‘That’s what I like to hear.’ He laughed.

‘Just remember, I’m not here for your benefit!’

Lysander was so taken aback by her sharp retort, Alyssa had time to organise her thoughts before carrying on.

‘My interest is in children, and making sure they’re properly looked after. From what I understand, Ra’id has suffered all his life from a high turnover among his carers, so I intend sticking with this job for as long as I’m needed. That’s needed, and not wanted, Lysander,’ she said with chilling emphasis, letting him know that she assumed infidelity ran through his veins. ‘I’m not going to let anything affect the way I care for Ra’id. That’s why I want to get one thing clear from the start. There have to be ground rules for us as well as him.’

He slipped her a sidelong glance. Alyssa’s heartbeat accelerated, but she tried to ignore her pounding pulse.

‘I mean it.’

‘That’s a shame, but I suppose I should have guessed.’ He sighed, then took a long drink of coffee. ‘I’ve seen for myself how seriously you take your work. Does this mean you think sex isn’t a laughing matter, either?’

Alyssa swallowed, knowing she had to dodge his question. Every time she looked at Lysander she noticed some new detail about him. The slight natural curl in his dark hair, or the muscles that were hardly concealed by the fine fabric of his crisp white shirt.

‘It really doesn’t matter what I think about anything, except my job,’ she said, with a determination to ignore his smile. ‘I’m employed to care for Ra’id. You’ve got your work cut out caring for his country, Lysander. We both want the same thing.’ She felt embarrassed about exactly how true that was, and knew she was colouring up again. It was a good job the background lighting was so soft. It hid her embarrassment as well as her feelings. ‘And that’s the best thing for Ra’id. It means you and I have to work together as a team, and I mean work.’ She emphasised the last word carefully.

‘And I have no doubt at all that we will,’ he drawled, making Alyssa wonder what he thought of as work. ‘That’s why I’m going to study your methods as closely as I can. The job of Regent of Rosara couldn’t be more different from the life I’ve lived until now. With Ra’id years away from becoming King, and despite my brother’s best attempts at marrying me off, I’m still his only living relative. That means our country’s succession is in a precarious state. I have to make sure nothing happens to Ra’id, while running Rosara at the same time, and I intend to succeed at both jobs.’

Alyssa saw he was deadly serious, and knew she had underestimated him. ‘That’s a real challenge.’

‘I know, but I specialise in those.’

She had been thinking so hard about how a playboy was going to juggle two jobs like that, she didn’t realise he had been leaning steadily closer and closer to her. When he laid a hand on her arm, she jumped.

‘That’s why I need your help, Alyssa.’

She pulled her arm away smartly. ‘If there’s anything I can do to help Ra’id, I will. But that’s all, Lysander.’

‘Of course. You’ve made your point, so I’ll make mine. I prefer partnerships of pleasure.’ Despite her obvious anger, he didn’t sound at all apologetic.

‘I suppose by that you mean little and often,’ Alyssa snapped.

The smile returned to his beautiful mouth. ‘I’ve never had any complaints.’

‘Until you met me, and I’m out of bounds,’ she told him meaningfully. ‘As long as you remember that, Lysander, you can keep your record with women—which I’m sure must be one hundred per cent perfect.’

‘Oh, don’t worry. One little setback in a lifetime wouldn’t bother me. A single rejection among thousands of triumphs would only amount to a fraction of a percentage point,’ he said with a careless smile.

‘Ah, but if you don’t try, you’ll make sure you never fail—’

Alyssa had never known a man with such easy, natural charm. Those flashing eyes and that devilish smile made him almost impossible to resist, but then she remembered something. His one and only weakness would always be her greatest strength.

‘And if you ever force me to give you a black eye, Lysander, it would make other girls think twice about tangling with you, until your bruises have faded.’

He stopped smiling. His eyes narrowed. He pursed his lips, thinking.

‘I’m a fast healer, but … point taken.’

Alyssa wasn’t going to take any chances. ‘I’m serious, Lysander.’

He took another long, slow sip of coffee but his eyes didn’t once leave her face. ‘I’m sure you are.’

‘I’m here to work, so I don’t have time for distractions. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do my very best for your little prince. I once let a child down …’ She paused, not wanting to complete the story. ‘From that moment on, my job became the most important thing in my life. Do you understand?’

Lysander leaned back, resting one arm along the back of the couch. His eyes were dark and inscrutable. ‘Ah … yes, I remember somebody bringing that to my attention when they were checking your references. It was truly a tragedy that that little boy died because nobody took any notice when you told them how sick he was. That was unforgivable.’

Alyssa’s heart began to beat very quickly, and not only because of the way he was studying her. Talking to Jerry about the tragedy of little Georgie had been hard enough. Discussing it with a stranger would be impossible.

‘Yes, it was. Which is why I’d rather you changed the subject,’ she said abruptly, her breathing shallow.

Lysander’s expression altered. The intensity of his gaze made her blush.

I was never this forceful until—she thought, and felt the sharp pain of sadness in her throat. Oh, no. Why must that come back to haunt me, right now? The events of a few months ago had snowballed until they threatened to suck all the life out of her. This job was her chance of a fresh start. She couldn’t afford to weaken.

Lysander was so self-confident. Alyssa wished she had his sort of nerve, but she was at least determined not to let him see her eyes fill with tears. She looked away quickly, but for the first time since she had lost Georgie she found that her tears were easily blinked away. Painfully, she wondered if this was the start of her recovery.

‘Of course. It’s no wonder you mistrust people after that.’ Lysander’s voice was as slow and calculated as his smile. ‘Is there anything I can do to persuade you we aren’t all bad?’

He had picked up on her suspicions about him, so there was no point in denying them. It wasn’t good for her new employer to feel he was under surveillance, but that wasn’t Alyssa’s only worry. If a gorgeous man like this could see how troubled she was, her life really had gone too far in the wrong direction. She had to do something, fast, but what? Maybe she could do with talking about what had happened rather than bottling everything up … but this handsome, piratical prince looked more trouble than he was worth. Wanting to talk was one thing. Trusting him was something else. Finishing her coffee, she put her cup and saucer back on the tray and stood up.

‘Well, thank you for the drink, but unless you have some aspect of Ra’id’s care you’d like to discuss I think you’d better go, Lysander. I’ve got a lot to do.’ She took a last look around the sitting room, then started off towards the door she assumed must lead to her own suite. ‘The chap who parked my car earlier said he’d bring my luggage up but I got so involved with Ra’id, I haven’t even had a chance to find where I’m sleeping.’

‘The nanny’s rooms are through there.’ He pointed to the door. ‘But that way is kept locked all the time, to stop Ra’id disturbing her during the night. You’ll have to go out into the corridor and use the main door, at the top of the stairs.’

Alyssa flashed a dangerous look at him. ‘And how would you know that, if you’ve never had anything to do with Ra’id before?’