Tara was startled by the harshness in his voice coupled with the heat of his hand on her back, moving along her spine. Her heartbeat increased and she had to lick her lips in order to speak. “Your Highness, I don’t wear dresses like this to other functions because it isn’t appropriate.”
The large hand holding hers tightened slightly with her response. “What in the world do you mean by that? And if you don’t think it is appropriate then, why are you wearing it now? Again I ask, how does he rate?”
“I’m working those other functions,” she explained, trying desperately to understand the conversation but he was so close and she’d never danced in his arms like this. She liked the feeling way too much. “This dress would be a distraction.”
“You got that right,” he growled.
“Max, I’m sorry. I didn’t know I would be coming here tonight. Greg didn’t tell me where we were going, just to dress up. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dressed like this and embarrassed you,” she said sadly.
Max laughed harshly and spun her around, pulling her closer. “You think I’m angry because of your dress?” he rasped.
Tara looked up again and looked at his face. “Well, why else would you be angry?”
He couldn’t help it. In the back of his mind, he knew he should just walk away from her and let her enjoy her evening with the boring man with the awful tuxedo but he wasn’t going to do it. He had to understand why she wasn’t interested in him. The words slipped out before he could stop them. “Perhaps because you never dressed like that for me? Why do I only rate the conservative, professional outfits?” He saw the shocked expression on her face and berated himself for revealing his feelings like that. “Never mind,” he said harshly.
The next dance was slower and Max pulled her closer to his body. She put her hand on his chest instead of his shoulder this time and she could feel the strong, beating of his heart through the expensive fabric of his tuxedo.
“Where in the world do you meet those men?” he asked, his head nodding toward Greg who was dancing poorly with a blond woman who only giggled loudly at his awkward attempts at the waltz.
“Through friends of friends,” she sighed. Tara smiled up at him, “You don’t give me much time to search out more eligible bachelors.”
Max looked down at her smiling face and almost groaned at the effort it took to not touch her sexy lips, kiss her incredible mouth. “Good,” he said grimly. “I’ll keep it that way.”
“Why would you do that?” It was hard keeping up light banter when all she wanted him to do was bend down and kiss her. But she knew that was out of the question. And even if he did, that was too dangerous to want. Max never stayed with one woman for long, preferring variety. Her body shivered despite her best attempts at hiding her body’s response to his closeness.
Max felt the shiver run through her body and noted the more rapid breathing, the pulse that was beating frantically at the base of her throat. It all added up to exactly what he wanted it to mean. He hadn’t been delusional the other day when she’d blushed in his office. Now that he could see all the signs, unmistakable signs he noted, he felt better, more relaxed and on better footing. The night was looking better and better!
Max chuckled, feeling better now that he could see the truth in her eyes and feel her shivers in her body. Twenty minutes ago, he’d been willing to commit murder when she’d walked up in that beautiful dress that made her look all soft and feminine and touchable. When she’d introduced her date, his first reaction was to smash the man’s face in and break his hand when he dared to touch Tara.
But now that she was in his arms, and he knew she felt the same way about him, he felt as if he were on top of the world. She didn’t understand, but he’d figure out a way to get through to her. He didn’t understand why she wasn’t picking up immediately on the fact that he was just as attracted to her. He knew she was one of the most intelligent and perceptive people of his acquaintance. That made her a valuable employee, but he didn’t think of her as an employee now. Hell, he hadn’t thought of her as just and employee for months which had frustrated him beyond all reason since he’d thought she’d considered him nothing more than her future king and her current employer.
Things were going to change, he thought to himself.
He pulled her imperceptibly closer and she closed her eyes. Max liked that about her. She definitely was responsive, he thought. Each time he moved his hand, and he did it often just to feel the shiver, the response, and see the tint of her cheeks darken, his suspicions were confirmed that she’d been hiding her attraction to him. For how long, he wasn’t sure. But it was definitely there now.
They were eventually interrupted by people wanting to talk to Max, and they moved off the dance floor, but Max wouldn’t allow her to leave his side. He sensed that she was trying to escape so she could politely go back to her date, but he wouldn’t allow her to leave. In fact, he kept her beside him and included her in all the conversations as if she were here with him exclusively tonight.
After two hours of standing by his side, Tara knew that she needed to separate herself. As wonderful as it felt to be near him, to have him include her in the conversations as if she were an equal instead of simply an employee, she had to end the fantasy. Sighing deeply, she put a hand to his sleeve to get his attention. “I need to go back to Greg,” she whispered when a break came in the conversation.
Max looked across the room and shook his head. “Don’t worry about him. He’s currently occupied,” he said and nodded his head toward the shorter man who was earnestly discussing something with a buxom blond woman who seemed to be hanging onto Greg’s every word. Max pulled her arm through his, pulling her closer to him so he could feel her warmth along his side.
Tara was stunned. Apparently, Greg was flirting outrageously with someone else. She disregarded the fact that she herself had ignored him for the past couple of hours. Her date was actually flirting with another woman! How embarrassing! Here she was with her boss and her date wasn’t even interested in her. “Who is she?” Tara asked, not really caring about the fact that Greg was talking to another woman but a little concerned that he’d obviously completely forgotten about her.
Max glanced across the room and watched as the blond woman whispered something in Greg’s ear. The other man smiled and nodded eagerly. “I don’t know,” Max chuckled. “But I don’t think he’ll mind if I pull you along for another dance,” he said and did just that.