A Royal Mess and Her Knight To Remember Read online

  “—think I’m a three-legged pig who needs a stable.”

  She moved fast, and might have gotten away if he hadn’t grabbed her hand, might have fought him if he hadn’t held on.

  “I have to go,” she whispered.

  “Hold on.” Her breath sounded funny as she struggled for control, and his heart slipped. “No, don’t…” He took her shoulders and gently pulled her resisting body close. For comfort, nothing more, but he realized the mistake instantly, as there was far more than comfort at work here. She was soft against him, so soft, and she burrowed close, burying her face in his shoulder as she struggled with composure.

  So strong. So alone. To soothe, he stroked a hand over her hair, down her slim spine.

  You’re asking for trouble, man, in a big way.

  It didn’t seem to matter, not when she sniffed and burrowed a little closer, pressing her face into the crook of his neck.

  “I was trying too hard.” Her words whispered against his skin. “You’d probably would have rather been eating peanut butter and jelly.”

  “No.” Her soft, warm lips against his flesh were killing him slowly. “We just didn’t know what you were dishing out, that’s all.”

  What she was dishing out now, with just this one embrace, was going to give him a king-size heart attack any second now.

  “I’m sorry,” she said on a sigh. “I’m just ever so tired of making a fool of myself.” But she snuggled closer, heating his body. “I was just having so much fun being needed for a change. At home, I’m important, but not needed.” She sighed again, still against his skin, and he nearly went to his knees. “You have no idea how nice it is. To be needed.”

  Needed.

  Whoa. Big mental step back.

  When had it gone from her needing him to him needing her?

  With a good amount of shock, he lifted his head.

  She lifted hers, too, and for one moment they hovered like that, their lips a fraction of an inch apart, until one of them—he had no idea which one—closed the gap.

  Then they were kissing as if their lives depended on it. And in that moment, his did.

  7

  COMING UP FOR AIR, Natalia pulled back a fraction. Her mouth was wet, her eyes slumberous, her fingers entangled in the hair at the back of Tim’s neck. The look on her face nearly undid him.

  “Don’t take this wrong,” she murmured, sending delicious shivers down his spine with her fingers, “but I’ve been wondering what that would be like.”

  The admission was as big a turn-on as her kiss had been. He slid his hands over her hips. “Yeah?”

  “Did you wonder, too?”

  No. He hadn’t wondered. He’d been too busy. Hadn’t he? “After that kiss, I can think of little else other than doing it again.”

  “Again would work for me.”

  He was smiling when he kissed her this time. Smiling. He couldn’t remember ever doing that while kissing a woman before. Her body against his felt good, and he pressed closer for more of it, sliding his hands beneath the flannel and over the soft curves he’d been thinking about all day—

  He had been thinking about her all day. About this.

  At his low, surprised laugh she pulled back. “What?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Nothing.” He leaned in for more kisses but she slapped a hand on his chest.

  “You stopped to laugh.”

  “No, I—”

  “Let me give you a hint about women, Tim. Laughing at their kissing technique is bad form.”

  Uh-oh. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Honest. Now come here.”

  “For what? More kissing? You’d still be doing just that if you hadn’t laughed.”

  “I laughed at me. Okay? I didn’t realize until now that I have been thinking about you all day.”

  “And this is funny because…”

  “It’s not funny, believe me.” He held her hands when she would have turned away. “It’s distracting.”

  “Not exactly a compliment.”

  “No?” He stepped close again. “How’s this for a compliment? You’re making me hot. All the time. I fantasize in the middle of a workday about you, about this, about us. About things I’ve convinced myself I don’t need.”

  “I don’t need them, either.”

  “Okay.” He took a breath. “So we both fantasize, but…”

  She sighed. “There’s always a but.”

  “But my life isn’t exactly laid out for this.”

  “And mine is?” She laughed and shook her head. “No, it is not. Believe me.”

  “Natalia, everything I am, everything I do, is this ranch. Women have tried to fit in here with me before, but they get tired of playing second fiddle to this place, and…well, I’m left alone and disappointed.”

  “I’m sorry for that, more than sorry, but I’m temporary.”

  “Exactly. So what the hell are we doing?”

  “I don’t know. Scratching an itch?”

  “Scratching an—” Shocked, he stared at her. “Where did you learn such a thing?”

  “Oh, I see.” Her eyes chilled. “It’s one thing for a man to suggest an affair. But if a woman…if she has…”

  “An itch?”

  “Never mind! Just forget it.”

  “Wait.” His head was still spinning. “Now I’ve insulted you.”

  She sputtered, then laughed. Then, before he could so much as blink, she shoved away from him and turned her back, staring up at the moon, her arms wrapped tightly around the body he’d been molding with his hands only a few moments ago.

  “Natalia.” A little wary, he came up behind her, set his hands on her shoulders, which she promptly shrugged off. “Let’s try this again.”

  “Okay.” She drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry I brought it up. It was stupid.”

  “No,” he said, looking at her beautiful profile. “It wasn’t.”

  “But just because I thought about…scratching that itch, you should know, it wasn’t a declaration of undying love.” She dropped her gaze from the moon and landed those huge, dark gold, expressive eyes on him. “I wouldn’t expect you to love me.”

  His heart twisted. “Natalia—”

  “It’s a one-night stand, Tim, that’s all. Only technically, I have several nights, not just one.”

  His body responded immediately, but it took his brain a moment longer. “You deserve more than that. You deserve time, and a man taking it to get to know you.”

  “You want to know me? How’s this? I’m the middle kid. I’m usually pretty easygoing, that is when I’m not in Texas. And contrary to what I’ve shown you, I’m known as being pretty damn tough and fearless. And though you might not believe that by looking at me at the moment—” she broke off to glance down at her plain jeans and T-shirt “—I’m into clothes. I also love to ski. Unfortunately for me, Texas doesn’t seem to have many hills.” She smiled, but when he just looked at her, it slowly faded. “And I’m a princess, which brings us back to the delusional crazy woman thing. I’d nearly forgotten. I’m just another one of your pity hires.”

  “Natalia—”

  “No.” With dignity, she backed away. “In a few more days I’ll have earned myself enough to get where I need to go, which is all I really wanted. To see what it was like to be just me, without any expectations or preconceived notions. To support myself. Without the title. End of story.” She reached the gate. “I appreciate all you’ve done, but I think we should get back to the boss-and-employee relationship.” And with her head high, shoulders extremely straight, she walked toward the house.

  Looking every bit like a princess in denim.

  NATALIA MANAGED to avoid conversation with Tim before breakfast the next morning. She was no longer mad. Or even hurt.

  But she did feel wiser. Apparently, in this so-called modern country, no matter what the men claimed, they didn’t want to be come on to. She’d remember that the next time her hormones kicked into overdrive.

  She baked a