Kitabı oku: «The Marine and The Princess», sayfa 2

Chapter Two

“Your Highness?” Vanessa’s lady-in-waiting knocked on the bedroom door. “Are you ready for breakfast?”

“No, Celeste!” Vanessa jumped up and hurried out of the bathroom. Putting one hand on the door to prevent the other woman from entering, she added, “Come back in fifteen minutes, please.”

“As Your Highness wishes.”

Turning, Vanessa almost bumped into Mark. He moved so fast and so silently that she hadn’t even realized he’d left the bathroom. She took a startled step backward and tripped over the hem of her robe.

Mark immediately reached out to steady her. She was standing so close to him now that she could see her own reflection in his blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

His hands had automatically gone to her waist to steady her, and the feel of his strong hands warmed her through the silk of her robe. Indeed, she was all too conscious of each individual fingertip pressing against her, creating a restless stirring in the innermost recesses of her heart.

She could feel his heat, could sense the strength in his powerful body. She remembered the last time she’d seen him, at Prudence’s wedding, where she noticed the swagger and confidence that was so much a part of him. Even standing still, as he was now, he still exuded a don’t-mess-with-me hardness combined with a sexy bad-boy charm. What a potent combination.

But she was no wide-eyed military groupie to be taken in by a man in a uniform, or in this case a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Especially one as sure of himself as Captain Mark Wilder was.

Even so, there was definitely something about this man that got to her.

As if suddenly realizing he’d been holding her long after she’d regained her balance, Mark abruptly released her and said, “Who is Celeste?”

Vanessa had to think a moment, so scattered were her thoughts from his proximity. “Celeste? She’s my lady-in-waiting. She also serves as my private secretary.” Vanessa quickly moved around him to walk to the middle of the bedroom. She needed a bit more space between them in order to regain her composure. Her body was still humming from his touch. “I have to have Celeste’s help to pull this off.”

Mark shook his head. “Not a good idea.”

“Why not? Celeste can be trusted. You have your Marine comrades, I have my lady-in-waiting.”

Mark rolled his eyes. He had lovely blue eyes, but it was his smile that was a real killer. Or maybe his blue eyes made his smile more powerful because his eyes gleamed with wicked humor. They weren’t gleaming now, but they had when they’d been in the bathroom together. Now he was looking at her with impatience.

She was not the least bit intimidated. “I told you in the beginning when I outlined my plan to you that Celeste will cover my disappearance from the suite by acting as if I was still here.”

“Fine. Get her in here, and I’ll listen in to your explanation from the bathroom. I don’t want her walking in and screaming because she finds a strange man in your bedroom.”

“She wouldn’t scream,” Vanessa said.

“Why?” He pinned her with his gaze. “Because she’s used to finding strange men in your bedroom?”

Vanessa bestowed a royal glare upon him. “That is a totally inappropriate question.”

“Not when I’m providing your security, it’s not. If there are any besotted beaux in the picture…”

“There aren’t,” she said curtly. Sebastian was hardly besotted with her. Besides he was back in Volzemburg.

“Good.” Mark sounded entirely too satisfied with her response. “That simplifies things. Go ahead and call in your lady-in-whatever.”

“Lady-in-waiting.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll call the doctor and have him come over here.” Mark disappeared into the bathroom.

The man had no manners. Didn’t he know it was rude to leave her presence without bowing first? Not a nose-to-the-floor kind of bow, but a respectful tilt of the head. Granted she’d told him to treat her normally, but then signs of respect from men were how she was normally treated. She’d have to learn to be more casual. But first she had to convince Celeste to help her.

She called the other woman in.

“Have I done something to offend you, Your Highness?” Celeste asked in a nervous voice, looking at her with big brown eyes. Her dark hair was smoothed into place with a silver hair clip in a demure style that accentuated her round face.

“On the contrary,” Vanessa reassured her, closing the bedroom door. “I need your assistance in a matter of great importance. This can be trusted to no one else but you. You know that these past few months have been very busy and, well… I’ll simply be blunt with you, Celeste. I need some time away.”

Celeste nodded solemnly. “I know. And I agree, Your Highness. Which is why I’m so glad we’ll be returning to Volzemburg later today.”

“No, we won’t. We’re staying here in New York a little longer.” Vanessa quickly outlined her plan and Celeste’s part in it.

“Your Highness, are you sure this is a good idea?” Celeste inquired in an extremely doubtful voice.

“I’m certain.” Vanessa used her most regal tone, the one that could convince people that the sun was the moon. “Now, are you with me on this?”

Celeste nodded. “You know I’ll do whatever you want me to, Your Highness. You’ve been so good to me and to my family. There were others who wanted this position, but you chose me, and I appreciate that more than I can say.”

“I knew I could count on you.”

“You are certain that you will never be in any danger?” Celeste asked. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself were anything to happen to you.”

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to her,” Mark said from the bathroom doorway.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Vanessa said. “This is Captain Mark Wilder. He’s my best friend’s brother-in-law and a Marine. He’ll be my temporary bodyguard. United States Marines guard the White House and the U.S. embassies. I’ll be as safe as could be.”

“What about Anton?” Celeste inquired.

“Anton, the royal security officer?” Vanessa noted the shine in her young lady-in-waiting’s eyes. “The one who has an affection for you?”

Celeste blushed. “Anton would never do anything to compromise your safety,” she said earnestly. “His first loyalty is to you and the Crown.”

“His first loyalty is to my father,” Vanessa noted bluntly, “which is why we’re not telling Anton about this plan. He’d report it to the king in a flash. You must swear to me that you won’t say a word to Anton.”

“I swear, Your Highness.” Celeste placed her hand on her own heart as she made the solemn vow. “You can trust me.”

“Good. Then let’s get this plan started. Tell Anton that I’m not feeling well this morning and that I don’t wish to be disturbed. Oh, and when a Dr. Rosenthal arrives, please show him right in.”

Celeste departed, leaving behind the breakfast she’d brought with her. Mark was already lifting the heavy silver covers from the plates. “I’m starving. Fruit. Is that all you eat for breakfast? Ah, pancakes.” He licked his lips and dipped a finger into the small sterling pitcher that held warmed maple syrup. “Good. You don’t mind if I eat some of this, do you?” He dragged an armchair over to the small table holding the food. “All I got on the red-eye flight up here was a bag of salty peanuts.”

“Where did you fly in from?”

“Washington, D.C.”

“Is that where you’re stationed?”

He nodded and took a healthy bite of pancakes.

“A lovely place,” she noted. “But I believe New York is my favorite American city. There’s such an excitement here, you can almost hear its heartbeat.”

“All I hear is traffic.”

The man had no soul. Which wasn’t surprising. Marines weren’t known for their poetic natures.

Sitting there in her bedroom, eating her breakfast, he looked tough and sexy. The black T-shirt and black jeans he wore added a dangerous edge to his appearance. She could easily imagine him in an undercover operation. She could easily imagine him under her covers, period.

Oh my. She hadn’t had these kinds of fantasies about a man in ages. Not since the last time she’d seen him at Prudence’s wedding. This was certainly not the man to have those kinds of fantasies about. He was much too rough and too irreverent, too physical and too earthy. The qualifications for a good temporary bodyguard were not the same as those for a partner in a romantic relationship. Especially for a princess.

She wasn’t looking for a man in her life. She was looking for some freedom.

Briskly shoving her erotic thoughts aside, she said, “While you’re eating, I think I’ll write up a list of what I’d like to accomplish during these next few days.”

“Write away,” he mumbled around a mouthful of pancake.

Taking a piece of official stationery from her personal supply on the Chippendale-style writing desk, she nibbled on the edge of a pen that had been given to her by the queen of England for her twenty-first birthday. “Despite all my visits to New York, I’ve never seen the major tourist attractions like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.” She wrote those down. Despite her best efforts, her handwriting had never been as elegant and flowing as her younger sister Anna’s. A handwriting analyst had once done an article about Vanessa, saying she had a stubborn individual style that occasionally showed a surprising lack of confidence. Bingo. That was her personality in a nutshell. For once, the press got it right. “Oh, and I’d love to take a moonlit stroll through Central Park.”

“Dumb move,” he said bluntly.

She fixed him with a mocking stare. “Come now, Mark, don’t be shy. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Feelings have nothing to do with it.” He took a sip of coffee. “I’m telling you that walking through Central Park at night isn’t smart.”

“Nonsense. I’ll have a big strong Marine next to me. Besides, I’ve heard that New York is a much safer city now than it used to be.”

“You’re going through all this trouble just so you can do touristy stuff, like visit the Statue of Liberty. That’s all?” This assignment might not be so hard after all, he decided, aside from the walk in the park. That was a definite no-go. He was not compromising her security to that extreme.

Protecting foreign dignitaries usually did not fall under his command, or any Marine’s command for that matter, but this situation was unique. He’d been given this assignment because of his connections to Vanessa. As his C.O., his commanding officer, had told him, he was the only man for the job.

“I want to do what normal people do,” Vanessa was saying. “Eat at a fast-food restaurant, shop at a regular department store, go out dancing at a club at night—one that’s not just for the rich and famous.”

Shopping. Mark froze, his fork poised above the next portion of pancake. He’d rather do a month of Arctic training than shop. Marines didn’t shop. They went into a store, procured their necessities and got out ASAP.

And what had she listed before shopping? Dancing? He wasn’t a big fan of that wimpy activity either. Unless it was line dancing. He’d mastered that at a nifty little bar called Buck’s several years back. Where had that been? He frowned. So many assignments, so many bases.

But none of them had prepared him for dealing with a princess. If he had food like this served to him on a silver platter every day, he doubted he’d take off the way she wanted to. But then his mission was not to wonder why, his was to do or die.

And while the thought of dancing and shopping made him cringe, it wouldn’t literally kill him. Not like his time spent in Desert Storm eleven years ago as a young recruit or his last overseas assignment a year ago. Those had been dangerous. This was a piece of cake.

He was a “Mustang,” an enlisted man who’d worked his way up the ranks to become an officer. He thrived on challenges and was trained for efficiency. He excelled at strategy, and his strategy in this op was simple—to befriend Vanessa. A friendly princess was a more docile princess. He didn’t want a rowdy royal on his hands here.

“There, my preliminary list is done. I think I’ll go take a shower and get dressed now,” she announced.

“Put on some exercise clothes,” he told her, his thoughts already moving on to the next step in his plan.

She looked at him blankly. “Exercise clothes?”

“Yes, ma’am. Shorts and a T-shirt. Something like that.”

“I don’t own anything like that. I do have a dance leotard.”

“I guess that will have to do.” He wasn’t quite sure exactly what a dance leotard looked like, but surely it was like something the women wore in a gym. “Put that on.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to show you some moves.”

“Dance moves?” she asked.

Mark shuddered. “Not in this lifetime.”

“Then what?”

Instead of answering, he said, “Get in that shower and get changed. We don’t have all day.”

Twenty minutes later she stood on the bathroom threshold and announced, “I’m ready.”

Mark turned. He wasn’t ready for the slam of awareness that hit him midsection. The black leotard fit her like a second skin, outlining the curve of her breasts. She even had black ballet slippers on her dainty feet.

She looked ready for a performance of Swan Lake, not the mini–boot camp he had planned for her.

“Right.” He had to pause and clear his throat. It felt as if he’d swallowed his tongue when he’d first seen her. “Okay, Princess—”

“I told you to call me Vanessa,” she reminded him, gliding over to him.

Where did she learn to walk like that? he wondered irritably. In princess school?

Whatever lessons she’d learned in her royal life, he was about to teach her some hard facts. Life was tough. She had to be tougher.

He didn’t have much time to bring her up to scratch.

First he had to assess her physical fitness.

“How many push-ups can you do?” he barked out.

She was clearly startled by his question. “I have no idea.”

“How fast can you run a mile?” Her blank look was answer enough. “What about your exercise routine?” he continued. “Don’t you have a personal trainer or something?”

“I’m too busy for that sort of thing,” she said with a little wave of her hand.

“Too busy doing your princess thing,” he scoffed. “Right. Well, let me warn you, Princess, those Cinderella glass slippers of yours are liable to get broken in the real world. And you’ve got to be prepared for that. Now sit down and put your elbow on this table.”

“One does not put one’s elbows on a table,” she informed him before sitting down.

“One does if one is arm wrestling. Here, put your elbow on the table and bend your arm like this.” He showed her. “Now grip my hand and try to push my arm over.”

She frowned. “Why would I want to do that?”

“To show me how strong you are.”

“Why do I have to be strong? I thought that was your job.”

“I might need you as backup,” he said mockingly.

She took him seriously. “Oh, I see.” She blinked at him and leaned forward, thereby revealing an awesome amount of cleavage.

While his eyes were glued to her breasts, she adroitly shoved his arm almost to the table before he realized what she was up to. The little tease!

He recovered quickly and had her arm down in a flash. Tugging her to her feet a moment later, he began his next spiel. “I plan on teaching you some basic self-defense moves. If someone should grab you from behind like this—” He put his arms around Vanessa, pinning her arms to her sides. “I’m going to show you how you should respond.” He released her to move in front of her. “Now you put your arms around me as I just did you.”

She did as he ordered.

A thrill of forbidden excitement shot through her. Royal protocol precluded a princess from getting up close and personal with a U.S. Marine. Or with any other man, for that matter, unless his bloodlines were as pedigreed as her own and the man had been approved by her father.

Once, back when she was three or four, she’d left the opening of a new school in her country’s capital city of St. Kristoff where she’d been expected to stand still like a dutiful little princess. But she’d sneaked off to the playground where the other children had been playing tag. She’d envied the children their laughter and had wanted to join in the fun.

Instead, she’d stumbled over her own feet and had tumbled into the grass.

Looking up, she’d seen her father standing in the doorway to the school, a frown and a look of intense disappointment on his face.

“Stand up and stop being such a wild child,” he’d ordered her. “A princess never cries.”

She’d tried for years not to disappoint him, but had never quite succeeded in silencing that secret inner little girl that wanted to play tag. The truth was, she was still a wild child at heart. And standing there with her arms around Mark made her feel gloriously alive for the first time in years.

Unaware of the memories streaking through her mind, Mark continued giving orders in his brisk Marine voice. “There are several ways to respond to an attack from the rear like this. You can stomp your attacker’s foot. You can perform a shin scrape with the heel of your shoe. Or you can bend your knee for a backward kick to the groin with your heel. Do you understand those moves?”

“Yes.” She understood them but was distracted by her body pressed against his, spoon fashion. She was tall for a princess. The term gangly had been applied to her more than once. “Vertical Vanessa” was another one the European tabloids had used. But Mark was taller by several inches. He had to be over six foot.

While she was debating his height, Mark was moving on to the next segment. “Most attacks against women come from the front. Either the choke or the slap. To protect yourself from the slap, you put your forearm up like this.” He illustrated. “Now put your hands around my throat as if you were going to choke me.”

When she hesitated, he said, “Just think how aggravated you were with me when I called your plans lame.”

Nodding, she reached out. His skin was warm beneath her fingers. She could feel his Adam’s apple against her thumbs.

“The proper response to a choke hold is to push your attacker’s pinkies away from you,” he said, bending her fingers back, gently enough not to hurt her but firmly enough for her to see how such a move done vigorously would cause a surprising amount of pain.

“Think you got that?” he asked.

“Yes.” She’d also gotten all hot and bothered by all this close body contact. Her cheeks felt flushed, and her forehead was damp with sweat. A princess was never allowed to sweat. Not even on a state visit to India in a hundred-and-ten-degree heat. She’d almost passed out on that visit, but she hadn’t. And she hadn’t visibly sweated. Until now.

Excitement shot through her, heating her skin wherever they touched. A new kind of chemistry sizzled between them, a male-female chemistry that was sexy and intense.

“Good.”

“Mmm, good.” She had no idea what he was talking about. She felt all dreamy and distracted.

“But sometimes, Princess—” He snared her in his arms, flashed a devilishly sexy smile at her and then lowered his head until his lips almost brushed hers as he spoke. “Sometimes your attacker might use a more devious approach. Will you be prepared for that? Will you be prepared for this?”

Before she could think, his mouth captured hers.