Page 3 of Unknown Royal Baby

Isam paused, a couple of frown lines appearing on his forehead. Instead of detracting from his handsome features the hint of extra gravity only enhancing his allure.

Careful, Avril. You sound starstruck.

‘I fly back to Zahdar tomorrow but there are some things I still need to sort out.’ He shot a look at his watch, a sleek statement piece that probably cost as much, if not more than Cilla’s house and all the adjoining ones in their terrace. ‘It’s late, but can you stay back to work this evening?’

Avril stiffened, hesitating. Not because she begrudged him her time. But because working any longer with Isam in his private suite wasn’t a good idea. Not because he’d be anything other than professional. But because her feelings about him were increasingly chaotic.

Face it, woman! They’re not chaotic. You know exactly what they are. Excitement. Old-fashioned attraction. Lust.

‘The hotel does an excellent dinner and my driver would take you safely home afterwards.’ Grey eyes narrowed on her. ‘Unless you have another engagement?’

Desolation shot through her, undercutting any half-formed idea of excusing herself to avoid an evening closeted with him.

She had no engagements, except watering her great-aunt’s African violets and finishing the job she’d begun earlier, sorting Cilla’s clothes to donate to charity.

Isam watched Avril’s mouth crumple for a second before curving into a smile.

Something in his chest clamped painfully tight.

This smile wasn’t like the warm ones she bestowed when caught up in their work and enjoying herself. When she forgot he was a crown prince. It was more like the polite expression she’d worn as she’d ushered Drucker into the room.

Abruptly he sat back in his seat. Surely she didn’t equate him with Drucker! Isam might be dangerously drawn to his delightful PA but he’d been careful not to reveal it. Despite the fact that over the months they’d worked together they’d developed an easy familiarity, an ability to anticipate each other’s reactions, a rare type of intimacy he’d never known with a woman.

The power imbalance between them, the fact he paid her salary, made it impossible for him to act on his attraction. Avril Rodgers was out of bounds. Even if she didn’t work for him, he sensed she was a home and hearth sort of woman, not like his usual sexual partners who were happy to indulge in a short-term affair.

Isam had spent the last four days, since his arrival in London, constantly reminding himself that Avril was a work colleague. The difficulty was that too often he caught her looking at him with definite sexual interest that fed his own desire and weakened his scruples.

When her brown eyes shimmered like old gold and she slicked her bottom lip with her pink tongue, regarding him with a mix of eagerness and awe, she tested every good intention.

But not now. Now, he knew something was wrong, and it evoked every protective instinct.

‘Avril, are you okay?’

She blinked, banishing that momentarily haunted look, and sat straighter. Yet her restless hands gave her away. ‘Of course. I was just thinking about tonight.’

‘It’s short notice. I understand that you can’t—’

‘I can. I’m free tonight. I can stay on.’ Her smile this time was more familiar. ‘Easier by far if we finish whatever work you have in mind before you leave for Zahdar.’

Isam reminded himself he was a disciplined man. A few more hours in close proximity to temptation wouldn’t matter.

Though Avril was like no temptation he could remember. Capable, organised and clever, she was the perfect PA. But there was something else, a warmth, a genuineness, that called to him. Not to mention a sexual allure that frankly stunned him. She wore conservative suits with a minimum of flesh on display, so different from many of the women he met on his travels. But despite her air of wholesomeness...

Better not to think about. Or about how Drucker’s lewd appreciation had evoked in Isam something like jealousy.

You want her to look at you, only you.

Who was he kidding? He wanted a whole lot more than Avril’s looks. His gaze caught on her capable hands, now neatly clasped in her lap. Too often he’d imagined them on his body.

Isam shot to his feet and strode around the long table, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets in an attempt to hide his burgeoning arousal.

‘Excellent. What would you like for dinner?’

Hours later, Avril stretched stiff muscles and rose from her chair. Isam had left the room to take a private call from Zahdar. She’d finish her work. Soon she’d leave.

Would she see Isam again? Probably, but not for a long time. They’d go back to working at a distance.

That was good. She needed that distance.

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