Page 14 of Incognito

He had the grace to look sheepish. “I didn’t know he was your ex. I’m sorry about that. Fate has a way of laughing at me when I least expect it.”

That explained his overzealous welcome when he’d first seen her outside the hotel. But his kisses had seemed so real…

Natasha tilted her chin up and glared at Dante. “Pretty stupid plan.”

He shrugged, more adorable than guilty or apologetic, with that sexy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “It was all I could think of on the spur of the moment. I can’t let anyone know who I am. You know that, it’s too important to me.”

Natasha stifled a snort. “When I gave you my number for emergencies, I didn’t expect…” she trailed off, not wanting to bring up the sizzling kisses, yet knowing it couldn’t be ignored. “This,” she finished lamely, waving a hand between the two of them.

“You mean the way I kissed you?”

With a cheeky glint in his eyes, his gaze focussed on her lips and they tingled at the memory of his wonderful technique, how he made her forget every worry she had.

“Yes, that.”

Heat seeped into her cheeks, scorching with embarrassment. It wasn’t that he’d kissed her but how she’d responded, like a woman who liked it way too much, and she suspected he knew.

“Like I said, a spur of the moment impulse,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice. “I apologise if it wasn’t right.”

“Oh no, it was fine,” she blurted, before clamping her lips shut in horror.

He’d meant it wasn’t the right thing to do, she’d responded about his technique. Could the ground just open up and swallow her now? Please?

Thankfully, he didn’t call her on her monstrous gaff. He just stood there looking way too sexy, with his grin, his tousled hair, and those gorgeous blue eyes sparkling with humour.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” he said, giving another of those quaint little bows that must be signature for royalty in Calida. “Shall we retire?”

Natasha nodded and managed a sedate ‘uh-huh’ before she made a total ass of herself and took his question as an invitation to go up to his room and tuck in his royal pain-in-the-ass.

As they entered the elaborate lobby and she caught site of herself in the huge ornate mirrors lining the pillars, Natasha stifled a groan. Grey sweatpants, a pale blue hoodie, and navy-beaded flip-flops did little to accentuate her makeup-less face and wet ponytail.

She looked like a bedraggled waif next to a tanned god, and for a split second, chastised herself for wishing things were different and annoyed that she cared.

Forgetting his royal status, what would it be like to stroll into a hotel with a guy like Dante by her side? A guy who protected his woman, a guy who looked like every woman’s walking-talking fantasy, a guy who could kiss like a dream?

“In your dreams,” she muttered, grateful when the lifts came into sight.

“Pardon?”

She forced a tight smile. “Goodnight.”

“Pleasant dreams,” Dante murmured, planting a quick kiss on her cheek before she could move. “And thank you once again.”

Natasha whirled on her heel and entered the lift for the apartments, her cheek tingling, her emotions in turmoil. She waited until she heard the zing of the lift for the hotel rooms before turning around, tapping the button for her floor, and sinking against the side wall, grateful for the support.

She needed it, with her head spinning from encountering Clay, kissing Dante, and the pathetic way she’d tied herself up in knots.

Definitely time for that choc-fudge ice-cream. Though after the last half hour, nothing less than the tub would do.

8

Dante shrugged out of his leather jacket, tossed it on the bed, and headed for the bathroom. He needed a shower. A cold, masochistic shower considering what he’d just done.

“You didn’t play fair,” he muttered to his unshaven reflection in the huge mirror above an equally large marble basin as he braced himself against it.

Then again, who said anything about playing?

Adjusting the flick-mixer, he splashed icy water on his face and dabbed it with a baby-soft towel that smelt like freshly squeezed lemons. Only the best for Telford Towers, and that extended to its stunning stand-in concierge who took her job to extremes.

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