Page 15 of The Princess and Her Mercenary

Chapter Nine

As they drove through the dark desert night, Keane worried about the woman who was pressed against his back. She was too delicate for this type of shit, riding on the back of bikes for long periods, being chased by enemies. The type of stuff that made Keane’s man parts sit up and take notice almost as much as the woman who clung tightly to him. He thrived off this stuff. An adrenaline junkie who turned his desire to live life to the extreme into a lucrative career.

Now that he was considering Ndari a part of his future, he needed to rethink his desire to live life on the edge, constantly daring death to rise up and snatch him from the jaws of whatever stupid thing he’d signed on for. She needed more than that; she needed a man and husband who would settle down, create the type of life she craved; one filled with jewels and a wealthy lifestyle. And damn, but he wanted to give that to her. He could picture her sprawled across their bed in nothing but her tiara and dripping in diamonds at her throat, wrists and ankles.

Yeah, that's what he wanted, sounded about fucking perfect. He needed a safe place to take the Princess, get her the hell out of this country. Then they could talk about their future.

They drove through the night back towards the camp. Keane thought about his next step, thought about what he wanted to do. When they arrived, he ordered his men to start packing up camp. It was time to leave.

Since they were professionals, his men knew how to take down the camp properly with minimal fuss. It took a matter of minutes and everything was ready to go. During that time, the Princess stood off to the side, wringing her hands and looking worried. Keane wanted to soothe her, but he didn't know how to reassure a woman.

Ndari was being uncharacteristically quiet when he ushered her into a vehicle. She didn't complain. She didn't put up a fuss and he was starting to worry.

She stared absently out the window, deep in thought, until he couldn't take it anymore. “Out with it”.

She gave him a puzzled look. “Out with what?”

“With whatever's got your panties in a bunch,” he replied.

She gave him a half smile and rolled her eyes. “Cute that you think I'm wearing panties.”

He felt the heat rising under his skin at her words and was glad he wasn’t the one driving. Now he was picturing what was going on underneath that skirt. He needed a clear head if he was going to get them the hell out of this country. He glanced at the driver hoping his man had enough sense to keep his thoughts to himself and his eyes on the road.

“Tell me why you’re being so quiet. It's not like you, and I don’t like it.”

She gave him a long look. “I’m trying to figure out why my brother sent palace guards into the desert. And were they actually looking for me or were they doing something else out there?”

He was about to tell her not to worry about her brother, to dismiss her thoughts. Then he realized that was a bad idea. During his time with her in Indonesia he’d come to discover that Ndari appreciated having any and all of her concerns addressed immediately. She didn’t like people dismissing her.

He thought about what to say and how not to say it in a dickhead way. He couldn’t come up with anything, so settled on, “Huh.”

She sighed and gave him a little more. “It’s just, my brother doesn’t usually get too involved in my shenanigans, other than to call me home when he’s ready. And since you stole my jewels along with me, I doubt he believes I was actually kidnapped. He probably thinks I orchestrated the entire thing. I’m trying to figure out why he’d bother sending guards after me.”

“Well, it appears that your brother wants you back this time.”

“Yeah, but why?” she asked. “He’s usually trying to get rid of me. He doesn’t call me home unless he needs me for something. He’s never come for me so quickly before, or with this much manpower.”

He shrugged. “It’ll be fine. We’ll outrun them once we’re out of your brother’s territory.”

She laughed. “You’ll never going to get across the border, with or without me. I'm not even sure how you got into this country. If there's one thing my brother's good at, it's homeland security.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “If yer referring to that debacle back at the palace as security, I would disagree with how seriously your brother takes his security. It's a fucking joke.”

She glared at him. “We've never had any problems with break-ins before. Or kidnappers.”

He chuckled. “Regardless, we won't have to worry about crossing the border in a vehicle. We’ll fly out.”

“How are we going to fly out?” she demanded. “If my brother's going to lock down the borders in his search for me then he’ll definitely lock down the airports to.”

He shook his head. “I thought you knew me better than that by now. I would never use a traditional airport. So stuffy. Too much security. It’s a joke.”

“Is everything a joke to you?” she asked, laughing.

He leaned closer to her. “You aren't a joke.”

He couldn't really tell in the dark, but he suspected that a pretty blush was now staining her tanned cheeks. He reached across to her and ran his thumb over the apple of her cheek, enjoying the texture of her skin. It occurred to him that her opinion mattered. That everything about her mattered to him. He didn't want her to think he was a joke either. He didn't want her to think that he was a thug. He wanted her. And he wanted her to want him too.

He picked up her hand, caressing the back with his thumb. “I’m no good at words, but I know what I want, and I want you.”

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