Affairs of State(25)
The queen must be calling to remind Simon of his royal duties and to urge him to keep his hands off strange American women.
Simon’s absence did little to diminish her state of arousal. She wanted to hold him again. To kiss him. To rip his clothes off and make hot crazy love with him on the pale pink striped brocade of the sofa. She shoved a hand through her hair, only to discover that it was tangled from his fingers. She was madly smoothing it when the door opened again and Simon reappeared.
“Now, where were we?” Amusement glimmered in his eyes, along with desire.
A flame leapt inside her. She didn’t remember ever feeling an attraction this strong. Her whole body seemed to gravitate toward him. Even while her brain issued warnings about how this liaison had no future and would likely end in disaster, her fingers snuck around his collar and into the hair at the nape of his neck, as their lips played together.
“What are we doing?” she managed, when they both came up for air. Her head spun from the intensity of the kisses.
“I’m not entirely sure but I know I like it.” He nibbled her earlobe gently, which made her shiver with pleasure.
“Don’t you think we should both be sensible?” She inhaled the scent of his skin and her fingers pressed into the muscle of his back.
“What’s sensible?” His eyes were closed and his lips trailed over her face. Her skin hummed under his touch, under his breath, making her long to be closer to him than ever.
“I’m not sure I know anymore.” She exhaled, longing to let go of her doubts and lose herself in Simon. He projected such confidence and self-assurance it was hard not to simply do what he said. He must have been a very effective army officer. “But my life is very wacky right now and I’m afraid of making it worse.”
He laid a line of kisses along her neck, which had a frightening effect on her libido. “Am I making it worse?”
“Absolutely,” she breathed. “Don’t stop.”
He chuckled, then kissed her full and firm on the mouth, embracing her with a caress that mingled power and strength with the utmost tenderness. So many emotions and sensations roamed through her that she almost wanted to cry.
When they finally stopped kissing and pulled apart, a deep sadness fell over her. The tiny separation foreshadowed the time when they’d say goodbye for the last time, because this relationship—if it even was a relationship—had no future. “If we have to keep this a secret, then it must be wrong.” Her voice sounded thin and sad.
He opened his eyes and looked right at her. “Then let’s not keep it a secret.”
Five
Ariella paced around her apartment. Her phone had been ringing off the hook all morning. She couldn’t ignore it because any call could easily be from an important client, but she was getting quite cagey about screening callers. The Examiner had printed a series of pictures of herself and Simon strolling through Georgetown the previous afternoon, so one more cat was out of the bag. She glanced at the familiar number with more than a little trepidation.
“Hi, Francesca.”
“Ariella, you keep knocking it right out of the park.”
“I know you’re not talking about my softball swing.”
“No, I’m talking about your ability to garner amazing publicity for the upcoming TV special. Liam says it will have the highest ratings of any show this year.”
“Oh, yes. That.” She went between regretting ever agreeing to it, and wanting to hurry up and get it over with. “Is there ever going to be a confirmed date for the taping?”
“They’re still trying to get a firm commitment from the White House. That’s about as easy as booking a date for the outbreak of a war. He’s hoping for next week or the week after though. How about bringing your new royal boyfriend?”
“No way.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “Besides, he has to go back to England for a bit.” Her gut clenched. He’d phoned her only half an hour ago to say he’d be flying back that afternoon on urgent family business. How long would he be gone for? He did live there after all. Maybe he wouldn’t come back and she’d be left to mop up one more scandal all by herself.
“You’re a very dark horse.”
“I totally am not. I’m the same person I’ve always been. It’s the rest of the world that’s crazy. Simon’s a sweet man who happens to have been born into a famous family.”