Tall, Dark & Royal

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Spending her childhood in boarding school had made her grow up quickly, forced to depend only on herself. She’d spent a lot of years hiding her loneliness. Now she finally had a chance to forge a bond with her father, and she wasn’t at all sure she would be able to accomplish it.

She absently rubbed the soft fleece sweatshirt and glanced down at the too-large sweatpants she still wore. It was odd, but wearing Daniel’s sweat suit made her feel as if she were wrapped in a big, warm hug. She wondered what it would be like to be wrapped in Daniel’s arms. She wondered how his lips would feel on her mouth, on her skin. The thought nearly gave her hiccups.

Ridiculous, she thought, rolling her eyes at herself. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and tried to dismiss her unsettling thoughts about His Majesty. She chanted the title to drill it into her mind. “His Majesty, His Majesty, His Majesty,” she murmured as she pulled out a nightgown and changed her clothes.

Erin immediately noticed that the big, warm hug was gone. She dashed under the covers and pulled them up over her head just as she’d done a thousand times as a child. She tried not to think about Daniel, but she couldn’t forget how gently he’d touched her thigh and how he’d insisted she wear his clothes. She couldn’t forget that when she talked to him, he looked at her, not past her. She couldn’t forget him.

“I know it’s short notice,” Daniel said the following morning. “But if you’re not doing anything tonight, would you attend the Big Brothers’ charity ball tonight with me?”

Since Erin had arrived in Chicago, she hadn’t been less busy in her life. She struggled to mesh her job description with Daniel’s last-minute invitation. “A Big Brothers’ charity ball, sir?” she echoed.

“It’s one of my family’s pet charities and I promised I would attend before I got the king assignment. I told my mother I would still attend as long as I can keep it low profile. In other words, we’ll arrive late and leave early. Are you game?”

Her mind still reeling, Erin twisted the phone cord around her finger. “But why me, sir?”

“There are other women I could take, but I’d spend the evening dodging any discussion of my future plans. I’m leaving this world and going into another. You’re the one who understands that best.”

Flattered despite herself, Erin felt her heart swell in her chest.

“So, yes or no?”

She fought a thread of panic. “I didn’t bring anything appropriate to wear to a ball.”

“This is Chicago, a shopping Mecca,” he said, countering her concern. “Put what you need on my tab and make sure you get a wrap too. The ball begins at eight. I’ll pick you up at eight-thirty.

“Yes, sir,” she said, wondering which turn this roller-coaster assignment was going to take next.

Ten hours later, a knock sounded at Erin’s door and her heart rate sprinted. She opened the door and her breath caught at the sight of Daniel in a black tux with a black overcoat and a white cashmere scarf. The image of the American upstart was immediately replaced with that of a sophisticated, dangerously handsome man.

His gaze trailed over her. “You clean up very nicely, Miss Lawrence,” he said with a sensual edge to his voice.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. So do—” Appalled, she bit her tongue at the inappropriately personal remark.

His lips curved in a hint of a smile. “Damn. Don’t tell me it’s improper to compliment the king?”

Erin wondered if her entire body was blushing. His expression made her feel as if he were hungry and she was the first course. “Of course not, sir, but I am in your service.”

He nodded. “So what’s the proper way to compliment a king?”

Erin took a careful breath and tried to unscramble her brain. “If I may say so, Your Majesty looks quite dashing this evening.”

“Dashing,” he said. “Sounds like something out of an old English novel. I guess that means it wouldn’t be proper to say you look hot enough to start another three-alarm fire in downtown Chicago?”

The same was true of him, she thought. “That’s correct, sir,” she said.

“But you won’t mind if I give the fire department a call to warn them about you,” he said, his mouth unsmiling, but his eyes full of masculine humor.

“Me?”

His gaze fell over her with dangerous awareness. “Yes, you.”

Three

Daniel led Erin through the grand lobby of the hotel where the ball was being held. Sweeping her into a brass-lined elevator, he tugged at his collar as soon as the doors closed. “We won’t stay long. I’ve grown impatient with these affairs during the last couple of years. I’d rather do almost anything than just make an appearance.”

“Pardon me, sir, but you know that your appearance at state and social functions will be quite important to the people of Altaria,” Erin pointed out.

He nodded. “I know. I can dress to suit the occasion. But I also know that the personality and vision of the man wearing the crown determines his role. I plan to spend as much time doing things as I will spend making appearances.”

Erin felt a ripple of uneasiness as she thought of her father’s diametrically opposed view of Daniel’s role as king. She looked at the strong, dynamic man in front of her and wondered how she would be able to convince him that he would be more of a figure-head. Not bloody likely. Especially when her own opinion was beginning to waver. She felt a lightning-fast jab of pain and slammed the door on her thoughts. She had a job to do for her country, for her father.

Daniel led her away from the main entrance to the ballroom down the hall and to another door. “We decided it would call less attention to me if I weren’t announced,” he said. “The press will have to search for me.”

Erin glanced at him and couldn’t help shaking her head at his comment.

He stopped. “What?”

“Nothing, sir,” she said.

Daniel sighed. “I really don’t want to have to do this, but—”

Erin cringed. She suspected she knew what was coming.

“I order you to tell me what you’re thinking,” he said. “For the rest of the evening.”

Erin gaped at him in shock. “The entire evening, sir?” she echoed, aghast.

He nodded. “So cough it up. Why did you shake your head when I said the press would have to search for me?”

Erin closed her eyes in embarrassment. “Must I, sir?”

“Yes.”

She swallowed a howl of frustration. “If you want to avoid attention, sir, you need to shrink your height and intelligence. And you would have to do something to make yourself look more plain. You draw attention just by entering the room.”

He dipped his head close to hers. “You’re a lot more fun when you’re honest,” he murmured and took her hand. “Let’s go.”

He pulled her into a huge room filled with beautifully dressed party-goers. Music emanated from an orchestra playing on the far end. The marble-floored ballroom was decorated with mirrors and crystal chandeliers. Tables of appetizers and pastries lined one corner of the room while waiters carried trays of champagne throughout the crowd.

Erin remembered when she had accompanied her father to other parties. Her job had been essentially to disappear once the announcements had been made. “I can excuse myself while you make your necessary rounds, sir,” she offered, disengaging her hand from his.

He frowned at her. “Why?”

“Because I’m certain there are people with whom you must speak, sir.”

“Is there a reason you can’t speak to them too?”

Confused, she slowly shook her head. “No, sir. I thought my purpose for the evening was to provide the appearance of an escort and stay in the background as much as possible.”