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Alex held court with the group she was here to meet, but her gaze touched on mine.
A smile flirted with her lips.
Today, she was the picture of a working princess. Her purple dress was elegant yet demure, and no doubt chosen because it matched the colours of no team that would be playing today so therefore she couldn’t be taking sides. Her heels were mid-height. Her chestnut hair flowed down her back in her classic waterfall style.
But that mouth… It was the curve of her perfect lips that gave away the real woman under the polished surface. The girl who sabotaged events so she could leave early. Who disguised herself to run through a city and jump off a boat to swim in a lake. One who’d take a late-night call from her bodyguard so he could talk her through an orgasm.
I swallowed a hit of lust and parked myself in a corner where I could simply watch her.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the stadium had filled, and the pitch was being cleared. A quick check of the time told me the game would start soon.
I just wanted it over so we could get Alex out of here.
There were too many people, which had made it impossible to screen them ahead of time. Too many opportunities for something to go wrong.
Alex excused herself from her group and moved over to me. I stood taller.
The princess tilted her head. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her eyes flared. I’d never called her that in public, though I was supposed to.
That twitch of her lips reappeared, and her mischievous expression drove fresh need through me.
She leaned in. “You know, this is a big place. Plenty of corners to hide in.”
My heart thumped. Either she was propositioning me or teasing me with a threat to disappear. Whichever was true, we couldn’t talk like this. Not now.
Subtly, I gestured to my mic and mouthed, “This is on.”
Alex grinned bigger. Then her hand drifted to her belly, and she winced.
That echo of pain across her features snapped me out of my haze. “Are ye hurting?”
She waved a hand. “Just cramps. No big deal.”
Riss entered the room and came to us. “Time for you to take your seat, ma’am. Are you sure which that will be?”
Alex nodded. “I’ll do as we agreed. Make an appearance in the royal box to wave to the cameras, then once the match starts, I’ll join the charity director. She’s been talking about some visit I’ve not been told about, and I want to find out what’s going on.”
Riss relayed the instruction to the rest of our team, then we were moving.
When we reached the royal box, Alex entered, and the cameras instantly jumped to display her on the live screens. The announcer called out her presence, and she waved to a cheer from the fans.
I watched the people closest by, scanning for trouble.
Beside the box, a man with a camera craned to get photographs of Alex. A hoodie concealed his head, but Irecognised something about him that gave me pause. He lowered the camera, enabling me to see his face.
Holy fuck. It was the paparazzo from the club.
On the pitch, the match started with a huge roar from the fans, but the fucking photographer only had eyes for Alex.
There was no reason he shouldn’t be here. It was a public venue, and anyone could buy a ticket. Yet the sight of him sent cold tendrils through my blood.
I went to radio Riss but thought better of it, leaving my position to speak with her instead.
“Malcolm Dennis is a row over in the stands. Perfect vantage point for watching Penny.”