Page 6 of Incognito (Royally Reckless #1)

6

N atasha had just stepped out of the shower and slipped into a fluffy purple bathrobe when her phone rang.

She considered ignoring it, as she had a date with the latest streaming thriller and a super-sized bowl of her favourite choc-fudge ice-cream.

However, it could be her dad calling from Perth and he’d worry if she didn’t answer.

Or it could be the prince.

She wavered for a few seconds, hoping for the former, knowing a quick glance at the phone’s screen would put her out of her misery. The phone continued to shrill its funky tune and she finally gave in, crossing the room and grabbing it out of her bag.

She didn’t know the number.

Tapping the answer button on the screen, she mustered her best phone voice, the one Ella said could scare an army into battle.

“Natasha Telford speaking.”

“Natasha, it’s Dante. I need your help. Urgently.”

She swallowed, surprised by the quick thrill of pleasure at the sound of his deep voice, annoyed that the movie and ice-cream would have to wait.

“What’s up?”

“I’m being followed. Can you meet me out the front of the hotel in two minutes?”

How crazy. What did he expect her to do? Pull some bad cop routine on his stalker, who would probably turn out to be some lovesick girl?

Shaking her head and wishing she’d never given him her private number, she said, “I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, hurry,” He hung up, leaving her staring at the phone.

“Drama prince,” she muttered, pulling on underwear, sweatpants, and a hoodie in record time, slipping her feet into flip-flops and keys into her pocket.

She pulled her hair into a dripping ponytail as she rode the lift down to the ground floor, and made it out the door and to the front of the hotel with thirty seconds to spare, in time to see Dante strolling towards her as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“So where’s the fire?” She asked, a second before he enfolded her in his arms and planted his lips on hers.

Stunned, she froze.

However, as his warm, firm lips plied her with a skill she’d expect from a guy like him, her initial reaction—that he’d lost his mind—gave way to awe as she melted under an onslaught of heat.

Burning, scorching, intense heat, that streaked through her body and consumed her from the inside out, the kind of heat that could make a girl lose her mind and do something completely out of character, like kiss him back.

Before she could reassemble her befuddled wits, he broke the kiss, and murmured, “Sorry, please go along with me for now.”

He didn’t leave her much choice as he resumed kissing her, his arms sliding around her waist and feeling way too good, his chest pressed against hers as one of his hands strummed her back like a virtuoso.

Natasha prided herself on her logic. A thinker who weighed options carefully, she always chose the right path.

So what the hell was she doing, responding to the prince’s passion, the heat crackling between them turning to bone-melting sizzle, enjoying this kiss more than she could’ve dreamed possible?

Someone moaned—to her endless embarrassment, she had a sneaking suspicion it must be her—and she clung to him, belatedly realising that his rock-hard chest felt as good as it looked beneath her splayed palms.

Her senses reeled as he deepened the kiss to the point she forgot who she was, where she was, and all the reasons she shouldn’t be doing this.

“Natasha? What the hell?”

Revulsion made her gut churn as she recognised the voice.

Her shocked gaze swung between Dante, the prince who’d lost his mind and kissed her senseless, and Clay, the man she’d once loved and now despised.