Page 10 of Out of Office Nights (Royals of Cartana #2)

Sabeen loved every corner of her grandmother’s little house in Essaouira. The thick bricks that kept the room cool in the oppressive heat, the specially painted mottled walls in warm ochre that were as earthy as the sand on her favourite beach.

The pops of colour in the backsplash in the kitchen and in the mosaic walls in the bathroom all soothed her spirits and grounded her in a peace she’d never found anywhere else.

And yet now, as she rose from the sea and trudged onto the beach, the deep reluctance to return home seeped into her bones. And even that shamed her. Her mouth twisted. It seemed she couldn’t turn around without being confronted with the heavy weight of her own failure.

She’d hoped the early-evening swim would relieve the burden, but wringing the water out of her hair, she accepted that it’d done very little.

A glass of her favourite Moroccan tea. Maybe that would help.

She closed her eyes, raised her face to the dying sun and pleaded with whoever would listen for a flash of enlightenment.

The turmoil of New York was two weeks ago.

She had shut down all communication in the hope that being here, in the home that her grandmother had had built for herself, would be the key to unlocking her creativity.

That perhaps guilt would erode her secret, yearning attraction for Teo.

But each day he’d dominated her thoughts and despair seeped ever deeper into her marrow.

For two weeks she’d roamed the rooms in her grandmother’s house, then the alleys she had played in as a child, and had tea with friends and acquaintances. Then she roamed even farther for longer, searching for inspiration in places she’d never visited.

Nothing.

Had her previous success merely been a flash in the pan, a self-delusion that she could make a life as a designer? Or was it really what she feared the most?

No. She wasn’t going there. Nathan had been bad enough, but Teo Domene? No way was she accepting that a man was responsible for this.

Except, like clockwork, Teo’s face flashed before her eyes.

She gritted her teeth tighter. Enough.

Deep breath in, letting the scents of spices and earth and dark coffee soothe her as she navigated the narrow alleys back to the house on the small hill. Sleep would be non-existent tonight, but come hell or high water, she would break this block on her creativity.

She was mentally cycling through two weeks’ worth of discarded designs, her gaze lowered to familiar cobblestones as she neared home.

That was why she didn’t see the powerful motorcycle crouched outside the house or the equally powerful man leaning against the wall next to her front door until she nearly stumbled into him.

She reared back, heart leaping into her throat. ‘What…? How…?’ She sucked in a quick breath to gather her composure. She had sacrificed way too much of it around him. That nonsense ended tonight. ‘What are you doing here? And how did you know where to find me?’

Teo slowly straightened, his massive shoulders blocking out the narrow strips of sunlight slanting into the alley.

‘It wasn’t without effort, I’ll grant you that. You’ve given me quite the runaround.’

She frowned. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. And you haven’t answered my question.’

She looked around, unsure whether she was seeking deliverance or some clue as to what he was doing here, in this sacred place that had welcomed her but was now beginning to feel like it housed another monumental task she needed to overcome.

His head slowly tilted, those sexy silver eyes narrowing on her. ‘You have no idea why I’m here?’

She huffed, dismissing the sparks igniting in her belly, spreading outward to engulf her whole body. ‘If I did, I wouldn’t be asking, would I? We’re not supposed to see each other for another four weeks.’

Irritation lit his eyes before his expression changed, his gaze dropping down her throat, her collarbones, over her breasts and down her body before rising again.

And when it did, it was with a different expression, sizzling commencing within those quicksilver depths that billowed heat into her own body, making her supremely conscious that she was only wearing her bikini with a damp shirt over it, and an equally damp sarong tied around her hips.

For the longest time, they remained in that fog of awareness. Until she snapped herself out of it when his face hardened.

‘It’s time to make some changes.’

Heat evaporated, his stark words leaving her ice cold. ‘Meaning?’

Every trace of indolence left him as he folded his arms across his chest. ‘We made an agreement. Back in New York.’ His eyes narrowed to fierce slits. ‘That you have either forgotten already or are refusing to acknowledge it leaves me very little choice.’

Her heart constricted tighter this time out of raw fear. She couldn’t…wouldn’t lose the lifeline of her work. ‘No choice about what?’

He sucked in a control-gathering breath. ‘You really don’t remember what you agreed to?’

He wasn’t talking about the night of the gala.

She’d painstakingly, unwillingly relived every minute of that night. Right down to her own questionable behaviour. So he had to mean the meeting with Cristobal and those final few minutes while Teo was still talking, when she’d spaced out because of his infernal effect on her.

In the face of so much failure in the past two weeks, she was unwilling to admit one more, so she kept her jaw locked, boldly meeting his gaze as he probed her expression. Whatever he saw there made his own jaw tighten.

‘Right, we’re playing this game, are we?’

She remained silent.

‘You agreed to send me the first batch of sketches for my approval, and you also agreed to keep in touch regarding your progress. Both of which you have failed to do.’

She knew she’d given herself away with the surprise that sparked through her when, one eyebrow arched, his mocking mingled with condemnation. Then with fierce disapproval.

Swallowing, she glanced at her door, wanting refuge now more than ever. Because it was clear that Teo had come here to put the final nail in her professional coffin.

‘Enough of this. Invite me in.’

Her eyes snapped to him, her heart constricting tighter. She couldn’t. Not here. Not into the space where she’d sworn to her grandmother that she would stay away from men like him. It would be the worst insult.

She shook her head. ‘No.’

Seconds ticked by as the air thickened with tension. ‘Sabeen…’

‘I can’t.’ She closed her eyes, desperately hoping he’d missed the thread of panic in her voice. But even blocking him out, she felt the forceful surge of emotion from him. Her eyes flew open just as he stepped closer.

‘You have someone in there? A lover?’ The words seethed from him, like a dragon preparing to rain fury on her. ‘Is that what’s been occupying you? Rolling around in the sheets with your lover when you’re supposed to be working?’

Shock erupted in stunned laughter, making his face darken even more. Until harsh reality sobered her up. ‘Not everyone is like you.’

‘I won’t disagree with that,’ he agreed with unabashed conceit.

‘I’m one in a billion. But unlike you, sweetheart, I don’t let work get in the way of my ambitions.

’ His gaze returned to the door, his glare incandescent.

The more he stared at it, the more Sabeen wondered if he had X-ray vision.

And the more she wondered if that fury was laced with… jealousy?

Her insides twisted, knotting with unnerving excitement which should’ve been positively nauseating and yet…wasn’t.

Starting to ask herself what was wrong with her, she abandoned that too. She was absolutely exhausted with what she felt around this man. ‘I…’

‘You what? Despise me? I’m aware. But it’s not as simple as that, is it? You hate yourself even more. I’ll leave you to unload just why I affect you so much in your own time. For now a simple yes or no will suffice.’

She toyed with saying yes , just to get rid of him. But then she remembered his ultimatum. Realised that she hadn’t held up the end of a bargain she couldn’t fully recall. Because she’d been occupied with reliving her kiss with the Playboy Prince.

Shame simmered again, and she shook her head. ‘No, Teo. I haven’t been indulging in wall-to-wall orgasms when I should’ve been slaving over your precious collection.’

‘ My precious collection?’ he echoed with soft deadliness. ‘Is that detachment I hear? Because if it is, be brave and own up to it now, and I’ll hand the whole thing over to Cristobal.’

She tensed, the very idea anathema to her.

He saw her reaction. Raised that eyebrow again. ‘There it is. You’re not so detached are you, carina ?’

She gritted her teeth. ‘Don’t call me that.’

His smirk, so sexy, so infuriating, made an appearance. It seemed now the matter of her non-existent lover had been clarified, the Playboy Prince was making his long overdue appearance. But even as she was ogling it a little too eagerly, it hardened with purpose.

‘Invite me in. Or don’t. But bear in mind that if I leave here without some evidence of progress from you, our association ends immediately.’

The sense of circling crows coming home to roost pressed down hard on her.

She had a decent nest-egg from her modelling days plus the small inheritance her grandmother had left her.

But she couldn’t live off that for ever.

And if Teo Domene, the king of haute couture, fired her and after that scandal with Nathan, she could kiss any chance of finding a job in the fashion industry goodbye.

She was poised on that precipice again, staring into the abyss.

Could she bring herself to appeal to his better angels?

She almost snorted under her breath. This man was no angel. Even the devil would fear him. But she couldn’t keep him waiting any longer.

She opened her mouth, unsure what she was about to say.

Her hand, moving towards the door handle, made up her mind.