Page 24 of Out of Office Nights (Royals of Cartana #2)

Sabeen was sure she’d misplaced part of her brain on the terrace in Morocco. Because very little could explain why she’d asked Teo to carry her down the steps and into her bedroom in the aftermath of the most sublime storm she’d ever experienced.

Worse, she hadn’t done the sensible thing and shown him to the guest room or, better yet, insisted he return to his villa.

Instead, she’d slid into bed, locked in torpor and lifted the sheets in eager invitation.

After another soul-shattering round of sex, she’d dropped into a satiated sleep, only to be roused by a buzzing.

‘Are you going to get that?’ she’d murmured, concern building beneath her ribs when he merely slanted a blistering look at the phone.

Swiping it off the table he’d hit the button. ‘Valenti, what is it?’ Seconds passed, his face darkening with mild shock and anguish. ‘When did it happen?’

Sabeen’s breath had stalled as she’d tried to read his face.

‘Claro.’ He’d exhaled harshly, half-exasperated by whatever his twin was throwing at him, at the building urgency that made Teo’s face darken with every second. ‘I heard you the first time, hermano . I was already on my way. I’ll see you in a few hours.’

He’d ended the call then veered to face her fully. Her heart had lurched, the raw need to allay whatever troubled him making her reach for him. ‘Is it your father?’

‘The old king’s health has worsened.’

The old king . Not Papá or Father . There was a bite to it, a tightness around his eyes that she remembered last seeing when they attended his brother’s wedding. Come to think of it, he’d displayed zero signs of the Playboy Prince then too, his mood almost brusque with a restlessness.

He exhaled then nodded sharply.

‘Teo—’

‘The fire isn’t quite done with me yet, tesoro ,’ he bit out. ‘I must return to Cartana. You will come with me, sí ?’ he demanded fiercely.

The madness had deepened. Because, heart squeezing for him, she’d responded immediately. Unequivocally. ‘Yes.’

That was all he’d needed. With the ease of royal privilege, they were packed and on his private jet within the hour, the flight smooth and seamless, setting them down in San Mirabet just before dawn.

The last time she’d been there was to attend Azar and Eden’s royal wedding and coronation. Eden’s open warmth had touched Sabeen, and they’d stayed friends since.

On those occasions, though, she hadn’t stayed on the Palacio Domene grounds. She’d enjoyed the comforts of a luxury five-star hotel in the centre of San Mirabet.

This time, however, the small motorcade had swung through the main palace’s imposing gates and through an astonishing number of centuries-old cobblestone streets, all beneath the towering grandeur of the palace, to stop before a residence that looked like a smaller replica of the sprawling main building it was attached to.

Looking around, she’d seen it was one of six such buildings.

‘They’re the Royal Cottages. I have rooms in the palacio , but I find that I’m less…accosted by stuffy-suited councillors when I stay here,’ he’d explained, his face set. He’d grown steadily more austere since his phone call and more tense with every mile they’d neared the palacio .

He’d thrown open his door before his bodyguard could and came around to hers. She’d taken his hand, still awestruck, both at her surroundings and the fact that Teo had brought her here.

This uncharted journey of theirs most definitely had an end date, but somewhere in the tumult of rediscovering herself, she’d also made the discovery that while it was an effective mask, and perhaps even a necessary one for him, Teo’s self-centredness was only a veneer.

Perhaps an overly efficient if self-sabotaging one.

And glancing at him as they’d followed the butler, her elbow caught in Teo’s grip as they’d climbed one of the two sweeping staircases that led to the second floor, she’d yearned to tell him that.

To offer the same succour he’d given her?

In the hope that it was the gateway to giving him something… more? Like her heart?

The organ in question had lurched in alarm, but she held the panic at bay. Screeched that the timing wasn’t right. Might never be. He’d come to Cartana for his father. And ultimately, she was here to finish the vital project she’d started.

And to offer more?

What if he didn’t want it?

Could they slot back into their previous roles of creative director and creative genius, existing on separate continents?

A layer of unease had slithered over her emotions, a tiny spurt of gratitude following that she hadn’t voiced her feelings so recklessly.

Keeping that in mind, she’d remained silent as the middle-aged butler swept open double doors that led to yet another exquisite set of rooms, with vaulted ceilings, handmade glittering chandeliers and a mix of antique and contemporary furniture that begged to be admired and appreciated.

But her focus had remained riveted on Teo, who was watching her with that heavy-lidded intensity she yearned to break through.

Right before he dismissed the butler and unceremoniously swept her off her feet and into an even grander royal bed.

Now, the mid-morning sun laid her actions bare.

She was plastered all over him, not fighting him at all when he’d dragged her over his body so she’d slept with her cheek on his chest, his fingers tangled in her hair.

‘Your heartbeat just picked up. Should I be flattered into believing it’s excitement, or should I anticipate a little turmoil in the light of day?’ he mused with that slight edge that lined his voice so often now.

She remained silent, cursing him inwardly for his vexing talent. But it was probably a good thing if he knew the full extent of her unease. It would make things so much simpler.

Nathan had been entirely oblivious to her feelings, mocking her for being melodramatic whenever she’d pointed out his insensitivity.

She frowned. Why on earth was she thinking about him?

‘Speak or I will be forced to act. Perhaps more of that madness you crave, hmm?’ There was a lazy indulgence in his voice, but with a clear command too.

Raising her head, she caught a glimpse of wariness.

And it occurred to her that he’d probably never been in this position.

After all, every woman he’d bedded had probably begged to be there, protested at being shown the door when the time came.

And while she’d stopped herself from avidly following his every move in the tabloids, from his tension just from being this close to his father, she highly suspected Teo had never brought a woman here before.

Was she being wildly naive? Secretly hopeful that she was unique?

‘Or are you cured so soon?’ came the drawled query, even as thick conceit mocked the possibility.

Sabeen wasn’t sure if it was the urgent need for damage control—because no, she was far from cured; in fact she feared the opposite—or the need to keep barrelling down this path she’d taken with him that made her slide off him. Or at least attempt to.

He caught her easily, his hands spanning her waist to keep her in place atop him. Eyes turned quicksilver in the morning light burned into her. ‘Stay. Use your words. I’m capable of many things, but I don’t think I’ve mastered the ability to render anyone permanently mute, tesoro .’

‘You asked me about Nathan before. Do you want me to talk about another man while I’m lying in your arms?’ she asked, eyebrows raised.

He tensed. Jaw clenched tight, he released her, but he didn’t move far away, following when she slid off the bed to go to the window.

The breathtaking grounds beyond the window barely caught her attention, the delicious thought that he clearly didn’t want her out of arm’s length stealing through her, burrowing into needy spaces that threatened to melt her resolve.

Because she would’ve loved nothing more than to erase this aspect of her past with Nathan from her mind.

‘We met on a photo shoot in Norway. The old clichés were eye-wateringly rife. As were the warnings that he was a womaniser collecting notches on his bed-post. And yes, I thought I could be the exception to the rule.’ She slid him a glance then, gauged his reaction.

Tried to see if she could read between his lines.

Silver eyes challenged her to speak the words aloud.

She couldn’t. Because…because…

She shook her head, terrified to finish that thought. There would come a time, pretty soon she feared, when she would need to face every emotion she felt for Teo Domene head-on. Not least because of the promise she’d made to her jida .

‘I also did the unthinkable when he said that we were done. I chased after him. All the way to a small village in the far reaches of Norway. To discover he had a wife and the requisite two point five children who knew nothing of his other life. In the space of a half hour, I shattered four lives, plus mine.’

‘Was he the reason you gave up your previous career?’ The question was an icy blade, cutting through the thick emotions clogging the air.

She paused, not to choose her words but to bask in the small bubble of pride she felt then.

‘No. I’d planned to give up modelling two months before I met him.

The scandal that I’d seduced a married man and continued to pursue him when he wouldn’t leave his wife and family for me was simply a cruel coincidence.

Of course, that wasn’t what was reported.

It was a much juicier story for me to have crashed and burned over a man who didn’t want me, who’d jilted me.

A story he did nothing to deny, even though he knew the truth.

I hated him for that, but I think I hated myself more for being so blind.

For not remembering my family history until it was too late. ’