The fact that she wasn’t following the rules he understood made him more than a little irascible. “Don’t you let a man pick you up properly?” he growled.
She laughed softly, delighted that she’d irritated him. “Define ‘properly’,” she came right back. Perhaps it was his close presence or maybe her fatigue since she hadn’t slept the previous night while she and her team were trying to prepare the reports for this man, but whatever the cause, she was feeling very brave. Or maybe the correct term was punchy.
Either way, she reveled in her power to get under his skin.
Her smile was just too delightful so he had a hard time maintaining his irritation. Royston watched her from behind, enjoying the way her hair glimmered from the overhead lights, sparking off of her tresses. He liked her, he thought with surprise. She was cute and feisty and sexy as hell!
As he watched her step out of the elevator then turn to wait for him, he knew with absolute certainty that he would have her in his bed. Very soon, he thought with increasing relish.
“This way,” he said and led her over to the waiting limousine that was parked in front of her building.
“We’ll be dining with my sister and her new husband. His name is Prince Tamar Yarin. He’s the cousin to the Sheik of Surisia,” he explained. “Here,” he said and lifted her hand, sliding an enormous diamond ring on her finger.
Miranda bit her lower lip, nervous about the idea of dining with royalty. “You didn’t mention a prince!” She also wasn’t too enamored of the diamond ring. It didn’t look right on her finger. It was too big, too sparkly.
Royston looked down into her soft, green eyes and realized she was worried. “You’ll be fine,” he said and took her hand into his warm one, squeezing gently to reassure here.
“Is he nice?” she asked, biting her lip to keep him from seeing her nervousness.
Royston was non-committal on the subject of his sister’s husband at this point. “From the information I’ve gathered on him, I haven’t decided if I like him or not.”
That sounded odd. “Don’t you need to get to know him before you form an opinion about a stranger?”
Royston looked down again, amused by her suggestion. “I prefer to know more about a person than what they are willing to reveal. I always investigate someone before I do business with them.”
Her eyes looked back at him, confused. “I thought you were just having dinner with him tonight.”
He shrugged and looked towards the front of the vehicle. “Same thing,” he dismissed. Glancing at her with a meaningful expression, he said, “Wyndi is about your age. She’s nice and sweet and I won’t let you do anything to hurt her.”
Miranda smiled gently up at him, not taking offense at his words since he was just being a protective big brother. “I promise, I won’t hurt her feelings in any way.”
The limousine pulled into an underground parking garage and stopped at the entrance. “This way,” he said and stepped out, his hand reaching down to assist her from the vehicle but he wouldn’t let her pull away from him as he led her into the elevator. They were swooped up to the top floor and the elevator doors opened up to a striking view of the Thames and the lights twinkling across the city.
“This is beautiful,” she said with breathless awe. “What a gorgeous view!”
Royston was busy pouring her a glass of wine but turned and looked over at her. He saw her face and softly rounded figure in profile and he had to agree. It was a great view. “I enjoy it,” he said and handed her a glass of red wine. He wondered what she would do if she knew he’d been imagining her standing here in front of the windows naked. She’d probably be furious, he thought with increasing relish. He’d enjoy that view very much, he thought, taking a sip of his own glass filled with scotch. He savored the smoky flavor while he watched her walk closer to the windows. Her cute, round bottom pressed against her black slacks, showing him that she had a very round, very touchable derriere.
Miranda was painfully conscious of him standing behind her. Her eyes tried to focus on the view, but they refused to relinquish the reflection of the magnificent man. And then she noticed something odd. He wasn’t looking out at the London skyline. He was looking at her