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He stuck on the last pieces of tape and lifted his fingers from her skin, disregarding how he instantly missed its warmth, concentrating instead on her impertinence.
‘Says the woman who believed she could gate-crash a private party and not be discovered from the start?’
She watched him, a faint line creasing her brow. He saw the exact moment the penny dropped.
‘You knew I was in your dressing room. Even before the phone call.’
‘Did you imagine it would be that easy to enter my home? That a prince of Nabhan would be so little protected? Besides, you made so much noise the entire household would have known you were there.’
He didn’t mention that her scent had lingered, too. That he’d picked up on the unfamiliar fragrance the moment he’d entered his suite. She made a hopeless burglar.
She ignored his last remark, clearly caught up in another idea altogether. ‘You knew I was there and yet you...you...’ She flushed—presumably at the memory of him undressing. She even had the audacity to sound indignant.
‘You break into a man’s private rooms and expect the social niceties to be observed? I’m on a strict schedule. I had to be ready to leave. I imagined that for decency’s sake you would reveal yourself before, shall we say, I did.’
The fabric of her dress suddenly held deep fascination for her, and she plucked at the hem. ‘Why did you allow me to break in?’
‘I wanted to know what you were searching for.’ He invested his voice with the full force of royal authority. ‘And now would be a good time to tell me.’
She remained stubbornly silent.
‘I know you were there for the laptop.’
She stared at him.
‘Lily, you’d moved it to the table by the window. We have the folded bag you brought with you to carry it away in. Who brings a shopping bag to a party? We presume your stepbrother sent you to access something on the hard drive. What was it?’
Her chin came up.
‘If Nate had wanted you to know that, he would have told you himself. Obviously he doesn’t trust you, and neither do I.’
She was going to defy him? Again?
He was hit with several emotions at once: incredulity, anger, and a sudden, irrational urge to reach over and stop her impertinent little mouth with his own.
It was not good that she’d wound him up to that extent. Time to wrestle back control—in particular of his wayward hormones.
‘In that case I think you should prepare yourself for a long stay in Nabhan.’
‘How lovely,’ she mocked. ‘It’s ages since I’ve had a holiday.’
‘It won’t, I assure you, be any kind of a holiday. That would suggest the freedom to come and go as you please. Which will not be permitted.’
‘Why not just throw me in prison and have done with it?’
‘Don’t tempt me,’ he muttered.
Then he took a breath. This was achieving nothing. He forced himself to calm down.
‘Before we arrive in Nabhan I think we should set a few ground rules,’ he said, as pleasantly as he could.
Lily eyed him suspiciously.
‘Under the circumstances, it’s hardly appropriate that you should meet any members of my family. So I’ve—’
‘Might they be tainted by my criminal presence?’
Damn it—now she was interrupting him. ‘Whilst you have a point,’ he snapped back, ‘you know that’s not what I meant. This is not a social visit. I thought perhaps, both for your sake and Nate’s, you would appreciate as much discretion as possible.’
