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‘Would you like some champagne?’ asked the young man Arielle was dancing with.
She smiled at him and ignored the thought that she would like to escape to her room in the guest wing of the palace, crawl under the duvet and have a good cry. ‘I’d love some.’ Tonight was her one and only chance to attend a royal ball, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it, Arielle told herself sternly. Life was about embracing new experiences, not moping over a prince who she had known from the outset could never be hers.
The champagne helped, and after a couple of glasses of fizz, and finding there was no shortage of men who wanted to dance with her, she discovered that she was genuinely having a good time. She even had the confidence to flirt a little with her dance partners, and a few times when there was a lull in the music the sound of her laughter turned heads in her direction.
‘You seem to be having fun.’ Eirik’s deep voice was close to her ear. Arielle’s stomach muscles clenched when she turned her head and found him beside her. With effortless grace and a gleam of determination in his eyes, he drew her away from the man she had been dancing with. Spinning her round to face him, he captured her hand in his and placed his other hand on her waist.
‘Isn’t having fun the point of a party?’ she asked breathlessly as she rested her free hand on his shoulder and tried to remember what to do with her feet.
‘You call this evening fun?’ Eirik demanded tersely. ‘Every move I make is watched by three hundred and fifty guests, and my mother is in one of her sulks because I refuse to allow her to interfere in my life.’
‘I suppose your mother is annoyed because you haven’t made an announcement of your betrothal.’ Arielle tensed when Eirik’s thigh brushed against hers. Even through his trousers and her velvet dress she was aware of the ripple of his hard muscles. The contact felt shockingly intimate. ‘Ida Lundberg must be disappointed. Everyone expects that you will choose her to be your bride after she was seen with you at royal events in the past two weeks.’
‘I attended a number of functions with Princess Hulda, and Ida was there because my mother recently appointed her as a lady-in-waiting.’
‘Are you sure that was the only reason?’ Arielle muttered. ‘I saw you dancing with Ida this evening and the two of you looked perfect together.’
‘Ida was not the only woman I danced with. Were you jealous, my green-eyed mermaid?’
She looked away from his speculative gaze. ‘I had no right to feel jealous,’ she said stiffly.
‘I had no right to wish I could tear you away from every man I watched you dance with,’ Eirik growled. ‘As for the men who have undressed you with their eyes, I would take great delight in rearranging their features with my fist.’
She flushed. ‘No one has undressed me with their eyes...have they?’
‘Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? Or how incredibly sexy you look in that dress? I chose it from the designer’s website because I knew it would be perfect for you. But you exceeded all my expectations. When I walked into the ballroom you blew my mind.’
Eirik’s huskily spoken words sent a quiver of response through Arielle. She stumbled and he tightened his hand on her waist. He winced when her stiletto heel came down on his foot.
‘Sorry. One back, two to the side, three together,’ she said under her breath.’
His brows lifted. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Gustav showed me how to waltz. But I forget the steps if I am distracted.’
He laughed softly. ‘Do I distract you,skatta?’
The sensual musk of his aftershave was all around her. The ballroom was full of people, but Arielle only saw him. She nodded, and his eyes glittered as he slid his arm around her waist and placed his hand on her bare back where her dress was cut away. His touch burned her, and she did not try to resist when he drew her closer so that they were hip to hip. ‘Dancing is easy,’ he murmured. ‘Let me show you.’
The orchestra had struck up a fairly quick waltz and Arielle’s feet flew over the floor as Eirik whisked her around the ballroom. She had wanted to be in his arms all evening, and she stopped telling herself the reasons why this was a bad idea and melted against his hard body.
‘You’re a good dancer,’ she said breathlessly.
‘My mother insisted that my brother and I took ballroom-dancing lessons every Saturday morning when we were younger. I would much rather have gone sailing, so I learned the steps quickly.’
‘I suppose you attend a lot of parties and being able to dance must be a useful skill to have.’
His sexy smile stole Arielle’s breath. ‘I have many skills,’ he whispered into her ear. The stubble on his jaw scraped over her cheek, and she knew that if she turned her head a fraction their mouths would meet. She would not have believed it was possible to make love on a crowded dance floor, but when Eirik slid his hand down to her bottom and hauled her even closer to him, so that her breasts were pressed against his chest and she felt the hard ridge of his arousal nudge her thigh, Arielle realised that he was seducing her, and she did not want him to stop.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ARIELLECOULDHAVEdanced with Eirik all night, but, as the strains of the ‘Blue Danube’ faded away, the spell he had cast on her shattered when she saw Princess Hulda standing at the edge of the dance floor, watching them. The Princess beckoned imperiously to her son. Eirik gave a deep sigh and lowered his arms down to his sides.
‘My mother wishes to meet you.’ His unemotional voice gave no clue to his thoughts. He rested his hand lightly on the base of Arielle’s spine and ushered her across the ballroom.
‘Mama, I would like to introduce Miss Arielle Tremain from Cornwall in England.’
Arielle remembered that she was supposed to curtsey. She managed an inelegant bob but was hampered by her figure-hugging dress. ‘Your Highness,’ she mumbled.
