His gaze dropped to her feet. They were small but perfectly formed with pink tips. The sight only aroused him further, tweaked his already dangerously heightened senses.
‘Good idea,’ he murmured inanely, his voice curiously hoarse.
She nodded and fell into step beside him. ‘I think it’s only fair to warn you, though, the last time I rode a dinghy, I ended up falling overboard. I hope you’ll rescue me if that happens again?’
A smile tugged at his lips. ‘As you can see, my boat is slightly bigger than your dinghy. It’ll take a lot of effort to accidentally go overboard. But be assured, I’ll come to your aid should the worst happen.’
‘Well, if you put it that way, then I have nothing to worry about,’ she said with a smile.
Reyes smiled, feeling less burdened than he had in a long time. He took her shoes as they approached the gangplank and followed her up the stairs onto the deck and through into the large, open salon. He watched her take in her surroundings, her mouth parting to inhale sharply at the opulence that embraced her.
Reyes had seen different reactions to his yacht, some openly covetous and some hidden behind careful indifference. Jasmine’s eyes widened in something close to childlike, uninhibited awe as she took in the polished wood panels, gold ornamentation and monogrammed accessories in royal Santo Sierran blue he’d commissioned for the vessel.
‘Wow!’ She turned full circle and found him watching her. A faint blush touched her cheeks and she walked over to the large sofa and perched on the edge. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to gush.’
‘A genuine reaction is better than artificial indifference.’ He walked over to her and placed her shoes next to her.
‘Seriously? Who would be indifferent to this?’ She waved her hand around the deck.
‘People with ulterior motives they prefer to hide?’ The last female on this boat had been Anaïs. She’d been in full playing-hard-to-get mode, which had swiftly crumbled when Reyes had threatened to walk away. Of course, she’d had other aces up her sleeve. ‘In my experience, people are rarely what they seem at first blush.’
‘Oh, right.’ Jasmine’s eyes darted to his and slid away, and she seemed lost for words. Her tongue darted out to lick the corner of her lip.
Reyes’s heart beat just that little bit faster. His fingers tightened as anticipation fizzed faster through his veins.
Her skin, creamy with the barest hint of tan, glowed under the soft lights of his deck. His fingers itched to touch, to caress. But he held back.
There would be time for that later. He had no doubt he was about to indulge in something he’d never indulged in before—a one-night stand; this could be nothing more than that—but he didn’t want to rush it.
Morning would come soon enough. The treaty would be signed. He would ensure Santo Sierra’s continued economic prosperity. And he would return to his father’s bedside to continue his vigil.
But for now... ‘I think it’s time for that drink, yes?’
* * *
Jasmine swallowed her relief as the heated look in Prince Reyes’s eyes abated. For a moment there, he’d looked as if he wanted to devour her where she stood.
And as much as that had sent a bolt of excitement through her, part of her had quailed at the look.
Hastily, she nodded. ‘Yes, thank you.’
She watched him walk towards an extensive, gleaming wood-panelled bar. A steward approached, but he waved him away. Opening a chiller, he grabbed a bottle of wine and expertly uncorked it. Rounding the bar, he handed her a glass and indicated a row of low, luxurious sofas.
Taking the seat next to her, he lowered his long body into it, driving the breath straight out of her lungs.
‘What shall we drink to?’ he asked in a low, deep voice, his stare focused solely on her.
Jasmine’s mouth dried. ‘Um, how about congratulations on the progress you’ve made with the treaty so far?’ Talking about the treaty helped keep her grounded, reminded her why she was here.
His smile held more than a hint of pride. ‘Gracias.’
‘Did you achieve what you set out for?’
Against his usual guarded judgement he found himself sharing with her. ‘It was a long, hard battle, but we’re almost there. By this time tomorrow, a solid trade agreement will exist between our two kingdoms, something my people have needed for a long time.’
Jasmine’s heart thudded loudly in her ears. Her hands started to shake and she hastily put her glass down. Sensing him following the movement, she flexed her fingers and smoothed them over her dress.
‘You should be back there, then, at the museum, celebrating. Why did you leave early?’
‘I don’t like crowds,’ he declared. His eyes widened, as if he’d let something slip he hadn’t meant to. A moment later, his expression shuttered.
Something inside her softened. ‘I don’t like crowds, either.’
His head snapped up, his gaze searching hers. At her small smile, his tense jaw relaxed.
‘I mean, who does, aside from rock stars and, well, crowd lovers?’ she joked. She wasn’t making much sense, but at the moment Jasmine would’ve kept babbling just to keep that smile on his face.
A small, enigmatic smile twitched his lips before he took a sip of his wine. ‘So what brings you to Rio alone?’ he asked. ‘Carnival was last month.’
She forced herself not to tense. For a wild moment Jasmine wondered if he could see through her to the truth of her presence in his life.
Clearing her throat, she shrugged and struck for the half-truth she’d practised in her head. ‘I haven’t had a holiday in years. An unexpected gap opened up in my schedule, and I took it.’
His eyes slowly narrowed, his fingers stilling around his wine glass. ‘And you just happened to gain the most sought-after invitation to the Prince of Valderra’s birthday party?’ Mild disbelief rang through his voice.
‘No. Of course not. My trip isn’t all play. The brokerage firm I work for have been following the Santo-Valderra negotiations for some time. When one of my...clients offered me the invitation, I thought it would be good experience to learn more about it.’
‘And have you?’
Jasmine shook her head. ‘Only what’s been released to the press, which is plenty interesting. I mean, from a brokerage point of view, it’s mind-blowing what you’ve achieved—’
Jaw tightening, he set his glass down with a sharp click. ‘And you want to know more? To gain first-hand information? Is that why you’re here?’
JASMINE
