He didn’t know her well enough to know what, exactly.
Instantly alert, he murmured a polite response. Carefully keeping his posture relaxed, he waited for her to drop the bomb.
“If I am to spend copious amounts of time in your laboratory, then it’s only fair that you return the favor,” she told him. “I have need of an escort to attend several formal affairs with me.”
Sensing her parents listening with interest, he pretended to give her words serious thought. “While I would be honored, of course, are you sure you’ve carefully thought this out? I am unable to see, after all. As such, my usefulness would be quite limited.”
There. Sitting back and folding his arms, he waited for her response. No one, especially not a beautiful princess, wanted to walk around with a blind man on her arm. Now let her try to back out of that one gracefully.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you,” she said, barely missing a beat. “As long as you know how to dance, I can keep us pointed in the right direction. Other than that, your main duty will be holding my arm and trying to look interested while other people babble inanely to us.”
Surprised, he barely suppressed a snort of laughter. “Sounds like one of a hundred faculty gatherings I have to attend at CU, the university where I occasionally teach.”
“Then you agree to do this?”
Against his better judgment, he found himself nodding. “I’ll be your escort. That is, if you can agree to spend at least four hours in the mornings at my lab.”
Her affirmative reply, edged with amusement, made him duck his head so she wouldn’t see his smile turn into a grin.
Interesting. Something about this princess intrigued him, something beyond the fact that she was an anomaly. Being around her made his wolf restless and made him … what? Curious to know more? Of course. That was why he’d come here, after all.
Yet, in his analytical way, he knew it was more. He liked that she could keep him off balance, something few had ever been able to do despite his recent loss of sight.
Oddly enough, for reasons he’d yet to fathom, the princess was dangerous to his equilibrium. He’d have to try to keep his mouth shut and work as fast as he could. Because of what she was, who she was, he couldn’t risk offending her too badly. The quicker he could conduct his experiments and analyze the data, the better.
The reason why she wanted him to act as his escort escaped him. But he’d do it, if doing so meant she’d consent to spend more time in his research lab. But even there, he had to be careful. Too much time alone with her and he just might pop off and say the wrong thing. Or worse, grab her and plant a hard kiss on that smart-ass mouth of hers.
Shocked at the thought, he shook his head at his own foolishness. That wouldn’t be good on so many levels it boggled his mind.
Still, something about her …
“Penny for them?” the princess asked, startling him out of his thoughts.
While he searched his brain for something safe to say, his wolf half began to stir, inexplicably restless.
“Dr. Streib?” Her voice again, slicing through his thoughts. “Are you all right?”
“Call me Braden.” His response was automatic as he prepared to lie. “I’m just mentally reviewing some of the tests I need to run on you in the morning.”
“I see. Have you finished with your fish?”
It dawned on him that one of the serving staff stood at his elbow, ready to remove his plate. “Yes,” he answered. “It was very good.”
Immediately, someone whisked his plate away.
“I’m particularly looking forward to today’s dessert,” King Leo pronounced.
“Dessert?” Startled, Braden rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m stuffed. I couldn’t possibly eat another—”
A light touch on his hand shocked him into silence.
“It’s his favorite.” The soft warning in Princess Alisa’s voice made his wolf even more restless. “You can at least have a taste, can’t you?”
His mouth had gone dry, so he nodded, hoping he successfully masked his expression. Unfortunately, as though sensing weakness, his internal wolf chose that moment to go on the offensive, fighting to be allowed to surface, to break free.
Damn. Braden did a quick mental calculation. How long had it been exactly since he’d last changed?
After a quick internal struggle, he wrestled his beast back under control, all the while keeping his head down so the Teslinko royal family wouldn’t know.
He usually was more careful. Changing often enough to keep his wolf satisfied. This level of discord had never happened to him before. His wolf felt nearly out of control. Why this furious need? Why now? Was it them? Or her? He suspected the latter, though it made no sense. Why would being around this woman affect his beast in such a visceral and urgent way?
As scientist, he desperately deduced that one reason had to be simply because being blind, he experienced everything more sharply in his lupine form. He didn’t miss his vision nearly as much as he did while human. With wolves, scent was the dominant sense. Scent told him almost everything, as much as vision did for humans.
And Princess Alisa smelled perfect. Feminine and flowers and vanilla, all in one.
Hellhounds, this wasn’t good. Counting back, he tried to calculate how long it had been since he’d changed. Ruefully, he acknowledged that too much time had passed. He’d been so occupied with his research and securing the permission of King Leo and Queen Ionna, and then traveling here and getting settled in, that he’d managed to completely ignore his own needs. His own wolf’s needs.
He needed to change. As soon as humanly possible. Perhaps, since he wasn’t going to work with the princess today, this afternoon would be a good time to find a secluded, wooded place to shape-shift and let his caged wolf run free.
Even thinking about this brought his wolf back, roaring to life. The beast inside him rushed the invisible barrier, testing the mental bounds Braden had imposed.
Finishing the fight, he raised his head, suddenly aware of the yawning silence. No doubt they were all staring at him, wondering if he’d completely lost his mind.
“Dr. Streib?” Queen Ionna asked gently. “Are you all right? You haven’t even touched your dessert.”
Forcing a shaky smile, he turned in the direction of her voice. “Yes, I am. My apologies. I was thinking of all that must be done. I am very eager to begin.”
On his other side, Princess Alisa made an odd noise in the back of her throat. “Try your cake,” she said, her tone perfectly level. “You do not wish to disrespect the king, now, do you?”
Put that way, what could he do? Fumbling for his fork, he finally located it and managed to scoop up some of the king’s favorite dessert. Not sure what to expect, he was surprised to find it melted on his tongue. In addition to chocolate, he tasted peanut butter and a hint of something else. Cinnamon. And a lot of
