you from any who attempt to attack you.” He glanced around. “Where is Muffin?”
“Sleeping. She needs her beauty sleep.”
“Tell me she does not have one of those black sleep masks.”
Billie laughed. “She doesn’t.”
“Good.”
He leaned against the railing, his shoulder close to her own.
“Did you enjoy your evening with us?” he asked.
“Very much so.” She glanced at him, taking in the dark slacks and the formal white shirt he’d unbuttoned. The tie was gone, as was the jacket, and he’d rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.
“I’ve never dined with royalty before,” she said. “I thought I’d be more nervous but everyone made me feel very comfortable.”
“I was concerned you thought there were too many questions.”
“Not at all. I thought everyone was interested and genuine rather than grilling me.”
“We are like other families?”
“Except for the prince thing.”
“So you were impressed.”
She smiled. “Not exactly.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“Come on. How impressed could I be by wealth and a title when we both know I could blow you out of the sky in thirty-eight seconds?”
“Good point. However, I could impress you in other ways.”
Oh, yeah, that was a serious possibility.
“I’m just the hired help,” she said instead, and did her best to act casually. “In a few months, I’ll be gone and you’ll rule your own skies.”
“Do you like that aspect of your job? Going from place to place?”
“Sometimes.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I enjoy seeing the world, but sometimes I wouldn’t mind having a permanent base of operations. The problem with that is I’ve yet to find a way to combine home and hearth with what I love to do.”
“The flying.”
“Exactly.”
“How did you learn to fly?” he asked.
“My dad had always taken me up with him. I was handling single engine planes by the time I was ten. My mom tried to hold me back, which worked until she died. Then there was no one telling my dad no. I worked my way up to jets pretty quickly.” She turned her head and smiled at him. “Having a mini air force in the family helped. What about you?”
“I have always loved flying. My father indulged me with lessons when I was twelve. I’m sure he thought it was something I would outgrow.”
“But you didn’t.”
“You’re right. The more I flew, the more I loved it. I wanted to join an air force, but we did not have one here in Bahania and no other country would allow me to train. They did not want the responsibility of a king’s son.”
“Huh. I never thought there would be discrimination against royalty.”
“You would be surprised.”
“Maybe, but don’t expect any sympathy.”
“I am not.” He turned so he faced her. “Your life has not been traditional.”
“I know. I’m glad for what I’ve experienced, but it hasn’t come free. I’m going to be thirty in a few years. I’d like to get married and start on the whole baby thing, but I don’t actually meet the kind of guys who would be interested in me.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s the whole blow up in the sky thing. Most men don’t like it and compensate one of two ways. They get way too aggressive with me on the ground, or they ignore me. No one is ever just a guy.”
Although Jefri was making a good showing, she thought. If only he wasn’t a real prince.
“You are not making any sense,” he told her.
“Sense or not, what’s what is. The men I work with don’t see me as an available female.”
“Perhaps they are not willing to take on your brothers.”
Billie stared at him. “Excuse me?”
“Your brothers. Doyle warned me away from you this afternoon. After our flight.”
She heard the words, but she couldn’t believe them. “He what?”
“The message was extremely clear.”
“I…He…” She pressed her lips together and reached for a rational, coherent thought. “That lying, cheating, scummy pinhead,” she muttered.
Was it possible? Were her brothers the reason no one ever asked her out?
She thought about how possessive they were of her. Of the things they said and how they worried about her.
“This is so like them,” she said, feeling her temper rise. She couldn’t believe it. She’d been date-free for years. How many guys had wanted to take her out only to be headed off by one of her brothers?
“I’m going to make them pay.”
“I would request that you not make them suffer too much.”
“Why?”
“Because they have kept other men away from you.”
“Oh, right and that’s a good thing, how?”
“You are still available to me.”
Billie barely had time to process the sentence, which was probably for the best because the most eloquent thing she would have come up with was “Huh?” As Jefri spoke, he drew her into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers, so whatever else she was going to say faded into a soft, soul-stealing kiss.
He claimed her with a combination of passion and tenderness. Firm lips moved against her own, discovering, heating, delighting. Her temper faded as if it had never been, while liquid desire took its place.
She sighed and melted against him, letting her body lean against his and her arms rest on his strong shoulders. He smelled of cognac and night and mystery. He drew her closer still until they touched as intimately as their mouths. One of his hands tangled in her long hair while the other roamed over her back.
Instinctively she tilted her head, to make the kissing easier. He responded by brushing his tongue against her lower lip. Anticipation raced through her and she parted for him. But instead
