The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) (7 page)

He definitely could have chosen someone else for the task of building up the village economy and branding the village as a go-to place for quaint shops and tourists, but he suspected this woman would do an exceptional job because of some hidden agenda that he was still trying to discover, and because he would put all of his resources into ensuring the village’s success. The people in that town deserved that and so much more.

Unfortunately, they didn’t even realize that they were in a downward trend and he couldn’t seem to convince any of them to change their business models to stop that trend. He’d seen it coming for the past few years but none of them would allow him to help, eschewing his offers to improve their profits or even hiring a town manager. All they saw when he spoke to them was a badly beaten little boy hiding from a tyrannical father and not the competent business man he’d grown into.

But Derrick wouldn’t allow them to avoid the problems any longer. They needed to take control of their future and this slender beauty was the only person so far who had been able to break them out of their ruts.

Instead of giving her the village history, he said simply, “You got Mary to come out of the technological Ice Age. Anyone who can do that is definitely ready to tackle this project.” He picked up his sandwich, “Now eat and tell me the things that are initially going through your mind.”

Zarah took a small bite of her salad, but in truth, she was too excited to eat anything. The ideas were zipping through her mind and she was eager to get back to her apartment and start writing down her thoughts.

As they ate, she tossed out thoughts and he discussed possible obstacles and she was impressed with how he worked her ideas into a more concrete opportunity. She had to give him credit. As they talked, she suspected that all of those rumors about his business acumen weren’t exaggerated on little bit. She definitely wouldn’t mind his help on this project. He seemed to have vast information and ideas on how to implement things more effectively.

Chapter 4

Two weeks into the project, she wished she’d turned Derrick down flat!

She stood outside his house, a massive manor home on the edge of the village surrounded by beautiful trees and stunning landscaping. Right now, all the roses were in bloom and the vibrant colors were shocking against the castle-like edifice. There were turrets and crenellated ramparts in various places and one could easily tell how the building had changed throughout history by the various additions with slightly different styles. But the overall effect was both lovely and impressive. If she hadn’t grown up in a palace, she might be intimidated by the view. As it was, she knew how much money it took to care for a place like this and she couldn’t believe that the man only resided here part of the year. It looked like a place out of a fairy tale and she’d decided that, if she ever owned something like this, she’d never leave it.

She’d been inside twice on previous visits with Derrick and was amazed by the interior as much as the outer beauty. There were all the modern conveniences such as central air conditioning and heating, with none of the downsides to castle life such as cold and drafty rooms or dark corridors. The rooms were filled with light because of state of the art windows which had been installed recently, but Derrick had kept the renovations in line with the building’s character. Everything flowed perfectly. Last week, she’d walked through the hallways to Derrick’s office and peered into the various rooms she’d passed, wishing she could have done more than just a peek. She wanted to go into each room and explore the amazing architecture, the design features as well as the ancient artifacts that hung on the walls.

His home was a fascinating place and she couldn’t believe she was jealous that he got to live here whenever he chose. She knew he also had a place in London and someone in the coffee shop had mentioned he had some residences in other parts of the world but an argument ensued as to where those residences were. Zarah had almost laughed at how many homes the people thought he had in different cities.

Today she stood out on the street, looking at the castle from underneath a large oak tree. The problem with entering the edifice had nothing to do with the actual building, but everything to do with the owner himself. During last week’s meeting, she’d found herself staring at his mouth as he spoke, her mind wandering and wondering what it would be like to be kissed by those firm lips. And his shoulders looked so strong, so muscular! She wanted to feel what was underneath his tailored shirt. She’d never been so brazen around a man before and had definitely never thought things like that with any of the men her brother had set her up with.

She was actually embarrassed by how her thoughts had strayed to sexual fantasies around the man. If he ever suspected that she was thinking things like that, she’d never be able to show her face around him again!

Looking up at the house, she thought about him sitting behind that massive desk, his eyes alert and focused on whatever he was working on. The man had an intense level of concentration and she admired him for it, while at the same time, was irritated that he didn’t feel the same things for her that she felt for him.

What would he do if she walked into his office and started taking off her clothes? She shook her head at the idea, but couldn’t shake the image of making love with him on that massive desk. Or even just breaking his concentration by distracting him.

Her fingers were unconsciously fiddling with the buttons on her blouse, smiling at the idea of unbuttoning just one button to see if he would notice. Would he try to take a peek as she was always doing with him? Or would he be irritated by her attempt to flirt with him? He was always so serious when he was with the women in the village who were her age. He definitely gave off the vibe that he would not get into any kind of relationship with someone in the village.

In the end, she kept her shirt buttoned, not having the courage to actually follow through on her mind’s desire to catch his attention.

What was she thinking?! She tore her hand away from her blouse, blushing at her rampant sexual thoughts. She couldn’t believe that she wanted the man to be attracted to her. He was completely the wrong kind of man for her and she should be thankful that he wasn’t interested.

Good grief! She’d really veered off course on this one!

Not only was he not interested in her, but even if he were, Rashid would never approve of him as a husband. Although, it was a known fact around the village that the current Duke of Huntington was not the marrying kind so thoughts of marriage were a ridiculous waste of time. He was a bonafide, tried and true bachelor. Too many women had ventured down the path of trying to get the man to the altar. In fact, she’d been sitting in the coffee shop a few days ago listening to a conversation at the nearest table where a group of elderly ladies were intently discussing all the ‘fancy’ women that had decorated the man’s arm. All the women, including the most recent Elise, never lasted more than a couple of months at the most, and only for a weekend fling if they were truly unlucky. The Duke of Huntington, it was declared, would never marry because he enjoyed playing the field so much.

Zarah suspected that they all knew why he was like that, but no one would mention the man’s background to her. Anytime she tried to bring it up, they quickly dismissed the subject as just vicious gossip, which was ironic since so many of the villagers relished recounting all of the Duke’s lady loves that had prowled the village streets over time. Apparently, the ladies he brought home for a weekend fling were fair game for gossip and speculation while the Duke himself was protected, with no one saying a mean or disrespectful comment about him. In fact, just the opposite. Anytime she asked about his mistresses, they changed the subject to ‘what a fine man The Duke was’ or relating all the philanthropic activities Derrick participated in or sponsored. It was almost as if they were trying their hand at matchmaking, which was ridiculous since they’d just been discussing his playboy reputation.

Right now, she simply wanted to avoid him. He was dangerous and no one ever accused her of being stupid. Reckless and rebellious sometimes, but never stupid. One didn’t put a hand into the mouth of a hungry lion and expect to come out unscathed, she told herself and forced her feet to finish the walk up the drive to the house.

Her hand was actually shaking when she lifted it to knock on the massive wooden door. The booming noise from the black, cast iron knocker reminded Zarah of the man himself. He was huge and dark, sinister almost because of his secret past that no one would discuss. There were sides to him that the darkness hid but when he spoke, it attracted everyone’s attention.

The door was quickly answered but not by the housekeeper who had answered the door last week. Instead, Derrick stood there, looking down at her with those mysterious, green eyes, causing her knees to start shaking as well as her hand. In fact, her whole body was trembling with awareness and something that made her stomach clench with tension.

“So you decided to brave the lion’s den, eh?” he asked with that irritating amusement that always seemed to be lurking in his green eyes.

“Excuse me?” she asked, her breath just a bit too breathless for her peace of mind. And the analogy had come so close to what she’d been thinking a moment ago. Could he read minds as well?

Derrick noticed her dilated eyes and her rapid breathing. All the signs were there and he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she admitted that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. She was driving him crazy with this hands-off attitude but he had a plan to break through that façade and find the real woman underneath.

“I saw you standing at the end of the drive. I knew you were debating whether to come the rest of the way to the house or run for the hills.”

She shook her head, trying to appear confident and professional when she felt neither. If she’d known he was watching her, she might actually have run for the hills. Or at least a bush! “I….well…”

“I don’t blame you. Come on in,” he said and put a hand to her back and led her through the house to the back where his office was located. “How about a brandy?” he suggested. “Or a glass of wine?”

She shivered with the need to turn around so that his hand was on her stomach instead of her back. It felt so warm and strong…what would it feel like against her bare skin?

She shuddered as she stepped away, wishing she could suppress this unwanted desire for a man who was definitely not for her. “No, thank you,” she replied and sat down on the chair he’d indicated. Alcohol definitely wasn’t something she wanted to add into this mix. She was already confused enough as it was.

“So why didn’t you want to come inside?” he asked as he handed her a glass of white wine despite her rejection of the offered beverage.

Her eyes glanced at the wine while her hand accepted it, wondering why she couldn’t be strong and just tell him no. “I did…” She took a sip of the cool, refreshing wine, enjoying the burst of taste on her tongue.

“You didn’t. So tell me what was going through your mind? Not enough progress on the festival?”

She blinked and shook her head. Business! This man wanted to discuss business and she had to get her mind in gear before she embarrassed both of them. “No, everything is fine. We’re actually ahead of schedule.”

“Then it must be because you’re afraid of me.”

Zarah looked up at the tall man and wanted desperately to cut him down a peg. She looked up at his arrogant face and everything in her wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t affected by his nearness. “Excuse me?”

Derrick laughed. “I’m a tough task master, I know. But bear with me and we’ll make a great team.”

That was so far and yet, so close, to what she’d been thinking it was scary. She took a sip of wine, wondering how he’d known. She couldn’t look him in the eyes so she glanced down at her notes. “I have a PowerPoint presentation to show you if you’d like to review it. I’ve documented our progress to date. We have all the shop owners involved in the festival. It’s now just a matter of narrowing down their merchandise. They want to offer too much instead of just a sample of what they normally sell.”

“You’re right,” he said and took the seat next to her instead of moving back behind the desk which would have made her much more comfortable. “Stick to two or three items that represent their stores. Let the visitors come back another time to get a broader experience.”

She glanced over at him, then at the large desk. “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable behind your desk?” she spat out before she could stop herself.

Derrick’s eyebrow went up and he watched her carefully. “Would you be more comfortable if I were over there?” he asked her softly.

Zarah knew that the question was wrong even as she spoke the words but she couldn’t take them back, and she wished she could be more casual. But sitting next to him, the heat of his body so close she could actually feel it emanating from him and into her cold, nervous fingers and arm. “I’m fine,” she whispered and handed him the papers she’d printed out for him.

“It will be easier if we share,” he said and leaned closer to her. “That way I can see what you’re pointing to.”

Zarah tried to take a deep breath, to calm her racing nerves and focus, but it was very hard when he was this close. She wanted to scoot her chair away slightly, but knew that would be too revealing. So she plunged into her notes, going through the presentation as thoroughly as possible.

They went through the other details Zarah had compiled but she was intensely aware of the large man moving closer to her. She lost her concentration several times when he pointed to something on her papers for clarification. She had to pull back slightly and gather her thoughts during those moments. She wanted to be professional about this situation, but he was making it very difficult.

“I guess that’s all for today,” she said as soon as they’d finished the last slide of her presentation. She quickly pulled the papers together and started stuffing them into her file folder.