What wasn’t wrong? He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. He was a fool. But there was no time for that now. ‘Didn’t you hear it?’
‘Hear what?’
‘The crash.’
She shook her head, still looking confused. ‘What crash?’
He ran his hand through his hair. Pulled open the door and stepped outside into the storm. Where the cause of the crash became obvious. A tall palm tree from the beach had been toppled, blocking the road, its crown landing mere inches from the front door, its remaining fronds splayed and distorted haplessly against the ground.
Thankfully no damage done. Not to the outside of the property. As far as Theo was concerned, the damage had all been wreaked inside. No, it had started before that, when he’d taken her hand in the car to reassure her. She’d been so afraid. She’d felt so fragile. He’d wanted to reassure her. But he’d felt her hand tremble in his and he wanted to protect her. He was a bodyguard, that was what he did. Protect people. Rescue people.
He hadn’t expected to enjoy it so much.
He hadn’t expected to wish their journey might be longer.
Gamo!He was a fool.
He phoned Tom Parker while he was outside, to let him know that a palm had fallen and that the road was blocked. In reality, it gave him a further excuse not to go back inside yet, something he didn’t want to do until he got his thoughts and his wayward body in order. He needed to stand outside in the blustery winds and lashing rain until the last vestiges of desire-fuelled body heat had been exorcised from his flesh.
He’d kissed the Princess. And not just a passing kiss. He’d made it obvious he’d like to take it further. God, his hands had been all over her, he would have taken it further if a falling palm tree hadn’t intervened. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t tried to stop him. He didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her, not after her first night’s expedition. After that, he didn’t trust her that she might employ her newly found wiles to make him complicit in her attempts to avoid a return to Rubanestein.
Phone call made, Theo took another deep breath, turned, and went inside.
The Princess was nowhere to be seen. He towelled off the worst of the rain, and heard a sound from the kitchen, like mugs landing on a counter. He stopped as she came into sight. She was making coffee, putting a capsule into a machine. She looked over at him, her eyes bright but suspicious. ‘Everything all right?’
‘A palm tree has fallen across the road. Thankfully no other damage.’
She smiled. ‘I wasn’t talking about that.’
‘Princess,’ he said, hauling in a deep breath as the fingers of one hand raked through his hair. ‘I’m sorry.’
She frowned. ‘What for?’
‘For kissing you. I shouldn’t have done that. I overstepped the mark. Please forgive me.’
‘You didn’t enjoy it? I got the impression—’
He snarled. ‘It’s not about enjoyment. You are my charge. My responsibility.’
‘So you did enjoy it?’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘You didn’t not say it either.’
‘Stop it,’ he said, his fingers now stroking his brow. ‘Bottom line, it was a mistake, Princess. It should never have happened. I promise it won’t happen again.’
‘But how can I be sure it won’t?’ she said.
‘What?’
‘I’ve heard of this before. You seem to assume that I kissed you because I wanted to. But it’s a known phenomenon. It’s called Stockholm Syndrome, where a captive finds herself enamoured of her captor.’
‘I am not your captor.’
‘It feels like it. And here we are. Forced together in close proximity.’
‘Not my choice. You would already be home if a cyclone hadn’t intervened.’
