Pressing her body in more tightly against his, and breathing against his neck, she remained there for a few seconds longer than necessary before trailing her hand along his thigh and whispering in his ear. “I’m so sorry about that, Rafe. What a klutz I’m being.”
His short intake of breath gave her a measure of satisfaction. Using his thigh to help herself back up, she made sure he had ample opportunity to see her cle**age, then she stood up and went to her chair.
She could have called him on being a Neanderthal and not holding her chair out for her, but they were working — this wasn’t a date.
“Try to be more careful,” he finally said, his normally tight control just the tiniest bit unraveled.
“Oh, I will,” she purred at him as she leaned forward with her elbow on the table, squeezing her arms together. When his eyes shot down to her chest, she fought back the smile wanting to burst forth as she leaned back while rubbing her painted fingernail against her thigh, raising her skirt, reminding him she was pantyless. His sharp intake of air was a well-earned reward.
“Mr. Palazzo, your visitors have arrived.”
The two of them looked up to see one of his employees standing in the doorway with a clipboard.
“Send them in. We’re ready,” Rafe responded, instantly back to businessman mode. Ari would just have to shake him right back out of that.
Rafe stood as several men walked into the room. Ari was unsure whether she should stand or not, so she did the safe thing and rose from her seat. When the final visitor walked in, her mouth dropped open for an instant.
The man had to be several inches over six feet tall, and his olive skin and sparkling near-black eyes fit his masculine features perfectly. The bold red sash over the front of his dark suit made the man stand out even more.
Ari had no doubt he was the one in charge. His eyes scanned the room and honed in on hers, his lips turning up in a smile as he moved forward.
“Prince Adrian, I hope your travels went well,” Rafe said as he offered his hand.
“Yes, I have had quite the pleasant journey. Thank you, Rafe. Now, who is this divine creature?”
Both men turned to stare at Ari, and she had to fight not to melt to the ground. With Rafe’s intense purple eyes gazing at her, and Prince Adrian’s dynamic black ones doing the same, she was rooted to the spot.
Holy hell, the two of them could start a war with a single word as long as they stood side by side. She felt as if she should pull out her camera and start snapping pictures for a magazine spread.
“My secretary became ill, so Arianna is filling in for her today,” Rafe finally answered. Ari barely managed to hide her irritation at his words. Yet that was exactly what she was doing. She didn’t expect him say, This is my mistress, whom I screwed in her office a few minutes ago. She thought maybe he might have been a bit warmer with the introduction, though — to let the men know she wasn’t available.
Ari nearly laughed aloud at that thought. This was a freaking prince, for goodness sake, and certainly wouldn’t be asking her out on a date. His men hadn’t even bothered looking at her, so she was pretty safe with them. Man, she needed to pull herself together.
Prince Adrian stepped forward, walking with sure movements until he was standing right before her. He reached out and grasped her fingers, raising her hand slowly to his lips as he bent forward and kissed her just above the knuckles.
“Such a beauty may call me Ian,” he practically purred.
Ari couldn’t help a slight swoon at his velvet-smooth voice. She’d never met a man so suave. She was sure he had an entire harem willing and ready to do anything he asked.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ian,” she finally gasped, wanting to smack herself for the breathy sound of her voice.
“Now that introductions have been made, let us start the meeting.”
Ari was yanked out of her trance by the deadly steel behind Rafe’s voice. He sounded angry, though she couldn’t figure out why. Yes, she’d sounded a bit awed, but surely she wasn’t acting abundantly ridiculous.
“Yes, sir,” she muttered as she pulled her hand back and waited for Rafe and the prince to take their seats. She didn’t want to commit a faux paus by sitting first.
“Please sit, Arianna. My men wouldn’t dare be so rude as to have a seat before a beautiful lady has first become comfortable.”
This man was good — really good. Ari was back to feeling as if she were melting.
“Yes, please have a seat, Ari,” Rafe quietly growled.
Ari’s head whipped around to look into his tumultuous eyes. He was undoubtedly ticked off. Maybe now wasn’t the time to pursue a mission of revenge, with Rafe so dangerously moody.
Ari sat down, then watched in amazement as Rafe and Prince Adrian took their seats. Only then did the rest of the men sit, as well.
Twenty minutes into the meeting, Ari’s fascination with the prince had dimmed. Yes, he was still just as stunning, and yes, his voice could melt butter, but her eyes were drawn to only one man in the room — Rafe.
The prince continually looked her way, but soon Ari was able to tune out the flirtatious looks and smooth voice, and simply do her job of taking notes of the meeting.
If she put everything else aside, what they were planning was quite amazing. If it worked, thousands of jobs would be created and better conditions brought to both the prince’s country and some impoverished areas in the U.S.
As she continued taking notes, she learned more about Rafe. She knew he had a good heart beneath the hard exterior he showed to the world, but listening to the excitement enter his voice as he spoke of a multibillion-dollar merger was still eye-opening. She had a feeling he would do so much good during his lifetime — control issues aside.
Without her realizing it, several hours passed. She could have sat there all night listening to his and the prince’s plans.
“Rafe, I think we have a deal. I look forward to getting this started. We’ll meet in January to break ground.” Prince Adrian stood up and stretched his arms. He had removed his jacket earlier, and the sight of his muscles flexing beneath the white silk of his shirt proved a real treat. Ari might not want the prince, but that didn’t mean she was immune to his aura. She was human, after all.
“I have to admit, this is the first project I’ve been truly excited over in some time,” Rafe said. “I look forward to spending time in your beautiful country. I hope you feel the same about your time here in the States.”