Carrying the King's Pride

Chapter One Part Two

Sofía made a discrete exit while Nik bid goodnight to his friends. A chill that had nothing to do with the sultry heat slid through her as she exited the building and walked toward the Bentley Carlos was pulling to a halt at the curb. He got out, greeted her by name and held the door open.

She slid in to the car, its sleek leather interior filling her head with the scent of privilege and luxury. Her head swirled in a million directions as she waited for Nik. Should she tell him it was over here in the car? Short and sweet, no big scenes which Nik would hate, then he could take her home? Or should she wait until they were at his place?

Nik joined her in the car minutes later. Instructing Carlos to take them to his penthouse on Central Park West, he lowered the privacy screen between them and the driver and sat back in his seat, his gaze scouring her face.

"What's wrong, Sofía?"

She swallowed hard. Decided the car was not where she wanted this discussion to take place. "Can it wait until we're at the penthouse?"

He inclined his head. "Kala." Fine.

She breathed an inward sigh of relief and sat back against the seat. Nik sank his hands into her waist, dragged her on his lap and captured her jaw in his palm. "You haven't properly said hello."

A wave of heat blanketed her. "We're in the car..."

"It's never bothered you before. " He lowered his head, his firm, beautiful mouth brushing against hers. "And it's only a kiss."

And yet a kiss from Nik could be disastrous. Her lashes lowered as he captured her mouth in the most persuasive of caresses. Gentle, insistent, he claimed her again and again until her traitorous body responded, lighting up for him as it always did. Her lips clung to his, seeking closer contact.

Gathering her to him, Nik deepened the kiss, his fingers at her jaw holding her captive as he explored the softness of her lips, the recesses of her mouth. All of her.

A soft sound left her throat, her fingers curling in the thick hair at the base of his neck. Nik lifted his mouth from hers, a satisfied glitter in his eyes. "Now you don't look like a cardboard cutout. You look insanely beautiful tonight, Sofía."

"Efharisto." Thank you. A word he had taught her in his language. "And you," she murmured, "had your usual throng of fans."

His eyes glittered. "Jealous? Is that what has you off-centre for once? If so, I like it."

The taunt knocked some common sense into her head. She pushed a hand against his chest and forced him to let her go. Sliding off his lap, she took her seat back and straightened her hair. Searched desperately for a source of innocuous conversation to fill the space.

"Congratulations on your big deal. The analysts half expected it to fall through."

He inclined his head. "I thought it might at one point. But making the impossible happen is my forte."

She smiled. No ego there. But why wouldn't there be? First in his class at Harvard, a genius with numbers and forging high-stakes deals, the Wizard of Wall Street as he was known, had turned his tiny Mediterranean island of Akathinia, a glittering former colonial jewel that hosted much of the world's glitterati, into a thriving, modern economy over the past decade, his reckless, some would say suicidal deal-making paying off with deep dividends for his country. It was the envy of the Mediterranean.

She shook her head. "Your need to win is insatiable, Nik."

"Yes," he said deliberately, his gaze trained on her. "It is."