Free The Princess Problem by Diane Darcy Page A

there fast. He pulled to a stop beside her car.
    “We’re here,” he said unnecessarily, switching off the ignition, hopping out, and hurrying to open her door.
    He felt like a teenager again.
    What was it about this girl? She drove him crazy on more levels than he cared to think about. He opened the passenger door and took her hand as she slipped out. Just the feel of her soft skin had him wanting to pull her close. He shut the car door and felt his heart beating hard in his chest. He tried not to stare at her mouth. “Do you have your keys?”
    She dug in her purse and extracted them. “Here they are.” When she glanced up, she looked shy, her eyes avoiding his.
    She wasn’t thinking about backing out, was she? Changing her mind? She could still minus a point or two for the hungry way he was looking at her or something. His gaze dropped to her mouth. He’d been looking at those lips all night long, remembering their softness against his. If she knew what he was thinking right now, no doubt she’d minus all his points.
    When she took a deep breath, he quickly bent down and captured her mouth with his own before she could change her mind. At the touch of her soft lips, he groaned and pulled her into his arms, encircling her small frame, and squeezing her close.
     
    * * *
     
    The touch of his mouth on hers, and the feel of his arms holding her tight, had Alicia going into sensation overload. The way he felt, the way he tasted, even his scent combined to weaken her defenses. Her purse dropped to the ground with a thud, followed by her keys. She raised her arms around his neck and held him close, just for a moment, only for a moment, as she gave in to the pleasure of his lips against hers.
    He broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, his breathing as erratic as her own.
    “One more?” he asked.
    She couldn’t think. “I don’t know if we--”
    “I was really good tonight, remember? I earned all five points.”
    She sucked in a breath. “That’s true.”
    His mouth captured hers once more, and this time it was her moaning against his dangerously addictive mouth and pressing closer to him.
    “Um… excuse me?” The voice jarred, and then a flashlight blazed onto one side of her face. She pulled away from Jonas with a gasp. When the light continued to shine on her, she buried her face against Jonas’s chest, mortified at being caught kissing in the parking lot like a teenager.
    Jonas chuckled, and held her close. “Hi, Eddie. Do you mind not shining that in my face?”
    The light immediately lowered to the ground. “Mr. Highborn. Sorry about that. I thought you were a couple of teenagers.”
    Alicia couldn’t help it. She giggled.
    Jonas chuckled. “No need to be sorry. It looks like you’re doing a fine job on guard duty. I was just dropping my date back at her car.”
    “All right, then. You two have yourselves a fine evening.”
    “You, too.”
    Alicia finally pulled away from Jonas to see an older gentleman moving away into the shadows. “I guess I’d better be getting home. Thank you for dinner.”
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He retrieved her boxed dinner, picked up her purse, and found her keys on the ground. He chuckled and handed over her things.
    She blushed, glad for the darkness. “Okay. Goodnight.”
    Alicia could feel Jonas watching her as she unlocked her car, climbed in, and started it up. She circled around, looked both ways, then merged into the sparse traffic. Once she was out of his line of sight, she breathed in shakily.
    Two things were clear. Number one, that man was dangerously addictive. And number two, she didn’t know how she was ever going to face him again, let alone see him tomorrow. She was too embarrassed.
    She groaned as she thought about how she’d held him so tight. Maybe she could avoid him for a few days until she got her emotions under control again. She wasn’t sure it would even work, but it was certainly worth a try.
     
    * *