Free Prince and Single Mom by Morgan Ashbury Page B

but he didn’t mind that.
    Experimenting, he began a subtle back and forth swaying motion with his hips, mimicking the act of love, to see what she’d do. Though startled at first, she soon matched his rhythm. Against his chest he felt her nipples bead beneath her clothes. He had no doubt she could feel his erection trying to make a nest against her mound.
    A busy dance club frequented by his countrymen and women was not where he wanted to be right now.
    “I like this club,” Kate said when the music changed to a less intense and slower song, and the volume lowered slightly.
    “Good. It’s not one the tourists frequent, as it lacks a lot of the glitz and polish they look for.”
    “So this is where you come when you want to unwind?”
    “When I want music and noise and people, yes.”
    Philip changed his hold on her, clasping her right hand in is left and moving into a more classic dancing pose, such as he would at a state function. The new position forced a little distance between them, and let him look at her face. It delighted him when, after a few minutes, she lowered her eyes.
    “It bothers you when I look at you?”
    “I’m not used to being stared at like a dessert on the menu.”
    “Ah, my Kate. That tells me you haven’t been very observant these past few years. How could any man see you and not want to gobble you? Thank you for not noticing them and saving yourself for me.”
    Because they’d been dancing since they arrived, Philip led her to a small table in the back corner of the club when the music ended. A server appeared almost immediately to take their order.
    “Ginger ale, please,” Kate said.
    “You don’t like to drink alcohol very much, do you?”
    “Sometimes, I’ll have a couple of drinks. Usually late at night, when Jamie’s in bed and I can relax. But not too often when I’m out.”
    Philip asked the server for two glasses of the soft drink. When they were alone, he confided, “I don’t drink much, either. And never more than wine with dinner when I have to be on duty the next day.”
    “That’s very responsible of you.”
    Philip grinned, picking up Kate’s hand. “I acted a bit wild in my college days. I think there may even have been a moment or two when my family despaired of my ever being responsible. But I grew up.” And even living in what some would consider a fish bowl, he’d had more freedom, and more fun, he’d bet, than the woman sitting across the table from him. He wanted to know everything about her, everything she’d gone through. He wanted to know what Jamie had been like as a baby, and he knew she’d delight in talking about her son. But he’d promised her a night of fun.
    And what could be more fun, he suddenly decided, than dancing—and kissing—on a private, moonlit beach?
    “Kate, there’s someplace I’d like to take you. It’s one of my favorite places. Will you come with me?”
    He watched the emotions play across her face, and wondered what she thought. He gave her his most encouraging, and innocent smile.
    Her reaction, tilting her head to one side, intrigued him. It may very well be that she would be the first woman to ever see right through me.
    “All right, Philip. It’s nearly eleven, though. I’d like to be back at the resort by midnight.”
    He couldn’t resist one more tease. “I promise your coach won’t turn into a pumpkin, Cinderella.”
    “No, but you might turn into a frog.”
    “Wrong fairy tale.”
    “Whatever.”
     
    * * * *
     
    She agreed to ride in his car.
    It wasn’t what she’d wanted to do at the beginning of the evening. She’d wanted her own means of escape. But since she’d made the decision to more or less let nature take its course, it seemed silly to stick to that restriction now.
    She’d never ridden in a BMW Z4 coupe before. Sleek, black and low to the ground, the car seemed exactly the kind of fast toy she’d expect a prince to drive. Unfair , she scolded herself. If she wanted to think