Free The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) by Elizabeth Lennox

wine?”
    She shivered with the need to turn around so that his hand was on her stomach instead of her back. It felt so warm and strong…what would it feel like against her bare skin?
    She shuddered as she stepped away, wishing she could suppress this unwanted desire for a man who was definitely not for her. “No, thank you,” she replied and sat down on the chair he’d indicated. Alcohol definitely wasn’t something she wanted to add into this mix. She was already confused enough as it was.
    “So why didn’t you want to come inside?” he asked as he handed her a glass of white wine despite her rejection of the offered beverage.
    Her eyes glanced at the wine while her hand accepted it, wondering why she couldn’t be strong and just tell him no. “I did…” She took a sip of the cool, refreshing wine, enjoying the burst of taste on her tongue.
    “You didn’t. So tell me what was going through your mind? Not enough progress on the festival?”
    She blinked and shook her head. Business! This man wanted to discuss business and she had to get her mind in gear before she embarrassed both of them. “No, everything is fine. We’re actually ahead of schedule.”
    “Then it must be because you’re afraid of me.”
    Zarah looked up at the tall man and wanted desperately to cut him down a peg. She looked up at his arrogant face and everything in her wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t affected by his nearness. “Excuse me?”
    Derrick laughed. “I’m a tough task master, I know. But bear with me and we’ll make a great team.”
    That was so far and yet, so close, to what she’d been thinking it was scary. She took a sip of wine, wondering how he’d known. She couldn’t look him in the eyes so she glanced down at her notes. “I have a PowerPoint presentation to show you if you’d like to review it. I’ve documented our progress to date. We have all the shop owners involved in the festival. It’s now just a matter of narrowing down their merchandise. They want to offer too much instead of just a sample of what they normally sell.”
    “You’re right,” he said and took the seat next to her instead of moving back behind the desk which would have made her much more comfortable. “Stick to two or three items that represent their stores. Let the visitors come back another time to get a broader experience.”
    She glanced over at him, then at the large desk. “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable behind your desk?” she spat out before she could stop herself.
    Derrick’s eyebrow went up and he watched her carefully. “Would you be more comfortable if I were over there?” he asked her softly.
    Zarah knew that the question was wrong even as she spoke the words but she couldn’t take them back, and she wished she could be more casual. But sitting next to him, the heat of his body so close she could actually feel it emanating from him and into her cold, nervous fingers and arm. “I’m fine,” she whispered and handed him the papers she’d printed out for him.
    “It will be easier if we share,” he said and leaned closer to her. “That way I can see what you’re pointing to.”
    Zarah tried to take a deep breath, to calm her racing nerves and focus, but it was very hard when he was this close. She wanted to scoot her chair away slightly, but knew that would be too revealing. So she plunged into her notes, going through the presentation as thoroughly as possible.
    They went through the other details Zarah had compiled but she was intensely aware of the large man moving closer to her. She lost her concentration several times when he pointed to something on her papers for clarification. She had to pull back slightly and gather her thoughts during those moments. She wanted to be professional about this situation, but he was making it very difficult.
    “I guess that’s all for today,” she said as soon as they’d finished the last slide of her presentation. She quickly pulled the papers together and