Desert Rogues: The Virgin Secretary
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Susan Mallery
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Harlequin🏰 Historical
HarlequinChapter 1
CHAPTER 1
“I wondered if you were currently looking for a mistress,” Kiley Hendrick said quietly.
Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat stared at the woman sitting across from him. He had thought the biggest surprise of his Monday had been to find Kiley at her desk that morning, instead of on her honeymoon.
He had been wrong.
“You speak of yourself?” he asked.
She nodded, keeping her gaze firmly on the pad of paper she clutched on her lap.
He hadn’t seen his secretary in five days. She’d taken off part of the previous week to prepare for her impending marriage. “I take it the wedding on Saturday was not a success,” he said.
“There was no wedding.” She raised her head and stared directly at him. “Eric and I are no longer together.”
“I see.”
He allowed his gaze to return to her tightly clenched hands and saw that the modest diamond engagement ring was no longer on her left hand. A thin indentation on her pale skin was the only proof it had existed at all.
“I know that you are currently between, ah, women,” she said and blushed. “That is, I sent the final gifts and letter so I thought that you had broken up.” She pressed her lips together as if not sure how to continue.
“I am no longer seeing Carmen,” he offered helpfully.
Kiley nodded. “Yes. I thought so. And while I know you usually have one or two candidates waiting in the wings, I wondered if you would consider me. Even though I’m not your usual type.”
He had a type? “Meaning?”
She released her death grip on her pad of paper and shifted in her seat. “Glamorous. Beautiful. Sophisticated. I’m okay looking, but not in their league. But you’ve only seen me in work clothes. I clean up pretty well. I’m smart, I have a sense of humor.” She paused and bit her lower lip. “I’ve never had a conversation like this. I don’t know what you’re looking for when you pick a woman for, um, well, that.”
“My bed?”
The blush returned. She swallowed but didn’t look away. “Right. Your bed.”
Rafiq had not discussed things so openly before, either. He leaned back in his chair and considered what he looked for in a mistress.
“Obviously some physical beauty,” he said, more to himself than her. “But that is less important than one might think. Intelligence and humor are required. Not every waking moment is spent making love. There is plenty of time for conversation.”
He thought of Carmen’s shrill demands. “An even temper would be desirable.”
“You’ve known me for two years,” Kiley reminded him. “I’ve never gotten angry.”
“Agreed.” She had not. She was efficient, organized and very much responsible for the ease with which his workday progressed. But his mistress?
While Kiley was attractive and he would admit to finding pleasure in watching her move, he had never considered that more than a bonus. Beautiful, sensual women were easy to find. An excellent assistant was not.
The most sensible course was to politely thank her for the offer, then refuse the invitation. He would—
“There will be advantages,” she said, as if trying to convince him. “I understand your work. We can discuss it, if you’d like. Plus I won’t mind if you have to stay at the office late.”
“Most likely you will be working late with me,” he said, wondering why this was so important to her. What had pushed the normally reserved Kiley to make such an outrageous—for her, at least—request?
“Yes, there is that.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what else to say. I just hope you’ll consider me.”
He had never been approached so openly by a woman intent on joining him in his bed. He would have bet a considerable part of his fortune that she was not the type to be interested in an affair. He still believed that.
“Why do you want to do this?” he asked.
Kiley returned her attention to him. Her dark blue eyes flashed with pain. “Revenge.”
“A noble motive. I assume this revenge is because of your fiancé?”
“Yes. Eric.”
She paused, as if considering how much to tell him. Rafiq could guess the basic scenario, but he wanted to hear it from her. He wanted to gauge her emotions and her intent.
While she chose her words, he looked at her. Really looked—not at the ever-present secretary who anticipated his needs and made his life flow pleasantly, but at the woman.
She was of average height—perhaps five foot six or seven inches. Her hair, worn short and layered, was the color of gold. Or perhaps the north-shore beaches of Lucia-Serrat at sunset. Her large eyes dominated her face. He’d noticed how the deep blue darkened or lightened with her mood. He had always been able to tell if she was annoyed with him.
She was delicately built, small-boned, with curves that intrigued him. Now he took in the slight swell of her breasts and the shape of her calves below the hem of her knee-length skirt.
She was attractive, he thought. He found her easy to be with. She did not scream or annoy him. Like every other woman of his acquaintance, she wanted something from him. Unlike the others, she had been honest from the first.
But did he want her in his bed?
“He cheated,” Kiley said at last, obviously fighting tears. “I’m sure you guessed that. He spared me the cliché of the groom sleeping with the bride’s maid-of-honor-slash-bestfriend, but he more than made up for it in other ways. He had sex with most of the women in his law school class, his neighbors, my neighbor, along with countless others. He propositioned two of my friends. At the time, they tried to tell me, but I wouldn’t listen. Talk about stupid.”
She spoke lightly, as if the words had no meaning. But he heard the pain in her voice and saw it in her eyes.
“You did not believe them?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I was fooled right up until last Friday morning when I walked in on him and a woman from his study group.” She blinked rapidly as if holding in tears. “That wasn’t even the worst of it. He c-came after me and told me it didn’t mean anything.” She paused to swallow, the tears closer to the surface now. “He never was very original. Then he told me that he was doing it for me. That he wanted to treat me with reverence and respect. So he kept that side of himself away from me.”
She looked at Rafiq. “My idea of loving someone, of feeling reverence, isn’t to cheat on her over and over again.”
“You canceled the wedding.” If Rafiq had planned to attend, he would have known before now. But an out-of-town commitment had caused him to send his regrets.
“Eric was shocked, if you can believe it,” Kiley said. “He actually thought I’d still go through with it because it was the next day and we had 250 people coming. Everything was paid for. But I wouldn’t do it. I loved him and I thought he loved me and I was wrong. Getting married at that point would only make things worse. So I canceled.”
She dropped her head and stared at the pad of paper on her lap. “My mom and I made phone calls. We couldn’t get everyone, so I went to the church the next morning and told them as they arrived.” She took a deep breath. “It was horrible.”
“You? Not Eric?”
She shook her head. “He took the tickets for our honeymoon in Hawaii and left with his flavor of the week. I hope they get rashes. And stung by jellyfish.”
Her courage surprised him. She could easily have sent a family member to stand at the church, but she’d done it herself.
“Why me?” he asked.
For the first time since walking into his office, a smile tugged at her lips. “You’re a prince, Rafiq. That makes you the best candidate around.”
“Ah. I see.” He could discern out the rest of it. “Eric has accepted a job with the law firm I use. Therefore he will attend some of the same functions I do. As my mistress, you would go with me.”
“Exactly. Eric doesn’t like you,” she added. “I think he’s jealous. He’s tried to get me to quit a few times, but I refused. He would talk about the women in your life as if they were sluts or something but I’m starting to believe he was envious. He wants what you have. Or maybe he wants to be you. I don’t know and I don’t care. But I’m convinced that my being your mistress will destroy him.”
Rafiq considered her words. He had only met Kiley’s fiancé one or two times. He’d never formed an opinion of the man until now.
“Do you want him destroyed?” he asked.
She nodded. “Then I want to walk away and forget he ever existed.” She looked at him. “There’s another reason I came to you. You’re a good man. You’d never treat a woman the way Eric treated me. You’d simply end things without any of the lies.”
Her assessment of his character was interesting. He could name twenty people who would do their best to convince her he was the biggest bastard on the planet. But she was also right—he’d never lied to a woman. He’d never stooped to trickery or deception.
Was he considering her offer? Did he want Kiley as his mistress? He wouldn’t mind her in his bed, despite the complications. He liked her. The proposition had possibilities.
“There are logistics to be considered,” he said. “If we decide to move forward with this.”
They were discussing things so calmly, Kiley thought, more than a little amazed by the turn of events. She was willing to admit she was still emotionally numb from the shock of Eric’s betrayal, but even as she’d imagined a thousand ways this conversation could go, she’d never thought it would be so rational. Maybe this sort of thing happened to Rafiq all the time, but it was a definite first for her. Still, she was determined. She could forgive a lot of things, but not betrayal on that level. Not ever.
To think that Eric had tried to make her feel guilty about enjoying her job with Rafiq when Eric had been cheating on her. She’d been so careful not to talk about her boss and she’d always gone out of her way to reassure Eric. Just the thought of it made her want to throw something.
He had even complained about Rafiq’s generous gift of Baccarat crystal. A gift she currently had boxed up in her office to return to her boss.
“You’re the expert,” she told him. “You’re going to have to come up with the list.”
He smiled. “Of course. First there is the matter of what the relationship would entail.”
Okay, this might be the first time she’d ever applied to be a mistress, but she was fairly sure the ground rules were simple.
“I thought it would be about sex,” she said, then wished she hadn’t as his dark eyebrows rose slightly.
“Sexual accessibility is assumed,” he told her. “You would be as available as I wished and vice versa.”
He would be available to her? Interesting thought. Not that she could imagine herself picking up the phone and telling him to get naked and get ready.
“There is also the matter of fidelity,” he continued. “During our time together, there are to be no other men in your life and no other women in mine.”
“That one’s easy,” she said. “I’m not the unfaithful type.”
“Consider carefully,” Rafiq said. “The human heart is a contrary organ. Your goal is to punish Eric and make him jealous. During the course of our affair, he could try to win you back. By the terms of this agreement, that would not be allowed.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. There is nothing Eric can ever say or do to make me think of him as anything but a lying worm.”
Rafiq didn’t look convinced. Kiley knew it didn’t matter what he thought. Eric was her problem. She could still feel the disbelief that had flooded her when she’d walked into his apartment. He’d given her the key several weeks ago but she’d never used it. Somehow it hadn’t felt right. But on the day before their marriage, she’d decided to pay him an unexpected visit and take him breakfast. Only, she had been the one to get the surprise.
She was still in shock. It had been three days, and the truth of what had happened had barely begun to sink in. Part of her was glad. She wasn’t looking forward to the moment when the pain hit full force.
“There is also the matter of us working together,” Rafiq said. “You are too efficient for me to let go.”
“That’s fine. I want to keep working. I need to pay my parents back for all the money they spent on the wedding. I have most of it already. You pay me very well and I’ve been saving so Eric and I could have a down payment for a house. This is Los Angeles and real estate is expensive so I’ve been putting aside every penny I can. I wanted to give them all of that, but they wouldn’t let me. They think I should buy a condo. Maybe they’re right. I just…”
She realized she was rambling. “Sorry. The point is, I need the money.”
Rafiq stared at her.
“What?” she asked, carefully running her tongue over her teeth to see if she’d gotten a piece of food caught in them.
“You wish to repay your parents for the wedding?” he asked.
“Of course. It was thousands of dollars for nothing. I’m the one who picked Eric. I’m the one who wanted to marry him. So this is my responsibility.”
Her parents had disagreed that it was her fault, but it wasn’t as if they were rolling in money. Her dad would be retiring in a few years and her mother had only ever worked part-time.
“And while we’re on the subject,” she said. “If we do this, I don’t want work to be weird. We’d need to keep our personal life separate from work. People will probably find out but I’d rather we didn’t flaunt things.”
“I agree.”
“And when it’s over, you can’t fire me.”
“I give you my word. Should working together be too uncomfortable, I would help you find another position that was to your liking. If you stay here, we will never mention the affair again.”
Fair enough, she thought. “It won’t be uncomfortable for me,” she said. Being his mistress was about her wanting revenge, not finding a new boyfriend. Still, this was by far the most surreal experience of her life. “I’ll be fine.”
“How flattering,” Rafiq murmured.
“What?”
“Nothing. In addition to our sexual relationship, I would expect you to accompany me to various social events.”
“That’s the part I’m most looking forward to,” Kiley told him with a smile. “I want to be seen and have word get back to Eric.”
Rafiq’s expression didn’t change, but she had the feeling she’d said something wrong. She ran over her statement. Oh. Yeah. Maybe that wasn’t the most flattering thing to say.
“Of course, I’m really excited about sleeping with you,” she added, feeling both embarrassed and uncomfortable.
“I can see that.”
She wanted to bang her head against the desk. “Have I blown it completely?”
“No. You offer something unique. An honest relationship in which we both get what we want. There is no pretense of more tender feelings.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Perfectly. I would think a time period of three months would satisfy both of our needs.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said. In three months Eric was bound to find out about the affair. She could only hope that the news would devastate him as much as learning the truth about him had devastated her.
“Good.” He stood. “Then there is only one more detail to be worked out.”
“You mean you’re seriously considering me?”
She couldn’t believe it. Coming to Rafiq had taken all the courage she had and then some. Relief now combined with her sleepless nights and emotional pain and left her light-headed.
“Yes.” He walked around the desk and held out his hand to her.
She stared at it, then at him. He obviously wanted her to take his hand.
“Why me?” she asked, not yet ready for actual physical contact. “I’m not your usual type.”
His dark gaze settled on her face. “That is part of the appeal. You would present a unique perspective on the male-female relationship. I find you attractive. I believe you will be my mistress with the same efficiency that you use here at the office. Which means there is only one question left unanswered.”
She set her pad on his desk and placed her fingers against his palm. She had an impression of warm skin and strength as he gently pulled her to her feet.
He towered over her, and she had on pretty high heels. He smelled clean, just soap and man, and even though it felt strange to have him continue to hold her hand, it was more good-strange than bad-strange.
His dark eyes seemed to see down to the very depths of her being, as if he could read all her secrets. Not a good thing, she thought. She wasn’t the secret type and anything he found down there would be pretty pitiful.
She drew in a deep breath. “What’s the question?”
“This,” he said, and lowered his head.
She hadn’t thought he would kiss her. Maybe she should have. After all, she was offering to be his mistress, which meant an impressive level of physical intimacy, and kissing was the first stop on that road. But here? At the office? In the afternoon?
As his mouth gently brushed against hers, he tugged on her hand and drew her closer. She didn’t know what to think, what to feel. She’d been numb since discovering Eric with that woman, so she doubted she was going to be able to respond to Rafiq’s kiss.
Only, she had to. This was the final test to see if she was mistress material. As she knew deep in her heart she wasn’t; she was going to have to fake it. But how?
Frantic thoughts raced through her mind. She felt awkward standing there, not sure what to do with her arms, her hands. Should she embrace him? Should she go for a wildly enthusiastic tongue kiss? Should she grab his free hand and put it on her breast?
Rafiq raised his head. “You have very noisy thoughts,” he murmured.
“Can you hear them?”
“Not the specifics, but the general rumble. You are free to change your mind.”
Meaning she didn’t have to be his mistress. She knew that. “I want to do this.”
He stepped back and sat on the edge of his desk. “Chemistry is important in circumstances such as these.”
“What with sex being the point,” she said, aware that so far they’d yet to create even a spark, let alone a passionate fire.
“Is that what you think?” he asked. “That the whole point is sex?”
“Isn’t it?”
He studied her for several seconds. “Perhaps you would like to kiss me.”
Oh! Wow. Kiley drew in a deep breath. It hadn’t actually been her first choice, but she could guess why he would suggest it. If she couldn’t kiss him, she certainly couldn’t do anything more interesting.
“I would like to,” she said as much as to convince herself as him.
He sat without moving, although he watched her. She had the sense of being stalked, which was crazy. Rafiq wasn’t dangerous. Not exactly. He was powerful and good-looking. A great body. Eric was a little on the skinny side, but Rafiq had serious muscles.
Rafiq was a man who knew women—he’d had plenty and they’d all been reluctant for the affair to end. Some had called her to beg her to put in a good word for them. Some had talked about his prowess in bed. Some had accused her of being the other woman.
She’d wondered about him, of course. He was a fabulously wealthy, handsome prince who had been involved with some of the most beautiful women in the world. What, exactly, was he like in his personal life?
But that musing had been curiosity, not the interest Eric had accused her of. Funny how many times she’d defended herself against the very actions she was about to take.
She moved closer, slipping between his parted thighs and placing her hands on his upper arms. She felt the crisp coolness of his cotton shirt and the heat and strength of his body below. He stayed relaxed and didn’t try to hurry her. A faint smile drew the corners of his mouth upward. Then, with her eyes fluttering closed, she leaned in and kissed him.
His lips yielded slightly but did not part. She kept the kiss brief and chaste before moving to the left and lightly kissing his cheek. It was early enough in the day that his skin was still smooth, but she felt the hint of stubble that would arrive later.
She rubbed his cheek with hers, then kissed his jaw and the small spot right below his ear. Some tension inside of her uncoiled a little. Breath flowed more easily. She returned to his mouth, and this time she tilted her head and pressed her lips against his with more enthusiasm.
He responded but didn’t try to deepen the kiss. Instead he put one hand on the small of her back. The warm pressure gave her the courage to wrap her arms around his neck and lightly brush her tongue against his bottom lip.
He parted for her. She had the brief thought that she hadn’t kissed another man in five years. Only Eric. Then curiosity and a wave of pleasure had her slipping her tongue inside to explore what he offered.
He tasted of coffee and something sweet. His heat surprised her, as did his restraint. He let her touch him. She was the one who discovered the smoothness of the inside of his lower lip. She sought out his tongue and brushed it with her own.
The hand on her back never moved. He neither urged her forward nor suggested retreat. Not sure what to do next, she broke the kiss, dropped her arms to her sides and straightened. He did the same.
Rafiq’s dark expression hadn’t changed. No one walking in at this moment would guess anything unusual had happened. Yet Kiley felt a deep shift in the rotation of the universe.
She’d liked kissing Rafiq. Okay, maybe she hadn’t seen stars, but she was still dealing with a lot of stuff. The fact that she’d felt anything at all was pretty amazing.
“Do you think we will suit?” he asked.
She was more than a little shocked by the fact that she’d been the one kissing him. “Yes.”
“As do I. We will begin tonight. I will send my car for you at seven. You will spend the evening with me at my house. We will share dinner and work out the final details.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a conference call in fifteen minutes. If you will get me the file?”
Kiley nodded, grabbed her pad and walked out of his office. As she stood by her own much-smaller desk, she had the sudden urge to break into hysterical laughter. Be careful what you wish for, she thought, not sure if she should celebrate or run for the hills.
Now that she had won the handsome Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat, however temporarily…whatever was she going to do with him?
