Page 37 of Raul
“Need help with the crutches?” she asked.
“I’m good.” His tone was snappish as he crutched over to the chair.
She smirked a little at his touchiness while she watched him pull out his chair and maneuver himself in front of it with deft movements. He remained standing, his gaze on her.
“Oh, am I supposed to sit first?” She trotted to her chair. “I thought I had to wait for you,Su Alteza Real.”
He muttered a curse before she grinned at him and settled into her chair. His scowl vanished, and he lowered himself onto his seat, laying the crutches on the floor beside it. “You are jerking my chain.”
“Yup, it’s definitely rattling,” she said, unfolding her napkin. In fact, she was reminding herself of who he was and why she should resist her desire to rip off his shirt.
Raul pulled a bottle of wine from the silver cooler set on a small table beside his chair. “A little Albariño to go with our seafood ceviche?”
“Sí, gracias,”she said, holding out what she thought was a white wineglass from the array in front of her.
He filled his own glass after hers and raised it. “To rescuing the mama dragon and her eggs!”
“Salud!”She raised her glass and took a sip. The wine held a delicious hint of citrus and the sea. “I did a little work on that project this afternoon. I know someone in security at the Centro del Dragón. We served in the same squad in the militia.”
Raul put his wine down. “A useful connection.”
“She checked the schedule for our possible suspects. Three of them will be working at the Centro tomorrow, so I can approach them then. I don’t even need to talk my way inside since the Centro is open to visitors on weekends.”
“Mikel has got nothing on you,” Raul said. “Buen trabajo!Good work!”
How did he make her want to throw herself into battle against an entire army of poachers to be worthy of his praise? Most likely, he had learned it from his father. A king needed to be able to inspire his citizens.
“I’ll do my best.” She picked up her fork. “Maybe we could work out a scenario for how to approach them. You’re probably better at being, um, oblique than I am.”
“Oblique?A euphemism for lying?” He looked amused, not offended. “I can help you with that.”
He had brilliant ideas, of course. She tucked them away in her memory as she tried to enjoy the ceviche that tasted like it hadbeen pulled from the sea right before it had been arranged on their plates.
Mostly, though, she drank in the intense steel-blue of his eyes, the way the candlelight highlighted his cheekbones, the flash of white teeth when he smiled, and the breadth of his powerful shoulders. She was mesmerized by his charisma.
Like many, many other women.
She took a gulp of wine, the cool liquid doing nothing to quench the attraction she felt.
“My apologies, but I must ask you to act as our server,” he said, snapping her out of her trance. “If you’ll put our appetizer plates on the sideboard and open the door underneath, you’ll find our main course in the warmer there.”
Something to do, thank God!She jumped to her feet and grabbed her empty plate and fork. Going around the table, she reached for his plate as he lifted it, and their fingers collided. The spark that raced through her made her stifle a gasp. He also made an odd sound, and she glanced at him to find his gaze locked on her face, the blue of his eyes as hot as the candle flames.
Mierda!
She jerked the plate away so fast that the fork flew off and nearly fell to the rug. The prince caught it and returned it to the plate without shifting his attention away from her.
“Perdón!I’m sorry. Good catch,” she babbled as she backed away and bolted for the sideboard. “I’d be a lousy waitress.”
“I think you would be excellent at anything you set your mind to.” The pitch of his voice was low and deep, vibrating in the private places of her body.
“Hmm,” she said and set the dishes down with a clatter before yanking open the door of the warming compartment. Two silver domes covered the plates. Lifting them, she found filet mignonand a lobster tail on each, along with roasted potatoes and tiny, perfect carrots. “This looks delicious.”
“I don’t know if you prefer surf or turf, so I chose both,” Raul said.
“I’ll eat almost anything as long as it’s dead before it goes in my mouth.” She placed a plate in front of him, taking care not to brush against his arm.
He laughed as she set down her plate and sat.
