Page 40 of The Prince's Game
“You know German?”
“I do.” His grin was cocky as he added, “I speak Spanish as well,” in my mother’s native tongue.
“I’m impressed. German, Spanish, French, and you can do that sexy New Orleans accent.”
He laughed. “Ya noticed that,chèr?”
My stomach flipped.Shit. “Don’t do that.”
“Quoi faire?”
“What is that? Cajun French?”And when did it get so hot in here?
His grin was all male arrogance as he said something in a language I didn’t understand.Japanese maybe?
“Now you’re just showing off.” I cleared my throat in an attempt to get rid of my husky voice. “So, did, uh, Stanford require you study a foreign language with your hospitality management program, or was this a personal pursuit?”
“Neither,” he murmured, smiling. “Linguistics was part of my schooling from a young age. A benefit of knowing I would run a hotel empire one day, yeah?” His New Orleans lilt made me warm and fuzzy all over.Why did I suggest we just be friends, again?
“You put my bilingual skills to shame,” I muttered in Spanish. My accent paled in comparison to his, and I spent several summers in Argentina with my grandparents.
“So this is your next recommendation?” His deep voice returned to normal as he gestured to the movie on the screen. “Another silent film?” At my nod, he pressed a button to download it. “For tomorrow?”
Switching up sex for horror movies at night? “Sure.”
“It’s afrienddate, then.” He patted my leg and stood. “I’ll let you get some sleep, Sarah. Again, I’m sorry. You might not feel I need to apologize, but I do. The way Paul is filming this . . . Let’s just say it’s not how I would have done it.”
“You mean sleazy isn’t your preferred image? Huh. Never would have guessed that.” I stood and stretched my arms over my head. “Okay, yeah, I’m exhausted.”
His gaze was on my breasts. “Right.” He cleared his throat. “Good night.”
I let the slip slide because I wasn’t any better. His ass looked too good in those jeans. “Good night, Evan.”
He stopped at the door, shoulders rigid. “You’re still the only woman I want to kiss off film, Sarah.”
“Evan—”
“No, I need to say it.” The television highlighted his serious expression in shades of grey and white when he turned around. “I might be flirting with the others and kissing them on command, but it’s not the same as what we’re doing behind closed doors. I need you to know that. It’s a strange form of commitment, but that’s what it is to me. You’re the only one Iwantto be kissing, Sarah. I know it’s not enough, but it’s all I can give you right now.”
“And then what?” I hated playing this card, but it had to be done. “After the show, I mean. We’re going into business together. Getting romantically involved was never a good idea for us. I thought it could be all lust, Evan. But I realized today, that for me, it’s more. Seeing you kiss those girls, especially Amber . . .” My voice trailed off, and I shook my head. “I can’t do this.”
“I didn’t give her the other key to my quarters, Sarah. My parents did.”
I assumed that when he handed the blonde her key. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does.” He walked up and cradled my face between his palms. “It matters because I don’t want her. I’m in your room right now, not hers, because I wantyou.”
“Maybe you should be in her room.” A cold suggestion that was the opposite of what I wanted him to do.
“Don’t say that. I get that you’re hurt, that you want to push me away, but don’t degrade what’s between us. Not by suggesting I go to someone else.”
“But that’s what you’ll be doing, right? You know these dates are going to get more intimate. What happens when you get to the final two or three candidates? You’re not going to buy a car without test-driving it, right?” It was one of my favorite analogies, but it went over his head.
“Test-drive . . . ? What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Sex, Evan. You’re not going to propose to someone without having sex with her first.”
“Sure, yes, if I was planning to wed someone after this show, then that would be the case. But as we’ve discussed, that’s not my plan. No sex required.” He brushed his lips against mine. “You’re the only one I want, Sarah.”
