Chapter 7 #2
“Sounds good to me.” Since the palace had insisted on paying her for the full four days allocated for the camping trip, she had the day off too. Besides, one beer would not impair her.
She crossed the room to the drinks cabinet, its olive-wood doors carved with dragons and lilies.
Probably a priceless antique. Quite a contrast to the cheap, laminated cupboard that held her few bottles of booze.
She eased the doors open and found a bar stocked with very high-end liquor.
“How did you stomach the pitorro rum when you’re used to drinking this good stuff? ”
“It was the only alcohol available.”
She looked in the refrigerator and gasped. “You have Dark Lord Imperial Stout.”
“Good choice. I’ll take that,” Raul said.
She wanted to ask how he had gotten a beer that was sold only one day a year in the U.S., but realized it was a ridiculous question. He was a prince. He could get anything he wanted.
Just another demonstration of how far apart their worlds were. However, there was no reason she shouldn’t enjoy this little taste of luxury.
She pulled out two bottles, peeled off the silver wax, and found a bottle opener to pop the tops off. The aroma of hops, coffee, and molasses wafted out, making her inhale deeply. She carried the bottles back to the sofa and surveyed Raul’s reclining position.
“Do you need more pillows?” she asked.
“Maybe bring back the one I threw at Gabriel,” he said, starting to shove himself more upright.
She placed the bottles reverently on the coffee table and collected the green-and-gold tapestry pillow from the chair where Gabriel had been sitting. As she approached the sofa, she realized that she was about to put herself in a hazardous situation.
Taking a deep breath, she bent over to shift the pillows behind Raul so she could shove in the extra one.
For a moment, their faces were only a few inches apart.
She could see the faint lines at the corners of his intense blue eyes and the texture of his hair where it curled against his temples.
A scent of cedarwood and vanilla banished the stout’s aroma and made her want to taste his skin.
Those sensual, sculpted lips curved as he said, “Muchas gracias,” making his breath brush her cheek.
A delicious shiver of warmth and desire surged through her. She jerked away and grabbed a bottle to thrust into his hand. He was the prince . He had jeweled canes and limited-edition beer. She had no right to think of him with desire.
Picking up the other stout, she plunked down in her chair and said, “Salud!” before taking a large sip. She nearly choked as the powerful liquid hit her taste buds.
Raul lifted his bottle in a silent toast and tilted it to his lips, but his gaze was on her face, and it nearly scorched her.
He was bored and she was there. That was all his attention meant, nothing more significant.
“Pascal and I found the hole where you hurt your ankle,” she blurted. “I think it was a dragon’s nest.”
The light in his blue eyes went cold. “Someone took the eggs?”
“The eggs and the dirt around them,” she said, missing the heat in his gaze, even though she had wanted to douse it for her own sanity. “I’m afraid they might have taken a dragon too. The mother would have been guarding the nest.”
“Carajo!” Raul growled. “If they killed her for her skin…”
“We would have found some evidence of that. There was no blood.”
“They must have captured her alive on her nest.” He tapped the ring he wore on his left index finger against his beer bottle as he thought.
“The female dragons don’t lay eggs until they’re over three feet long, so she would have weighed a hundred pounds or more.
They had to have used a helicopter to take her away. ”
“But away to where? Our dragons don’t generally survive away from Caleva,” Erica said. Captive breeding programs in foreign zoos had always failed. “The eggs don’t need a mother to hatch. She just keeps predators away from the nest.”
“And they took the dirt with the eggs, which indicates they’re going to try to incubate them,” Raul said, his ring clinking again.
She peered at his hand to see that the gold ring was shaped like a dragon claw that was gripping his finger with three toes on one side and a single toe on the other. A small emerald glittered in the middle appendage.
“Disculpe,” he said as he ceased tapping. “I’m sorry. It’s an annoying habit of mine.”
“I was just admiring the ring,” Erica said. “Is it old?”
“ La Reina Isabella the First wore it as a thumb ring.” He tilted his hand so the emerald flashed. “She was a Dragón through and through. And she would be very unhappy about this criminal poaching, as am I.”
“She would throw the poacher off the cliffs for sure,” Erica said with a wry grimace, remembering the queen’s punishment for traitors.
“Sometimes I feel like it’s a shame that we can no longer do that,” Raul said, almost to himself, his face like granite.
Was he thinking about the people who kidnapped Gabriel? That seemed to weigh on his soul. She needed to drag him away from that abyss.
“I’ve been considering this since yesterday,” Erica said.
“The abandoned campsite might have been the poachers’ base.
When no dragons came to nest there, they went searching for other nests.
But it had to be someone who knows both the mountain and the dragons’ habits, because that meadow where you fell is not in a location that recreational campers often use. ”
“What are you saying?” Raul gave her a sharp look.
“Either the poacher has to be someone with specialized knowledge, or they paid someone for that knowledge, which might narrow the field of suspects.” Erica hesitated a moment but decided she needed to be frank. “A park ranger or someone who works for the Dragon Center.”
Raul stiffened, his chin angled up. “Those people are charged with protecting our dragons.”
“I know.” She met his eyes with a level gaze.
“ Ay, you’re probably right.” He ran his hand over his face in a gesture of fatigue, and she felt like shit.
“Some rich sleazebag wants to show off his rare pet dragons to his rich sleazebag friends. Or his latest mistress wants a dragon on a jeweled leash. So he offers an obscene amount of money to corrupt one of our guardians.”
He had gone from noble idealism to deep cynicism in a split second.
“The question is how they knew which, er, guardian to approach,” Erica said. “You can’t just wave a wad of cash around and see who takes it. Most of the people who work with the dragons do it because they care deeply about preserving the species. They would immediately report such an offer.”
“Quinn can look into who was having financial troubles and see if they’ve gotten a sudden influx of cash. That’s one of her specialties,” Raul said. “ Mierda, no! She has the wedding to prepare for, so I can’t ask her. But Mikel must have other people who can do the same.”
This was why Pascal had recommended that she tell the prince her suspicions. He could command significant resources. Of course, if she was wrong… But Raul wouldn’t hold that against her. He wanted to protect the dragons as much as she did.
“Thank you for trusting my theory,” she said.
“We’ve already established that I trust you. After all, you held my life in your hands on the cliff.” The cynicism was gone, and his lips curved into a smile that made her insides go liquid.
“I had Dario backing me up.” She took a swig of the stout to quench the heat fanned to flames by his words. She had to keep him from making her believe she was special to him.
Time to go. Raul was on the case of the poachers, and she was thinking thoughts about his royal body that she had no business thinking. She stood, even though she wanted to hear his velvet baritone pour more delicious words of praise over her.
Raul’s smile shifted to disappointment. “Surely you’re not going to leave me to my solitary boredom.”
“I, uh, I came to tell you about the dragon’s nest,” she said.
“Since my relatives have deserted me, perhaps you would take on the task of keeping me company a little longer.” She got the full wattage now. Azure eyes glinting with charm, the famous flashing smile, his smooth voice pitched to persuade.
Her knees refused to hold her up, and she sank back into the chair. “ Por supuesto, Su Alteza.” She said his title to remind herself of who she was dealing with.
“I’ve asked you to call me Raul, and I meant it,” he said. “You must know a lot of Americans from the military base. Be like them—or like Quinn. They have no interest in royal titles.”
“Actually, some of the Americans are fascinated by you royals,” she said, feeling the enchantment herself. “I get a lot of free drinks because they’re hoping I’ll get plastered enough to dish on Gabriel and Quinn.” She grinned. “Luckily, I can hold my liquor.”
But he didn’t laugh, and she worried that he was afraid she would spill the secret he had shared with her. “Not that any amount of alcohol would make me talk about your family.”
And he must know about the ferocious nondisclosure agreements people were required to sign before they could work for the royal family.
“I’m not worried about your discretion.” Raul leaned back against the pillows. “But tell me how you came to be Gabriel’s head pilot.”
Safe territory at last…except that his long legs stretched out on a pile of cushions put wicked images into her head.
Something about his bare feet and their high arches made him seem almost naked.
For a moment, she imagined herself being pressed into the sofa cushions by the weight of him on top of her.
“I, uh, applied for the job,” she stammered as her blood sizzled in her veins.
“ El duque goes to such interesting places that I thought it would be fun.”
Raul’s phone dinged, and he glanced over at it. “We have company,” he said a second before the outer door opened.
Thank God! That would stop her crazy thoughts and cool her off.
Erica pivoted on her chair and then leaped to her feet as though she had been hit by a jolt of electricity.
El Rey Luis and la Reina Eve swept into the room, dressed to perfection in tailored suits. Erica sank into a deep curtsy as a waft of royal power eddied around her.
“Eve! Pater!” Delight sounded in Raul’s voice.
Erica straightened and murmured, “Sus Majestades.”
Luis walked directly to his son, bending to kiss him on both cheeks. “ Hijo mío, how are you feeling today?” She had never seen the king’s face so soft and lit with love and worry. It stole her breath a little to get this peek at the feelings between the father and son.
Her father had never looked at her with such tenderness. Mostly, his gaze had held disapproval or baffled disappointment.
“Well, I was bored until Erica arrived.” The prince gave her a quick wink. “And now I have even more company, so I feel terrific.”
The queen offered her hand and a smile to Erica. “So nice to see you. Thank you for keeping our reluctant invalid entertained. The longer he stays off his ankle, the faster it will heal.”
“It’s my pleasure, Su Majestad ,” Erica said, shaking the queen’s hand before she began to back toward the door. “I will leave you all to talk.”
“Un momento,” the king said, turning toward her. “My son has told me about how much he enjoyed the trip, as short as it was. I appreciate your time and effort in arranging it.”
“You’re welcome, Su Majestad .” Erica gave a little bow of her head. “It was like a vacation for me. I love the mountains.”
The king raised a skeptical eyebrow but smiled. “Now Raul loves the mountains as well. You have passed your passion along to him.”
Erica felt a blush rise in her cheeks as she caught Raul’s sly grin. “I hope he will return to them when his schedule and ankle allow it.” She once again began to sidle toward the door. “Con permiso.”
The king nodded, and the queen gave her a warm smile, while Raul looked disappointed. Maybe it wasn’t just boredom that made him want her there. No, she couldn’t think that. It was too dangerous.
“I’ll be in touch,” he said. “About what we discussed.”
Erica lifted a hand in acknowledgment and slipped out the door.