Chapter 19
Tiro whipped his riding crop against his leg, his boot absorbing most of the sting. Where the hell was she? It had been more than twenty minutes since he’d left her at the door to her suite . He’d even left one of his bodyguards behind with instructions to guide her here to the stables.
He turned to Aziz who was standing near him, looking out at the stable employees, watching them carefully.
“Where is she?” Tiro demanded.
Aziz turned, his face a mask of blandness. “I don’t know, Your Highness. I’ll go find her.”
A moment later, he jogged away, heading toward the entrance to the palace. Tiro snapped his riding crop against his leg again, impatient and slightly worried now. She should have been here ten minutes ago. Where the hell was she?
Before he could finish that thought, Angela hurried down a pathway to his left. She was out of breath and looked…beautiful! The tight riding pants hugged her slim hips and thighs, making his mouth go dry as lust and need hit him like a ton of bricks!
“Sorry I’m late!” she gushed, rushing up to him but stopping too far away for his preference. “I got lost.”
“You didn’t ask for directions?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Yes. Several times, in fact.” She shifted on her feet, bringing his gaze back to her slim thighs and her very tempting breasts encased in a shirt that clung to her curves. She’d worn a similar outfit when they’d gone riding in Lativa. Tiro remembered being tempted back then, but somehow, this was even worse.
“I’m sorry,” he growled out, then purposely looked away, trying to focus on something else.
Suddenly, he felt a touch on his sleeve. When he looked down, Angela was looking up at him, worry in her dark eyes now. “Tiro, I’m sorry. I will ask for better directions next time. I know I was late, but…!”
He didn’t let her finish. Instead, he grabbed her and carried her into the nearest empty stall. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of one of the stable trainers leading two horses toward them, but Tiro couldn’t concentrate on that at the moment. Angela had touched him without prompting and he was…wild!
Kicking the stall door closed, he barely waited for the latch to catch before he pressed her against the wall and kissed her. His passion was too high and he startled her for a moment. It took him a moment to pull back, to restrain his need, but when he did, her lips softened and he felt her arms wrap around his neck.
There was no time for words. It was just the two of them and he kissed her with all of the pent up desire he’d felt for weeks. And this kiss was better, hotter, than the kiss at the hotel when they’d both assumed they were alone.
Tiro knew where the cameras were in the stables and they weren’t in this stall. So, he didn’t slow down as he kissed her, his hands roamed over her back and her waist, pausing ever so slightly before cupping her breasts.
He captured her gasp in his mouth, absorbing it as he took her higher, pressing his hips forward so she was straddling his leg. His need for her was beyond anything he’d ever experienced. It was like he needed to absorb her into his body, to meld her flesh with his.
A scream sliced through the air and Tiro pulled away, startled, still holding Angela in his arms. It took him several moments to understand that the cry hadn’t come from Angela. In fact, she looked just as stunned as he felt. Her soft, full lips were swollen now and her eyes were dreamy, filled with the same lust that was still coursing through his veins.
He looked around, wondering what he’d heard.
“I think someone is hurt!” she whispered, both listening as they heard feet running through the stable. Someone else called out, demanding a call for medical help.
“What the hell?” Tiro snarled, pulling back, but keeping Angela’s hand in his. He led her out of the stall and out into the bright sunshine. Off in the distance, one of his trainers was on the ground, his leg bent in an abnormal direction.
Someone ran up to Tiro, one of his guards. He was out of breath, but still clear-headed. He issued instructions for his other guards to surround them while someone else called the palace medical staff for help.
“What the hell is going on?” Tiro demanded, his voice low and forceful now.
“One of the stable hands fell off the horse, Your Highness. I think he broke his leg.”
“Of course he broke his leg!” Tiro snapped, waving a hand toward the man in obvious distress. “Why are you acting like–”
The guard turned to face Tiro, his eyes grim. “Because the saddle was tampered with, Your Highness. There is an obvious tear in the leather.”
Tiro’s expression turned grim, but he nodded sharply. “I understand.”
The guard looked uncomfortable for a moment, then he continued, “It was the horse that was saddled for…,” he trailed off and glanced at Angela.
“No!” Angela hissed, moving closer to Tiro. He tightened his hand on hers, trying to silently reassure her.
“Clear the way for the medical staff. And keep this quiet until we can investigate. Where’s Aziz?” Tiro demanded in a hushed voice.
Angela and Tiro stepped back, still surrounded by their bodyguards while the medical team worked on the wounded man. Angela leaned into him and Tiro wrapped his arm around her waist. But she was the one that said what everyone was thinking.
“That man is a trainer, isn’t he?” she whispered softly.
“Yes,” he replied. “His purple shirt denotes him as a trainer versus the black shirts, which is the regular stable employees uniform.”
There was a long silence while the medical people carried the injured man away.
“That’s tragic!” she whispered.
Tiro squeezed her waist and kissed the top of her head. “I agree.”
Angela turned in his arms, putting her hands on his chest. “I don’t feel like riding anymore.”
He nodded. “I agree with you.” He looked around. “Let me have a word with the stable master and we’ll head back inside.” Tiro looked down at her , eyes twinkling. “I’m sure there is something else we could do together.”
He saw the hope light up her eyes and his body tightened. Was she thinking the same thing he was?
Probably not. Tiro needed to get control of his raging libido!
He hurried up to the stable master and pulled him aside. “My security team is going to go through the video images. Can you work with my guards to discover what led up to this accident?”
The man swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. “It wasn’t an accident, Your Highness,” he murmured emphatically. “This was deliberate sabotage.” He glanced at Angela . “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but someone deliberately tampered with the saddle.” He tilted his head toward Angela. “ Her saddle.” The man straightened up . “But it wasn’t any of my team. We’re all hoping that you and the lady will have a joyous life together.” He blushed and shuffled his feet. “I’ve even been sourcing ponies, hoping that there might be some little ones running around some day.”
Since Tiro hadn’t gotten beyond the thought of getting Angela into his bed and discovering everything about the woman, the idea of a baby hadn’t occurred to him yet. His mind had been too focused on the procreation part. But now that it had been brought up, the idea of having a bunch of little ones running around held enormous appeal. He glanced at Angela too, wondering what their children might look like.
All this time, he’d only been thinking about sex. Plus, the arrangement between him and Sheik Khal was that this engagement was merely to appease the public reaction caused by that damn video. Spending time with Angela was just a way to save both of their reputations.
But what if…?
Unfortunately, at that same moment, Angela looked up at him, her dark eyes so startlingly beautiful, she took his breath away.
The stable master was still talking, but Tiro wasn’t listening. He was completely focused on Angela.
“That sounds good,” Tiro interrupted, praying that was a reasonable response. “I’ll get back with you on that.”
The stable master stopped speaking, his jaw hanging open for a moment. He’d been explaining about how the saddle had been tampered with and mentioned knives and how sharp they were. But a moment later, Sheik Tiro walked over to the lovely princess like he was in a trance. The stable master chuckled and turned away.
“Let’s give ‘em some privacy, lads!” he called out, rounding up the staff while mentally making a rotating list of employees who could visit the injured man’s house to help out while he recuperated.