I stared at the ceiling, the house silent around me. It was way past my bedtime; my body-clock was going to be all screwed up in the morning if I didn’t get some sleep, but my mind was still reeling from the night’s events.

A real live prince sat at my mum’s dining table and ate her spaghetti without complaint. That in itself was hard enough to believe. But the conversation that had followed, well… I was still trying to process that.

The kitchen incident had taken me out of my comfort zone—like far out, shot up into the sky and across the universe out. The way his eyes had hungrily devoured my body had me thinking that there was more between us than just the bizarre encounters we kept having. First the club, then the restaurant and now in my home. I bit my lip and threw the covers over my head, burying myself beneath them, the warm air almost suffocating me as I thought about Edward. Had he really been looking at me like he could eat me up, or was it all something I was conjuring up? Was I hoping against all hope that an actual prince would fancy me? Oh god.

Turning over and sticking my head back out, sucking in cool breaths of air, I punched at my pillow and stared at the expensive camera sitting on my cluttered dressing table. I still couldn’t believe he’d given me the camera and that I now owned something so unbelievably expensive. After he’d dropped his bombshell, I told him I would think about his offer and get back to him in the morning. The funny thing was, I had already made up my mind. I knew the moment he asked me to help him that I was going to take the crazy, convoluted job. And of course, the little devious minx that I normally kept buried deep inside knew it wasn’t the money or the camera that had swayed me.

It was the way he had elicited nearly every emotion within me in the space of a few short hours. And the way his eyes had softened when he’d uttered that single word ‘everything’ when I’d asked him what was at stake.

I could feel the desperation in his voice, see the tightness in his eyes. Something else was really going on here, and of course I suspected that it had to do with his most recent antics as of late, but that wasn’t all, I thought. And those antics? I’d been a part of and inadvertently caused them. I owed him. It was my fault he had been arrested, my fault that he was searching for a way to improve his image. I couldn’t deny that fact. So I owed him, and this was how I was going to pay him back… and if he insisted on giving me a ludicrously expensive camera, too? Well, like he said—I could consider it a bonus of sorts.

I sighed and turned away from the camera, my thoughts on how I was going to survive a month in his presence. A healthy distance between us at all times was what the doctor ordered.

He was unbelievably hot, undeniably sexy, and extremely dangerous for my heart. He was Brent but to the nth degree. I would have to be on my guard constantly with a man like him.

Edward, I gathered from all my research and of course that time I witnessed a certain act in a certain bathroom, was a playboy. He was the type of man who loved them and then left them just as quick. He wasn’t a man who was looking to settle down or for the white picket fence and kids. Not that I was looking for that, either. Not yet, anyway. But I was worried, oh so worried that I could be getting myself into something I couldn’t control.

So why was I agreeing to this, knowing that I would be subjecting myself to him? It was that one damn word again—‘everything’—the word that had tugged at my heart long after he had driven away in his expensive car. It was the way he had treated my mum respectfully and made a night so perfect for her that she would be talking about it for years. It was the fact he was a bit of an outcast like me. And I had seen the gentler side of the bad boy royal that had made me want to find out more, a side that I could almost bet hadn’t been touted much.

A month to prove himself? That was going to be easy if he could manage repeat performances of tonight’s endeavours. But the lingering question of why still hovered in my mind. What had brought this on? Why now? What had happened to cause this sudden need to turn over a new leaf? And most importantly, why did he act the way he did? Those questions continued to float around in my head, and I knew I was only going to find out by doing one thing. “I’m really going to do it,” I said softly to the darkened room, my resolve crumbling.

After all, he was royalty… it was my duty as a proud citizen to do what I could for my king and country. And before I closed my eyes to sleep, finally content with the decision I’d made, I vowed that I wasn’t going to let him down; I would be the best damn photographer I could be. I was going to help this bad boy become a good guy in a month. It was going to be highly entertaining and one hell of a month, that was for sure.

He had everything to lose, and instinctively I wanted to do everything I could to help him. I just hoped I didn’t live to regret it.

I stared up at the flat with some trepidation as well as excitement buzzing through my restless body. After an uneasy night’s sleep with visions of him floating around in my head, I’d awoken somewhat grumpy and not in the best of moods. I hadn’t even said I was going to help him, and already he was making me lose sleep! But in the early morning hours, I had resigned myself to the fact that I couldn’t turn down ten grand. It was way more than I would make in a year at the rate I was going. I was going to help him, and heaven help me over the next month.

Shouldering the nice camera bag he had provided with the camera that I was absolutely in love with, I entered the building at the address he’d given me. I was immediately stopped by a security guard dressed in a full uniform, his buttons gleaming in the morning light. “Can I help you, miss?”

“I’m here to see Edward, er, I mean Prince Edward,” I replied, taking in the stark white lobby around me. Even the furniture was white, with no splash of colour to be seen except the man standing before me in his decked-out threads, blocking the lift.

He eyed me with a critical gaze. “Is he expecting you? I will need to see some identification.”

“I believe so,” I said slowly. I knew the royal family didn’t live in this building save for one black sheep prince, and by the way he wandered around the city without bodyguards, as if he were immune to everything and without a care in the world, I wouldn’t have guessed he would have such a champion in the man before me. But I supposed perhaps even the prince thought it better to have a little bit of security at the place where he rested his head.

The security man made a great show of checking his watch, shaking his perfectly combed head in the process. “It’s only half past seven, miss. I can almost guarantee that the man you are looking for isn’t expecting you quite this early.”

I stood my ground. “Well, if he wants my help, he will get an early rise from now on,” I shot back, the irritation over my own lack of sleep kicking in. We had to get started immediately if I was to change his image in a month.

He looked at me for a sly second and then chuckled, sweeping to the side with his hand extended towards the front desk of the entry hall. “Well now, I do believe you are right. I personally can’t wait to see what he’s going to say when you inform him of that. But first, your I.D. and I’ll get you logged in.”

“That’s it?” I asked, surprised that he wasn’t going to pat me down and check me out for weapons. “All of that, and you’re going to let me go with that answer?”

He leaned forward and gave me a wink, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “Miss, anyone that can come back with that answer is okay in my books. And between you and me,” he said, his voice hushed, “it’s about time the young sir had someone to get him out of bed rather than in it.”

I stifled a laugh. We were going to get along just fine, I thought.

“Besides,” he continued. “I have a picture of you to confirm that you are indeed expected here, Ms. Mathis.”

He still asked me to hand over my barely used driver’s license, and he quickly verified my information before handing it back and wishing me luck on rousing the sleeping prince. I shook my head and started toward the elevator, pressing the button to go up. The doors opened immediately and I stepped in, turning back to face the man in the lobby. I sighed heavily as the doors shut, knowing that it shouldn’t have been that easy to waltz into the prince’s private domain.

His private domain.

My stomach rolled with anticipation as the elevator ascended to god knows where. I was about to step into the lion’s den, and I really didn’t know what to expect. Last night’s visit and our talk had been, well, interesting. After pressing a card with this address into my hand, he had driven off without another word, leaving the decision in my hands. And for the next hour I’d been forced to listen to my mum literally recount the entire evening’s events to my father as if he hadn’t been there.

While she had been over the moon about the royal visit, I was totally unsettled, especially by the moment in the kitchen where I could have sworn he would have kissed me had she not interrupted. The problem was, I didn’t feel weirded out by the fact but more intrigued. What did he kiss like? Was it tender or demanding? Would he grab the back of my head or would he cradle my face? The stupid questions had been endless, one of the many reasons I hadn’t gotten much sleep.

The doors opened and I took in the prince’s flat for the first time. The hardwood floors were in sharp contrast to the white walls, and while I expected rigidly stuffed and hard leather chairs I was surprised to see that the furniture was more for comfort than for showing off. An open kitchen with all the modern appliances was also visible from my vantage point at the main entrance, as well as a glass and wooden staircase off to my right that led to the second level, where I was sure my new client lay.

“Um, hello?” I called out softly, taking a few steps into the main living room. “It’s Rose, Rose Mathis. If there are any guards… please don’t shoot me.” There was no response save the ticking of an art deco clock on the wall not far from me and the sound of a gentle snore coming from somewhere up above. Maybe I had come too early. Too bad.

Squaring my shoulders, I forced my feet to move towards the staircase. Well, I was already here, after all. I was going to have to face the prince’s wrath for waking him up. Slowly I climbed the stairs to the second floor, finding an open floor plan with a large bed dominating the centre. He was sprawled out on the bed, his arms flung out as if he were impersonating a starfish. He slumbered on, unaware that I was stepping into his personal space.

I felt awkward that I hadn’t made more noise and had taken it upon myself to saunter into his bedroom. But all those thoughts went out the window as I admired his well-formed chest and abs, getting a little weak in the knees at the thought of what else might be lying under the sheet that settled low on his hips. He was gorgeous and damn lickable, if you asked me.

I bit my lip, unsure what I should do to wake him up. Was a gentle shake of his shoulder enough, or should I beat him with a pillow until he opened his eyes? Was I brave enough to even touch him? My hands trembled at the thought. This was such a bad idea. I should just go back downstairs and wait until he woke up by himself. I could explain that way better than being in his bedroom. Swallowing hard, I reached out and touched his leg, covered in the silken sheets.

“Er, Prince Edward?” I said, shaking it a little. “Hey, wake up.”

He muttered and rolled over, the small indentation of his lower back and the top of his ass coming into view. Oh god. The temperature in his flat immediately rose ten degrees, or that could’ve just been my face burning up with embarrassment and desire. He was completely naked under that thin sheet. One good tug and I would have a view that I wouldn’t forget!

My cheeks flushed again with part naughtiness and wickedness as I averted my eyes from his glorious backside, wondering how I had thought this was a good idea again. Oh yeah. Ten grand. That would make anyone in their right mind do something like this.

Reining in my inner naughty school-girl, I decided to stick with the top half of him—the much safer half—and I walked over to the bed and placed a hand upon his shoulder, feeling his heat as I gave it a good shake. “Prince Edward, wake up. Please don’t make me douse you with cold water.”

His eyes finally opened, and for a split second, I saw a tender expression on his face that had my heart doing double-time in my chest. Oh, how long had I wanted someone to look at me like that in the morning or to even be excited to see me in that regard? But his expression changed nearly immediately. His mouth turned up into a lazy, cocky grin, his eyes becoming clearer as he looked at me. “You’re taking the job. I knew you would.”

“I’m taking the job on a few conditions,” I said, stepping back from the bed. “Can you, um, get dressed so we can talk about it?”

He slowly sat up, his hand rubbed idly across his chest and I swallowed. What was wrong with me? This man was not going to be in any way, shape or form part of my normal life. Period. I was here to do a job, not fantasise about his body or where his hand lay or anything else for that matter!

He patted the mattress beside him. “Stay. We can have a delightful conversation right here.”

I curled my hands into tight fists as I stalked away from the bed back towards the stairs, trying my best to stay calm and not sprint away since I realised he had just caught me staring at his chest. “I will be waiting downstairs.”

His laughter followed me all the way down. “Suit yourself, Rose, but I doubt it’ll be the last time I get you in my bedroom!”