Dev shouldn’t have kissed her.
Hours later he still berated himself for having caved in to his desire. He’d already decided yesterday he’d keep his distance, yet he’d fallen asleep and woken up thinking about kissing Mackenzie—about how much he wanted her as his lover. He’d dreamt of making love to her in several different ways and every time he replayed those dreams it was enough to make him break out into a sweat as he battled to keep his body under control.
When she’d arrived unannounced in his private study and caught him hard at work, he’d seen the questions in her eyes. He’d flirted with her, reasoning he had to do something to distract her from what she’d seen. Really, it’d been an excuse. Later, he’d seized upon the opportunity to kiss her.
He closed his eyes briefly and stifled a groan. The kiss had been even better than he’d guessed it would be. It was a taste of heaven—nectar fit for the gods and seriously addictive. It was impossible to banish the sweet taste of her from his mind and he’d been tormented the entire time they’d worked together this morning even though planning the racing series was invigorating.
Several times he’d had to consciously damp down his enthusiasm and act like the attention to detail was all a bore. Mackenzie was so fervent and enthusiastic about her work it was hard to pretend to be nonplussed about her plans.
After four hours, he’d had enough of acting bored and of having to keep Mackenzie at arms’ length when he wanted her in his arms, against his chest … in his bed. Just now, when she’d pressed him for names of businesses which might provide additional sponsorship for the event, he’d decided it would be prudent to excuse himself and flee from the room before the material at the front of his trousers took the shape of a tent.
Mackenzie turned him on without even trying. The fresh, floral fragrance she wore curled around his senses. He caught alight watching the natural sway of her hips when she stood up and moved to the other side of the room to pour herself a glass of water. And, when she put the glass to her lips and a tiny droplet ran down and dripped right between her breasts … Man. He may as well have been permanently erect. It was worrying to know his physical state had nothing to do with not having had a woman in his bed for several weeks, and everything to do with the sassy, sexy woman who’d invaded his private space this morning.
Every minute he spent with her, his admiration of her grew. Mackenzie was a dynamo. Focused, energetic, confident and intelligent, there was no doubt in his mind she was at the top of her game. Dev’s public transgressions would be forgiven and most likely forgotten if he followed her plans. But, the danger of losing control of the negative reputation he’d worked to achieve was enough to make his shoulders ache with tension.
On top of that unease, there was his gnawing physical agitation.
When had he ever felt so sexually unfulfilled?
Never.
Unease churned through him.
What if Gabriel was just as interested in getting to know Mackenzie?
If Gabe was keen on her, it’d certainly come out of the blue. As far as Dev knew, Gabe hadn’t looked at another woman since his wife’s death. Then again, Mackenzie was unlike any other woman Dev had ever met. It was conceivable Gabe felt the same way.
Shit! This was all getting way too complicated.
Still, he reasoned, Mackenzie had kissed him back. Surely she wouldn’t have responded to him with such abandon had she been in any way attracted to Gabe? Maybe Dev should take her to bed sooner rather than later, and let Gabe know about it, so his brother didn’t end up forming too much of an attraction and ending up heartbroken.
Oh, please. Who was he trying to kid? He wanted Mackenzie and he didn’t want his brother to have her. There was no sugar-coating it—no pretending it was for Gabe’s own sake. Something very primitive inside Dev wanted to make Mackenzie his and wanted the world to know it.
And didn’t that make him a selfish bastard, when he reminded himself of every reason he couldn’t have her right now? Shame heated his cheeks as he acknowledged his base instincts and strove to overcome them.
Did he have the right to stop Gabe from pursuing her? Dev knew the answer. He didn’t have the right because he had no idea how long it would be before he could be honest with Mackenzie and let her get to know the man he truly was. Meanwhile, every minute they spent together, her disdain built for the man she thought he was.
A mass of seething frustration, he walked down the hallway from his office. Without conscious thought he made his way along the corridor and down a wide flight of stairs. It was a relief to finally reach the door he’d walked to instinctively, and to make his way out into the sunshine and fresh air.
Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and let the subtle fragrance of the gardenias fill his head. He smothered a curse. Gardenia. It was a scent similar to Mackenzie’s floral perfume.
There was no escaping her!
He walked along the path and acknowledged he wasn’t surprised he’d headed here. This particular garden had always been his bolt-hole. Eden had known to look for him here whenever he’d needed to think something through. It’d been her special place too, and Gabriel still referred to it as the Garden of Eden. It was the place Dev continued to come to when he was most troubled—the place he felt closest to his sister.
God, he wished she were here.
Eden would’ve known how to make Gabriel live again. She’d always managed to make him laugh. If Eden were alive, there’d be no reason for Gabriel to engage the services of an image consultant. Hell! If Eden were alive, there’d be no reason for Dev’s duplicitous playboy image.
‘Can you help me, please?’
The child’s voice startled him. He looked in the direction it seemed to have come from but didn’t see anyone.
‘I’m up here in the tree,’ came the crisp, English voice.
Good grief. The child wasn’t just up in the tree, she was up at the very top of the tree like a Christmas angel, and the small branch bowed dangerously under her weight.
‘I’m not very sure I’ll be able to get down by myself without falling.’
Shit! There was no other choice. He’d have to climb up the tree and rescue her.
‘Stay right where you are and don’t move a muscle!’ Dev got to the base of the tree, shrugged out of his jacket, and pulled his shoes and socks off. He used to climb this tree all the time in his youth, but he’d had the common sense not to venture up so high onto the weaker branches. Those branches supported her weight—just—but it remained to be seen as to whether they’d support his. Still, there was nothing else he could do short of summoning the royal helicopter and dropping down to her on a rope ladder! Even then, the downdraft from the rotor blades might blow the tree around too much.
The child seemed calm, obviously not realising just how much peril she was in. ‘Do you like climbing trees?’ he asked, trying to keep her talking as he started his climb.
‘No. Not really. I’m a bit scared of heights, you see.’
Inwardly Dev rolled his eyes. He felt like asking, ‘Well, what the bloody hell are you doing up a tree if you’re scared of heights?’ But, instead he said, ‘Just look straight ahead. Don’t look down.’ Could this day throw anything else at him? ‘How many ships can you see out in the harbour?’
‘Um …’ She counted to twelve out loud, then broke off. ‘Because I’m afraid of heights, I thought Moggy might be afraid of heights as well. So, I set out to rescue her.’
‘Moggy?’ Dev kept climbing, testing the strength of each branch with his hands and feet before he transferred all his weight on to it.
‘The cat. I don’t know its real name, so I just call it Moggy.’ There was a pause. ‘It’s a tortoiseshell cat. Is it yours?’
‘No.’ God, but she was a long way up.
‘Well, I’m glad it isn’t yours, because I don’t think it’s a very nice cat. I climbed all the way up to rescue it, and just as I was about to catch it, it jumped on to the branch below me and made its own way down the tree. How horrible when I’d come all this way to get it!’
Dev couldn’t suppress a smile at the young girl’s tone of outraged indignation, even though his blood chilled knowing her rescue mission could’ve ended with tragic results for her. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Eliza. What’s your name?’
A few more branches and he’d be able to reach her. ‘Dev.’
‘Dev? That’s a funny name. Is it short for Devon—like the place, or like the meat you put on your sandwich?’
Geez. He couldn’t help but laugh, even while he reached for the next branch. ‘It’s short for Devereaux.’
‘Oh. Devereaux. That’s much better than being short for Devon. If it had been Devon I don’t think I would’ve been able to look at you without thinking about having meat sandwiches for lunch.’
God help him. He wanted to laugh, but needed to concentrate on testing the branches with his weight and climbing up to rescue her. Who was this child? ‘What are you doing here at the palace?’
‘My mum works here.’
He frowned. He knew all the staff and made sure he did a background check on every single employee before they were offered a position. ‘I don’t—’ Right below her now, he looked up. Two doe-brown eyes looked down at him. Eyes you could drown in.
Shock struck at the core of him, making his limbs weak. He swayed, and had to make a conscious effort not to lose his grip.
‘Your mother is Mackenzie?’
‘Yes.’ She smiled broadly, confirming what he’d known the instant he’d seen her eyes. ‘How do you know my mum?’
It wasn’t just his limbs that were like jelly. Now he felt light-headed as well. Not a good thing when he was way up at the top of a tree.
Mackenzie had a daughter. The fact went round and round in his head.
Shit!
Was she married as well?
‘Are you alright, Dev? You’re not scared of heights too, are you?’ Her elfin face was wreathed with concern. ‘Wouldn’t that be funny, if you ended up having to be rescued too? All because of that naughty Moggy!’
The background information check he’d requested on Mackenzie had been compiled in a couple of hours. He was certain he hadn’t read anything about her having a daughter. Dread clogged his throat. Surely she wasn’t married? No. She hadn’t been wearing a ring and Gabe had called her ‘Miss Roberts’. He refused to believe she was married. She couldn’t be married.
‘Dev?’
What had Eliza asked? Stifling his concern, he sifted through his subconscious and replayed her question. ‘No,’ he finally answered. ‘I’m not scared of heights.’ He wasn’t. So, there was no accounting for those few seconds where the world seemed to spin around him, except his deep shock at the realisation that the woman he most wanted might belong to someone else. His grip around the branch was so tight his knuckles were white and his palm began to cramp.
Hell! He’d given in to his wild urges and kissed Mackenzie senseless. He wouldn’t have done that had he thought she was married. But, wouldn’t she have told him she had a husband if he’d overstepped that boundary?
‘Dev? Are you sure you’re okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ He flexed the hand that had begun to cramp then reached up towards Eliza. ‘Give me your hand. I want you to put your feet exactly where I tell you. Do you think you can do that?’
‘Absolutely.’
She had her mother’s confidence.
Who was her father?
A few seconds later, she was plastered against his back with her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. Despite the bravado she’d displayed, her body shook and now she was safely with him, he heard her give a little sniffle. ‘How old are you, Eliza?’
‘I’m ten. I had my double figures birthday last week!’
Mackenzie must’ve been a teenager when she’d become a mother. ‘You’re on school holidays right now?’
‘Yes.’
Another sniffle. Shock must be starting to set in. He needed to keep her talking.
‘Mum doesn’t usually bring me with her when she’s working. I usually stay with Granny and Grandad. Mummy and I were all set to go to the seaside for a holiday but Uncle Jed’s wife wasn’t well and he had to stay with her in case the baby came early. Mum had to come here even though she said she didn’t want to.’ Eliza finally dragged in a breath. ‘Mum promised me she’d spend these holidays with me, so she rang up the King and asked him if I could come too, for the last two weeks of the holidays.’
No mention of her father. Dev frowned because hope ignited within him and he shouldn’t feel like that if Eliza’s dad had abandoned them. Although he forced his tone to remain casual, he hung on Eliza’s response as he asked, ‘Is your dad working too?’
‘My father died before I was born, so it’s just Mum and me.’
The knowledge that Mackenzie didn’t have a husband tucked away brought him instant relief—until reality dawned. Geez! Mackenzie was a single mother. How tough must his death have been for her—especially if she loved the guy? It must’ve been traumatic to have been a pregnant teenager and to give birth to a child she knew would never know her father. Had she given her heart to him irrevocably?
‘How did he die?’ he asked.
‘In a fire.’
His heart reached out to the poor kid. ‘My parents both died when I was little.’ He made the statement without conscious thought, identifying just a little with what Eliza must feel to grow up without her dad.
For a second a spurt of adrenaline made his heart thud as Eliza loosened her hold around his neck. Then, one small hand ran over his cheek. ‘I’m sorry, Dev,’ she told him, ‘That’s sad.’
Dev closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the tree trunk for a split second wondering what the hell had come over him. ‘Put your hands back around my neck, Eliza, and hold on tight again,’ he told her firmly. ‘Don’t let go. We’ll be back down safely very soon.’
He thought of Mackenzie. She definitely hadn’t wanted to come to Santaliana and she’d told him as much, yet she was prepared to stay even though he’d resisted her plans. Her commitment to her job was one of the many attributes he admired about her.
‘Do you know the King?’ Eliza asked, her voice less wobbly now.
‘Yes.’
‘Does he wear a crown?’
‘Only on special occasions.’ And then under extreme protest!
Dev continued testing the strength of the branches as he made his way down.
‘Does he eat ice-cream?’
Ice-cream? ‘Sometimes.’ At least he used to when they were children. Gabe seemed to deny himself even the smallest pleasures these days. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Ice-cream is my very favourite thing, especially when I’m upset. I wondered if the King has any in the palace kitchens.’
At last his feet hit the solid ground and he let out a relieved breath to have got Mackenzie’s daughter to safety. Eliza released her hold around his neck and slid to the ground. ‘Do you feel like having some ice-cream right now?’ he asked.
‘Could I?’
‘Absolutely. I know the lady who’s in charge of the kitchens very well. If we ask nicely, I’m sure she’ll be able to give you a big bowl of ice-cream.’ He winked at her. ‘I might even have some too—a bowlful of caramel and vanilla.’
‘Oh, yum!’ Eliza’s whole face lit up and his mind zipped back to how Mackenzie’s face had come alive with enthusiasm as she’d outlined her plans for the yacht race.
‘But,’ he said firmly, ‘I need you to understand that climbing that tree was very dangerous. If you want ice-cream, you must promise me never to climb so high up a tree again.’
Her face was very solemn. ‘I promise.’
He bent over to retrieve the clothes he’d thrown on the ground and at the same time, Eliza threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking him over as she gave him a huge, enthusiastic hug.
‘I really like you, Dev.’ Her arms dropped back to her sides.
He smiled, stood up and ruffled her hair. He liked her too.
‘I love being here and I love this garden!’ she enthused.
‘This was my sister’s special garden when she was a child. My brother calls it the Garden of Eden, because that was my sister’s name.’
‘Does she still love it here?’
His heart cramped. ‘Eden died a few years ago.’
Sadness filled her features. ‘I’m sorry, Dev. How did she die?’
There was something very special about this little girl that reached out and gripped his heart. She was old beyond her years—very mature in the way she spoke and listened, and seemingly very empathetic. ‘It was an accident.’ No point in telling the child it’d been cold-blooded murder.
Dev had to grip his hands together as they started to shake. He blinked hard and clamped his jaw down tight to fight the swell of emotion that had him close to tears every time he thought of Eden’s needless death. One bullet had robbed his beautiful sister of her life and stolen a generous soul from the world.
Her murderer was still in prison, but that wasn’t enough for Dev. He’d declared his own personal war on those responsible for her death. Maurizio Scampinelli would be the first one to fall, but Dev would make sure there were many others brought to justice.
‘My father’s death was an accident too,’ Eliza said as she reached out and took his hand in hers. ‘There was a big explosion at the clothing factory he owned and he was killed by it.’
What a tragic death. Mackenzie must’ve been heartbroken. No wonder she was reluctant to become involved in another relationship. Was she still in love with Eliza’s father? Dev wanted to know more about Eliza’s father and his relationship with Mackenzie. ‘Does your mum—?’
Suddenly a picture of excitement, Eliza spoke at the same time as Dev. ‘Do you think, after we have ice-cream, we could go and explore the palace together?’ She tugged enthusiastically at his hand.
‘Absolutely.’ He’d make time for Mackenzie’s daughter. Not only did he like her—he wanted to find out more about her mother and her father.
‘Eliza!’
‘Mum!’
Dev turned to see Mackenzie walking their way with her arms outstretched. He took a step away from Eliza as she ran to her mother.
***
‘Mum,’ Eliza cried as she ran into Mackenzie’s arms and squeezed tight.
Mackenzie looked over at Prince Devereaux with a mix of gratitude and confusion. She hadn’t been happy when he excused himself from the meeting before they’d talked about sponsorship, and would’ve gone straight after him, but she’d been waylaid briefly by a question from one of the assistants. Fortunately, she’d met a servant in the corridor who’d seen Devereaux heading towards the direction of the garden.
Prepared to impress on him the sheer volume of work they still had to get through, and how he couldn’t walk away in the middle of a meeting, Mackenzie had been startled to see him throwing his suit jacket on the ground and beginning to climb a tree. The realisation that Eliza was at the top of the tree on a branch that bent precariously was so terrifying, it paralysed her.
There’d been a frightening sense of déjà-vu as she remembered how her father had climbed up a tree to help Jed down when he’d been a little younger than Eliza. That hadn’t ended happily.
Her mother had rushed out of the house and screamed out to them. Jed had wriggled in her father’s arms and ended up making her father lose his grip. Six weeks later Jed’s arm had emerged from its plaster cast but her father had hobbled around on crutches for at least a few months afterward, lucky not to have broken his neck.
It was the memory of the incident which kept Mackenzie frozen in her tracks and completely silent, when every instinct urged her to rush forward and call out to Eliza not to panic. She hadn’t wanted to do anything to put either Eliza or Prince Devereaux at risk.
Surprisingly, the prince had kept her daughter calm merely by engaging her in conversation the entire time he’d climbed to her rescue. For a man who professed to be allergic to children, he’d handled Eliza like a pro. When both of them were out of the tree and safe, Mac had remained quiet, trying to calm herself and get her heart out of her throat. Snippets of their conversation carried to her—enough to know the prince interacted beautifully with her daughter.
It was another side of Prince Devereaux she had to come to terms with. Another facet of his character that didn’t fit his playboy image.
‘I was stuck in the tree, Mum! Dev rescued me when I got stuck up there trying to save Moggy,’ Eliza told her on a breathless rush.
Eliza’s casual use of the abbreviated form of the prince’s name jarred.
‘Oh, Eliza,’ Mac said. ‘Cats find their own way down, darling.’ Honestly, Eliza was always getting into one scrape or another.
‘You’re right! It did!’ Eliza exclaimed in annoyance. Her features took on an earnest expression. ‘Dev told me what I did was dangerous and I’ve promised him I’ll never climb so high again.’
Mac hugged her daughter close and frowned at the prince. She couldn’t reconcile the idle playboy who said he didn’t like children, with the guy who hadn’t hesitated to climb the tree to bring Eliza to safety—the prince who was now hunkered down putting his socks and shoes back on his bare feet.
‘Thank you, Prince Devereaux.’
The prince looked up just as Eliza exclaimed, ‘You’re a prince, Dev?’
The corners of his sensually-sculpted mouth quirked up into a smile and Mac was struck once again by his sheer good looks. ‘Yes, Eliza, I’m King Gabriel’s brother.’ He cast his gaze at Mackenzie and said, ‘You’re welcome.’
‘Dev’s going to take me to the kitchen and we’re going to have a big bowlful of ice-cream each, Mum. Would you like some?’
‘Er …’ He looked uncomfortable. ‘Now your mother’s here, you can go with her, Eliza.’
Eliza’s face fell. ‘But you said you were going to take me.’
‘I think Prince Devereaux’s just remembered he needs to go and apply some lotion to his hives,’ Mackenzie said sweetly. Just what was the prince playing at pretending he disliked kids?
‘Bee hives?’ Eliza questioned.
The prince sent her a small smile, ‘No, Eliza. We don’t keep bees at the palace,’ he explained patiently. ‘Your mother is talking about something else.’
‘The prince has an allergy he needs to look after,’ Mac said with saccharine sweetness.
Over the top of Eliza’s head, Devereaux’s eyes narrowed and he addressed Mackenzie with an edge of impatience. ‘I should’ve known you’d follow me out here.’
‘Yes, you should’ve,’ Mackenzie confirmed without blinking.
‘This is the Garden of Eden, Mum. King Gabriel named it after Dev’s sister Eden, because she used to love to come here.’
‘How long were you here?’ Devereaux asked as she murmured an acknowledgement to Eliza.
‘Long enough to know you didn’t hesitate in going to Eliza’s aid and to realise you’re not allergic to children,’ she observed with a hint of impatience. ‘I’m grateful you saved Eliza. I’m not happy you’re painting yourself in the worst possible light. Why are you doing that? Why do you want to work against me instead of working with me?’
Before he had a chance to respond, Eliza sucked in an audible breath. ‘Oh. Your mum’s client—the one who’s done something really silly and now people don’t like you and Mum has to make them see that you really are a good person.’
Mackenzie stifled a groan. ‘Let’s go and get you your ice-cream, Eliza.’
Eliza took the prince’s hand and Mac saw her give it a squeeze of reassurance. ‘Mum will help you, you know. Grandad says she’s absolutely the best. Whatever you did, it doesn’t matter, Dev, because you rescued me from the tree and I know you’re a good person.’
Lord! If only everybody could be convinced so easily.
‘Darling, where’s Jemma?’ Mac asked.
‘You’re supposed to be with Jemma?’ Devereaux questioned.
‘Yes.’
‘King Gabriel assigned Jemma to look after Eliza,’ Mac explained.
‘She had to go to the bathroom, Mum. I promised her I’d stay in the garden and wait for her to return.’
‘Surely, she should’ve returned by now?’ she asked the prince.
Devereaux frowned. ‘I need to go,’ he told her over the top of Eliza’s head. ‘I’ll meet you back in my office later.’
‘But—’ She broke off her protest with a growl of impatience. The prince didn’t merely walk away from them, he just about sprinted.
How the hell was she supposed to work with this man when he kept secrets from her and kept walking, or sprinting, away from her?
Mac simply couldn’t make up her mind about him.
The man staff thought was lying in bed sleeping off a night of debauchery, had been freshly showered and shaved and busy at his computer.
She now knew he’d lied to her about disliking children. Why would anybody lie about something like that … unless, he wanted her to think badly about him? To her mind, it was more evidence that Devereaux wasn’t being truthful about his real self.
What had he been working on that he hadn’t wanted her to see and would it impact on the result she had to achieve? It was conceivable there was some scandal about to blow that would damage his reputation beyond her ability to spin it back and redeem him.
‘Club Tango. Friday. Manager’s office. Midnight.’ His words replayed in her mind. Why would he meet someone in the manager’s office at the nightclub?
There was only one way to know for sure.
‘Mummy, you’re frowning again. You know Granny says the line between your eyebrows will be there forever if you keep frowning.’
God help her if Granny was right, because after her assignment with the Prince of Santaliana, she was sure to have a deep and permanent trench between her eyebrows.