Page 31 of Forbidden Passion

“Ramit is several years older than me. We shared a different nanny when I was very young. Then he went off to boarding school and my first nanny had to retire. The other woman was seventy-two years old when she left us and myfather bought her a house out in the country where she could relax and enjoy her retirement.” Ciara shifted slightly. “The new nanny my father hired…she was the evil one. But she assured my parents that I would be the ultimate little princess. She’d explained that she had developed an excellent curriculum that would help me learn quickly and I would behave like the perfect princess when the family was out in public.”

“That’s not curriculum,” he replied. “That’s child abuse. The woman should be in prison.”

“I agree. But as a child, I didn’t know. I didn’t have the words. Besides, she never hit me anywhere that would show when I was dressed. So my parents never knew what she was doing. She went off to another home after I left for boarding school.”

“So, she went off to abuse other children?”

Ciara smiled with quiet satisfaction, then laid her head against his shoulder again. “No. I sent a letter to the new family. She was kicked out without a reference.”

“Where is she now?”

Ciara sighed. “I don’t know. When I was in boarding school, I had to struggle to keep up with my lessons. I was a good student, but the first couple of years there, I rebelled, skipped classes, and was pretty obnoxious. I was a bit drunk with the freedom of not being beaten.” She chuckled. “I had a reputation as being stuck up when I first arrived at school, but I soon shifted that reputation to one of a wild child.” She lifted her head and smiled at him. “I liked that reputation better.”

He chuckled as she snuggled closer to him. This was almost better than sex. Almost.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Ciara was so startled by that question that she lifted her head and stared at him. “My favorite color?”

“Yeah. What’s your favorite color?”

She laughed, then shrugged and put her head back on his shoulder. “Pink. I know that it’s a prissy color, but I love it.”

“And your favorite food?”

“Pizza!” she gasped, bouncing slightly with enthusiasm. He had to grit his teeth for a moment, just long enough to get his lust back under control. She was so damn soft!

“Obviously. Anything else?” he asked, agreeing with her preference. “Lobster? Pasta? Cheese?”

Once again, she lifted her head. “Oh, I love a good charcuterie board! One with baked brie and those crunchy pieces of bread.” She stopped, looking at him curiously. “What’s your favorite?”

For the next hour, they sat together asking each other about various preferences. They laughed and enjoyed the quiet moment of sharing themselves with each other.

It wasn’t until Jessy, Ciara’s personal assistant stepped into the room and announced a phone call that they stopped.

Reluctantly, Ciara stood up and told her assistant that she’d be right there. When Falk stood as well, she hesitated, feeling awkward and suddenly shy.

“Thank you. For today,” she clarified, hiding her hands behind her back. “I was…well, upset and it was really nice to just…sit with you.”

“I liked it as well,” he told her. “Not the crying part, but the holding you part.”

She blushed, which charmed him all over again.

“Will you…um…meet me back here tonight?” she asked.

Hell, his body was instantly alert and ready for whatever she proposed. But he kept himself in check…barely…and nodded. “I would love that. What time?”

“After dinner?” she offered.

He nodded again, and she smiled shyly and hurried from the room.

Falk lifted his fist into the air, feeling as if he’d just won a major battle. Leaving her suite, there was a bounce to his step that hadn’t been there before. When he stepped into the conference room where his assistant mentioned the others were talking, he sat down, but his thoughts weren’t on the topic being discussed. He was thinking about tonight. About what he would do to Ciara once they were alone again.

During a break in the conversation, Falk accepted the cup of coffee one of the servants brought to him, still thinking about Ciara when Zayed came up to him.

“So you know,” the other man stated flatly.

Falk stared, startled by his question. “I know what?”