Wanton Heat (A Feel the Heat Novel) (Entangled Brazen) by Nicola Marsh

asking to be kept informed of any developments ASAP before sliding the phone back into his pocket.
    He needed to be prepared. Needed to prevent being taken for a fool again.
    He’d shut himself off from everyone the last few years. He heard the rumors: distraught prince loses parents and fiancée, becomes a heartbroken recluse who was letting his royal municipality rot.
    They couldn’t be more wrong.
    He’d grieved for his parents, had dealt with Lilia’s betrayal and death, but his heart was far from broken. He’d just learned to protect it better. As for letting Osturo and Ancora rot, there was a difference between protecting what was his, bestowed upon him by his father, and carving it up for the almighty euro.
    “Are we nearly there yet?”
    He glanced at the woman by his side, struck anew by her beauty. Zoe had swapped her pin-striped suit for a sassy sunflower-yellow summer dress with thin straps, a fitted bodice that outlined her generous breasts to perfection, and a flirty skirt that ended at her knees.
    She looked bright and sunny and delectable. And in that moment, it hit him: how long since he’d enjoyed the pleasure of a woman, of being with a woman, for no other reason than to flirt and seduce.
    He would love to do both with this intriguing woman. But he couldn’t. She wanted something from him, something he couldn’t give.
    He’d hear her out, then send her on her way. After a little harmless flirtation…
    “Eager to get me alone?” He touched her hand, a fingertip brushing her knuckle in a featherlight caress that elicited a slight tremor. Oh, yeah, she was just as aware of him physically as he was of her. He bet they’d be combustible together. Shame he’d never find out.
    “Eager to have your full attention,” she said, sliding her hand away to clasp it with the other in her lap.
    “You already have that.” His lips eased into a smile, and it felt good. He didn’t smile much these days. Then he realized he was grinning like a fool at the enemy, and he clamped his lips tight.
    She rolled her eyes. “For my presentation.”
    “Thanks for the clarification,” he said, expressing silent gratitude to the weather gods when a gust of wind ruffled the hem of her skirt, flipping it to mid-thigh.
    “I’ll make you listen to me this time if it kills me,” she muttered, smoothing her skirt. “Hopefully you’ll be less grumpy and more cheerful on Ancora.”
    “Do I look like I’m grumpy?” He winked, enjoying the suspicious glare she shot him. Meant he had her off-kilter. Good. Because that’s the way he’d been feeling ever since he met her prowling the castle grounds. “Considering you kidnapped me, I’d say I’m handling the situation admirably.”
    “Yeah, you’re a real prince,” she said, the corners of her lush mouth twitching.
    “You know that’s an empty title, right?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the hold. “I bet you’ve got a ton of research notes on me in that bag of yours.”
    “Most people in the twenty-first century research on the In-ter-net ,” she said. “You know, that online thing that has search engines designed to find out every nitty-gritty detail about people’s lives.”
    He grinned at her sarcasm. “Damn, I knew I was doing something wrong, using those coconut-and-string phones.”
    She tilted her head, studying him. “What did you mean, being the prince is an empty title?”
    “Guess your trusty Internet didn’t tell you everything.”
    “Just tell me already,” she said, her audible exasperation tempered with curiosity.
    “Okay.” He steered the boat by rote, though a quick glance at the radar showed a fast-moving front heading their way. He’d have to make their tour of the island quick. “But to answer your first question, we’re about ten minutes away from Ancora.”
    She shot an anxious glance over her shoulder, where storm clouds were rolling in behind them.
    “Don’t worry. We’ll be on the island